Meet the Team
The staff at Nonprofits First manages daily operations, programs and services. Our amazing team of professionals comes from various backgrounds with the experience, knowledge and skills to set the standard for nonprofit best practices and deliver exceptional services to our nonprofit causes.
Trudy Crowetz
CEO
Trudy Crowetz
CEO
Trudy has been involved in nonprofit leadership for over 27 years. Trudy was promoted to CEO of Nonprofits First as of January 1, 2024. She is a Certified Public Accountant who has served as the Chief Financial Officer for several nonprofit organizations during her career. Trudy has been focused on achieving organizational excellence for these organizations, and she brings her vast expertise in this area to Nonprofits First, where she has also worked as a fiscal reviewer, as a member of the Standards Committee and the Accreditation Task Force, and as a graduate of the 2014 Rising Leaders program and the 2023 Advancing Leaders program.
Trudy strives to be a servant leader who puts the needs of others first. She served in the Emergency Operations Center during two hurricanes, and she was instrumental in assisting the county with securing volunteers and medical staff to serve in the shelters. She later received recognition from the county as being a “Hero of the Storm”. Trudy has a long list of accomplishments in leadership including being chosen as the Nonprofit Professional of the Year in 2022 at the Hats Off Awards. She is an active community volunteer who advocates for women in leadership and has served as President, Secretary, and Treasurer for Executive Women of the Palm Beaches Foundation. She recently served on the board of the Croquet Foundation of America as the Treasurer, and she enjoys playing croquet in her free time.
Trudy can be reached at 561-214-7442, or tcrowetz@nonprofitsfirst.org.
Tracy Amara
Director of Membership
Tracy Amara
Director of Membership
Tracy’s mission as Nonprofits First’s Membership Director is to help new, emerging and established nonprofit organizations and affiliates grow and sustain their mission, leadership, employees and revenue while utilizing the wealth of resources available through membership and engagement with Nonprofits. She has returned to the nonprofit space after spending five years in healthcare and hospitality management roles. Tracy previously spent ten years as a senior leader in nonprofit operations and donor recruitment, where her organization achieved and exceeded critical collection goals for six consecutive years, while maintaining exceptional levels of compliance and donor satisfaction. She is a certified speaker, trainer and coach, who also brings to Nonprofits First more than twenty years of experience in sales, marketing, business development, community relations, customer service, financial services, trade show, event and conference management, and ministry.
Tracy is a native Floridian who grew up in Miami Beach and now lives in the western communities of Palm Beach County. She is an avid reader who is most passionate about the causes of animal rescue and women’s ministry.
Tracy can be reached at 561-910-5069, or tamara@nonprofitsfirst.org.
Meghan Foley
Director of Education and Training
Meghan Foley
Director of Education and Training
Experience: For over a decade Meghan has worked in disaster management, supporting several Presidentially declared incidents. She has extensive experience in teaching, both inside the classroom and in outdoor experiential programs as well. Meghan loves the outdoors and residing near the ocean where she can enjoy the water.
Hometown: Milwaukee, WI
Alma Mater/s: Colby College, Waterville, ME - Anthropology
Favorite Cause: Meghan is passionate about education. She believes that ensuring future generations have the knowledge and skills needed to be active participants in democracy is tantamount to society continuing to move forward.
Hobbies: Sailing and Reading
What I love most about working for Nonprofits First: I am very excited to work with Nonprofits First to provide the knowledge needed to achieve high levels of impact for the communities that we serve.
Claudia Mariaca
Director of Development and Marketing
Claudia Mariaca
Director of Development and Marketing
General Information and Work Experience: Claudia is excited to use her experience to assist the nonprofit sector and looks forward to helping others and their causes. Her previous experience was in Marketing and Human Resources for a conglomerate of South American newspapers, and, also, has experience in property management. In 2016, Claudia was elected as Councilwoman for the City of Doral in Miami Dade County. She served for 6 years in Doral, one of those as Vice Mayor. She has served in several boards including Miami-Dade League of Cities and Miami-Dade County Schools Attendance and Boundary Committee. Claudia is fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Hometown: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Alma Mater/s: Bentley University
Favorite Cause: Mental Health, Animal Welfare
Hobbies: Hiking, Camping and Crafting
What I love most about working for Nonprofits First: I enjoy helping and giving back to the community. Working at Nonprofits First allows me to connect with many organizations and help them achieve their goals and visions.
