Associate Vice President of US Philanthropy

Amber has over 20 years’ experience building strong community relationships within profit and non-profit sectors. Additionally, Amber has experience providing extensive outreach in order to meet the needs of the community, and donors. Working at Operation Smile for Amber is an absolute joy as it brings together health, cultural perspective and the ability to experience first hand the lives our donors and volunteers have changed.

Director of Development, Northeast
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, DC, Maryland, Delaware

Based in Manhattan, Whitney is charged with strategizing and implementing funding opportunities that support our global healthcare programs. After spending nearly, a decade working in sales, Whitney decided to pursue her passion of helping others and transitioned to the nonprofit sector. Prior to joining Operation Smile, Whitney represented her alma mater throughout the Tristate as a major gift officer in Villanova's regional advancement office. 

Director of Development, Southeast Region
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida

Colleen was raised at the New Jersey shore. During her free time, she enjoys hiking, biking, her dogs, podcasts and spending time with her two high-energy young sons. She holds a bachelor's degree in business from Muhlenberg College and a master's degree in education from Boston University.

Currently based in Charleston, South Carolina, Colleen oversees development efforts in the Southeast region.

Development Director, West Coast Region
Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Hawaii

Born in Central Kenya, Joan Gachuhi (pronounced “Jo-Ann” “Gah-shoe-hee”) moved to and spent her formative years in Northern California — a proud Hornet & Cardinal! She received her B.A. in philosophy from California State University, Sacramento, and her M.A. in international development from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Director of Development, Intermountain Region
Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri 

Dave Nichols serves as the development director for Operation Smile's Intermountain Region, working to keep key supporters in 11 states engaged with our global efforts to change lives through access to surgical care. Much of his early career was in the non-profit sector working with local human service agencies addressing critical client needs. For the past two decades, Dave worked exclusively in fundraising in the healthcare and higher education arenas. 

Director of Development, Midwest
Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia

Mary Alice is the development director for Operation Smile's Midwest Region, working to keep key supporters in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin engaged with our global efforts to change lives through access to safe surgical care. She is proud to play a role in transforming the lives of so many children and love to share my experience working beside our volunteers in Malawi and Bolivia.

Development Director, Dancing with the Carolina Stars

Stephen's role at Operation Smile is to help keep you engaged with our global efforts to change the lives of children throughout the world that need access to surgical care. He oversees Operation Smile of the Carolinas, which has provided fundraising and volunteer support to Operation Smile for more than 30 years. Its signature event, Dancing with the Carolina Stars, has brought together dancers and supports for 13 years.