PJ Layng
President and Founder
PJ Layng is the President and founder of PJL Associates, a management consulting firm specializing in non-profit management, including resource development and strategic planning. PJL Associates focuses on capacity building, capital campaigns, events and grants. Ms. Layng is also known for her work in the areas of Board recruitment and governance.
Ms. Layng was the Vice President, Office of Philanthropy and Strategic Partnerships with the Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida between 2011 and 2016. In this role, she developed the Fund Development team, including capital campaigns, implementation of four new signature events, corporate sponsorships, alumnae and stewardship programs. The annual appeal, major gifts, planned-giving, Board Development and grant funding were also managed by Ms. Layng. Under her leadership fund development revenue increased by 30%.
A partial list of PJL Associates clients includes the Provincetown Theater Foundation, Provincetown International Film Festival, Founding Executive Director, Palm Beach International Film Festival, Highland Center for the Arts and Sciences, Vita Nova Inc., Oxbridge Academy, Greater South County Road Association, Flamingo Gardens, The Mandel Public Library Foundation, Edna Runner Tutorial, Waldorf School of the Palm Beaches, FoundCare Health Services and Harvard Medical.
A graduate of George Washington University, Ms. Layng is a leading expert in non-profit management, fundraising, working with non-profit Boards and Fund Development teams. She is the former President for Palm Beach Flagler Rotary, 2016-17, is the founding member of Interact, the Rotary student group at Oxbridge Academy. Ms. Layng is a Leadership Palm Beach County alumna, class of 2011, Government Affairs Chair, Association of Fundraising Professionals, National Philanthropy Chair 2015, current Chair for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and an active member of the Palm Beach Civic Association, Nonprofits First, and Planned Giving Council of Palm Beach County. Ms. Layng is a founding member of the New England Women’s Foundation and Impact the Palm Beaches, currently serving on the leadership and membership committees.
Larry Rosensweig
Senior Project Manager
Larry brings over 40 years of experience to his role as President & CEO of LFR Consulting, a boutique firm specializing in building capacity for museums, gardens and other nonprofits. This experience has transferred to his work with PJL Associates.
He has been pleased to partner with PJL Associates as Senior Project Manager on projects with Oxbridge Academy, Vita Nova, Inc., Greater South County Road Association, Sea Star Waldorf School, Connections Education Center, Spanish River Concerts, Edna Runner Tutorial Center, Flamingo Gardens, Morean Arts Center and others. With PJL Associates, Larry has specialized in board and executive coaching, governance and strategy development. By questioning and listening carefully to clients, Larry zeroes in on clients’ critical issues and devises efficient plans for dealing with them.
As founding director of the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida, Larry built a public-private partnership to create an institution that is highly respected in the museum community and a Japanese garden recognized among the best in the world. For the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, he was responsible for raising over $40 million for operations, art and endowment. As a Regional Executive Director for the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, Larry broadened his international experience in major gifts fundraising while rebuilding Weizmann’s network of donors in both Palm Beach County and the Southeastern United States. Among his achievements has been leading donors on many trips to Japan and Israel.
As a Peer Reviewer for the American Association of Museums and long-time leader in the Florida Association of Museums, Larry has assessed, counseled and mentored dozens of museums while serving as a frequent speaker for the International Japanese Garden Symposium, Art Museum Development Association and Florida Association of Museums. Larry currently serves as President of the Board of the North American Japanese Garden Association and on the board of the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum in Delray Beach. He is a former Chairman of the Palm Beach County Cultural Executives Committee and former Chairman of Florida Association of Museums Foundation, among his many community and professional activities.
Larry earned an M.A. in Japanese Studies from University of Michigan and an A.B. cum laude in East Asian Languages & Civilizations from Harvard University. In 2005 Larry was decorated by the Emperor of Japan with the Order of the Rising Sun. In 2017 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Florida Association of Museums.
Sara Johns Griffen
Senior Project Manager
Sara Johns Griffen is pleased to partner with PJL Associates as a non-profit advisor with 25 years of executive experience, with a focus on special events, board relations, governance, major gifts, capital campaigns, government relations, strategic planning and fiscal management. Ms. Griffen served for 18 years as president and CEO of The Olana Partnership, a $2 million organization in the New York Hudson Valley that co-manages Olana State Historic Site, estate of Hudson River School painter Frederic E. Church. Her background in banking and state government provided depth to her work in the non-profit realm, allowing her to manage the growth of the organization from its grass-roots origins to a thriving, well funded multi-million dollar entity, raising over $18 million towards the improvement of the site. Her passion has always been the fund-raising side of the work – interacting with donors to find areas of mutual inspiration and realize the power of transformative gifts.
