RAISE Podcast: Recent Episodes

EverTrue

Who's doing the most exciting things in fundraising? Who's thinking about things from a completely different angle? The RAISE podcast aims to find out. Brought to you by EverTrue, each episode goes in depth with the people changing advancement. Tune in and get inspired.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent hosts Sally Bryant, CEO of Bryant Group.

Sally shares her journey from growing up in a small farming community in Eastern Washington to discovering advancement work through a senior-year internship at Washington State University. She reflects on how that experience sparked a lifelong career in philanthropy, leading her into early development roles and ultimately becoming a chief advancement officer in her twenties at Marymount California University.

She discusses the importance of mentorship and early leadership lessons, including learning from influential leaders who shaped her understanding of empathy, communication, and team culture. Sally also shares how she navigated a period of consulting work followed by an unexpected eight-year chapter at Mary Kay, where she developed deep skills in recruiting, rejection, and relationship building that later translated directly into her leadership philosophy.

The conversation continues with her return to the Bryant Group, where she ultimately took over and expanded the firm into a full leadership consulting and executive search practice focused on advancement professionals. Sally highlights the importance of helping organizations strengthen both hiring and leadership development, and why talent strategy must support the full lifecycle of advancement teams.

She closes by reflecting on current trends in advancement hiring, including the growing need for leaders who understand business models and technology while maintaining strong human-centered leadership.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent hosts Luigi Amendola, Vice President for University Advancement at Loyola University Chicago.

Luigi shares his story as a first generation American and first generation college student whose parents immigrated from southern Italy to Illinois by different routes. He talks about feeling out of place in high school, finding his voice and identity at Lewis University, and how living in a Christian Brothers residence hall with international students and eating alongside the brothers expanded his perspective. Along the way, mentors like the Christian Brothers and business faculty member Father Kevin Spees helped him raise his sights and see new possibilities.

Luigi recalls qualifying for federal work study, leaving a late-night job in campus fast food, and stumbling into an office role in the advancement office. He describes the moment he realized that “not for profit” did not mean “no revenue,” how an internship at the Advocate Charitable Foundation became his first full-time role, and why the mission and purpose of philanthropy drew him into the profession. After several years in health care, he moved into higher education and began to connect the impact of education on individuals and family dynamics with his own lived experience as a first generation college graduate and now as a parent of a college freshman.

Luigi talks candidly about the negative headlines surrounding higher education and why, despite real challenges, he is convinced that the value of higher education remains strong over a lifetime. He explains why he pursued an MBA while working as a development officer, describes the tradeoffs of moving from a large public research university to his alma mater Lewis and then to Loyola, and reflects on building teams, elevating fundraising results, and leaving places stronger than he found them.

At Loyola, Luigi shares his focus on being excellent at the fundamentals and bringing a steady, consistent presence to his team. He emphasizes clarity of goals, consistent outreach, purposeful engagement, and the discipline of stopping work that does not move the mission forward. He likens advancement to a long game that compounds over time, talks about stewarding donors connected to Sister Jean, and describes Loyola’s quiet campaign and strong positioning in a challenging higher ed landscape. Luigi closes by reflecting on the collegial nature of the advancement community and his openness to informal networking and conversations with colleagues across the sector.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent hosts Chip Edmonds, president of Lycoming College and a longtime advancement and enrollment leader at his alma mater.

Chip reflects on how a positive high school experience, a nudge from his soccer coach, and a visit to campus led him to Lycoming. He shares why he pursued a rare trio of majors in history, music, and business administration, and how living in multiple communities – the classroom, choir tours in Europe, and the athletic field – shaped his belief in interdisciplinary learning and seeing the world through different lenses.

Chip traces his path into advancement through a series of invitations: from supporting a trustee as a young staff member, to his first formal role in annual giving at Duke, to major gift work at Yale and Lycoming. He talks about the autonomy and entrepreneurial mindset required of frontline fundraisers, how that experience influenced the way he designs portfolios, and what it was like to step into the vice president for advancement role at a relatively young age. He also shares his leadership philosophy around hiring capable people, giving them clear direction, getting out of their way, and stepping in to remove hurdles.

Throughout the conversation, Chip returns to the tension between specialization and exploration, and why being “comfortable being uncomfortable” is essential for students, faculty, and leaders. He describes addressing first-year students about doing hard things, talks about enrollment as “everybody’s business,” and explains why stories that highlight the impact of higher education are so important in the face of negative headlines. Chip also recalls a powerful gift story from a Lycoming alum who became governor of the state of Puebla in Mexico, whose family established a seven-figure scholarship for students who are “very poor, but also very bright.”

Chip closes by reflecting on mentorship, including the influence of Reverend Dr. Greg Jones, how advancement prepared him for the presidency, Lycoming’s history of innovation, and why he expects more presidents in the future to come from advancement backgrounds.

In this episode, Brent welcomes Eric Holderness, Senior Vice President of Development at the Kansas State University Foundation, whose path into advancement began when he was a student-athlete learning to thrive under pressure. Eric shares how competitive drive, curiosity, and early mentoring shaped his approach to major gifts and leadership.

Eric walks through the building blocks of effective fundraising: qualification, listening, preparation, and being willing to “go there” when donors bring up money early. He breaks down how he coaches fundraisers to enter the conversation with clarity rather than fear, and why the best asks sound like: “What do you want to accomplish with your money, and how can I help you do that today?”

