Leadership

Debra J. Berg, Founder/Executibe Director

Debra J. Berg, MPA, CNC
Founder/President, NICE Network
Nonprofit consultant and trainer

Debra Berg’s eight-year trek across America has fueled a growing enthusiasm for social entrepreneurs. She’s gained the attention of the national press like the Chicago Sun Times, Sky Radio, and Family Circle magazine. And she’s a frequent guest on radio and TV talk shows to educate audiences and foster social enterprise efforts.

The author, speaker, and nonprofit leader spent her college years in "Illini country" earning her B.A. in political science/economics and Masters of Public Administration (MPA) degrees at the University of Illinois. Even as an undergrad, she was a student of local solutions and was recognized as a Charles E. Merriam Scholar for research on Illinois local government. She rounded out her college experience in Washington, D.C. as an intern during the Watergate hearings, as an IRS Intern, and as an Illinois Legislative Intern.

In the seventies and eighties, Debra served for over a decade as a legislative analyst for the Illinois Senate Appropriations and Local Government Committees and as a budget and program analyst for the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission and the Minnesota Legislative Audit Commission. She was the author of several studies on education and chemical dependency and the analyst of social welfare budgets totaling into the billions of dollars.

In the late eighties, Debra made a career switch to the nonprofit sector when Minnesota's largest HMO recruited her as a senior finance analyst. She later capitalized on her financial skills to establish TeamNet International, a marketing and training company, spanning the U.S., Mexico, and the Netherlands. The company's success led to her eventual recruitment by the wireless software industry.

Since that time, Debra has chosen to reinvest her public policy and marketing experiences in the future of social enterprise. She is a Certified Nonprofit Consultant (CNC) and the President and founder of the National Institute for Civic Enterprise (NICE). She wears several hats as the spokesperson, as a trainer in marketing and visiblity, and as a connector of human service nonprofits.

Debra and her husband, Paul, the city manager of Eustis, Florida, have two grown daughters, Julie and Janie.

Debra is available to speak to groups ranging from 25-10,000. She conducts nonprofit seminars on marketing, visibility, and fundraising. And, she's available for coaching on the same topics. Contact her at debra@NICENetwork.org or call 352-589-5981.

Lee Owen - Communications Strategist

Lee Owen
Communications Strategist

Lee’s cross-industry experience has given her a rare mix of talents to help the NICENetwork equip civic entrepreneurs. An organizational strategist and skilled editor of twenty years in both the corporate and non-profit worlds, Lee’s list of accomplishments is rather impressive. 

She helped manage a $35 million commodity group for CSX Transportation, a Fortune 500 business-to-business services corporation, and orchestrated an extensive export sales program for E.I.L. Instruments, Inc. of Baltimore, Maryland, a $40 million company. Along the way, her passion for the missions of faith-based social services organizations led her to invest her portfolio of skills as a volunteer in the future of several Florida groups such as Oasis Compassion Agency, Divine Debutantes /Building Our House, Gateway Community Outreach, and Boynton Beach Community Church. She is an active board member of Divine Debutantes and a former board member of Oasis Compassion Agency.  

Lee is the owner and President of WritePointMedia, Inc. She has helped a diverse group of clients like Pinsly Railroad, The Beaches Leader, and Providence School on a wide range of projects. With a heart for writers, Lee also helps authors map their book campaigns and polish their manuscripts. As the communications strategist for NICENetwork.org, her editing talents are currently getting a workout in the revision and update of The Power of One to be released in late 2010. Lee graudated from Goucher College, Towson, Maryland with a B.A. in economics. She resides in Eustis, FL with her husband Tom.
 

Mike Maine - Informations Systems Consultant

Mike Maine
Informations Systems Consultant
Heavenly Habenaro, Founder & CEO

“Being granted the honor of working with Debra Berg to make the NICEnetwork a reality is a joy.”

Mike owns and operates Christian Computer Consultants, a GHSI company, and Heavenly Habenaro, a seasonings supply company. As a 28-year resident of Lake County Florida, his first IT business was Grasshopper Software International.

Meeting Mike was a “nice coincidence” that has brought the NICENetwork to the level it needs to be on the web. He and his partner, Kent White, are experts at DSL, dialup, hosting, web site design, data backup, network consulting, and custom computer building. In addition, they provide Voice-over-IP service to private homes and businesses throughout the country. Their clients include Resorts Condominiums International (RCI), national banks, cities, the entertainment industry, small businesses, and physicians’ offices in the “lightening capital of the world.” Mike’s 27 server back-ups are critical for medical personnel who depend on health records to treat patients. CCC also holds the distinction of being the only systems back-up service to make it through the 2005 hurricane without a glitch. If there’s a problem, Mike finds a way to make it work even if he has to call in an outside consultant to make it happen. 

Mike has been a friend to the nonprofit community in Lake County, Florida for some time. He’s responsible for setting up the private Blue Lake Academy computer lab as well as systems for churches and other schools, often at his own expense. He’s now become an indispensable part of the NICENetwork community. 

http://www.heavenlyhabanero.com/index.html

Dawn Duncan - CEO, Founder, The Grant Connection and HCL

Dawn Duncan
CEO and Founder, Homes That Change Lives and The Grant Connection
Fiscal Sponsor of the NICE Network

"I am in full support of the National Institute for Civic Enterprise (NICE Network) that is being developed by Debra Berg.  I feel strongly that she is creating a model initiative that our world now needs." 

Dawn holds a Master’s Degree from Harvard University in Public Health; a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Boston University; and has served as a board member of numerous Boston area nonprofits, including the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness. Dawn has raised over $15 million dollars for a variety of causes. Recently, Dawn expanded her grant research and writing skills to the field of real estate and is now President of Real Estate Grant Specialists, a division of The Grant Connection LLC. In this role, Dawn recently submitted 100+ applications totaling $7.154 million in forgivable loans for the GO Zone Small Rental Assistance Program for affordable housing projects in Mississippi counties devastated by Hurricane Katrina.  

http://www.homesthatchangelives.org
http://www.thegrantconnection.com