Claudia can be reached at Office: 561-910-3891, or cmariaca@nonprofitsfirst.org
Petra Pitkonen
Director of Finance & Operations
Director of Finance and Operations
General Information and Work Experience: Petra Pitkonen is an Accountant. She has 15 years of experience running VITA sites for United Way of Palm Beach County. Petra has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 20 years working with the differently abled, seniors, and early childhood education
Hometown: Helsinki, Finland
Alma Mater/s: Graduated from the University of Phoenix, attended NOVA and the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale
Favorite Cause: No specific cause, Petra just likes helping people
Hobbies: Crochet, Travel, Spending time with her children
What I love most about working for Nonprofits First: The events at Nonprofits First are amazing and I like having the opportunity to help nonprofits succeed in their missions
Petra can be reached at Office: 561-214-7441, or ppitkonen@nonprofitsfirst.org
Susan Erichsen
Director of Accreditation
Susan Erichsen
Director of Accreditation
Susan leads the Accreditation Department of three, along with over 15 Executive Volunteers, in initiating, developing, maintaining, and revising the Accreditation Standards, Pathway 2 Excellence (P2E), on-site review processes, and training, operational, and resource materials to help nonprofit organizations successfully obtain and maintain Nonprofits First, Inc.
Susan has over 25 years of experience working with nonprofits as both a part of the staff and volunteer corps. Her previous positions include managing a Foundation and a Historical Society were very experiences and broadened her understanding of the important role nonprofits play in our communities. She has worked with many small nonprofits implementing and refining Strategic Planning, Development, Governance and Administrative processes. Susan grew up in Maryland where she graduated from Maryland University University College with a Bachelor of Science in History and a Master of Science in Business Management with a focus on Nonprofits. Her favorite causes are women’s issues and historic preservation, and, in her free time, she enjoys reading, historical research, painting, crochet, and playing with her two dogs.
Susan can be reached at 561-910-3892, or serichsen@nonprofitsfirst.org.
Nate Olver
Accreditation Project Leader
Nate Olver
Nathan Olver – Accreditation Project Leader
Nate is supporting our Director of Accreditation, Susan Erichsen, in managing non-profit accreditation cases. Nate is a high-achieving graduate student at Palm Beach Atlantic University in his final semester of obtaining a dual Master of Science in International Development and Business Administration. He graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. As part of his master’s program, he assisted in the development of a national agricultural cooperative in Costa Rica as well as the development of policy proposals designed to bolster the agricultural sector amongst small and medium growers in the country. Nathan is the co-founder and vice president of The Organization for Social Innovation, a civil society organization working to facilitate solution-driven discussion that promotes engagement, awareness, and action regarding local, national, and global issues. Nate’s interests include sports, reading, surfing, and making coffee, a skill he honed as a barista at Johan Joe’s.
Nate can be reached at nolver@nonprofitsfirst.org.
Lina Lora Fant
Accreditation Project Leader
Accreditation Project Leader
General Information and Work Experience: She brings a background in Human Resources in the areas of recruitment, employee wellbeing, compensation, and training. In the past few years, she has been involved in the Nonprofit sector volunteering for an international nonprofit organization focused on human rights and law enforcement, conducting root cause research for a nonprofit in Honduras, and leading the fundraising and development efforts for a local nonprofit.
Hometown: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Alma Mater/s: She earned a master's degree in international development from Palm Beach Atlantic University, and holds a bachelor's degree in psychology, focusing on Organizational Psychology.
Favorite Cause: Poverty alleviation, quality education, civil discourse
Hobbies: Likes to watch Korean Dramas
What I love most about working for Nonprofits First: NPF's accreditation ensures a good reputation and promotes trust among donors, the nonprofit community, and prospective staff. This helps nonprofit organizations obtain necessary funding, form partnerships between them, and recruit excellent staff to achieve their mission.
Lina can be reached at Office: 561-910-6679, or llorafant@nonprofitsfirst.org
Marie-Ange Delva
Accountant
Marie-Ange Delva
Accountant
Marie is supporting our Director of Finance, Delferine Spooner, in maintaining financial records for organizations in the nonprofit community. She is originally from North Carolina but went to college in Florida at Indian River College, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 2022. Her work experience includes nearly a year and a half as a Bookkeeper with Nonprofits First and volunteer work with Gospel Tabernacle of Faith, where she helped with financial tasks, business administration, and counseling young children. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching documentaries, and singing.
Contact Marie at mdelva@nonprofitsfirst.org.
Riley Remington
Office Manager & Operations Support
Office Manager & Operations Support
Office Manager & Operations Support
General Information and Work Experience: Riley has a BS in Psychology & Political Science and she likes to appley these to help her community. She has done this in the past by working in both the nonprofit & digital healthcare sectors.
Hometown: Grand Haven, MI
Alma Mater/s: Central Michigan University
Hobbies: board games, piano, Dungeons & Dragons, hosting trivia.
What I love most about working for Nonprofits First: I love the opportunity to work somewhere that makes a difference in the community.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
Allegany Franciscan Ministries
Childrens Services Council
FPL
M&T Bank Wilmington Trust
Mariaca/CEFeX
Palm Beach Post LocalIQ
Quantum Foundation
United Way
Valley Bank
Wells Fargo