Brent and Eric dig into portfolio strategy, the myth of the “perfect” donor visit, how K-State trains frontline fundraisers to embrace objections, and why cultivating resilience matters just as much as cultivating prospects.

Eric also shares insights into K-State’s unique culture, his team’s national leadership in D-I advancement, and the importance of simplifying systems so fundraisers can focus on relationships—not bureaucracy.

It’s a candid, practical, energizing episode full of told-you-straight wisdom for anyone who’s ever felt nervous about making the ask.

In this episode, Brent sits down with Amanda Hopkins, Associate Vice Chancellor for Development at the University of Colorado Boulder, whose journey begins far from the Rockies—on a family farm in Trinidad and Tobago. Amanda shares how early mornings, hard work, and a first-generation path into college shaped her belief in mentorship, access, and the transformative power of higher education.

After attending Rollins College and later earning her law degree from the University of Florida, Amanda practiced commercial real estate and finance law before discovering that gift planning offered the perfect intersection of relationships, problem-solving, and impact. She talks about how trust is the foundation of every meaningful planned giving conversation—and why donors sometimes literally bring their entire estate plan into meetings.

Now at CU Boulder, Amanda reflects on the momentum sweeping campus: record enrollment, a bold new chancellor, the university’s 150th anniversary, and preparations for a comprehensive campaign. She shares how her team is managing rising engagement through smarter portfolios, data insights, stewardship, and the launch of CU’s DXO program.

Amanda also takes listeners inside a rare multi-generational family visioning session, describing how donors, faculty, and values aligned to imagine transformational philanthropy.

It’s a thoughtful conversation about purpose, leadership, and building systems that scale generosity.

In this episode, Brent sits down with Matt Bethea, Vice President for University Advancement at Sam Houston State University, whose path to fundraising started in an unexpected place: a Dallas metal band. Matt shares how dreams of becoming a fighter pilot and years on the road as a musician led him to sales—until a chance conversation at church introduced him to advancement work at the University of North Texas.

Matt reflects on why the move from sales to fundraising felt surprisingly natural, why advancement “cold calls” are never actually cold, and how his time at TCU shaped his belief that fundraising is noble, relationship-first work. He shares a powerful case study from TCU: the story of a fallen Marine and former student whose planned gift became both a scholarship and a named professorship in history that will impact generations of students.

Brent and Matt then dig into dean partnerships, building culture, portfolio strategy (“stop watering the weeds”), and the importance of disqualification. Matt also outlines his vision for integrated advancement, where alumni engagement starts before students even set foot on campus and continues through their entire careers, supported by data and AI.

It’s a conversation about purpose, people, momentum, and the work that truly matters.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent hosts Karl Miller Lugo, Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Engagement at The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Karl shares his journey from Puerto Rico to rural Kentucky, where he was a Breckenridge County High School Tiger, class president, and deeply involved student who later followed a family path to Western Kentucky University. There, an eighth-grade camp visit, multiple family connections, and a powerful student ambassador experience as a “Spirit Master” opened his eyes to advancement and the power of donor relationships.

He describes starting his career in admissions at Lindsay Wilson College, where the president reminded him that 75% of the institution’s income came through his office. As a twenty-two-year-old “green as grass,” he learned relationship-based recruitment, drove hours to personally pick up prospective students for campus visits, and spent long evenings on the phone—lessons in resilience, fit, and mission that still shape his work.

Karl then moves from admissions to development, back to his alma mater for major gifts, into a ten-year run at UT Austin, and later into consulting with BWF, which he calls his “PhD work in the field.” Today, at UTSA, he leads advancement and alumni engagement for a growing, research-intensive, Hispanic serving institution focused on access, success, and transformational impact in San Antonio and beyond.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent hosts Bill Kavan, Vice President of Engagement and Outreach at the Arizona State University Foundation.

Bill traces his journey from a ten-year-old in Westhampton Beach, New York, pulling a lawnmower behind his bike, to an Arizona State University student looking for community on a campus where his first class was larger than his entire high school. He shares how a landscaping business, a father who would only cover “Converse money” for sneakers, and an elderly client who became a close friend shaped his work ethic, generosity, and early interest in business and investing.

At ASU, Bill found his footing in the Greek system, becoming deeply involved in philanthropy, leadership, and eventually serving as fraternity man of the year. A year on the road as a chapter adviser, including a fraternity event at the White House, exposed him to alumni, networking, and the power of people giving to support others they may never meet.

From there, Bill moved into entry-level fundraising at the National MS Society, then into higher-ed advancement software and implementation work for campuses ranging from community colleges to Cornell and SMU. Today, at ASU, he leads teams focused on annual giving, donor relations and engagement, digital donor engagement, scholarship advancement, and leadership annual giving, all with an eye toward engagement at scale for a six-hundred-thousand-strong alumni community.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent hosts Christine Pena, Chief Advancement Officer at Miss Porter’s School.

Christine shares how a childhood fascination with The Facts of Life led her from a small dinner table in West Falmouth on Cape Cod to a snowy visit at St. Paul’s School, where she instantly knew, “This is where I want to be.” As a heavily aided, first-generation student from a working-class, third-generation Cape Cod family and an African American girl crossing “the bridge to the rest of the world,” she reflects on feeling like a fish out of water, challenging assumptions about wealth and privilege, and learning never to judge a book by its cover.

