2014 Fundraising Professionals of the Year Awards Winners

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

MOST INSPIRING SPEAKER

Wayne Olson,
director of planned giving
Sewanee, The University of the South

We have to admit that we've not yet heard Wayne Olson speak at a fundraising conference, but now we're sure looking forward to it. (And maybe we can snag him for an FS webinar or other event!)

Prior to his position at Sewanee, Olson was associate director of planned giving at the University of Richmond and a planned-giving officer at the American Cancer Society, and he brings years of development experience to his presentations. Colleagues enthusiastically describe him as an elegant, engaging and inspiring speaker who winnows down complex or technical subjects into easy-to-digest terms and creates a comfort zone of learning within his sessions.