Meet Our Team
The ZIM Consulting Team
Whatever your project, the ZIM Consulting team has the expertise and capacity to help you reach your goals!
Shira brings more than 15 years of experience in the non-profit sector managing, supervising and empowering staff and volunteers to achieve shared goals in endowments, development and community and organizational planning. She is also an accomplished grant writer and was the successful manager of 32 supporting foundations which distributed over $200,000,000 in grants.
Shira has a Masters of Social Work from Yeshiva University and a Bachelors of Business Administration from Emory University.
Shira has received several prestigious awards as a result of her outstanding leadership capabilities. These awards include the Federation Executive Recruitment and Educational Program full fellowship. She was also selected as a participant in the Brandeis University Sherman Seminar for Emerging Professionals.
Priscilla received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Planning & Public Affairs from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has more than four years’ experience working with non-profit organizations in the U.S. and abroad focusing on community development and social and environmental change in Costa Rica.
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Most recently, Priscilla spent time working for an economic development non-profit the Women’s Business Development Center before deciding it was time to make a move.
She left her home state of Illinois for Denver in the summer of 2016, following her love for the outdoors, and she can't imagine living anywhere else. She enjoys hiking, camping, star gazing, cycling, painting, and practicing yoga.
Marty, a Denver native, has more than 20 years of experience in non-profit development, facilitations and trainings, internal and external communications, project management, human resources and general business management.
Marty has a Master of Social Work and Nonprofit Management from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from Syracuse University.
Marty has received numerous awards as a result of his outstanding work in the nonprofit field. These awards include the Federation Executive Recruitment and Educational Program Fellowship, the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s first ever Master’s Award, and the Joshua L. Liebman national award for service to the community.
Marty is an alum of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Denver program, served three years as a mayoral appointee on the Denver Mayor’s Youth Commission (two of which he was the chair), and has participated in many other significant volunteer leadership positions.
Rebecca has been a fundraiser for both nonprofits and political campaigns since she was in college. She holds experience in major gifts, grant management, community organizing, digital marketing, and other fundraising strategies. She received her Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude in Political Science and English Literature from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Rebecca is actively involved in local politics and with other nonprofits. She volunteers with Denver Democrats, New Era Colorado, and is a fundraising committee member for Denver Food Rescue.
Emily graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a minor in Business Innovation and Analytics. While attaining her degree, she developed a profound interest in using qualitative and quantitative research to develop insights and help others. She has worked and volunteered with nonprofits for the past eight years and is dedicated to incorporating nonprofit work into her career. Most recently, Emily worked at a small, mission-based startup doing business development, communications, and market research.
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Passionate about criminal justice, the environment, and arts education, in her spare time Emily enjoys exploring Colorado’s beautiful outdoors, reading, live music, traveling and learning about new cultures, eating good food, and playing with her pets.
Leah graduated in 2012 from the University of Colorado at Boulder where she received her bachelor’s degree in Spanish Literature and Film Studies. She comes to Zim after a 5-year career working in the financial services industry for a major brokerage firm, where she specialized in inheritance and estate matters. She has been involved with nonprofits ever since college- most notably with the Colorado Mountain Club, where she currently serves as an elected council member for the Denver chapter.
Outside of work, Leah is an accomplished alpinist with extensive mountaineering experience on routes throughout Colorado, the Pacific Northwest, and the Andes. She has also enjoyed traveling around the world to remote areas of Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and South America.
Alexandra has 20 years of experience working in the nonprofit sector, 12 of which in various leadership capacities. Her experience includes program development and oversight, organizational operations and strategy, grant-writing, research and evaluation, professional development, and more. Before moving to the Denver area and starting with ZIM, she provided consulting services, technical assistance and training to afterschool programs with the Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership. Previously, she was the Director of Programming and Evaluation at the Elizabeth Peabody House in Somerville, MA, and before that the Director of Programs and Operations at the Greenwich Village Youth Council in New York City. She holds an MBA in nonprofit management from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, a Masters of Psychology from Boston University and a BA in Psychology from Hamilton College.
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As a recent transplant from the Northeast, Alex is enjoying exploring Denver and learning about the local nonprofit community. In her spare time, she likes to ski, hike, travel, discover good restaurants (especially sushi), and spend time with her rescue pup.
Matt has 10 years of experience working in nonprofit resource development, including grant management, individual giving and stewardship, and special events. An accomplished grant writer, Matt has successfully developed grants for small and large nonprofit organizations in Denver and Saint Louis, Missouri, writing for mental health, youth development, senior services, refugees, informal education, and STEM. He received his Bachelor of Science in English, Professional Writing, from Brigham Young University–Idaho. A Denver native, Matt recently returned to Denver to pursue a Master of Arts degree in International Development from the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies.
Matt enjoys volunteering, traveling, and spending time outdoors, camping and hiking with his wife and border collie.
Madeline graduated from Willamette University in May of 2019 with an MBA focused on nonprofit management and marketing. She is committed to strengthening the nonprofit sector and dispelling the common stigma that mission-driven organizations are not as effectively run as private enterprise. Over the years, Madeline has fostered a passion for creating safe and supportive spaces for women and children and championing community-led innovations that lie at the intersection of environmental and social benefit. Madeline has held numerous internships and consulting roles with nonprofit and public entities in Oregon and is excited to be bringing her experiences to the ZIM team.