From there, she traces her path to Wesleyan University, a brief but lucrative detour into management consulting in New York City, and the mental checklist that pushed her toward more meaningful work: respecting the people she worked for, doing work that mattered, and, as she jokes, not having to wear pantyhose every day. That audit led her into admissions at Dartmouth, graduate study at Harvard’s ed school focused on higher education governance and history, and eventually into major gifts work at The Madeira School and Wesleyan.

Today, at Miss Porter’s, Christine thinks deeply about the global nature of girls’ education, the cost of private education, and why institutions must joyfully, factually, and collaboratively tell the stories that prove the power of investing in human potential.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent hosts Marie Schultz, Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Marie reflects on her journey from a first-gen student in Riverside, California to leading a 70+ person advancement team in one of the country’s most dynamic public universities. She shares the moment a friend’s brother told her she was “UC material,” how a student job in the development office changed everything, and the 27-year run that followed at UC Riverside—from prospect research to launching a successful capital campaign as Associate Vice Chancellor.

Marie also talks about her leap to Texas and what it took to transform a team of 38 (with 20 open roles!) into a fully staffed, energized, and collaborative division ready to launch UTA’s first-ever comprehensive campaign. Along the way, she unpacks lessons on team culture, cultivating emerging leaders, and what it means to "trust the process" when you're rebuilding from scratch.

When asked what it means to be a great gift officer, Marie says it's about being genuine, following through, and sparking impact—not just for the institution, but for the donor, too.

Tune in!

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent chats with Ashley Budd, Senior Marketing Director at Cornell University and co-author of Mailed It! Ashley shares her journey from student ambassador at RIT to leading digital marketing efforts in higher education, and offers insights on launching social media platforms and scaling strategies at Cornell.

They discuss the importance of authenticity, empathy, and trust in email marketing, along with strategies for effective alumni engagement and stewardship. Ashley also shares lessons from her email-marketing-focused book, Mailed It, and advice for marketers looking to improve their strategies.

Matthew J. Ter Molen has more than 30 years of expertise in development and fundraising. Prior to joining the RPI team in early 2023, he was the Chief Advancement Officer and Senior Vice President at Syracuse University, where he served for more than eight years. In this role, he oversaw all alumni relations and development activities, including the planning, launch, and execution of the $1.5 billion University-wide campaign "Forever Orange," which raised more in private philanthropy than at any other time in Syracuse University history. Prior to Syracuse, Ter Molen held a range of positions at Northwestern University, the most recent being the Associate Vice President and Campaign Manager. Ter Molen's career began at the University at Chicago in their annual giving office.

Ter Molen holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Miami University in Ohio, and served in the Peace Corps in Honduras for two years prior to the start of his career in fundraising.

At the Rugers University Foundation, Mark Antonucci leads a division comprising alumni engagement, institutional giving and resource development, annual giving and stakeholder engagement, donor relations and stewardship, events, communications, systems and technology, records and research, human resources and training, and board management.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent hosts Derek Dictson, Vice President for University Advancement at Colorado State University.

Derek shares his inspiring journey from the dot-com boom and bust in Seattle to leading major advancement initiatives at top institutions like Texas A&M and Auburn University. He delves into how his experiences in the tech industry have influenced his innovative approach to fundraising and donor engagement.

Derek also discusses the unique structure of CSU’s advancement model, which integrates presidential events and university ceremonies, and highlights the successful implementation of a new Salesforce-based database. He emphasizes the importance of leveraging technology and AI to streamline processes and build meaningful donor relationships.

When asked about his perspective on the future of advancement, Derek says, "We’re just at the tip of the iceberg. The potential for AI to transform our work and make us more efficient is incredibly exciting. It’s a brave new world, and we need to stay ahead of the curve."

Tune in!

Nancy Jackson was appointed Chief Development Officer at the Kansas University Endowment, where she leads the organization's comprehensive efforts to build relationships with its philanthropic communities, including alumni, friends, corporations, and foundations, securing resources to support KU's mission in higher education.

In her role, Jackson works closely with deans and development professionals across all KU schools and units to advance strategic priorities and raise financial support for students, faculty, research, healthcare, the arts, athletics, and community programs. A major focus of the Endowment is also engaging KU's vast alumni network.

An accomplished development leader with a history of fostering high-performing teams, Jackson co-founded Generous Change, a consultancy focused on innovative fundraising strategies. Her previous roles include senior positions at Generous Change, the Capital Group, and various nonprofit organizations in California.

Originally from California, Jackson holds a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and completed her studies at KU. She resides in Kansas with her family, bringing her diverse experience and passion for philanthropy to her role at KU Endowment.

Since joining the University of Rochester, Tom Farrell has made significant strides as the Senior Vice President of Advancement, leading initiatives that emphasize empathy and the value of diverse experiences in higher education fundraising. Tom’s unique journey began in Rochester, influenced by his father’s progressive approach to education and his mother’s dedication as a high school teacher. He initially pursued a double major in history and political science at the University of Rochester, followed by a career in financial services. Tom’s varied roles, from gas station attendant to janitor, enriched his understanding of different perspectives, shaping his empathetic approach to advancement. His professional journey took him from the University of Buffalo to Dartmouth and the Ivy League, where he honed his skills in major gift and estate planning. Now, at the University of Rochester, Tom leverages his extensive experience to lead a mission-driven team, focusing on education, research, public service, and healthcare, while preparing for an exciting new campaign. Join us to hear Tom’s insightful reflections on his career, the evolving landscape of advancement, and the critical role of empathy in building successful donor relationships.

