CHANGEMAKER
Rachel D'Souza, MPPA

Rachel D'Souza is the founder of Gladiator Consulting, a boutique firm co-creating with organizations and causes across the globe. As a founding member of the Community-Centric Fundraising Global Council, Rachel works to guide and resource a global initiative to reimagine the nonprofit sector through a lens of radical collaboration, racial equity, social justice, and decolonization. Rachel also serves on the board of AFP St. Louis and is excited to begin her term as Chapter President (the first woman of color to hold this role!) in 2024. 

Her thought leadership has appeared in Blackbaud Institute's npExperts publication The Great Reset, NeonOne's 2022 report, Donors: Understanding The Future of Individual Giving, and on the Season 4 premiere of the Ethical Rainmaker podcast.  She builds understanding and practice of the potential for equitable transformation in our sector through webinars and panel conversations in partnership with sector leaders such as the Independent Sector, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and the Collective Impact Forum. 

Rachel is the proud mama to her two children, Cameron and Emelia. Currently, she is pursuing her second Master's Degree at the Washington University School of Law and, upon completing her studies in 2024, hopes to build more transformative connections between nonprofit mission and public policy. 

EMERGING PROFESSIONAL
Sara Paracha

Sara Paracha  is a St. Louis native committed to supporting the work of systemic change to build a more equitable region. Sara received her Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Saint Louis University and Master of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, with a specialization in management and concentration in health and children, youth and families. 

She started off her career in the social service sector by designing, implementing and evaluating programs for youth. This experience was a great asset as she shifted her role to support nonprofit resource development. Over the past 5 years she has helped raise over $5 million to fund nonprofit organizations through building annual development plans, grant writing, planning and executing special events and much more. Currently Sara serves as the Lead Resource Development Catalyst at Forward Through Ferguson where she is charged with spearheading all fundraising efforts.  

Sara is an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)  St. Louis Regional Chapter. From 2019-2021, she served as an AFP Fellow and supported the chapter's major gift campaign and served on the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) Committee. In 2022 and 2023 she was elected to serve on the Board of Directors as the local chapter’s programming committee co-chair. 

In 2022 Sara was also recognized as one of five Outstanding Young Professional’s by the Global Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), an award recognizing fundraisers who display excellence in raising funds, inspiring donors, managing campaigns and dedication to the charitable sector. Sara enjoys spending time with family and friends, crafting, and being outdoors. 

Outstanding Fundraising Executive
Jackie Hamilton, MBA, CFRE

Jacqueline “Jackie” Hamilton, MBA, CFRE, currently serves as Assistant Director of Advancement for St. Louis County Library (SLCL). In this role, she leads SLCL’s  Foundation team, which is responsible for planning, developing, and implementing strategic fundraising revenue generating programs to support the library’s commitment to the community. Her expertise is utilized to build relationships and secure financial revenue to fund library programming and resources that are not funded by tax-payers dollars. Such programs and resources include Born to Read, which connects early literacy resources with babies born in our county hospitals, the only Teen Book Festival in the region, the Excel Online High School program, and so much more.

Hamilton has over 15 years of professional fundraising experience. However, Jackie’s interest in fundraising was sparked well before her career began. After her father’s diagnosis with multiple myeloma, Jackie partnered with a close friend, whose mother passed away from the same disease, to execute a fundraising event to honor their parents and educate others about the disease. With no prior experience, Jackie was placed in charge of fundraising. The event raised 250k. Through this experience, she discovered her passion for inspiring mission based giving.

Hamilton’s previous professional roles include Director of Development for Eden Seminary and Chief Development Officer for Beyond Housing. She has shared her fundraising expertise as a board member of non-profit organizations such as Deaconess Faith Nurses, Planned Parenthood, Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) St. Louis, Urban KLife, and the Association on Aging with Developmental Disabilities. Committed to developing the next generation of BIPOC fundraising professionals, Jackie currently mentors young fundraising professionals and funds annual scholarships for minorities to join AFP. She is a member of The Links, Incorporated, ShowMe Skiers, and a former  “Big” for Big Brothers Big Sisters. Through community involvement and professional opportunities, she has been vital in raising over $100 million to empower the St. Louis region. 

