Who We Are

Volunteers

	Joan Abbey Research Volunteer	Joan M. Abbey, LMSW, retired in February 2013 from Eastern Michigan University where she served as Research Office Director for the College of Health and Human Services. Upon retiring she formed Abbeywood Associates, LLC to provide strategic planning, fund development, evaluation and strategic analytics for non-profit organizations in the public and private sectors. A graduate of the University of Michigan (U of M) School of Social Work, she conducted research at U of M and taught research/evaluation and social policy classes there for over 20 years. During her career she authored 28 successful research and/or program proposals generating over $21.6 million in grants and contracts.
	Jay Fellows Research Volunteer	Jay grew up in Minnesota and graduated from St. Olaf College, where he also pitched on the baseball team. He currently works as the Director of Operations at his church in Peoria, Arizona, where he and his wife Jody also reside. He spent the previous six years assisting dozens of faith-based non-profits and churches in the area of fundraising, specifically through planned giving. The first 25 years of his work career were spent starting and running various entrepreneurial endeavors. In his free time, you will find Jay with his wife and kids either on the golf course or on a hiking trail in the mountains.
	Norene Green Research Volunteer	Norene has lived in the Phoenix area since 1992. She holds an MA in Education from Arizona State University. She has experience as a classroom teacher for Preschool and Kindergarten students and served as the Director for her church's pre-K department for many years. Her Undergraduate degree is in Interdisciplinary Studies, primarily exploring partnership opportunities between business and non-profit organizations. She is also an experienced office manager and a certified Medical Assistant (with 12 years experience). Norene retired from Arizona State University in 2005 after working for the ASU Foundation's President's Community Enrichment Program, a 'friendship based' fundraising program. She continues to be active in her church and community.
	Roger Nusbaum Research Volunteer	After growing up in Boston, Roger moved out west for college and settled in Arizona in 1990. He has worked in financial services his entire career with stints in operations, sales, institutional trading and since 2004 as a Registered Investment Advisor. Roger has also written extensively about capital markets and investing on his own blog, TheStreet.com and has appeared many times on CNBC and Fox News. Roger has been a volunteer firefighter in Walker near Prescott, where he lives with his wife Joellyn, since 2003 and has been chief since 2012. The Walker Fire Department is the largest volunteer department in the state of Arizona. Roger and Joellyn are avid hikers and have five dogs.
	Robert Phillips Research Volunteer	Robert Phillips grew up in New Mexico and attended University of New Mexico for both undergraduate and medical school degrees. He then moved to Phoenix and did his internship and residency in OB/GYN at Maricopa County Medical Center. After completing training, he joined Desert West OB/GYN in Glendale, practicing mostly out of Thunderbird Samaritan, now Banner Thunderbird Medical Center, but also at Banner Estrella Medical Center and HonorHealth Sonoran Crossing Medical Center. While at Desert West, in addition to delivering thousands of babies, he became active in leadership of the practice and served as Vice-president and President for 25 years. He was also active in research and teaching while he was there and was a speaker and teacher at numerous national medical meetings. For many years he has served as a consultant for the office's malpractice insurance carrier and has been a board member and more recently President of the board of that company. He and his wife, Ruth, have volunteered over the years for numerous school activities and were very active Band parents.
	Ruth Phillips Research Volunteer	Ruth Phillips grew up in Wisconsin and moved to Arizona to attend Arizona State University and get a nursing degree. After working at the Maricopa County Hospital for 10 years, she retired to become a household executive and mother of 3 sons. She has been an active volunteer all of her life. She founded one Parent-Teacher Association and worked with another. She was an executive force and jack of all trades for the Mountain Ridge High School Band Parent Organization for a decade. She also volunteered as a school nurse for a number of years. Currently, she is an active Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for neglected or abused children in the Arizona Foster Care System.
	Cindy Rogers Research Volunteer	Cindy is originally from Peoria, Illinois and attended the University of Illinois both in Champagne and then in Chicago. She received her Bachelors in Physical Therapy from the UI Medical Center. She and Tom were married in 1980 and spent a few years with the Indian Health Service and eventually landed in Phoenix in 1986. Cindy's focus over her 40 year career has always been working with children with special needs and practicing primarily in the outpatient clinic and home settings. Tom and Cindy have 2 girls who are married and live in town and 5 grandchildren. Enjoying family, hiking and traveling are among her hobbies and interests.
	Tom Rogers Research Volunteer	Tom Rogers is a retired dentist who worked for 38 years with advanced training in cosmetics, endodontics, occlusion, new technology, infection control, and periodontics. He attended the University of Illinois, Chicago, where he received his dental degree in 1981. He also completed his bachelor's in dentistry at the same university. He is a member of the Academy of General Dentistry and is still licensed in Arizona. He has volunteered for many years at the Arizona Mission of Mercy and this year at the Veteran Standown.
	Donald Shemenske Research Volunteer	Don served in the U.S. Navy from 1956 to 1960. He started his professional career as a staff accountant /auditor for a CPA firm in San Jose California and served as Business Administrator for the Santa Clara Unified School District for 14 years. He holds a BA in Management from St. Mary's College. In 1982 he joined the Cal Poly State University Foundation. He was the Director of Finance and retired in 1999 as the Director of Administration.
	Steve Zabilski Research Volunteer	For the past 20 years, Steve Zabilski has served as the executive director of the largest St. Vincent de Paul Council in the country, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the organization's 225 employees and thousands of volunteers throughout Central and Northern Arizona. Steve serves on the Board of Directors of Great Hearts Academies, the Phoenix Community Alliance, and is a Trustee for the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust. He has previously been a member of the Catholic Community Foundation Finance and Investment Committee, the Board of Directors of the Human Services Campus, the Ville de Marie Academy Board of Trustees, the FBI Citizens Academy, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. In 2010 Steve was named one of the Most Admired CEO's by the Phoenix Business Journal. Prior to joining St. Vincent de Paul, Steve was a senior vice president with Transamerica and an audit manager with KPMG. He graduated in 1980 from California State University with a Bachelor's degree in accounting.