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 Armstrong serves as the Chief Revenue Officer 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.

Larry Scott serves as Chief Legal Officer and 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.

Trevor Bunch serves as The Signatry’s Chief Information Officer. He is responsible for coordinating the technical solutions that will enable securely serving donors. Trevor collaborates across The Signatry to streamline processes and elevate data to facilitate decision-making by the Board, key executives, staff, and clients. He is responsible for securing platforms and guiding and expanding the footprint of The Signatry’s services.

Trevor started his career in Enterprise Architecture and IT portfolio management consulting for federal agencies. For the past decade, he pivoted his focus on fusing together technical, operational, and marketing goals for nonprofit organizations. Trevor has served as a field-based CIO for a global nonprofit, set product direction for a nonprofit marketing agency, consults on data strategy, and teaches computer science courses.

Trevor and his wife, Julie, along with their three children live, play, and serve in South Central Pennsylvania.

Jason Yakelis serves as The Signatry’s Chief Operations Officer. Drawing from over two decades of professional experience guiding businesses and nonprofits from idea to implementation, he champions the operational requirements for the foundation’s internal and external customers to successfully engage with its mission. With responsibility for driving decisions around corporate planning, technology, talent recruitment and development, donor care, nonprofit success, investment account management, and administrative support, Jason plays a key role in the activation of The Signatry’s mission.

In addition to his formal role with The Signatry, Jason is a Paterson Guide for StratOp & LifePlan. Through this work, he facilitates organizational, team, and individual development processes, allowing participants to glean new perspectives from their personal or corporate stories, gain clarity on the direction they wish to grow, and commit to living and acting intentionally and accountably from that purpose and vision.

Jason and his wife, Meredith, along with their daughters Zoe and Sage, live in southcentral Pennsylvania.

Dale Armstrong serves as the Chief Revenue Officer 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.

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.

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.

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.

Ken serves The Signatry team as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships. He helps develop The Signatry’s internal fundraising initiatives and partnerships, and works to grow the organization’s donor relationships. Ken has a strong background in financial roles for Christian media and ministry and is a graduate of Wheaton college.

As the Senior Vice President of Client Success, Stewart Rawley provides strategic direction, operational accountability, and leadership development to the Donor Care, Investment, and Nonprofit teams at The Signatry. Stewart’s expertise from leadership roles in people, culture, operations, and human resources helps serve and facilitate the journey of our donor families from the point of contribution to approved grant recommendation. Stewart has over 30 years in leadership experience that he carries into his coordination with The Signatry’s senior leadership on developing our first class donor, nonprofit, and advisor relationships. Stewart lives in the Nashville, TN area with his wife and has three children.

Kim Harris serves as Family & Corporate Generosity Liaison 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.

Lesli Tyson Carnes serves as Director of Donor Care for The Signatry. Hailing from a background of ministry, missions, and music, she understands the crucial relationship between donors and the ministries they love and support. Lesli has spent years training and developing customer service teams that recognize the unique needs and goals of donors involved in advancing the Kingdom of Christ, equipping the team to serve with excellence and care. Her experience in directing a team of eight international offices and a US-based call center has culminated in her desire to integrate strategic process for growth and scaling with a heart of compassion.

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.

Lauren serves as a Donor Care Specialist for The Signatry. Her main role is assisting donors with their funds and the causes they support and providing lead support for the Kansas City Donor Care team. Lauren has served in customer service and donor relations for over 15 years.

Jake serves as the Director of Investment Education and Accounts for The Signatry. His primary role is assisting donors and their financial advisors, RIA’s, and family offices with transforming their charitable giving and investments through Advisor Managed Accounts (AMAs). He serves our AMAs by deepening relationships through investment education and being a value-add to advisors in their practice. Jake holds a FINRA Series 65 License as well as a Harvard Business School Certificate in Alternative Investments. Over the course of the last 15 years, Jake has held numerous roles in the investment management industry, as well as co-founding a 501(c)(3) with his wife, Brooke.

Christine York serves as a Donor Care Specialist for The Signatry. She serves The Signatry community by helping donors with their funds and generosity needs, and coordinating updates with the online giving platform. Christine brings over 7 years of experience in administrative support with nonprofits and higher education institutions.

Desirae Stirling serves as the Donor Care Communications Coordinator at The Signatry. She manages the intake of donor questions and provides support to the Donor Care team with resolving customer needs. She has a background in various fields including education, missions, and office settings, and is skilled in communication, organization, and customer service.

Lanail Hamilton serves at The Signatry as our Gift Processing Coordinator. Lanail’s role on the Donor Care team helps centralize contribution and processing efforts with our donor advised funds.

Julia Oliver serves The Signatry as a Donor Care Specialist. Her main role is assisting donors with their funds and the charitable causes they support. Julia brings over two decades of experience in serving donors through foundation and donor advised fund sponsor work.

Lindsee Willis serves The Signatry as an Advisor Managed Accounts (AMA) Support Specialist. Lindsee works closely with our Investment Education and AMA team on our growing number of DAFs that have an AMA investment option tied to them. She supports the set up, processing, and special requests of our advisor partners on these funds. Lindsee brings 9 years of experience from roles in accounting and the mortgage finance industry.

