Berkeley Office of Gift Planning

Carl A. Wayne joined the Office of Gift Planning as its new executive director in January 2024. Carl most recently served as the assistant vice president for planned giving at the University of Washington. His other advancement roles have included positions at UCLA, UNCF, United Way, and the American Heart Association where he covered 10 western states as a senior advisor for charitable estate planning. As a skilled fundraiser, relationship builder, and strategist, he also sits on the national boards of the American Council on Gift Annuities, Financial Planning Association, and Advisors in Philanthropy.

Charitable gift planning is Carl’s chosen career. He enjoys working collaboratively with others. Respect, dialogue, and being a good listener have been key to developing strong relationships. Learning is a lifelong endeavor. He strives to learn something new every day. Doing so helps him to envision new and different ways of doing his work to maintain interest and excitement, and it has resulted in contributing to new successful programs throughout his career. Carl earned his undergraduate degree at UCLA and his J.D. at the University of West Los Angeles Law School. When not working, Carl enjoys spending time with family, biking, walking, movies, cooking, reading, and perusing vintage bookstores.

As a proud graduate of the University of California, Carl is excited to join the advancement community at UC Berkeley and to engage in the meaningful services provided by the Office of Gift Planning team.

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Melanie Keilholtz is a California native, who grew up in rural Shasta County. Before entering college, Melanie had a bad case of wanderlust and lived abroad in Europe and Africa before coming back to graduate from UC Santa Cruz (Go Slugs!) and Boston University (Go Rhett!)

Melanie worked for Bay Area nonprofits such as the Oakland Museum, the Dunsmuir Historic Estate, and Opera San Jose. She was the marketing director of ANG Newspapers (Oakland Tribune, San Mateo County Times, and The Tri-Valley Herald to name a few) prior to coming to UC Berkeley.

Melanie came to Berkeley in 2006. Since then, she has had the opportunity to work with Berkeley alumni and friends, and their advisors on a wide range of gifts funded with assets including real estate, securities, cash and, occasionally, works of art. She knows that for students past, present, and future, studying at Berkeley is the opportunity of a lifetime. She enjoys collaborating with alumni who want others to have the same experiences — or even better ones — than they did at Cal. She is a Certified Specialist in Planned Giving having completed her studies with the American Institute for Philanthropic Studies and California State University, Long Beach (Go Prospector Pete!)

Melanie is an avid gardener and backpacking enthusiast who lives with her family and assorted critters in the North Bay.

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Samantha is a San Francisco native who is delighted to be working with donors to support UC Berkeley as a preeminent teaching and research university. Having spent the majority of her career in university and other non-profit environments, Samantha has a deep appreciation for the power of public-private partnerships in supporting the common good. She finds great satisfaction in facilitating such partnerships to help secure Cal’s future.

After graduating from Stanford University with B.A.s in linguistics and German studies, Samantha dedicated the first twelve years of her career to higher education and non-profit management, focusing on budget, finance, and administration. Upon earning her law degree, Samantha worked in the for-profit arena for a technology start-up in San Francisco before happily returning to academia at UC.

Facilitating planned gifts to support Cal integrates the aspects of Samantha’s career she enjoys most — working with individuals and organizations to achieve their strategic, financial, and legal goals while benefiting the larger community.

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Rachelle Regan is the Director of Administration in the Office of Gift Planning. Rachelle has held her current role as the director of administration since 2016, overseeing the administration of estate gifts, the management of the life income gift program, and office operations. She also staffs the UC Berkeley Foundation (UCBF) Trust & Annuity Subcommittee.

Rachelle graduated from the University of Oregon with a BA in Art History and earned an MA in Museum Studies from San Francisco State University. After earning her law degree from Loyola University Chicago in 2010, she worked as a law clerk at Harpo Productions and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and volunteered at CARPLS Legal Aid and the Center for Disability & Elder Law. Before joining the Office of Gift Planning, Rachelle worked on Berkeley’s campus as a development officer for the College of Environmental Design where she cultivated a deep appreciation for the intelligence, creativity, and generosity found in Berkeley students, faculty, and alumni.

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A former estate planning attorney, Kimberly now works as an Associate Director in the Office of Gift Planning at her alma mater UC Berkeley. She received her J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law and is a member of both the California and Washington State Bar Associations. Kimberly recognizes the vital importance of philanthropy and the critical role that it plays in advancing public education in our beloved state. In fact, her entire immediate family consists of University of California graduates! Kimberly finds working with donors to design and structure gifts so that Cal receives the highest and best benefits now and in perpetuity both profoundly rewarding and fulfilling. Go Bears!

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Damon is thrilled to be serving as a gift planning and Wheeler stewardship officer at his alma mater, where he received his B.A. in Neurobiology. After graduating from Cal, he co-founded a boutique media relations firm in San Francisco. A 12-year veteran advisor in financial media, Damon created award-winning media campaigns for national and international financial corporations. During that time, he especially enjoyed translating complex financial concepts into manageable information that was timely, useful, and engaging to the investing public.

Damon also attended the University of San Francisco School of Law where he specialized in intellectual property law, eventually applying his legal knowledge to furthering the missions of various Bay Area nonprofit organizations. In particular, Damon had the pleasure of working as a Law Fellow with California Lawyers for the Arts where he found great satisfaction in helping both nationally recognized as well as emerging local artists obtain top-notch legal representation.

Damon enjoys connecting with Benjamin Ide Wheeler members and Cal supporters about how their philanthropic goals are ensuring the continued success of Berkeley’s educational mission. He lives in Alameda with his wife, two children, and two overly spunky Boston Terriers. The Paiz family enjoys seeking out new local cuisine and exploring Bay Area farmers’ markets.

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