Since joining UnityPoint Health, Jake Heuser has brought a wealth of experience and innovation to his role as Vice President of System Philanthropy. Jake's career began with leadership roles in Phi Delta Theta at Missouri State University, where his transformative experiences shaped his future in philanthropy. At Bradley University, Jake's strategic vision and deep connection with alumni and the Peoria community drove significant achievements, including multiple seven and eight-figure gifts, with a notable $10 million donation. Now at UnityPoint Health, Jake continues to innovate, successfully transitioning from higher education to healthcare philanthropy. In this episode, Jake shares his insights on leadership, the importance of deep connections, and his vision for the future of healthcare philanthropy. Join us as we delve into Jake's inspiring story and the impactful lessons he's learned along the way.

Roger Divine is the Assistant Vice President for Advancement Operations at Pomona College, where he is instrumental in leading the digital transformation of the institution’s advancement operations. Roger's journey into advancement is a testament to his diverse interests and relentless curiosity.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, and having grown up in the Midwest, Roger’s early years were marked by a passion for languages, spurred by a cultural exchange program in Spain during high school. This experience not only honed his Spanish skills but also ignited a lifelong interest in language and culture. Roger pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, where he initially majored in computer engineering before switching to a focus on languages, ultimately studying Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese.

Roger's career in IT began at the University of Michigan’s Central Information Technology Division. His expertise in data and analytics led him to a pivotal role at the Ross School of Business, where he was instrumental in developing analytics and annual giving programs. This role marked his formal entry into the world of advancement.

In 2015, Roger transitioned to the University of Southern California (USC), where he led significant advancements in data-driven decision-making within the university's advancement operations. His leadership at USC was characterized by fostering a culture of data utilization and proactive strategy, contributing to the institution's substantial fundraising achievements.

Now at Pomona College, Roger is spearheading the college's CRM conversion to Salesforce, aiming to create a cohesive and integrated advancement ecosystem. His vision is to leverage technology, including AI, to enhance connectivity with alumni, families, and friends, ultimately driving the institution's mission forward.

Roger's leadership style is marked by his emphasis on teamwork, continuous learning, and the strategic use of data to inform decision-making. He is passionate about using his skills to support philanthropic efforts and is dedicated to creating meaningful connections within the Pomona College community.

In addition to his professional achievements, Roger is an advocate for lifelong learning and encourages others to explore their interests and passions. His journey from the Midwest to California and his varied experiences in language, technology, and education highlight his adaptability and commitment to growth and innovation in the field of advancement.

Since joining Marts&Lundy in 2016, Jim has provided strategic counsel to many schools and other organizations and conducted numerous campaign planning studies and development program assessments.

Previously, Jim served as Chief Evangelist at EverTrue, helping hundreds of organizations understand how technology and innovation can transform their fundraising programs. His frontline experience in campaigns and as a leader of development programs allows him to form strategies that align operations and technology for exceptional results.

Jim currently serves as Chief Advancement Officer at The Branson School. From 1993 to 2011, Jim served as Director of Development at Middlesex School, where he managed the then largest independent school campaign in history which raised $127 million. Jim’s development career includes leadership roles at Francis Parker School, where he was Assistant Head for Institutional Advancement, Cate School, where he served as Director of Development, and The Lawrenceville School where he was the Director of Capital Programs. Jim began his career at his alma mater, Bucknell University. He later served as President of the Bucknell University Alumni Association and as a Bucknell trustee from 1998-2002.

Suzanne Hilser-Wiles, President, partners with GG+A clients around the globe to help them elevate their fundraising by offering more than 25 years of experience in advancement, program building, and campaign planning and implementation. Throughout her career, she has helped design, rebuild, and reimagine programs by applying her experience with a wide range of advancement programs and institutions. Her extensive previous professional experience includes fundraising, alumni relations, communications, and marketing.

Suzanne joined GG+A in 2011 and was appointed to the firm’s executive committee in 2013. In 2016, she became the firm’s first woman president in its nearly 60-year history. In addition to her other responsibilities, she leads the firm’s Europe and UK practice.

She has worked closely with her clients through their individual challenges and opportunities, including ambitious campaigns, changes in leadership, crises, and restructuring.

Suzanne has partnered with GG+A clients across all of the firm’s sectors, providing strategic counsel to advancement teams and institutional leadership. This vast array of clients includes the Art Institute of Chicago; Carnegie Mellon University; Charlotte Country Day School; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Drexel University; Fuller Theological Seminary; IESE Business School; Indiana University; The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Pomona College; and Tate.

Prior to joining the firm, Suzanne served as Vice-Chancellor for Advancement at University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), overseeing fundraising, alumni relations and all marketing and communications for the university. She also served on an executive team advising the university’s chancellor on all major policy decisions and as the primary staff member for the Advancement Committee of the Board of Trustees. Suzanne joined UNCSA from CancerCare, a national healthcare nonprofit based in New York City, where she served as Director of External Affairs.

