The services an agency like ours provides are only as good as the people providing them. Which is why our team of senior management, account service and creative staff are highly skilled and experienced professionals, with a combined total of more than 100 years of experience in fundraising and marketing.

Please take a moment to review the biographies of our senior management team. We're ready and willing to put our expertise to work for you.

• Dennis L. Meyer ~ President
• Bonnie I. O'Neill ~ Executive Vice President & Creative Director
• Steve Rusk ~ Senior Vice President, Client Services
• Jane Wilcox ~ Vice President, Operations & Production
• Bela Kerkay ~ Associate Creative Director

DENNIS L. MEYER, CFRE

President

Dennis founded Meyer Partners in 1989 to provide strategic consulting and related services in fundraising and marketing to selected nonprofit organizations.

Prior to starting the firm, Dennis was National Director of Not-for-Profit Marketing for Epsilon, one of the nation's leading database marketing companies. Dennis joined Epsilon-Chicago in 1981 after ten years as a not-for-profit fundraising executive. A recipient of Epsilon's Lifetime Achievement Award, he was responsible for new business marketing and served as senior strategist and program director on numerous client fundraising and marketing programs.

Dennis' career began at Concordia College, Seward, Nebraska, where upon graduation in 1970, he was named Development Officer, and later Associate Director of Development. In 1973 he became the Director of Development and Public Relations for Lutheran Family Services of Iowa, and in 1976 he was named Development Director at Bethesda Lutheran Home in Wisconsin. During the next four years, Dennis managed an annual giving program which doubled in revenue, directed the file conversion to a state-of-the-art database, enlarged the planned giving and major donor visitation programs and directed the establishment of a Foundation which today has assets in the millions.

It is said that "there is no better teacher than experience," and with more than twenty five years in the field, Dennis is one of the rare fundraising executives who has had experience in all of the fundraising disciplines. Additionally, he has been a speaker at many of the regional and national conventions of NSFRE, NCDC, CMI, AHP, ALDE, CASE and others.

A charter Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), Dennis is a past board member of the Chicago Chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives. Presently, he serves as Vice President of the Association of Direct Response Fund Raising Council, and as a member of the Direct Marketing Association's Non-Profit Council Operating Committee.

BONNIE I. O'NEILL

Executive Vice President & Creative Director

Bonnie brings to her role 18 years of fundraising experience, with a special emphasis in multi-media approaches to new donor acquisition and development. Her expertise encompasses several facets of direct response fundraising, including copy writing and creative development, production services, market research, strategic planning, and comprehensive results analysis.

Prior to her association with Meyer Partners, Bonnie served as an account supervisor with the Russ Reid Company, one of the largest direct response fundraising agencies in the United States. During her tenure there, she managed fundraising campaigns incorporating television, radio, direct mail, telemarketing and print advertising. Formerly, she organized in-house training programs for Atlantic Richfield Company in Los Angeles. She also obtained a license from the Federal Communications Commission and held positions as a radio news editor, broadcaster and producer in Lancaster, California.

Bonnie is actively involved in the National Society of Fund Raising Executives, the Association of Direct Response Fundraising Counsel, the Direct Marketing Association Non-Profit Council, and the Greater Kansas City Council on Philanthropy. She is a frequent speaker on direct mail fund raising. Bonnie is a graduate of Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, holding a bachelor's degree in sociology.

STEVE RUSK, CFRE

Senior Vice President, Client Services

Steve provides senior-level fundraising and direct marketing counsel for our clients. His history with Meyer Partners dates back to 1993, when he began working with the agency as a client.

Steve has over 25 years of experience in advertising, marketing and fundraising. He is also a recipient of numerous industry awards including the Direct Marketing Association's International Gold Echo Award, multiple recognitions from the annual Clio Awards Festival (advertising's Oscar), and five consecutive awards from the American Marketing Association of New York's EFFIE Awards for Advertising Effectiveness.

Steve is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). He began his career as an advertising copywriter and creative director, working for several agencies including Ogilvy & Mather and J. Walter Thompson.

Prior to joining Meyer Partners, Steve was a Vice President at Russ Reid Company in Pasadena, California for eight years, and preceding that tenure he was the Associate Director of Mission Giving at the Chicago headquarters of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA).

JANE WILCOX

Vice President, Operations & Production

Jane arrived at Meyer Partners in 1999 with more than 20 years experience in nonprofit fundraising and management. Beginning her career at Children International, an international child sponsorship organization she quickly developed a reputation as a "can-do" member of the staff eventually becoming vice president. As a senior officer, she led a team of six managers whose responsibilities entailed management of communications among donors, more than 60,000 sponsored children, international offices and the organization's central headquarters in Kansas City.

Moving from Children International in 1992, Jane gained extensive experience in print production management, lettershop coordination and the Postal System as Production Manager at Resource and Development Group, Lenexa, KS. In fact, she established their lettershop operation and also managed fulfillment and receipt processing for the multiple organizations the company served.

At Meyer Partners, Jane is responsible for all print production and lettershop services. She makes sure your appeals and promotions are printed and mailed on time. She is also our in-house expert on postal issues and data management.

BELA KERKAY

Associate Creative Director

Bela Kerkay joined Meyer Partners as Associate Creative Director in January 2008.  With an emphasis in graphic design and a proven track record of developing and applying best practices in creative direct response, Bela brings a fresh perspective to the agency’s nonprofit client partners.

Prior to his association with Meyer Partners, Bela was with Grey Direct, where his contributions as Associate Creative Director were instrumental to the growth and development of the new Chicago office.  He played an integral part on all lines of business marketing with United Airlines, including partner programs, flight and loyalty programs.

Before Grey Direct, Bela worked for three years at Wunderman in Budapest, Hungary. There he created conceptual solutions for Action Marketing; worked closely with the Production Department, directed art for promotions, web sites, and direct mail pieces; and supervised freelancers and photographers.  His role as Creative Supervisor provided him management experience along with the opportunity to make strategic decisions for global clients such as Ford, Citibank, AB-Aegon, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Dun & Bradstreet, Universal Music, Pannon GSM, Zwack, Hungarian National Highway Association, Hungarian Direct Marketing Association and others.  He also freelanced and worked for PAQART Design Studio, which specialized in packaging design.

Bela’s diversity in client work has included both Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer exposure.  He has created a variety of direct marketing awareness pieces, promotional material for auto and bank branch launches, and point of purchase materials, just to name a few.  Bela has won several awards in direct marketing in the U.S. and abroad, including Tempos, an ECHO, and other European Direct Marketing awards.