A veteran of nonprofit leadership and fundraising, Jeff has been the guiding force behind Lighthouse Counsel since founding it in 1999.

As senior vice president of development for the YMCA of Middle Tennessee, Jeff led one of the nation’s most successful YMCA fundraising programs. He also was senior managing director at Jerold Panas, Linzy & Partners. Prior to that, he served as advancement director at Mount de Sales Academy in Macon, Georgia. He began his fundraising career as executive director of the South Georgia Chapter of the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation.

Jeff is past chair and board member of the Phi Kappa Theta National Foundation and past chair of the Board of Trust at The University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. He was also an executive committee member of UGA’s national alumni association for a decade. Jeff serves on the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Tennessee board and Troy University’s Sorrell College of Business Executive Advisory Council. Additionally, he is a member of the Rotary Club of Nashville, the Sons of the American Revolution and the Southern Federation of Syrian-Lebanese Clubs.

Jeff is a member of NonProfit PRO’s Editorial Advisory Board and writes the publication’s popular “Bedrocks & Beacons” blog. He is also past president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Nashville Chapter and was recognized as its Fundraising Professional of the Year. He has been named a Fellow by UGA’s Grady College and received the UGA College of Pharmacy’s Distinguished Service Award. 

He is a member of the AFP Atlanta and Nashville chapters, as well as a graduate of AFP’s Faculty Training Academy and Executive Management and Leadership programs, as well as a graduate of Leadership Nashville and Leadership Middle Tennessee.

Jeff is a graduate of UGA’s Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and holds a master’s degree in human resource management from Troy University.