Before joining CancerCare, Suzanne served as Senior Development Officer for Corporate Annual Programs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she oversaw the Museum’s annual corporate fundraising program and staffed the Museum’s business committee. Previously, Suzanne served as Associate Director of Individual and Leadership Giving at the Museum of Modern Art. Suzanne began her career in institutional advancement with Pets are Wonderful Support in San Francisco, where she served as Director of Development.

Suzanne received her Bachelor of Arts degree in art history from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds a Master of Arts degree in arts administration from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. She has served as a board member of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City; as a class agent for the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, NY; and as a parent fundraiser for Summit School in Winston-Salem, NC and The Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, PA, among other volunteer positions.

Sergio M. Gonzalez joined Brown University as Senior Vice President for Advancement in 2017. He oversees all advancement areas across the institution, including development, alumni relations, corporate and foundation relations, international advancement, the Brown Sports Foundation, and the Brown Annual Fund. Before landing at Brown, Gonzalez served as Senior Vice President for University Advancement and External Affairs at the University of Miami from 2001-2017. He was the architect and leader of two successful fundraising campaigns that together raised more than $3 billion.

Prior to joining the University of Miami, Gonzalez served in multiple roles in Miami-Dade County government, including Chief of Staff for the Miami-Dade County Executive Mayor, Director of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, and Executive Director of the South Florida 1999 Super Bowl Host Committee. Gonzalez is chair of the Board of Trustees for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). He also chaired the CASE U.S./Canada Regional Council. Gonzalez also chaired an annual CASE conference for Latin American university presidents and advancement practitioners over a number of years, and speaks frequently on the advancement profession to diverse audiences in the US and abroad. Gonzalez has a long history of civic service both in Miami and since coming to Providence. He is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and has served on the Board of Directors of UnidosUS, the largest national Hispanic advocacy and civil rights organization.

Other past board service includes Belen Jesuit Prep School in Miami, the Orange Bowl, Breakthrough Miami, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. In Providence, Gonzalez served on the board of the Trinity Repertory Theater and currently serves on the board of the Wheeler School.

Prior to joining Carolina in 2023, Andreasen served as senior vice president for university advancement at the University of Oregon, overseeing all aspects of advancement including development; state, community and federal affairs; advancement operations; stewardship and public events and alumni relations. During his tenure, he consistently increased annual fundraising totals and secured some of the largest donations to any public flagship university.

Andreasen began his time at UO as the vice president for development, leading efforts to establish campaign priorities, setting a working goal of $1.2 billion and developing a communications plan for the public launch in collaboration with the president, executive leadership and deans. Over 12 years, he served as a member of the University of Oregon Foundation Board, the Alumni Association Board, the Portland Business Alliance Board and the Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce.

Prior to joining UO, Andreasen was at the University of Michigan for seven years — first as executive director and assistant dean for advancement for development and alumni relations and then as executive director and assistant dean for advancement at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. His more than 32 years of fundraising experience include roles in major gifts and campaign leadership at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the American Film Institute. He began his career as the director of the annual fund for the University of California, Irvine, where he also earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science.

Jeff Webb, U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1995, is President and CEO of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation. Prior to assuming this role, Jeff spent 15 years in the wealth management industry. In his most recent position as a Principal with Bessemer Trust, he led new client development efforts in a four-state region. Before joining Bessemer, he served in a similar capacity with J.P. Morgan. He previously served as a vice president of Business Development for a renewable fuel company and was the general manager of a group of luxury automotive franchises in Virginia.

Jeff spent five years in Naval Special Warfare. He served as a SEAL Platoon Commander as well as a Task Unit Assistant at SEAL Team Eight. He deployed twice aboard EISENHOWER in those roles and operated in Europe and the Middle East. He served as an Assistant SEAL Platoon Commander at SEAL Team Four, where he deployed to Latin America.

Jeff co-founded Run to Honor, a nonprofit dedicated to perpetuating the memory of Naval Academy alumni lost in combat or training operations. He was an elected trustee of the Naval Academy Alumni Association (2011-17) and served on the Naval Academy Superintendent’s Memorial Oversight Committee (2010-22). He also served as a director of Students Run Philly Style, a nonprofit that trains and mentors high-risk high school youth through the completion of endurance running events.

Jeff earned a B.S. in Ocean Engineering from the Naval Academy, where he was captain of the cycling team. He later earned an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia. He is married to Shannon Revell Webb, a 2004 Naval Academy graduate and a former EOD Officer. They have four children, all named in honor of Naval Academy graduates. The Webb family resides in Annapolis.

Mark Delos Reyes Davis is Vice Chancellor for University Relations at UC Santa Cruz and President of the UC Santa Cruz Foundation. He leads the university’s external engagement efforts overseeing raising philanthropic support, strengthening relationships with university stakeholders, and promoting the good work of the campus.

Davis has spent more than two decades in higher education administration with responsibility for driving a wide range of initiatives. He previously served as senior adviser to two university presidents and has overseen alumni relations, international relations, executive communications, and campaign planning. Prior to joining UC Santa Cruz in 2020, he served as the associate vice president for university advancement and campaign director at Carnegie Mellon University and held senior roles at Rice University.

