Meet the Team

Autumn Keck is a powerhouse in the nonprofit fundraising space with 25 years of experience helping mission-driven organizations secure the funding they need to grow and thrive. She is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Scribe, LLC, helping clients raise over $30 million through strategic grant management and compelling storytelling.

At Scribe, Autumn leads a team dedicated to connecting nonprofits with the philanthropic community through high-impact grant writing, funding strategy, and donor communications. Her superpower lies in uncovering the unique value of each organization and translating that into fundable narratives that drive action. Whether securing six-figure federal grants or building a sustainable funding pipeline, Autumn and her team are trusted allies for nonprofits ready to grow.

Ryan Rattliff, MSW, is a Grant Writer with Scribe, LLC. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri's Social Work program with a special interest in Policy, Planning, and Administration. She has a background in mental health services and creative writing. In alignment with her personal and professional values, she is committed to increasing access to vulnerable populations through social justice and racial equity frameworks.  Ryan has helped secure $2.5 million in private, corporate, and local government funds for youth development, education, arts, workforce development, and human services organizations.

Caroline Cave holds a BA in English from Queens University, an MA from Hollins University, and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from UNC Charlotte. After doing her time in corporate America, she combined her administrative skills with her background in and enthusiasm for wordsmithing, putting it to use on behalf of organizations that deliver tremendous good into the world, and discovered the perfect career in grant writing. She has more than 15 years of experience with North Carolina nonprofits of all sizes, and successfully secured more than $6.1 million in funding through grants and sponsorships in fewer than five years. She combines a passionate belief in and advocacy for the arts, social justice, and human services with an innate love of language, plus an incredibly literal and detail-oriented personality with a talent for organizational and administrative tasks.

Sara Cortes is a strategic storyteller with a decade of experience in nonprofit development and communications. A graduate of Harvard University, she helped shape institutional messaging to engage donors and cultivate a culture of giving during the school’s $9.6B capital campaign. At Austin's Blanton Museum of Art, she expanded proposal development by 65% during COVID and led the museum's first successful proposal to the National Endowment for the Humanities. As a fundraising consultant, she's led change management and corporate partnership strategy, structuring stakeholder outreach to drive these partnerships to sustaining support. She is a graduate of Harvard University and Emerson College.

Rebecca is a grant professional with over six years of experience in securing funding through grant writing, developing, and maintaining strategic partnerships. She has worked as a grant consultant for over three years and, during that time, has supported community-based organizations in raising over $1.6 million in grant funds. Prior to consulting, she raised $3 million in private grants as an Institutional Giving Manager, supporting initiatives in legal services, mental health, adult education, and community resources, while also assisting in the development and submission of State, County, and City grants. Rebecca has an MA in Grant Writing, Management, and Evaluation from Concordia University Chicago and is currently pursuing her Grant Professional Certified (GPC) credential from the Grant Professionals Certification Institute.

Alicia Jones started as a journalist and shifted into grant writing soon into her career, but both share the roots in compelling yet concise storytelling. She started at a small nonprofit seeking local government contracts and ended at a civic engagement affinity group working alongside some of the biggest names in philanthropy before transitioning into freelance consulting. As a grants consultant since 2022, she has helped raise more than $1,000,000 from public and private sources, including an ambitious capital campaign. Her specialties are social service programs and the arts, but as someone who loves learning new things, she enjoys the challenge and growth that comes from writing in new fields. She loves having the ability to aid programs and projects she believes in to grow and better serve their community.

Shakira O'Kane is a graduate of Binghamton University and Emory University School of Law. She was admitted to the Illinois Bar and served as Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago in the Torts Division until she could no longer ignore the call to serve and give back to her community in a more substantial way. Shakira moved back to her hometown, New York City, and received a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University, and the rest was herstory. She is an expert in program development and management and an experienced grant writer receiving six figure awards. She is not only a big idea person but also loves process and is a self proclaimed Data Junky. She believes that her mission is to help as many people as possible who have ideas to change the world, go from idea to implementation, making sure that they continue to put mission first.