Dennis has an extensive career in philanthropy, major gift fundraising, and nonprofit/community development, specializing in the development of philanthropic strategies. In previous roles, Dennis served as a Senior Philanthropy Advisor at Silicon Valley Community Foundation and West Coast Advancement Officer at the Southern Poverty Law Center where he drove significant increases in giving from California donors.
Dennis has worked independently raising nearly $300,000 in response to large natural disasters, coordinating relief and recovery efforts in Puerto Rico providing air support and developing an emergency shelter after Hurricane Maria. After the Haiti earthquake, he led 3 missions that brought medical care to 6,350 patients and a joint 40 personnel mission with a team from California and Canada to serve 3,500 patients in 7 days. He was invited to ceremonies in Beijing, China where he accepted a peace award for his work in Haiti and an appointment to the Executive Board of the Beautiful Life Development Plan Foundation.
Dennis holds a Graduate Certification in Design, Partnering, Management and Innovation from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, a B. A. in Communications and Speech from Fisk University and completed additional studies in Entertainment Business at Vanderbilt University.
Current role