About Alex: Alex Lawrence is the Executive Director for the Advancement Leadership Lab (ALL). Alex is no stranger to the leadership lab as she developed the pilot curriculum in 2018 and is thrilled to be back in this capacity as the organization expands its impact across the Advancement industry.

Alex’s professional passions have always been rooted in people-focused work, with her career start in human resources consulting. Alex focused on leadership development, mergers and acquisitions, and recruitment strategy in Fortune 500, start-up, and non-profit environments throughout North Carolina, Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin, Arizona, England, Germany, and Tanzania. This global experience led her to higher education Advancement, where she has led organizational and people operations in multiple chief of staff roles over the last decade. After being in an advisory role for the lab over the last few years, transitioning to this work full time as its own 501c3 has been an exciting opportunity to build the foundation for ALL’s long-term success and sustainability.

Alex has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Services and Counseling Psychology from Elon University and a Master of Arts degree in Higher Education Administration from The Ohio State University. She lives in Columbus, OH with her husband, Danny, and puppy son, Larry.

About Michael: A graduate of the University of California, San Diego, Mike Eicher began his career in higher education at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he rose from associate director of development in the School of Medicine to deputy director and director, and from there to vice provost for medical science development, then assistant and associate vice chancellor. Under his leadership as vice chancellor, Campaign UCLA, a 10-year effort completed in 2005, raised $3.05 billion.

Prior to joining Ohio State, Mike served for six years as senior vice president for external affairs and development at Johns Hopkins University, where he led the Johns Hopkins: Knowledge for the World Campaign. That effort focused on student aid and faculty support, construction of clinical buildings at the medical campus and important renovation projects. It closed in 2008 with commitments of more than $3.7 billion.

Mike returned to a public university because he believes in its noble mission and great power. He joined Ohio State in fall 2012 as senior vice president for Advancement and president of The Ohio State University Foundation. Building on his goal to inspire people to choose Ohio State – for their education, medical care, research support, entertainment and more – he has set out to share the university’s most compelling stories, engage more than half a million alumni, and expand private philanthropy to support Ohio State’s core priorities.

Under Mike’s direction, Ohio State streamlined and integrated its communications and marketing, alumni relations and fundraising teams. He led the But for Ohio State Campaign, which raised over $3 billion from more than 750,000 donors and became the university’s most successful fundraising effort ever. Mike built upon that momentum and, along with his team, planned and launched Time and Change: The Ohio State Campaign in fall 2019. While its financial goal is the largest in Ohio State’s history — $4.5 billion focused on student success; discovery; and healthy, vibrant communities — what truly sets this campaign apart from all others is its goal to engage 1 million supporters, which is unprecedented in higher education.

Mike is focused on organizational growth, health, and wellness, which led to Advancement’s establishment of a chief diversity officer position and the Advancement Inclusion Council. Both serve as resources by providing personal and professional development opportunities for staff.

Mike’s commitment to putting people first has been instrumental in the transformation of Advancement during his tenure. He lives in Columbus with his wife, Inez, and travels frequently. They have two grown children: Brandon Eicher (Kate) and Christine Peterson (Shane). They also have three young granddaughters who they love to spend time with.

Scott Rabenold was appointed Senior Vice President for university advancement at the University of Southern California in February of 2023. In this capacity, he leads the university’s comprehensive efforts to build relationships with its philanthropic communities, including alumni, friends, corporations and foundations, and to secure resources to ensure the university’s global leadership in higher education.

As the leader of the Advancement Division, Rabenold works closely with the deans and advancement professionals across every USC school and unit to advance the university’s strategic priorities and raise financial support for students, faculty and research, health care, the arts, athletics, community programs and many other initiatives. The USC Alumni Association, which builds programs to engage more than 463,000 USC alumni worldwide, is also a major focus of the Advancement Division.

An accomplished development leader with a history of building high-performing teams, Rabenold comes to USC from the University of Texas at Austin, where he served as vice president for development since 2016. During his tenure, the university launched the $6 billion “What Starts Here” campaign.

Previously, he served as vice chancellor for development and alumni affairs and in other leadership roles at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Earlier in his career, he worked at Wake Forest University and the University of Memphis.

A native of Iowa, he holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa and an MBA from Drake University. He and his wife, Sarah, reside in Pasadena with their four children, Spencer, Sam, Senait and Suri.

Fritz Schroeder became Senior Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations in October 2012 and has served Johns Hopkins for more than 23 years in a series of senior management roles.

He provides leadership and oversight for all fundraising and alumni efforts of the university and Johns Hopkins Medicine, and serves as the institution’s chief fundraising officer. He was responsible for planning and executing the recently concluded Rising to the Challenge campaign, which received more than $6 billion in commitments.

Schroeder joined Johns Hopkins in 1996 as Director of Annual Giving and became Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations in 2000. During this time he had responsibility for alumni outreach and for annual giving programs, serving as the Executive Director of the Alumni Association.

In 2004, Schroeder became Associate Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, with a promotion to Senior Associate Vice President in 2006. He shared responsibility with deans and directors for the university’s decentralized fundraising operations in the schools and other units; provided leadership for centralized development support offices; and took the lead on strategic planning, budget planning and oversight, trustee stewardship, prospect strategy development, and general organizational issues.

Schroeder joined Johns Hopkins from the University of Maryland at College Park, where he had served since 1989 in a number of roles, including Director of Annual Giving from 1993 to 1996.

