About

Patton has spent his entire 30-year career helping talented individuals raise more funds and effectively lead their nonprofit organizations.  After founding PMA in 2009, he and his colleagues have worked with the leaders of over 220 organizations in every nonprofit sector including education, healthcare, arts & culture, and human services.  Patton particularly enjoys designing strategic plans, expanding fundraising programs, and coaching staff and volunteer board leaders. 

Before starting PMA Consulting, he spent a decade in higher education as Vice President for Queens University after serving in the same role at UNC Wilmington, where he was the youngest vice chancellor in the UNC system.  Prior to his tenure in higher education, he worked with volunteers from 85 different counties as the state Program Director for Special Olympics North Carolina (Raleigh, NC), and as an Assistant for Education & Training for Special Olympics International in Washington DC, where he helped design coach and volunteer training curriculum used worldwide.

Patton grew up in Elizabeth City, NC and went to UNC Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar where he received a BA in English Education.  He received his MBA from the McColl School of Business while working at Queens, and his Doctorate in Education (Organizational Change & Leadership) from the Rossier School at the University of Southern California.  He is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), and a Master Trainer for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) International.  He also serves as the Lead Faculty Member for the Institute for Philanthropic Leadership in Charlotte, where he works with aspiring nonprofit leaders through the New Development Directors program and coaches an annual cohort of Executive Directors and Chief Development Officers through Leadership Gift School.

He is the host of the weekly podcast Your Path To Nonprofit Leadership.

Cindy Clark joined the PMA team with more than 35 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, strategic planning, management, development, and marketing. Her extensive nonprofit background includes work in healthcare, higher education, and the independent school sectors. Most recently, Cindy served for nine years as a member of the Senior Leadership Team and Vice President for Development with Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region, where she managed a successful $10 million capital campaign to build Levine & Dickson Hospice House. She previously served for 14 years as Director of Advancement at Gaston Day School, an independent school in Gastonia, NC. Cindy began her career in Advancement at Belmont Abbey College, where she served first as Director of Public Relations and later became Director of Development. At PMA, she consults with a broad spectrum of nonprofit organizations, including education, social services, economic development, and arts clients.

Cindy received a bachelor's degree in English Education from Appalachian State University and is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE).

Penny Hawkins has 15 years of professional experience in both the private and nonprofit sectors in Charlotte, NC. Penny began her career in Private Equity with BlackHawk Capital Management where she focused on communications, investor relations, marketing and operations. After completing the Foundation For The Carolinas Impact Fund for Emerging Philanthropists in 2008, she combined her skill for investor relations with a desire to support growth in Charlotte's vital philanthropic community. Prior to joining PMA, Penny held leadership development positions at Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center Foundation, KinderMourn, and Council for Children's Rights. In her most recent role with Novant Health, she served as the Development Program Manager of the Children's and Women's Service Lines. Her focus was on cultivation of major gifts, strategic growth for the service line, and creation of an advisory council to pediatrics. As a Senior Consultant with PMA, Penny's experience offers her a unique perspective to quickly adapt to new initiatives within an organization and provide high-level thinking that paves the way for strategic growth, process improvement, and organizational development.

Penny has a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with a focus on Public Relations from UNC - Chapel Hill. In addition, she has obtained her Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) designation and obtained certification from Wake Forest University's Essentials of Business for Nonprofit Organizations.  Penny is also very involved with the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) - Charlotte Chapter, when she currently serves on the board of directors, and is currently the 2020 board president.

Lea Williams is an Organizational Scientist who joined the PMA team in June of 2020. Prior to joining the firm, Lea dedicated her time to two main areas: earning her Ph.D. in Organizational Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and serving 15+ nonprofits through pro-bono consulting engagements. In addition to her nonprofit work, while obtaining her Doctorate, Lea also worked in several Talent Management/Organizational Development roles at large organizations in Charlotte, such as Ingersoll Rand, Duke Energy, TIAA, and Jacobsen. Given her strong research background, she is skilled at gathering input and synthesizing it to help nonprofit leaders develop innovative solutions. Her specialties include meeting effectiveness (the subject of her dissertation), leadership, board, and staff training and development, data analysis (both quantitative and qualitative), strategic planning, survey design, stakeholder research, and volunteer retention/engagement. She also received her Master's in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and her bachelor's degree in Psychology from Davidson College.