She is a lover of fresh air, a good read, animals (especially pigs), dancing, and experimenting with new recipes.
Erin graduated from Arizona State University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Justice Studies and a minor in Sustainability. From there, she spent nearly 4 years working in substance abuse treatment, which eventually brought her to Denver. She graduated with a Master’s in Social Work with a concentration in Sustainable Development and Global Practice in June of 2018, where she developed her love of working with nonprofits. Her experience includes direct clinical practice, case management and nonprofit evaluation and fundraising.
Erin loves the outdoors, and when she isn’t traveling the world, she spends her free time in the beautiful Colorado mountains trail running, hiking and snowboarding.
Sam brings nine years of experience in strategic planning, grant writing, and organizational learning to the ZIM team. He has worked with global foundations, local governments, social enterprises, and community nonprofits across North and South America. He is passionate about building the capacity of social impact organizations to make audacious plans, assemble the resources and support necessary for success, and engage stakeholders and staff in continuous learning.
Sam holds an MA in International Development and Social Change from Clark University in Worcester, MA. A native New Englander, Sam has fallen for friendly, sunny Colorado, and is happiest building new community around a kitchen table, or on a muddy hiking trail. His love of photography, gardens and biking feed back into his work, as opportunities to practice awareness of how others see, grow, and move through the world.
Leah Weinberg
Grant Researcher & Writer Leah.w@ZIMConsulting.com
Leah brings 10 years of experience in higher education to the ZIM team. A Pennsylvania native, she earned a BA in Music at Wesleyan University before moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she developed a love for working with and studying nonprofit performing arts and educational organizations. She holds graduate degrees in Musicology and Film & Television Studies from the University of Michigan, and is passionate about leveraging her training as a researcher, writer, editor, and educator to help mission-driven organizations maximize their social impact. Leah also pursues her commitment to nonprofit development and community outreach through work with the University of Denver, the Society for American Music, and local arts organizations, including Kantorei and the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.
Outside of work, Leah enjoys playing and writing music, dancing, biking, experimenting with high-altitude baking, and exploring Denver and the mountains with her husband.
Allegra graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a bachelor’s in Human Services & International Affairs and a minor in Social Enterprise in 2018. At Northeastern, she pursued three six-month, full time, cooperative education work experiences at international NGOs in Ecuador, South Africa, and Nepal. Her experience in the non-profit sector spans strategic communications, foundation relations management, program development, strategic planning, Learning, Monitoring & Evaluation, fundraising campaigns and event coordination. Allegra brings experience unifying brands, strengthening organizational voice, and developing creative visual identities for organizations within the non-profit sector to the Marketing Implementer role.
Outside of work, Allegra spends as much time as she possibly can outdoors; skiing, climbing, and exploring the mountains with her energetic pup, Winnie.
Shannon recently graduated from the University of Colorado Denver summa cum laude with a Bachelor's in Political Science. She has several years of experience in progressive politics in Colorado through advocacy, campaigning, and working at the state capitol. Most recently, she worked at a nonprofit recruiting and training women to run for office.
Outside of work, Shannon loves reading, baking, theater, playing the ukulele, and petting every dog she can.
Emma graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Environmental Studies. While completing her degree, she successfully ran a number of campus sustainability projects and organized several political theory book clubs. She brings years of experience working with international and local non-profit organizations from national parks in Thailand to natural history museums in Chicago. Most recently, she ran a start-up campaign at her university to build an anaerobic digester on campus, where her primary responsibility was to source and write grant proposals.
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As a Chicago native and recent transplant to Denver, she is excited to explore more of the outdoors that Colorado has to offer. Outside of work, Emma is usually shuffling between three new books at once or community gardening. She also enjoys exploring new places through long hikes and camping trips.
Shauna Ruda has over a decade of leadership experience in the for-impact sector focused on strategic planning, fundraising, stakeholder engagement, program development, and evaluation. Shauna worked for a leading global Jewish humanitarian aid organization, The American Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), in a variety of leadership roles - scaling JDC's young professional engagement strategy and guiding disaster response efforts on the ground in Nepal, Israel, and Turkey. Following her time at JDC, Shauna was Director of Engagement for Virtual Enterprises (VE), a national education nonprofit with a mission to prepare young people for financially secure futures, driving corporate and foundation partnerships. Most recently, Shauna worked in JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Corporate Responsibility Department and as a Migration Researcher at Columbia University. Shauna holds an MA in Migration Studies from Tel Aviv University and MSW from Columbia University.
When she’s not at work, Shauna is likely striking up a conversation with a stranger, chasing the next sunrise on a run, or biking through the city. She is a proud Denver native.
Skilling graduated from Colorado College with a B.A. in Sociology before moving to London to complete her M.S. in International Social Public Policy at the London School of Economics & Political Science. While completing her degrees, she developed a deep interest in issues related to macro-level social inequalities and became an advocate for equal access to higher education. Skilling has held several public relations and journalism internships, spending time both abroad in Berlin, Germany and more locally here in Denver. She brings years of communications and writing experience spanning news coverage, blog content development, college career advisement, policy analysis, and academic publications.
Having returned home to Colorado, Skilling is becoming reacquainted with the outdoors while exploring Colorado's extensive network of hiking and bike trails. She also enjoys discovering new Denver eateries with friends and is an avid traveler with a bucket-list that continues to grow.
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