He is a frequent speaker and conference leader, serves as a trustee of CASE, and is the author of the 2000 book Annual Giving: A Practical Approach as well as several other fundraising chapters. In addition, he is currently leading an effort to develop a more consistent advancement curriculum through the work of a task force established by CASE in the fall of 2017.

Schroeder is a 1989 graduate of James Madison University. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland at College Park in 1994.

Rhea Turteltaub is the UCLA Vice Chancellor, External Affairs. She oversees one of the nation's leading advancement organizations, a diverse and integrated department comprised of Alumni Affairs, Development, Advancement Services, Government & Community Relations, Employee & Organizational Engagement, as well as the UCLA Alumni Association, and the UCLA Foundation.

Over the course of 7.5 years, Rhea led the $5.49 billion Centennial Campaign for UCLA. The Campaign concluded in December, 2019 – in the midst of UCLA’s 100th anniversary celebration. During the initiative, nearly 220,000 donors from all 50 states and 98 additional countries contributed more than 574,000 gifts, helping to shepherd another century of groundbreaking achievements in teaching, research, and service. She is now in the preparatory phase for UCLA’s next campaign.

Prior to her arrival at UCLA in 1994, Rhea held leadership roles at Otis College of Art and Design and The University of Chicago, as well as campaign positions at the University of California, Berkeley, and her alma mater, Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where she served on the Board of Trustees for twelve years.

Barry Benson, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement, is the senior fundraiser and responsible for managing frontline advancement efforts for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Serving on the Chancellor’s Executive Leadership Council, Vice Chancellor Benson, who also holds a Senior Vice President title at the University of Illinois Foundation, leads a team of approximately 275 advancement professionals both centrally and within over 20 colleges/units.

Benson is an experienced advancement professional who relocated with his wife and three daughters (two of whom attend UIUC while the youngest is a senior in high school) to Urbana-Champaign from the University of Arizona in March 2017. In Tucson, AZ, he served for nearly a decade in escalating capacities culminating in the role of Senior Vice President for Development where he was responsible for successfully achieving a $1.5 billion campaign goal two years ahead of schedule and while overseeing all central campaign activities, marketing and communications, planned giving and regional development for the University of Arizona Foundation. Benson also has extensive experience leading successful college-based advancement programs in business and engineering. Vice Chancellor Benson is active in the advancement industry participating in various leadership capacities and speaking engagements. In addition to his higher education experience, Benson also is an active civil servant having served on various nonprofit community boards.

A finance graduate and former collegiate baseball letterman from the University of Northern Colorado (Greeley, CO), Benson also holds a Master of Business Administration from Colorado State University (Ft. Collins, CO) and is a former Certified Financial Planner practitioner who values spending time with family and friends while also enjoying the outdoors golfing, skiing, and doing yardwork (yes, it’s true).

About Jake Logan:

As the vice president for Institutional Advancement at UTEP, Jake Logan leads the dedicated teams in the areas of development, advancement services, and alumni engagement.

He has more than 20 years of experience in non-profit fundraising, with more than 15 of those in higher education. Most recently, he served as president of the Ball State University Foundation and vice president for University Advancement, where he provided strategy and guidance for development, advancement services, alumni engagement, and the BSU Foundation, including managing the institution's endowment.

Jake also served as assistant vice chancellor for University Programs at the University of Missouri, where he managed most of the university’s central fundraising functions, as well as the endowments team.

Other previous roles included executive director of development at the University of Oregon School of Law, and work as a development officer for his alma mater, the University of Florida, in the College of Agriculture and the College of Engineering.

Jake began his career in philanthropy with the American Heart Association, earning national recognition for his pioneering work in online fundraising strategies. He ultimately became vice president for Field Development before leaving for academic advancement.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from the University of Florida and a Master of Nonprofit Management from the University of Oregon.

Since arriving at UTEP in May of 2020, he has made his home here in El Paso with his wife Sheena, their two children, Mills and Maisie, and their three dogs. Jake also has an older son named Max, a computer scientist who lives in the Austin, TX area.

About Annie Quade:

Following almost a decade in higher education advancement and a variety of roles that span the engagement pipeline, Annie Quade serves as the Assistant Vice President of Advancement Strategy, Talent & Culture at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).

Overseeing their integrated engagement team, talent, and people operations, Annie is responsible for enterprise engagement and the overall growth strategy for the division.

Annie graduated from the University of Missouri, where she received a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s in public health. Prior to joining UTEP, she worked in frontline fundraising for her alma mater, first as a regional and planned giving officer and then as director for the School of Law.

When she’s not working, you can find Annie chasing after her two toddlers, tending to their hobby farm, or (hopefully) catching a few moments of quiet and calm with her husband, John.

Joe Manok is the Vice President for University Advancement at Clark University where he provides executive leadership to all aspects of fundraising, corporate and foundation relations, and alumni engagement.

Prior to joining Clark, Joe held senior-level positions for eight years in the Office of Resource Development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as part of the MIT’s $6.2 billion Campaign for a Better World. Most recently serving as senior director of philanthropic partnerships. Before joining MIT, Joe worked between 2003 and 2014 at the Office of Development of the American University of Beirut (AUB). He served as associate director of development for major gifts and advancement services in New York, and as the assistant director for development services in Beirut.

