The RBSCo Team

DR. ROBERT SHARP
PRESIDENT

Bob Sharp is recognized as one of the nation’s leading fundraising professionals and has more than 25 years of national consulting experience in capital campaigns, annual funds, endowment campaigns, board and leadership development, and strategic planning. He has counseled hundreds of nonprofit organizations, helping them raise significant funding for a wide variety of purposes. Bob is a frequent guest speaker at both the local and national levels and was honored as "Fundraising Professional of the Year” by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He also teaches courses in fundraising for the El Pomar Foundation’s nationally recognized Fellowship Program, where he addresses 21st century challenges in philanthropy.  A graduate of Rutgers University, Bob holds a Masters from Indiana University and a Doctorate in adult learning from the University of Wyoming.  Bob and his wife live in Denver, Colorado.

SUZANNE SHARP CONNORS, MBA
VICE PRESIDENT

Ms. Connors has been with the firm for seven years and serves as both a consultant and as the firm’s managing director. She has worked with more than fifty different nonprofit clients to implement fundraising planning studies, manage campaign plans and direct development audits. In the past, she served as the campaign director for the Denver Area Council of the Boy Scout of America’s $18.5 million capital campaign as well as interim campaign director for the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center’s $43.4 million campaign. Suzanne completed the El Pomar Foundation’s two-year “Leadership and Management of the Nonprofit Sector” Fellowship in 1998, where she directed one of the Foundation’s core operating programs. While attending graduate school, Suzanne also worked for the investment-banking firm of George K. Baum & Company. She holds a Bachelors degree from Washington & Lee University in Virginia and her MBA from the University of Colorado. Suzanne currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board for the Colorado Mountain Club’s Youth Education Program and a Board member for the Partnership for Sustainability. She and her husband live with their son in Golden, Colorado.

LINDA S. GARRISON, APR
SENIOR CONSULTANT

A public relations and fundraising consultant since the late 1980s, Ms. Garrison brings real-world nonprofit experience as a development director and public relations executive for nonprofits and institutions of higher education. During her award-winning public relations career, she transformed the identity of a regional human services provider from a virtual unknown to a household name and brought together the then-largest volunteer bone marrow recruitment drive in the U.S. She has counseled hospitals and other health care organizations, colleges, human service providers, and arts organizations.  She also has strong experience in creating customized solicitation strategies for high net worth individuals, in direct mail and in annual fundraising, including corporate and foundation relations. A graduate of The Metropolitan State College of Denver with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, she has taken continued professional education at several California universities and was accredited by the Public Relations School of America in 1993.  Linda lives in Westminster, Colorado.

ANN LADDON
SENIOR COUNSEL
A professional fundraiser since 1993, Ann Laddon has served as capital campaign director at the Museum of Photographic Arts, executive director of the Foundation for Sierra Nevada College and director of development at University of California at San Diego Medical Center. In 1997, Ann was recruited by the San Diego Natural History Museum to serve as director of planned giving and major gifts and a year later was promoted to director of institutional development. There she led the Museum’s highly successful capital drive, which secured over $34 million in capital support and $10 million in future estate gifts, while doubling annual contributed income. Ms. Laddon has been an invited instructor at University of California San Diego’s Extended Studies Professional Leadership program for the past six years. She attended Scripps College, the Boston Conservatory of Music, and graduated cum laude from United States International University with a degree in Fine Arts. Ann lives in San Diego, California.

ALICE NORTON, CPA
OF COUNSEL
With an extensive business background, Alice Norton has served as a corporate controller, developing and managing budgets in excess of $100 million.  She has designed and implemented business systems and processes for an international company, while implementing cross-functional teams as part of a very successful cultural change initiative.  She was program manager for a major project at a high-tech company and participated in critical contract negotiations and alliances, as well as in a major acquisition.  As a trainer and consultant, she has designed and conducted courses and workshops for corporations and government agencies on topics including leadership, communications, organizational and team development. Alice serves on several nonprofit boards and has chaired several successful fundraising Campaigns. She has chaired several successful fundraising campaigns and served on boards as a trustee and officer. Alice graduated from Middlebury College and also holds a degree from the Sorbonne, in Paris, France.  Alice lives in Boulder, Colorado.