Stephen K. Orr
Executive Director
Steve Orr brings 25 years of professional experience to Deafness Research Foundation (DRF), ten as an investment banker on Wall Street, and in the past 15 years, running a consulting firm dedicated to bringing excellence to the non-profit industry. In 1991, Steve founded Orr Associates, Inc. (OAI), and since then, has combined his Wall Street knowledge with his social conscience to create strategic partnerships between profit and non-profit organizations. OAI not only specializes in event management for non-profits, strategic planning, board building and back office work, but also runs several non-profits in their entirety. Steve has worked with over a hundred charities including other health charities such as the National Sleep Foundation, Lupus Foundation, National Osteoporosis Foundation, Alzheimer’s Foundation, Operation Smile and the American Geriatrics Society. In addition, Steve founded Youth, I.N.C. (Improving Non-profits for Children) in 1994 and currently serves as the executive director.
Rob Carter
Managing Director of Development
As DRF’s managing director of development, Rob Carter brings years of service as a political and charitable fundraiser as well as a wealth of experience in federal and state government. Previously, Rob served on Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich’s staff as director of Federal Grants and, prior to that, as the assistant secretary for Tourism, Film, and the Arts for the State of Maryland. Earlier, Rob was a governmental affairs and marketing consultant in Washington, D.C., representing Fortune 500 clients in the financial services and pharmaceutical sectors. Rob also has a considerable background in political fundraising, having served as finance chairman of the Maryland Republican Party, as vice chairman of a number of Bush-Cheney fundraising events, as co-chairman of the Ehrlich-Steele Inaugural Committee and as finance director of the Florida Republican Party. In addition, Rob was a congressional affairs assistant to Commerce Secretary Robert A. Mosbacher in the administration of President George H.W. Bush and prior to that was responsible for managing congressional relations and activities for the 1989 presidential inauguration and 1988 Bush campaign. Rob is also a managing director at OAI and serves on various charitable boards, mostly as a fundraiser. Rob has an M.B.A in marketing and organizational management from George Washington University, where he was selected a Bryce Harlow Scholar.
Jennifer Mottershead
Managing Director of Programs
With nearly twenty years of foundation management, endowment fund direction and planned giving expertise, Jenny Mottershead has in-depth knowledge of the health care philanthropic sector and significant familiarity with helping non-profit boards function effectively. Jenny’s previous positions include executive director of Catholic Charities Foundation of the Archdiocese of Washington, executive director of the Cleveland Clinic Florida Foundation and director of development of the Cole Eye Institute of Cleveland Clinic. In addition to serving DRF, Jenny is currently the managing director of the Foundation Management Group at OAI. She is also a director of the Citizen’s Association of Georgetown, third vice president of the Fund for Georgetown, a member of The Washington Hospital Center Auxiliary Board, a member of the Class of 2005 of Leadership Washington and serves on the Steering Committee of The Choral Arts Society of Washington’s Annual Choral Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. Jenny has a bachelor’s from Oberlin College, a master’s in museum practice from the Univ. of Michigan and a J.D. from Cleveland Marshall College of Law.
