About Spark & Signal
Spark & Signal helps nonprofits navigate AI, digital change, and organizational transformation with greater clarity, alignment and strategic direction.
Founded by Ryann Miller (she/her), the work sits at the intersection of leadership, technology, organizational practice, and human behaviour, helping organizations make sense of rapid change without becoming reactive, fragmented or overwhelmed by it.
With more than 22 years of experience across fundraising, digital strategy, campaigns, communications, partnerships, and leadership consulting, Ryann works with nonprofits navigating uncertainty, operational pressure, uneven adoption and complex organizational decisions.
Her work focuses less on tools themselves, and more on the structures surrounding them: how organizations orient to change, make decisions under uncertainty, and translate those decisions into coherent, day-to-day practice.
A Different Kind of Conversation
Much of the conversation around AI has been driven by urgency, hype, efficiency and fear of being left behind.
Nonprofits are often left trying to apply advice built for venture-backed startups to organizations rooted in public trust, human relationships, care, advocacy and long-term social impact.
Spark & Signal was built in response to that gap.
The work is grounded in the belief that nonprofits do not need to become tech companies to navigate technological change well. They need clearer thinking, stronger internal alignment, thoughtful governance and operational practices that actually fit their mission, culture and reality.
Speaking & Facilitation
Ryann regularly speaks and facilitates sessions on AI, organizational change, digital transformation, leadership, governance and the future of nonprofit work.
She leads workshops, trainings, conference sessions, leadership convenings, and strategic discussions with nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, federations, and sector networks across Canada and beyond.
Her facilitation style is known for being grounded, practical, intellectually honest, and emotionally intelligent, helping leaders and teams navigate difficult conversations without collapsing into hype, panic or oversimplification.
My Perspective
Before AI became the dominant conversation, I'd already spent years working inside the broader shifts reshaping the nonprofit sector through digital transformation, fundraising evolution, communications change and organizational adaptation.
That longer view matters.
Much of my work today focuses on helping organizations navigate not just technological change itself, but the human, operational, and leadership questions underneath it.
The goal is not simply adoption.
It is clarity, coherence and the ability to move forward thoughtfully under changing conditions.
I'm a longtime nonprofit sector convener based in Toronto but I've also always worked with, and for, American organizations as well as Canadian. She's also the co-creator of Xlerate, a nonprofit conference we held in Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto.
My work is deeply shaped by values of equity, inclusion, collaboration, critical thinking, and human dignity, along with a strong belief in nonprofits’ role as essential social infrastructure during periods of rapid change.
I carry an unshakable love for music (especially live shows), which always remind me of the magic of human connection, family and being outside / in nature. Also sweets.
My feminism is intersectional. My humour is dry. My curiosity never stops. And my love for this sector—and what’s possible in it—runs deep.
Recent Work Highlights
Soon - late May:
Keynote - Humanitarian Coallition Assembly
Montreal
Soon - late May:
Canadian Fundraising Conference
Half-day workshop on AI for fundraisers
Full day masterclass on building your digital acquisition program
TechSoup Webinar
May 4 2026, conference
Strategic AI for Nonprofit Leaders: Building decision and practice architecture before you scale
Engaging Networks Conference
April 16 2026, conference
Practical Ways for Fundraisers to Start Using AI Safely
AI Summit, by with the Center for Digital Strategy
April 10 2026, conference
Clarity Before Scale: How to Build a Practical, Responsible and Scalable AI Practice
Digital Summit, the Center for Digital Stratey
Jan 7 2026, conference
The AI Clarity Clinic: Getting Oriented and Clearing the Fog
AI Summit, the Center for Digital Stratey
Dec 18, conference
The AI Clinic: Bring Your Pain Point and Leave With a Plan
Digital Summit, the Center for Digital Stratey
Nov 2025, conference
The Mistakes We Keep Making: Digital, AI and the Humans in the Middle
AI Cohort, with the Center for Digital Strategy
September - November 2025
A hands-on three month course, designed for nonprofit and advocacy professionals who want to responsibly adopt AI, create strategic frameworks, and apply real-world tools across their teams.
AI for Nonprofits & Advocacy Summit
Center for Digital Strategy, July 29 - Aug 2, 2025, conference
-> Beyond the Prompt: the Cultural, Strategic and Practical Playbook for AI Adoption
Western Canadian Fundraising Conference
June 11th - 13th, 2025, conference
Half-day Workshop
-> No More Bandaids: Building Digital & AI Strength
Older
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AFP Congress, Digital Transformation: What You Need To Know. A Guide for Leadership, 2021
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The Leadership that Digital Demands, The Digital Nonprofit, 2019
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AFP Congress, Building, Growing, and Nurturing Digital Teams, 2019
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AFP Congress, Digital Transformation: What You Need To Know. A Guide for Leadership, 2018
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Co-wrote a chapter in Internet Management for Nonprofits Strategies, Tools and Trade Secrets, 2010. “Insight Tools for Surviving and Thriving” (Roger M. Craver and Ryann Miller)