A St. Louis native, Jackie has a B.S from UM-St. Louis and an MBA from Lindenwood University. She also holds certificates in Financial Management from Neighbor Works America and Business Management for Nonprofit Leaders from Washington University. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, golfing, biking and traveling.

Outstanding Fundraising Volunteer
Barbara Silver

Barbara’s story is one that shows much dedication. She became a volunteer with Miriam School and Learning Center beginning in the 1950s and has never left.  Actually, Barbara was involved even before that!  She started out in the classroom as a volunteer, when rules and regulations were a bit more lax.  Barbara “helped with the observation of potential students to determine if they were a good fit for Miriam.”  Through this practice of observation, Barbara quickly developed an attachment for students who were unique learners.  “By being in the classroom and around the children, I felt a very strong commitment to Miriam’s mission.  I hardly missed a day being in a classroom.”  This engagement transferred over to the rest of her volunteerism, and others within the organization quickly saw Barbara as someone who wanted to immerse herself in the Miriam community.  

As Barbara transitioned to volunteering at the Foundation, she has assumed so many roles!  She has been Vice-Chairman of the School Board, Chairman of the School Board, in addition to being the board liaison for the Miriam Switching Post, the upscale resale shop where 100% of the proceeds support Miriam’s Variable Tuition program. Barbara’s longest volunteer position with Miriam has been as the Annual Fund Chair, and she takes this role very serious.  More than 60% of Miriam students receive need-based tuition assistance, which is provided through the Annual Fund campaign.  The Annual Fund also supplements unrestricted operating expenses for educational programs and services. Once again, under Barbara’s leadership, this campaign has grown from raising $700,000 annually to over $2 million annually.  Barbara takes immense pride in this achievement and looks forward to each new campaign. “I’m always thinking how we can do better with this campaign.”

Barbara looks back at her years representing Miriam and sees a tremendous amount of love and hard work.  She realizes the school is just as important today as it was fifty years ago. “Over time, more and more children are being diagnosed with learning disabilities. In the past, no one could diagnose specific learning challenges.  Today, we know so much more than I could have ever imagined.”

Barbara's was married to the love of her life, the late Arthur Silver.   She has two children: a sone, Steven Silver (girlfriend Leda Sander); and a daughter, Sally Silver Lyons, along with two grandchildren: Michelle and Drew Lyons.  

YOUTH IN PHILANTHROPY
Sam Abeles

Sam Abeles has been helping his community for over a decade. He started in preschool, where he and his brother held lemonade stands every summer and donated all of the proceeds to the National Council of Jewish Women, UNICEF, and Pedal the Cause. He continues to fundraise for Pedal the Cause, having raised more than eight thousand dollars for cancer research. This past September marked Sam’s sixth year of riding for Pedal the Cause. Another passion of Sam’s is reading and encouraging other children to do the same. In 2021, while Sam was preparing for his Bar Mitzvah, he decided to partner with Ready Readers to continue to help his community. He solicited various book retailers across the nation and was able to get hundreds of books donated to Ready Readers! Additionally, he donated a thousand dollars of his Bar Mitzvah money to the organization. Sam lives in Clayton, Missouri and is a freshman at Clayton High School. He is a member of the school’s Thespian Troupe, Cross Country Team, and Jewish Student Union. In his free time you can find him playing golf or reading a good book.

OUTSTANDING PHILANTHROPIST
Henry A. Jubel Foundation

The Henry A. Jubel Foundation was founded in 2011 in honor of Henry Jubel, a German immigrant, inventor and entrepreneur.  Henry came to America in 1929 with his family to have a better life. In 1940, he graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.  During World War II Henry invented a modification of a grenade launcher that fit onto the bayonet attachment of the M-1 rifle. For this, the Army gave him a merit award. Years later, wanting to start his own business, Henry opened Spartan Aluminum Products in Sparta, Illinois in 1961.  Since then, the Company has grown to be one of the most successful lightweight die casters in North America. Personally, Henry believed strongly in the importance of education for young people and fostering the enhancement of the St. Louis community.

Philanthropy and supporting the St. Louis community is of great importance to the Jubel Family. They founded the Henry A. Jubel Foundation to celebrate Henry’s legacy through the support of various programs and institutions that provide significant value through education and programming in St. Louis. 

Henry’s son, Donald Jubel serves as a Foundation Trustee and his granddaughter, Melissa Markwort, serves as the Foundation Executive Director.