Jim Wills, MD, MPA 

Dr. Wills is an accomplished technology, marketing and fundraising expert with a 20 year history of building successful businesses through digital innovation and building mission-driven teams.  Dr. Wills serves as CEO of CaringCent, guiding the company’s rapid growth in the college athletics market.  His first exposure to entrepreneurship was in the crucible of the roller-coaster “dot.com” era in San Francisco in the late 1990s, serving as a business development and marketing professional for a health care technology company that experienced the classic “rise and fall” of that era.  The lessons he learned from this experience proved instructive in his future ventures:  building businesses that create demonstrable value for clients trying to solve a mission-critical problem.  He later served as co-founder of two health care technology companies and has brought his expertise and passion for the mission behind college athletics to CaringCent.

Dr. Wills attended Northwestern University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts, then attended Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Affairs, receiving a Master’s in Public Affairs.  Most recently, he earned his Medical Doctor degree from the University of New Mexico.  He has published papers in journals of all types, including medical, economics, and development.  He has spoken at professional meetings as diverse as the NYC Media Technology Association, Public Good App House Technology (DC), National Association of Medical Staff Services, National Private Duty Association, and National Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.

 

Presentations

  • Mobile wallets, Millennials and Giving:   We are inundated with so much data on Millennial’s giving preferences. Dr. Wills synthesizes these data into actionable insights and applies them toward Mobile Wallets (Google Wallet, etc).
  • Policy Pipeline and Your Profession: Federal and state policies have a great impact on individuals’ donation decisions. Dr. Wills honed his policy forecasting and interpretation skills at Princeton University and will bring his insights to your audience.
  • Giving Feels So Good – Why and How Do You Message This? In this talk, Dr. Wills will talk about why giving makes a person feel good, but don’t worry, while he covers some of the biochemical processes that put you asleep in high school, this time, you’ll never forget them!

 

Testimonials

Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM CD-1) “I invited Jim to present on my panel at the Hispanic Congressional Caucus Annual Meeting. The format was a “TED talk” and Jim excelled in taking a very “wonky” topic and making it poignant and memorable for the group. I would highly recommend Jim as a speaker for your group.”

Katie Varoz, Development Professional“Jim provided a very engaging presentation that helped us better digest all the data surrounding engaging millennial donors as well as helping us understand what’s next, specifically concisely summarizing the potential impact of mobile wallets (Google, Apple, etc) that will become the new normal over the next few years.”

Brian Barkowski, Development Professional“Jim and his team understand how to engage the different demographics involved in today’s fundraising world. He provides insights based on data that are actionable and attendees can use as soon as they walk out the door.”

Ben Albert, Entrepreneur and Investment Professional “I have seen Jim present in diverse forums. He has a unique ability to connect with his audience and make important information accessible and memorable.”

Dr. Wills speaking at the National Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, October 2015