Introducing AHP Executive Advisors
Trusted Executive-Level Support for Philanthropy Leaders
AHP Executive Advisors connects healthcare foundations with seasoned former Chief Development Officers to accelerate results, strengthen teams, and align effectively with hospital partners.
About the Service
AHP Executive Advisors connects healthcare foundations with seasoned former Chief Development Officers to accelerate results, strengthen teams, and align effectively with hospital partners.
This is not traditional consulting. It is targeted, short-term, senior-level support designed to help you navigate your most pressing organizational challenges, delivered by leaders who have been in your seat.
Who Will Benefit Most
This service is best suited for leaders seeking objective insight and rapid clarity:
Leaders seeking outside perspective from successful peers
Teams facing stalled growth, misalignment, turnover, or unclear priorities
Philanthropy executives stepping into new and/or complex roles
Organizations preparing for leadership transitions or major initiatives
Our Advisors
AHP Executive Advisors are former CDOs with direct, hands-on healthcare foundation experience. Every single person who works with you has sat in your seat.
Donna Budak, MA, FAHP, CFRE
30+ years experience
Janet DeWolfe, FAHP, CFRE
40+ years experience
Susan Dolbert
35+ years experience
John Drake, MLA, FAHP, CFRE
40+ years experience
Brian Lally
40+ years experience
Jory Pritchard-Kerr
40+ years experience
Steve Rum
30+ years experience
How It Works
Our model is intentionally practical and results-oriented. Regardless of the service, the goal is the same: to provide direction with efficiency and focus.
STrategic ADVISORY SESSIONS
Facilitated visioning sessions to address complex challenges, test ideas, and explore new approaches
Leadership development
One-on-one mentorship with an experienced peer, focusing on skill refinement and career acceleration
C-Suite and Board Alignment
Facilitated workshops to improve stakeholders' confidence, engagement, and effectiveness in philanthropy
executive candidate assessment
Deep-dive assessments to ensure you select an executive ready to succeed on day one
INTERIM EXECUTIVE SUPPORT
Seasoned interim CDO leadership to provide stability and direction during transitions
The Problems We Help Solve
Our CDO partners help address acute challenges such as:
Lack of strategic C-Suite engagement
Disengaged Board members
Stalled growth
Lack of clarity on priorities
Difficulty translating strategy into execution
High-potential leaders in need of executive leadership advisory and executive presence
Benefits to Your Organization
Engaging with AHP Executive Advisors provides:
Objective executive insight rooted in deep sector experience
Greater alignment among goals, resources, and expectations
Short-term guidance that strengthens long-term capacity
A partner who has “sat in your seat” and understands its realities
Connect with an Advisor
Advisor Bios
Donna Budak, MA, FAHP, CFRE
Donna has 30 years of fundraising experience, including more than two decades of experience leading high-performing foundation teams across major health systems. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Philanthropy and Chief Philanthropy Officer for St. Luke’s Foundation, part of CommonSpirit Health. In that role, she led development strategy across 15 hospitals in Texas, including CommonSpirit’s largest academic medical center, and guided the launch of a comprehensive campaign for Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center. Donna's leadership portfolio spans enterprise-wide strategic planning, capital campaign execution, board development and governance, physician engagement, and executive team alignment.
Previously, Donna held senior leadership roles with AMITA Health Foundation and Ascension Illinois Foundation in the Greater Chicago area, where she served as Vice President of Strategic Service Line and Strategy. Earlier in her career with the Seton Foundations and Dell Children’s Foundation (Ascension), she advanced through progressively senior roles including Chief Strategy Officer, Vice President, Director of Campaigns, and Planned Giving Officer—building deep expertise in system integration, campaign architecture, and philanthropic growth strategy.
Donna began her professional career in arts and private education fundraising, grounding her leadership in broad-based development fundamentals. She holds a degree in Cytopathology from Thomas Jefferson University and a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and Development from Indiana Wesleyan University.
Donna is a long-standing volunteer leader within the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP). She currently serves as Chair of the AHP Madison Institute and previously served as Dean of the Elements of Major Gifts Track. She is a former Chair of the AHP International Conference and Leading Forward. Donna is also a member of AFP Houston and the Houston Philanthropy Circle and has served in community leadership roles with the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA, and The Shade Project.
Janet DeWolfe, FAHP, CFRE
With more than 40 years’ experience in healthcare philanthropy, Janet served most recently as the senior development professional providing executive leadership in philanthropy to Primary Children’s Hospital and Children’s Health.
Between 2016 and 2025, Janet was the Executive Director for Intermountain Foundation at Primary Children’s Hospital. When she arrived, Janet enthusiastically embraced the newly integrated Intermountain Foundation model and set out to develop a strong culture of philanthropy with her team, executive leadership, board, physicians and department directors. She strongly supported the new strategic plan to centralize annual giving, donor relations, data management and research to focus on creating a major gift culture and program for Intermountain Primary Children’s and Children’s Health.
Under Janet’s leadership, she led the initial planning of the Primary Promise campaign with Primary Children’s Philanthropy Board and a national fundraising consultant group. They engaged 100 participants including board members, Primary Children’s executive leadership team, department directors, physicians, donors and prominent community leaders for the planning study. This provided the initial campaign framework with a goal of $500 million to support priority initiatives, including the building of the second campus of Primary Children’s. The campaign goal was increased to $600 million. She enthusiastically supported the systemwide direction to lead with pediatrics which celebrated raising more than $642 million.
Janet is proud of the Primary Children’s Philanthropy Board’s leadership and led the campaign early with 100% participation, with many with first-time six- and seven-figure commitments. They contributed more $10.5 million and made introductions that resulted in substantial philanthropic contributions. In addition, the hospital’s executive team also led with 100% participation with most committing major gifts for the first time ever. She strengthened the partnership between the University of Utah and the Foundation.
Janet strategically partnered with Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Chief Medical Officer for Primary Children’s to advance philanthropy with pediatric specialty physicians and strengthen those relationships. Janet is honored by the extraordinary philanthropy team she hired who were focused on engaging major and principal gift donors. She is especially proud that most achieved their CFRE certification and were excited to build on what had been accomplished and to take the children’s health philanthropic program to new heights.