Impact Giving

Karen Wilson

Chairperson, Co-Founder

Karen has a diverse history with nonprofit organizations. She has worked professionally serving populations such as women, children, minorities, prisoners, and immigrants. She has experience working with the challenges of immigration, education, human trafficking, disabilities, social services, and international justice. She has traveled broadly to serve the most poor and neglected of the world. Karen and her husband Doug love to travel, explore, surf, and read. They have a married daughter in New York and grand-twins, as well as a son in California.

Ann Duncan

Vice Chairperson, Co-Founder

Ann has volunteered and fundraised for nonprofit organizations in Chicago, Austin & Southern California throughout the past ten years. Her professional experience began 20 years ago with Dell Computer where she created and implemented several pivotal sales training programs both in the US and Internationally. She also worked as a Dell Account Executive with several Fortune 500 companies in the Southern California area. Her passion for business and creating, lead her to co-found Impact Giving. Ann makes her home in Laguna Beach, California with her partner Alan. She enjoys reading, cooking, art, walking her dogs and enjoying nature.

Carol Ummel Lindquist

Policy Chair

Carol has served as president, treasurer and board member of several nonprofit organizations. She has an active clinical psychology practice in Laguna Beach, California and published a trade book and audio called Happily Married with Kids: It’s Not a Fairy Tale. She retired as professor emerita from Cal. State Fullerton where she served as coordinator of the Clinical Psychology program, and has numerous academic publications. She and her husband Neil Olson love travel, reading, movies, theater, listening to books on tape, hiking, new inventions, internet marketing and technologies, the beach, politics, economics, and architecture. They are parents of two sons in college.

Susan Marx

Information Systems Chair

Susan brings 20 years of senior leadership experience working for Fortune 100 companies including Xerox, Dell Computer and Cisco Systems, where she led major business development initiatives and managed National Account Relationship Teams. During that time she became involved with several nonprofit organizations and was especially drawn to serving abused and neglected children.  Now, as a founding Board Member of Impact Giving, she has discovered the perfect platform to express both her corporate experience and technology background, as well as her love for making a difference in the world.  Susan is a Marketing Consultant, a member of the National Association of Professional Women and enjoys teaching meditation. Susan has traveled the world for both adventure and humanitarian efforts.

Sam Dawson

Grants Chair

Sam is retired from the Ahmanson Foundation. Prior to that, she had her own public relations firm working primarily with nonprofit and arts organizations. Since retirement she has served on a number of nonprofit boards both in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. She is the author of “Free Radio Air Time,” a public service and public affairs source book and is currently working on a book titled “Broad Appeal,” featuring the wit and wisdom of women 60 to 90. She hosts “Sam’s Salon,” a monthly gathering of women focusing on a single topic that enlightens, educates or just creates laughter.  She loves travel, yoga and salsa aerobic dancing. She is the mother of three daughters and grandmother of seven perfect grandchildren.

Liz Landon

Finance Chair

Liz has a diverse professional background spanning multiple industries, including banking, real estate, and technology. She has worked for corporations including JPMorgan Chase Bank NA and IBM. Currently Liz is a VP Commercial Real Estate Loan Officer for Central Pacific Bank located in Newport Beach CA. Liz’s passion in life is leadership and contributing to her community. In addition to Impact Giving she is active in Girls Inc., Orange County and Crystal Cove Alliance, Newport Beach. In the past Liz has participated with Habitat for Humanity, Chicago Cares, and was a founding member of Children’s Memorial Hospital Pediatric Aids Foundation in Chicago. In her free time, Liz enjoys hiking, kayaking, traveling, and spending time with her two dogs Gracie and Spencer.

Mary Williams

Board Member

Mary Williams has served on a number of nonprofit boards, e.g. Rainforest Alliance, Victor D’Amico Institute of Art. She was chairman of both the National Coffee Association and the Pacific Coast Coffee Association, nonprofit trade associations. She began The Lacewing Foundation in 2005 and currently serves as its Chair. The Lacewing Foundation focuses on global health and education programs for women and children. Mary retired from Starbucks in 2003 where she was Senior Vice President, Coffee, in charge all coffee purchasing, blending and recipe development, and partner education. Mary is considered one of the world’s foremost coffee experts. She is still actively involved in the coffee business as president of MJW Consulting, as a partner in Finca Las Nubes, a Guatemalan coffee farm and eco preserve, and as a teacher at Laguna Culinary Arts. Mary makes her home in Laguna Beach. She loves the arts, her little dog, Hannah, gourmet cooking, great friends, reading and film. Mary is currently working on a book about her coffee travels.

Susan Skara

Board Secretary

Susan recently retired from a challenging career as a senior human resources executive. Before retiring she held the SVP, Human Resources role at Watson Pharmaceuticals and prior to that Apria Healthcare. While still consulting part-time, Susan is excited to have more time to explore new interests. She volunteers for the Alzheimer’s Association in her mother’s memory. Susan loves the theatre, travel, working out and a special cat named Freeway. She is learning to garden and play bridge while enjoying her newly found freedom!

Judith Zucker Anderson, Ph.D.

Education Chair

Dr. Anderson is a clinical psychologist and a well-respected couples and family therapy teacher and therapist. She teaches residents as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCI College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and is recognized as an expert on divorce, remarriage and blended families.

Dr. Anderson is a graduate of Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and CSPP. She has received intensive postgraduate training in couples and family therapy from the Couples Institute, Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic, Georgetown Family Center, the National Institute of Mental Health, and advanced training in EFT with Dr. Susan Johnson.

In her spare time, she is the President and Founder of the Foundation for the Contemporary Family and involved on the Board of Directors of Impact Giving and the My Hero Project.

She is married and has two sons, a 19 year old college student and a 26 year old immersed in figuring out the work world.