The Signatry Team

Bill High is the Executive Chairman & Founder of The Signatry: A Global Christian Foundation. His mission is to empower families in building multi–generational legacies of generosity. Bill works with families, individual givers and financial advisors, with expertise in guiding business owners looking to sell or transition their business to the next generation.

Bill practiced law for 12 years before embarking on a new adventure, starting up The Signatry. Since 2000, The Signatry has received contributions of over $4 billion and facilitated over $3 billion in charitable grants. A forward-thinking entrepreneur, Bill also helped found iDonate, an integrated online donation platform serving the nonprofit community.

Bill is an author and a sought-after conference speaker on topics relating to family legacy, philanthropy, and the transforming power of biblical generosity. He was named one of the Top 25 Philanthropy Speakers in the U.S. by Philanthropy Media.

Recent books include Giving It All Away…And Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously, coauthored with David Green, Founder & CEO of Hobby Lobby, and Charity Shock: Ten Critical Trends Revolutionizing the Fundraising World, coauthored with iDonate CEO Ray Gary.

Bill has been married to his wife Brooke for more than 30 years. They have four children, two sons-in-law, and three grandchildren. Learn more about Bill at billhigh.com.

Stephen (Steve) French is President and CEO of The Signatry. His primary role is strategic management and leadership of the office. He also devotes his time meeting with advisors, attorneys, individuals, and business owners to develop strategies and solutions to minimize tax liability, while maximizing charitable giving. This is executed with specific emphasis in the area of non-liquid assets such as: stock, real estate, mutual funds, and portions of closely held businesses.

Prior to joining The Signatry, Steve was the founder and CEO of Quovant, a Legal Spend Management company working with law firms in over 13 countries.

Steve is married to his wife Debbie and they have two daughters – Marnie and Rachel, who have blessed them with four grandsons.

Mark Klinger is the Chief Financial Officer for The Signatry.  He manages the daily finance and accounting operations for the foundation and supports the development of operating budgets and long term strategic financial planning.  Mark has an MBA in Finance with experience in large corporate and start-up businesses.

Dale Brantner serves as Chief Catalyst Officer. He works to inspire new growth for The Signatry initiatives and foster relationships. Dale brings over 30 years of global leadership experience in development and ministry, including leading with Museum of the Bible, serving as President and CEO of Cure International.

Evan Lange serves as the President of the Midwest Region for The Signatry. He works closely with financial advisors, attorneys, and business owners to develop strategies to minimize tax liability and maximize charitable giving. Evan is a licensed attorney and practiced law at top firms in Kansas City prior to joining The Signatry.

Joe Williams is President of the Oklahoma Region of The Signatry. His role is to meet with donors to help them maximize gifting opportunities through strategic giving plans. Joe has over 20 years of experience as a community bank CEO, and 8 years as a stewardship pastor.

Alan Pratt, a Certified Estate Planner and Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy, serves as the President of The Signatry’s Northwest Region. In his role, Alan works to equip others with the creative tools, strategies, and insight they need to maximize their generosity and establish a lasting legacy. Alan seeks to use his decades of experience as a financial professional, legacy advisor, and business owner to help families flourish.

Len Urbas serves as the President of the Rocky Mountain Region of The Signatry. In his role, Len helps families, advisors, and ministries make a difference in the world through sound stewardship and biblical generosity. With over 25 years of business development and building strategic partnerships in high-tech, Len brings valuable experience in transformational change and operational excellence to The Signatry.

Dale Armstrong serves as the President of the South Region of the Signatry. In his role, Dale equips and encourages individuals to pursue a life of biblical generosity through sound principles, creative solutions and charitable strategies. Having spent his career as a business owner and consultant working in faith driven initiatives, Dale is uniquely qualified to come alongside Christian business owners and philanthropists who have a passion for growing the Kingdom of God.

Wendy Rogers serves as Vice President, National Relationship Management. Wendy works with donors to build their family legacy by connecting them with creative giving solutions. As a third-generation family business owner and corporate director with 25 years of experience, Wendy brings special insight to family businesses on how to facilitate stewardship.