Jenn Wynn serves as an AMA Support Specialist at The Signatry. With over a decade of experience in administrative services, she specializes in taming the paperwork clutter and streamlining complex processes. As an AMA Support Specialist, Jenn assists the Advisor Managed Accounts team with originating, maintaining, and strengthening the relationships between The Signatry and investment managers recommended by our donors. Her responsibilities include account setup and investment manager communication, ensuring a smooth giving experience for donors and advisors.

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.

Aril Brizendine serves as a Foundations Systems Administrator at The Signatry. Her role consists of managing The Signatry’s CRM database and tracking processes, coordinating data across our multiple software systems, as well as providing operation 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.

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.

As the administrative assistant to the Chief Revenue Officer of The Signatry, Maryalice works across the organization to bring resources, donor needs, and industry partners together for Kingdom impact. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies: Business and Ministry, and brings her prior experience working with individual clients to The Signatry team.

Rebecca Dority serves as Office Manager for The Signatry’s Overland Park location. Her role consists of maintaining and managing our home office environment and ensuring our infrastructure supports our team’s culture and business needs going forward. Rebecca has worked as an administrative assistant for over fifteen years, formerly assisting a Christian author with her speaking events and supporting an occupational health team at a major regional hospital.

Ashleigh serves as an Executive Assistant at The Signatry working directly with the national relationship management team. She is responsible for a variety of tasks to maintain thorough organization, implementation, and communication. Ashleigh is a former business administrator and brings experience working with nonprofits to The Signatry team.

Michelle Dightman serves as the Director of Complex Asset Tax for The Signatry. In her role, Michelle manages accounting and tax processes for complex assets under management with The Signatry. She works closely with legal on the intake and processing of complex asset gifts. 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 Director of Finance with The Signatry team. In his role, Colby handles the accounting processes required for complex assets under management with The Signatry. Colby manages financial functions for gifts of real estate, our biblical artifacts, our Supporting Organizations, and is responsible for finance and accounting functions associated with alternative investments, a rapidly growing part of our business. With over 10 years of experience in finance and accounting, Colby has worked on high level projects in the commercial real estate industry.

Megan Yeomans serves as Director of Financial Planning and Analysis 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 9 years of finance experience, including her work as an international mutual funds accountant.

Bethany serves as the Director of Donor Advised Fund Accounting 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 Manager of Finance Operations 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.

Paige serves as an Accountant focused on non-cash gifts for the Finance team at The Signatry. She assists the financial process of business interest gifts, managing their cash flow, distributions, and sale proceeds within DAFs. Previously, Paige started her career as an accountant handling receivables and payables in the digital marketing industry.

Kim Butler serves as a Donor Fund Analyst at The Signatry. She is responsible for donor fund accounting and cash management for The Signatry donor advised funds in our Give Interactive software platform.

Marnie serves as Senior Accountant, Non-Cash Gifts for the finance team at The Signatry. She is responsible for the financial process in business interest gifts, managing the cash flow of business interest gifts, distributions, and sale proceeds with DAFs. Marnie has 30+ years experience in financial planning and analysis, financial reporting, accounting research, and public accounting audit and tax.

Kiley serves as a Finance Specialist for The Signatry. In her role, Kiley supports the Finance Team on Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, expense reporting, and certain finance functions within our online donor platform.

Shannon Bartkoski serves The Signatry as Staff Accountant & Treasury Analyst. Shannon works on the Finance team to monitor gifts related to donor fund accounting and cash management via Give Interactive. She has over six years experience in wealth management processing and finance services.

Aubrey Hines serves as a financial analyst for The Signatry. Aubrey helps serve our donor families and internal processes through reporting, forecasting and results analysis, and other internal team studies.

Larry Scott serves as Chief Legal Officer and 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.

Shannon serves as a valuable member of The Signatry’s legal team. Shannon facilitates the efficient intake, management, and sale of asset-based gifts; practices in the operations of benevolence funds; and handles legal and operational duties of the organization. Shannon was a trial attorney and litigator for over ten years prior to joining The Signatry’s legal team.  Shannon and her family live in Charlotte, NC.

Amy serves on the legal team at The Signatry as Legal Project Manager. Amy keeps the legal team on track and moving forward with complex asset gifts, coordinating between several parties to bring special projects to a successful close with keen detail.

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.

Ben Martin serves as Director of Marketing at The Signatry. Ben is responsible for leading the content and fundholder marketing efforts of The Signatry, including creating marketing strategy for our platforms and managing the project workflow for The Signatry brand initiatives. With over two decades marketing experience with ministries and non-profit organizations, Ben brings a creative perspective in expanding content approaches and growing donor engagement.

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.

Nick serves as Marketing Engagement 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.

Bekah Herzog serves as Events Manager at The Signatry. Bekah works to coordinate and carry out several events with our leadership team and donor education base, such as Family Legacy Workshops, Day with David Green events, Women’s Legacy events, and more. She brings several years experience managing educational training and client engagement events.

Jessie McBirney serves as Content Marketing Specialist at The Signatry. Jessie works to share the story of The Signatry, its donors, advisors, and ministry partners through multiple communication mediums, while delivering fresh educational and inspirational content to our audiences. Jessie is a graduate of Biola University and George Mason, and lives in Washington D.C. with her husband.