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Nonprofits | Philanthropy 2025: JENNIFER MORRIS

Morris has spent nearly 30 years in organizations dedicated to protecting the environment, a passion she developed while teaching in Namibia.

She saw how the health of the community she was working with in southwest Africa was impacted by the unhealthy environment. Morris heads a global staff of nearly 6,000 in more than 80 countries and all U.S. states, where they work to combat climate change, protect lands and oceans, and find sustainable food system solutions that will allow the world to feed the growing population.

Locally, The Nature Conservancy helps support nature-based economic and community development projects in Southwest Virginia through the Cumberland Forest Community Fund.

Morris earned a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University, then spent 23 years with Conservation International. She joined The Nature Conservancy in 2020. She also is board chair of Enduring Earth, a collaboration between The Nature Conservancy, The Pew Charitable Trusts, World Wildlife Fund and

ZomaLab to accelerate conservation worldwide by securing long-term investments in large-scale conservation projects.

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Professional Services 2025: JACOB BLONDIN

After seven years with RetailData, serving as chief operating officer and vice president of strategic initiatives, Blondin was tapped to become CEO in 2020. In 2021, RetailData acquired e-commerce data extraction and software development company Loginworks. Blondin launched Intrics that same year. In November 2024, RetailData rebranded as RDSolutions.

With 650 employees, RDSolutions provides market intelligence and analytics to e-commerce and brick and mortar retailers by analyzing real-time, shelf-level pricing and promotions and developing proprietary data validation tools that allow retailers to respond quickly to competitive trends. Its Intrics Intelligence Platform processes billions of data points weekly across brick-and-mortar and online retail stores.

Blondin holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Northeastern

University and an MBA from Arizona State University. He previously served as general manager of Biomass Energy, executive director of engineering and operations for The Earth Partners and vice president of business development for International WoodFuels.

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Professional Services 2025: CASSIE HARTOGS

Hartogs serves as BDO USA’s tax market managing principal for the Greater Washington market. She oversees more than 550 tax professionals across 10 cities and leads the tax practice in operations, strategy, business development, recruiting and professional development. She’s also a leader of BDO USA’s tax efficiency team.

BDO USA is the U.S. member firm of BDO Global, the world’s fifth largest network. In fiscal 2023, BDO USA’s revenues were approximately $2.9 billion; worldwide revenues for BDO topped $15 billion.

Hartogs previously served as BDO’s Atlantic region managing partner in tax services. A West Virginia University graduate, she began her career at CPA firm Argy Wiltse & Robinson and was a partner at the firm when BDO acquired it in 2012.

In 2019, she received BDO’s Seidman Neuhausen award, which recognizes staffers who exemplify BDO’s core purpose and values. She also attended the BDO-Harvard Global Executive Leadership Program.

Hartogs volunteers with the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants’ DEI Advisory Council, Virginia Medical Reserve Corps and SevaTruck Foundation, among others.

WHAT MAKES ME HAPPIEST: I love being near the water, watching and hearing the waves crashing against the shore.

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Nonprofits | Philanthropy 2025: CINDY RAHMAN

This year, Rahman became head of March of Dimes, a national founded in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to combat polio. Today, the 350-employee nonprofit focuses on healthy pregnancies and births.

Rahman became the organization’s interim president and CEO in August 2024, after the nonprofit announced Dr. Elizabeth Cherot was stepping down, taking over as its permanent leader in February. Previously, Rahman was March of Dimes’ senior vice president and chief marketing officer.

In 2023, the nonprofit awarded more than $5.3 million to research initiatives and trained more than 25,000 health care professionals on issues related to preterm birth and maternal health care.

Rahman has a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from the George Washington University School of Business. She serves on the McLean Community Center’s 50th anniversary committee.

WHAT PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT ME: I was a highly competitive soccer player my entire life [and] only stopped playing when I found out I was pregnant at the age of 34.

PODCAST I’VE ENJOYED: “Hidden Brain”

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Professional Services 2025: DANNY ROBINSON

In 2024, after serving as The Martin Agency’s chief creative officer since 2020, Robinson became the agency’s CEO, succeeding Kristen Cavallo. Robinson joined Martin two decades ago and has overseen campaigns for national clients like Geico, UPS and Old Navy.

During his tenure as chief creative officer, Adweek named Martin its Agency of the Year in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, Robinson was named Ad Age’s Chief Creative Officer of the Year. This year, Martin lost a major account, CarMax, but in late 2024 secured YMCA and JP Morgan Wealth Management.

Before joining Martin, Robinson co-founded ad agency Vigilante, best known for Oprah Winfrey’s 2004 car giveaway.

A graduate of Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) and Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University), he serves on the boards of Creative Ladder, Donate Life and The One Club for Creativity.

ON INTEGRATING AI: AI is here to stay but it won’t make agency jobs obsolete — it’ll expose who’s actually adding value.

WHAT PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT ME: There was a period during my 30s when I regularly performed stand-up comedy in clubs in New York and Connecticut.

