Lindsay is a passionate advocate for inspired philanthropy. She grew up as the daughter of a wealth advisor to high net worth families. She’d heard stories of how family wealth could ruin children, and had parents who were determined that she’d know the value of a dollar and that she’d be generous. From her earliest dollar earned, she would save 25% and give 10% to charity and was constantly challenged to consider her impact on the world.

She began her career in the nonprofit sector where she saw firsthand how a mix of donations and grants could be applied to advance excellent work or to perpetuate mediocrity. She was named Executive Director by the age of 26, and had a “baptized by fire” experience in driving all aspects of marketing, branding, development, and strategy. On sabbatical, she accidentally founded Vario Consulting. What began as interim support to help friends and colleagues with critical insight, emerged as a rapidly growing firm where she puts her passion, skill, and personal experience to work in the philanthropic advising space.

Melinda brings deep expertise across corporate, individual, and foundation philanthropy to the Vario team. Her skill is fueled by a lifelong passion to make a difference and to equip others to do the same.

Melinda knew she wanted to “change the world” at an early age. Serving others became a personal value, or even a calling, and she thought she’d spend her life working directly with people in need. But her first grantmaking role after graduate school quickly showed her the power of philanthropy, when done well, to dramatically change lives – including the giver. Out of this grew a deep conviction to help make philanthropy more meaningful and effective.

Over the years, Melinda has worked with foundations and corporations to develop holistic giving strategies that lead to changed communities and lives. She’s consulted with countless nonprofits to help them identify and measure their impact, and then share their story with donors. She has also helped empower individuals to serve their communities in new, more fulfilling ways. Her previous roles in philanthropy for the St. Louis Blues, United Way, EDS, Send Me St. Louis, and Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis have given her a strong base for equipping foundations and philanthropists to increase both the joy and impact of their giving. She has seen time and time again that when you intentionally apply your whole self – your time and your finances – amazing things will happen. One of her greatest joys currently is helping her children identify their passions so they can be the next generation of change-makers.

Lauren is an active third generation family member of a redistribution company, in the top Forbes 100 Largest Private Companies in America, founded by her grandparents in 1960. She works in the business as a senior level business developer, helping to build and maintain strong relationships with supplier partners and senior leadership, while driving sales growth. Lauren has enjoyed learning about the unique aspects of family business and seeing her family’s governance evolve through various changes to the business, family growth, and geographical dispersion. She has taken an active role in both her family’s foundation and family council. She’s experienced firsthand how effective structures for family governance can play a critical role for both the family and the business, and acts as a speaker, panelist, and facilitator in inspiring other families to pursue excellent and proactive governance. Her passion lies in helping family businesses explore their family history and prepare for successful transitions from generation to generation.