Staff Highlight:
Q&A with Amber Harter, Program Management Specialist
At Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, our work is shaped not only by research and resources, but by the dedicated people who bring our mission to life every day. In this Staff Highlight series, we’re introducing you to the individuals behind our programs, projects, and partnerships. Through a short Q&A, you’ll get a glimpse into their backgrounds, the passions that brought them to Lake Institute, and what excites them most about the future of faith and giving.
What inspired you to join Lake Institute?
I worked at religious non-profits and congregations for most of my career and when I was made aware of the valuable work Lake does educating non-profit and faith leaders about fundraising, I recognized how that training could have been helpful to my past employers and I wanted to support that work.
How would you describe your role in one sentence?
As the Program Management Specialist, I handle travel, logistics, budgets, grant accounts, course materials, shipping, and various other administrative tasks in support of the program management team.
What do you think is Lake Institute’s greatest contribution to the field of faith and giving?
We have heard time and again that Lake is a uniquely positioned and trusted convener, and excels at bringing together partners from faith spaces and philanthropic institutions to collaborate together.
What emerging trends or topics are you most excited about within the field of faith and giving?
AI is a hot topic right now and I’m thinking about how it can be used safely and effectively in many different contexts but especially how it can be used by non-profits to maximize their work. I’m also intrigued by the differences in giving across generations and what the faith-affiliation and philanthropic trends in the youngest generation will look like as it continues to unfold.
What excites you the most about the future of Lake Institute?
I am most excited by the team of people here together doing the work. I’m encouraged by the skills, thoughtfulness, collaboration, creativity, humility, and drive that I see present every day in my teammates and I am confident in our work because of it.
Share a fun fact about yourself!
I love to make things (as does much of the Lake team – we’re a creative bunch!) so I like to spend my free time knitting, crocheting, quilting, sewing, repurposing, embroidering, mosaic-ing, painting, and just about any other crafty thing I can think up.