2016 National Conference

As Director of Member Engagement, Jason Twiss works closely with the Vice President of Member and Partner Engagement to expand and deepen GEO's memberships and partnerships. He creates and executes strategies in the areas of member recruitment and retention, workshops and presentations, and partnership development with regional associations of grantmakers and funder networks. Jason joined GEO in 2005 as operations assistant and later worked as operations specialist and special projects coordinator before serving in his current role.

Prior to joining the GEO staff, Jason worked in retail management and tutored in after-school mentoring programs in Washington, DC. He served on the board of The George Washington University campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Jason earned a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in public administration, concentrating in nonprofit management, both from The George Washington University.

J McCray is chief operating officer at Grantmakers for Effective Organizations. He oversees GEO’s strategic planning, financial management, internal learning, talent management and fundraising. J authors the Is Grantmaking Getting Smarter? series, which tracks trends in grantmaker practice. He also leads GEO’s outreach to nonprofit partners. J is committed to supporting people and organizations that improve the lives of those who have been overlooked or forgotten. He began his career in the nonprofit sector as a case manager at the Council on Aging of St. Lucie County, Florida, where he worked to identify services that would allow seniors to remain independent and stay in their own homes. J also worked at the Title I Dissemination Project, providing support to Title I educators in Massachusetts, and at the National Prostate Cancer Coalition (NPCC) as a fundraiser. J holds a master’s of business administration from The George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from The College of William and Mary. J also has a certificate in nonfiction, documentary writing from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Maine where he profiled the daily lives of league bowlers in an eight lane candlepin bowling alley in Lisbon Falls. J serves on the boards of the Takoma Foundation and Idealware and has served on leadership committees for Independent Sector, Bridgespan’s DC area Nonprofit COO Group, the Funder Network Impact Assessment Project, Toastmasters, Takoma Park Folk Festival and the City of Hyattsville Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Committee. He was the founding co-chairman of Alternative Gifts of Greater Washington, Inc., a nonprofit organization which promotes the giving of charitable donations during the holidays to social and environmental causes.

Quynh-Anh McMahan is Grant Officer with The George Foundation, a private foundation providing an average of $15 million annually in grants and community programming in support of Fort Bend County, within the greater Houston region. Prior to serving with The George Foundation, she managed grant portfolios focused on public education, health and human services with Rockwell Fund in Houston. She also has been involved with planning and review committees at the local, regional and national levels for Philanthropy Southwest, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, the Greater Houston Grantmaker’s Forum and Women in Philanthropy. Before entering the philanthropy sector, she served in a variety of nonprofit management positions, specializing in organizational capacity building, faith-based community development and homelessness issues. Among her community involvement initiatives, Quynh-Anh helped found and has served on nonprofit boards working to support grassroots leaders globally, a refugee women’s microenterprise locally, and a giving circle funding Asian American issues. Quynh-Anh received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work where she also has taught as an Adjunct Professor.