Jake serves as Senior Account Management Specialist for The Signatry. His primary role is assisting donors and their advisors on transforming their charitable giving and investments with a donor advised fund. Jake has experience working as a financial and investment analyst and as a financial advisor over the course of the last 15 years.

Kim Harris serves as Vice President of Donor Care for The Signatry. She spends her time connecting generous donors with grants to support the charities they’re most passionate about. Kim is a dedicated customer service manager, with over 25 years of experience in developing exceptional account relationships throughout her career.

Elizabeth serves as Senior Account Management Specialist for The Signatry. Her primary role is assisting donors and their advisors on setting up and managing their donor advised fund and advisor managed accounts. Elizabeth has served in customer service for insurance, investments and financial planning for over 20 years.

Lesli serves as a Donor Care Specialist for The Signatry. Her primary role is to assist donors with their funds and the causes they support. Lesli is a committed customer service manager and has served in various roles for over 26 years in donor relations, including working with major donors.

Lauren serves as a Donor Care Specialist for The Signatry. Her main role is assisting donors with their funds and the causes they support. Lauren has served in customer service and donor relations for over 14 years.

Michelle serves as a Donor Care Specialist for The Signatry. Her main role is assisting donors with their funds and the causes they support. Michelle brings over 20 years of experience in the banking industry to The Signatry team.

Jason Yakelis serves as Vice President for Strategic Growth at The Signatry. As a Paterson Guide for StratOp & LifePlan, he leads organizational and individual development processes to guide others towards clarity and their created purpose. Having served in executive and operational roles in for-profit and nonprofit entities, Jason brings valuable perspective in walking with leaders and organizations.

Carole serves as Director of Curriculum Development at The Signatry. Carole is a proven leader and published author who uses her experience writing and teaching Bibles studies to create unique and engaging learning experiences for The Signatry community. Having worked alongside nationally recognized leaders and organizations, Carole brings 20 years of experience in launching and building ministries to The Signatry.

Annika Bergen serves as the Director of Communications at The Signatry. Her role is to develop and implement strategies across various communication platforms. Annika has over 7 years of experience in communication, and is a seasoned writer and editor.

Aril Brizendine serves as a Project Manager for Sales & Operations at The Signatry. Her role consists of managing The Signatry’s CRM database and tracking processes, as well as providing operation & sales support to The Signatry team. Aril has worked in non-profit donor development for more than 10 years, including her experience as a Project Manager at Museum of the Bible, prior to joining The Signatry.

Daniel Vanderhorst works as Project Manager for The Signatry. He handles the development of family legacy programs and works with Bill High, The Signatry CEO, on speaking engagements, curriculum, and web projects. Daniel has taught English overseas, served in ministry, and most recently worked in web and content development.

Rhiannon Kreeger serves as Operations Manager for The Signatry. Her role on the operations team is to handle all operational projects while assisting the VP of Operations with record keeping and scheduling. Rhiannon is an experienced operations manager with over 10 years supporting businesses.

Hannah Reynolds is the assistant to Bill High, Executive Chairman & Founder of The Signatry. Her role is to serve the Executive Chairman and to provide additional operational support. Hannah is a former Continuing Medical Education Coordinator with experience in event planning and a background in the mission field.

Donna England is the assistant to Steve French, President of The Signatry. Her role is to serve the president and others as needed, while devoting time to market research, event planning and coordination, and operational support. Donna is a former teacher, with over 16 years of experience teaching business classes.

Rachael serves as Administrative Assistant at The Signatry and works directly with the national relationship management team. She is responsible for a variety of tasks to maintain thorough organization, implementation, and communication. Serving in the United States military for over 13 years, Rachael brings experience of leadership, communication, and project management to The Signatry

Christine York serves as the Office Administrator for The Signatry. She assists The Signatry team through internal project support, managing office needs, and helping with questions from donors. Christine brings over 7 years of experience in administrative support with nonprofits and higher education institutions.