Upon moving to Florida in 2015, Ms. Griffen served as development director for the Flagler Museum from 2015-2016, with a focus on stewarding higher-level donors. More recently, she has taken on several volunteer positions at the Church of Bethesda by the Sea, currently serving on its vestry (board of trustees). At Bethesda she also serves as head of the 115-member Ambassador Program, co-chair of the Planned Giving Committee, Finance co-chair and steering committee member of the Flower Guild, and member of the Evangelism Committee. Ms. Griffen also serves as advisor to the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens as they form their first National Advisory Council, as well as the Duke University Alumni Association.
Since joining forces with PJL Associates, Ms. Griffen has worked on virtual events, Annual Fund and annual gala strategies.
Ms. Griffen has significant board experience as well, initially serving as board member and board chair of The Olana Partnership before she became CEO. Since then she has served as chair of the board of the Hudson Valley Greenway Conservancy and acting chair of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area. She has served as board member of Women in Development, Upstate New York Chapter.
Ms. Griffen graduated with a B.A. cum laude from Duke University, and holds a fundraising certificate from Siena College in Albany, NY. Other continuing education coursework includes courses in museum studies, accounting, art history and art appraising.
Rosanne Hock
Senior Grants Manager
Rosanne Hock brings over 30 years of experience to her role as Senior Grants Manager for PJL Associates. She is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) with over 30 years in successful fundraising experience in Palm Beach County in the roles of Director of Development, Vice President of Philanthropy, and Executive Director. Her arena of expertise includes foundation proposals, government grants including federal applications, donor development, corporate development, and capital campaigns.
Rosanne served as the founding CEO of Take Stock in Children Palm Beach County for 5 years, providing college scholarship opportunities to thousands of low-income children, while exceeding all fundraising goals set by the board of directors.
Specific recent successes include an award from the Administration for Children and Families for a Transitional Living Program for LGBTQ Youth for Vita Nova, Inc., in the amount of $582,000; and a HUD grant for workforce development for homeless youth in the amount of $47,635; an award from Impact the Palm Beaches to operate a Mobile Hope Clinic for Center for Trauma Counseling in the amount of $100,000; and awards totaling over $250,000 in workforce development funding for the Arc of the Glades.
She delivers targeted prospect research, grant writing, grant reporting and tracking, creates sponsorship proposal packages and other communication pieces, and effectively develops foundation and corporate relations.
Rosanne has served on the board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), serves as Vice President on the board of the Center for Trauma Counseling and volunteers her time on behalf of numerous community organizations.
Jeff Vanier
Senior Operations and Project Manager
Jeff Vanier brings over 20 years of experience to his role as Senior Operations and Project Manager to PJL Associates. Jeff has experience with strategic planning, organizational best practices, quality improvement, change management, board relations development, financial controls and accounting, implementation of new initiatives and processes, and revising and originating Policies and Procedures and processes in compliance with State and Local laws and regulations. As Director of TQM and Contracts (CARP, Inc.), he worked effectively with funding and regulatory agencies, ensuring continued funding and compliance with standards and regulations. This experience has transferred to his work with PJL Associates both in Non-Profit Finance and Operations and For-Profit work.
Jeff began his career in the Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation arena, progressing from clinical to administration and senior leadership. He has lead organization’s operations and finance in such roles as Director of Financial Operations and Continuum Services (Hanley-Hazelden Center, Inc.), COO (Aspire Behavioral Health, Inc.) and CFO (Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida, Inc.), where he was responsible for retail operations and all functions related to cookie sales throughout South Florida.
Jeff earned his B.A. in Applied Psychology and completed an additional 57 credit hours in graduate studies in Applied Psychology (SUNY, College at Plattsburgh) prior to earning an MBA in Management (Florida Atlantic University). In his tenth year as an Adjunct Professor at South University’s College of Business – Healthcare Management Program, Jeff teaches courses including: Strategic Management, Finance, Leadership and Management.