TGP's Training Programs

Aly Sanchez, Director of Strategy and Organizational Development for The Grant Plant, has more than two decades of grant writing experience including planning, proposal preparation, and reporting for complex private, state, and federal awards. In addition to direct grant development, she specializes in proposal strategy, project design, and staff and organizational development for The Grant Plant. Aly also leads the company’s capacity-building services, in which she develops learning materials, workshops, and trainings. Aly has completed UNM Evaluation Lab’s Evaluation Summer Institute and is trained and experienced in Results Based Accountability (RBA). Aly holds a BA in Psychology and an MBA focused on executive leadership.

Tonia Brown-Kinzel, GPC, CGMS is the Grant Compliance Manager for The Grant Plant, Inc. She is one of 70 people nationwide who is a Grant Professionals Association (GPA) “Approved Trainer” and has extensive public speaking and training experience which spans more than 30 years. She serves on the national GPA Professional Education Committee, is the Board President of the GPA Ohio-Miami Valley Chapter, is a member of the Ohio Chapter of the NGMA, and has repeatedly been selected to present multiple grant-related training sessions at several conferences over the past few years. She has been employed as a grant seeker, grants manager, and a grant maker, as well as having served as a grant reviewer for both Federal and private sector grants – so she has a unique combination of experiences that yield special insights that have earned more than $20 million in funding for nonprofit organizations, Tribal nations, and municipal agencies over the course of her career. She has earned the Grant Professional Certified (GPC) and the Certified Grants Management Specialist (CGMS) certifications, was selected as a “40 Under 40” leader by the Greater Fort Wayne Business Journal, and is an alumna of Leadership Fort Wayne.

Laurel crafts competitive funding proposals, manages client portfolios, and helps grow local grant-seeking capacity. Prior to joining The Grant Plant in 2020, she served as the Development Manager for Explora Children’s Museum, helping secure important grant funding and individual donations. She is a graduate of the 2024 Leadership Albuquerque class, a graduate of Pivotal’s grant writing Talent Academy, and served as a 2016 Fulbright Teaching Assistant in Weimar, Germany. With a BA in English from Trinity University, Laurel is passionate about language and the craft of writing.