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Nonprofits | Philanthropy 2025: M. SANJAYAN

Sanjayan became Conservation International’s CEO in 2017 after three years as the environmental nonprofit’s executive vice president and senior scientist.

Previously, he was a lead scientist for The Nature Conservancy. He also has hosted climate-related documentaries, including the PBS series “Changing Planet.”

In February, Conservation International announced a $156.8 million program — largely funded by a $107.4 million Green Climate Fund grant — to help 14 Pacific Island countries adapt their tuna fisheries amid ocean warming.

Born in Sri Lanka and raised in West Africa, Sanjayan holds a master’s degree in biology from the University of Oregon and a doctorate in conservation biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is a trustee for Prince William’s The Earthshot Prize.

FAVORITE FASHION ACCESSORY: When I’m out in the field, my Swarovski binoculars are always by my side.

ON INTEGRATING AI: As a student, I crawled through dirt fields to count gophers by hand. Now, AI helps us monitor wildlife, process large datasets and assess risks much more efficiently. This is a remarkable opportunity. But like any tool, it comes with trade-offs, and we’re navigating them thoughtfully.

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Professional Services 2025: DAN KOTTER

In 2023, Kotter was tapped to become Greater Washington managing partner for Ernst & Young, succeeding Kevin Virostek, who retired. Kotter has worked at EY since 1998 and previously served as an assurance partner.

In addition to managing EY’s Greater Washington offices, Kotter holds client-serving responsibilities. He has served as a global client service partner for Marriott International.

He has also served as co-director of EY’s mid-Atlantic Entrepreneur of the Year program and as a member of the Americas Advisory Council and U.S. Partner Principal Council, Assurance Partner Forum and the U.S.-East Region Partner Forum.

He is currently a board member of Goodwill of Greater Washington. He has also served on the steering committee for the local chapter of the Association of Bioscience Financial Officers and as a board member of The Global Good Fund and Scouting America’s National Capital Area Council.

Kotter holds a bachelor’s degree in from Brigham Young University and an MBA from George Washington University.

EY posted $51.2 billion in revenue for fiscal 2024, up from $49.4 billion the previous fiscal year.

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Professional Services 2025: BILL MARX JR.

Marx became Grant Thornton’s D.C. market managing principal in 2024, leading the Arlington regional office for the Chicago-based U.S. arm of the global firm network.

With more than 25 years of experience, Marx was a tax principal at Grant Thornton for 13-plus years. From 2015 to 2020, he led the firm’s Tax Accounting and Risk Advisory practices for its Atlantic Coast region.

He previously was managing director of tax services for LECG Business . (Grant Thornton purchased its parent company’s tax and business consulting groups in 2011.) Marx has also worked for InfraSource Services, Comcast and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

He holds bachelor’s degrees in education and accounting from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree in taxation from the University of Tulsa. Marx is a board member and treasurer of the Philadelphia School Partnership and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Grant Thornton employs about 375 people in Virginia and more than 72,800 worldwide. It posted U.S. revenues of $2.4 billion in fiscal 2023. In fiscal 2024, Grant Thornton International reported $8 billion in revenue.

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Professional Services 2025: THOMAS L. MILBURN

In October 2024, Milburn was tapped as CEO for YHB, the services firm where he began his career in 1997. Each YHB CEO serves a five-year term, and Milburn succeeds C. Scott Moulden, under whose leadership the firm acquired five accounting firms and grew to 300-plus employees, expanding into Maryland and developing its

C-suite. In 2025, YHB made Accounting Today’s Top 100 national ranking and was named a regional leader. The firm with 340 employees reported $63 million in fiscal 2024 revenue, up from $61 million the previous year.

Milburn leads YHB’s financial institutions team and is a former Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants board member. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Virginia Tech and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

In late 2024, YHB moved its headquarters within Winchester, holding a ribbon cutting in January. The move united the Winchester team under one roof for the first time in nearly 20 years.

PERSONAL MOTTO: Generally, most Ted Lasso quotes

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Nonprofits | Philanthropy 2025: TRAVIS STATON

Spun off from the United Way of Southwest Virginia last year, EO is focused on workforce development programs. As the nonprofit’s leader, Staton manages a $10 million portfolio of grant-funded economic development, workforce training and child development programs.

During his 20 years leading the United Way chapter, Staton created and grew a cradle-to-career nonprofit to train people for new careers amid the collapse of the mining industry in the region.

In October 2024, EO finished redeveloping a former K-Mart into a $26.5 million, 87,000-square-foot regional workforce and child development hub. The hub provides child care, support for child care operators and career exploration and hands-on opportunities to K-12 students. It’s also expected to address workforce development, attraction and retention challenges.

An East Tennessee State University alumnus, Staton is a founding member and vice president of EO Holdings, a nonprofit public benefit corporation established in January to support EO.

ADVICE FOR NEW COLLEGE GRADS: Lead with curiosity, humility, and service. Relationships matter — build them with care. Take bold steps, but stay grounded in your values. The world needs not just your skills, but your integrity and heart.

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