Michelle Dightman serves as the Director of Complex Asset Accounting for The Signatry. In her role, Michelle manages accounting and tax processes for complex assets under management with The Signatry. With over 30 years of experience in finance and accounting, Michelle has worked in a variety of industries including private family foundations.

Colby Leseberg serves as the Senior Accountant with The Signatry team. In his role, Colby handles the accounting processes required for complex assets under management with The Signatry. With over 8 years of experience in finance and accounting, Colby has worked on high level projects in the commercial real estate industry.

Tracy Manning serves as a Senior Accountant and Financial Analyst at The Signatry. Tracy is responsible for the required accounting and tax analysis of business interest gifts under management at The Signatry. Prior to joining the team, Tracy worked in corporate accounting roles within the financial industry, specializing in complex revenue models.

Megan Yeomans serves as a Senior Financial Analyst for The Signatry. Megan serves with the Finance Team to drive management reporting, cash forecasting and results analysis, and other team processes. She has over 7 years of finance experience, including her work as an international mutual funds accountant.

Bethany serves as a Staff Accountant at The Signatry. She is responsible for the fund accounting of donor advised funds as well as Corporate Accounting functions and bank reconciliations. Bethany holds a MBA in International Business and has several years of experience in international mutual fund accounting. Bethany also has ministry staff experience and has had the opportunity to teach English overseas.

Nikki Carlson serves as Accounting Specialist for The Signatry and is responsible for Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, billing, reconciliations, and other internal accounting activities. Before joining The Signatry, Nikki gained her accounting knowledge while bookkeeping for a small product-development company, and she has over 10 years of experience in accounting.

Larry Scott serves as Senior Vice President & Corporate Counsel. He has extensive experience with transactional, operational, and tax matters from his legal and accounting career. His focus is on tax and corporate issues of nonliquid asset donations and addressing those issues with donors and their professional advisors. He also provides analysis, planning, and implementation of legal and tax strategies for The Signatry.

Erik Schartner serves as Executive Vice President & Tax Strategies Counsel for The Signatry where he provides analysis, planning, and implementation of legal and tax strategies. He also serves as a resource to generous donors who desire to integrate their giving with their overall estate plan.  Erik spent ten years in private practice as an estate planning lawyer in the Boston area before he transitioned to The Cru Foundation in 2017.

Dane Frazier serves as Executive Vice President & Associate General Counsel for The Signatry. He structures gifts to maximize the amount that goes to charities by navigating tax issues associated with nonliquid assets. Dane is an attorney licensed in Kansas and Missouri, and has previously practiced estate planning and tax law.

Kristin Hammett is the Director of Ministry Services for The Signatry. She partners with ministries to train, consult and equip them with fundraising solutions. Her passion is to help ministries connect God’s resources to His work. Kristin is an experienced development director and consultant with over 10 years in fundraising support.

Gretchen serves as a Project Manager for Ministry Services at The Signatry. In her role, Gretchen provides administrative support to ensure efficient operations for The Signatry team. She is responsible for a variety of tasks to maintain thorough organization and communication. Gretchen brings years of experience in event planning and nonprofit development to The Signatry.

Nick serves as Digital Content Specialist at The Signatry where he focuses on website, email, social, and video content. With a background in documentary film, radio, and journalism, Nick also brings stories of encouragement and Kingdom impact to life from The Signatry community.

Shelly Arnold serves as the Events Manager for The Signatry. In her role, Shelly creates warm, welcoming environments where conversations of legacy and generosity flourish. Shelly previously worked at Westside Family Church for 10 years as their Women’s Discipleship Director and Events Coordinator where she helped individuals grow in their character and their calling.

Drew serves as Data Analyst for The Signatry. In his role, Drew leads research and analysis efforts, supports The Signatry data management, and assists departments with data needs. Drew brings experience in corporate marketing and campus ministry to The Signatry.

Jessica Winter serves as the Director of Marketing at The Signatry. Her role is to create and execute brand strategy and marketing initiatives across various platforms. Jessica has led and developed marketing strategies for a variety of non-profit organizations across her career.