Joe earned his Bachelor of Science in computer science from AUB and is working toward his Master of Science in nonprofit management from Northeastern University. He is a certified fundraising executive through CFRE International and completed an executive certification in strategy and innovation at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. He sits on the board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) in Massachusetts and has been recognized by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) with the Rising Star Award for his consistently high level of professional achievement and commitment to the advancement profession.

Telly McGaha is the Interim President of the Georgia State University Foundation and the Co-Interim VP for University Advancement. In this role, he is responsible for leading the fundraising and engagement operations for the University and working directly with the President and Foundation Board of Trustees as the institution’s Chief Development Officer.

Prior to this interim appointment, Telly served as the Associate VP for University Advancement, working with a team of nearly 20 major gifts officers to raise funds for eight different GSU colleges and schools. Telly joined GSU in 2017 as the lead fundraiser of the Honors College, before being promoted to the Associate VP for University Advancement in 2020. Previously, Telly worked as the Senior Director of Development for the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He has amassed over 20 years of experience in securing significant philanthropic support for various organizations in Washington DC, Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky.

Telly joined Georgia State University in 2018 to oversee the philanthropic outreach and support of the Honors College. Previously, Telly worked as the Senior Director of Development for the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He has amassed over 20 years experience in securing significant philanthropic support for various organizations and institutions, such as Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Services and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, among others.

Telly is a native Kentuckian and has lived in Baltimore; Cincinnati; Montpellier, France; and Washington, DC. He enjoys cooking, reading, and traveling.

Shaun Keister became UC Davis’ first vice chancellor for development and alumni relations in 2011 and functions as the campus’s chief development officer, leading a team of over 300, and president of the UC Davis Foundation. In his role as vice chancellor, Keister also serves on the Chancellor’s Leadership Council. He led UC Davis in completing its first comprehensive campaign raising more than $1.13 billion from 110,000 donors. He led the planning and recent execution of the university’s $2 billion Expect Greater campaign launch.

Previously, Keister served in leadership development roles at Penn State, Florida State, and Iowa State.

Keister is an active member of CASE, having both chaired and participated in many district, national, and international conferences. He is a recipient of the CASE Crystal Apple award in recognition of his outstanding performance at CASE international educational programs. Most recently, Keister has served on the CASE Philanthropy Commission.

Keister has a bachelor's degree in political science from Penn State and a master's and doctoral degree in sociology from Iowa State.

With 30 years of fundraising experience, Magnus Johnsson has led fundraising in large non-profits and presently works at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). He was appointed in 2015 as senior associate vice president of presidential and university philanthropy. In this role he strategically leads the university’s development efforts in principal giving, presidential engagement, planned giving, corporate and foundation relations, and regional major gifts.

Serving on the senior leadership team of VCU’s $841M Make It Real Campaign the effort achieved more than 112% of its $750M goal when it concluded in 2020 with 113,000 donors participating, including 73,000 first time donors. Previously he served as the executive director of external relations and development for the university’s school of education. During Magnus’s tenure at VCU he has notably seen the development program evolve from decentralized to hybrid and just recently to one that is now fully centralized.

As an undergrad student at James Madison University pursuing a degree in public administration and nonprofit management he received his first exposure to fundraising during a summer internship preceding his senior year. An early mentor urged Magnus to apply for his first fundraising job shortly after graduation. Prior to joining VCU in 2007 spent the early part of his career building fundraising programs and gaining early leadership and managerial experience at United Methodist Family Services and the United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg. In 2010 he completed a Master in Public Administration from VCU.

Magnus is engaged in his community serving on the board of Home Again, a homeless services agency in the Richmond area focused on rapid rehousing. Living in Richmond’s historic Fan District in walking distance from the VCU campus, Magnus enjoys tennis, building his ever-growing vinyl music collection, and any and all travel, including annual visits to his family in Finland.

Betsy Feeny has served as a vice president of development since 2022. She works directly with the Bloomington lead development officers, core academic schools, and programs that support a variety of fundraising initiatives.

Betsy joined the Indiana University Foundation in 2014 as the senior director of development, Principal Gifts before moving into the role of vice president for development, Regional Campuses, in 2019. Prior to joining the Foundation, she served as director of development, corporate and foundation relations, at the Kelley School of Business in Bloomington and, earlier, as communications and development assistant in IUPUI's Division of Student Life. Prior to her time in higher education, Betsy was in the corporate sector as an account manager for Procter & Gamble Company in both Chicago and Boston.

Betsy is an Indiana University graduate having earned her Bachelor of Science in Business from the Kelley School in Bloomington and her Master of Science in Higher Education and Student Affairs.

As Vice Chancellor for Advancement and the Executive Vice President of the UC San Diego Foundation, Ann Spira holds the overall managerial responsibility for all university fundraising campaigns and transformational initiatives. In addition, Ann provides the strategy and facilitation of the top-tier volunteer leadership for the Campaign for UC San Diego, which successfully concluded at $3 billion.

Ann joined UC San Diego after a 30-year career in the performing arts, most recently as Deputy General Director of San Diego Opera. A natural innovator of marketing and development programs, Ann helped propel San Diego Opera into an internationally recognized company, hailed for both artistic and fiscal excellence. Responsible for leading the revenue team and board development units, she created a $100M long-range strategic plan and led the ongoing recruitment and leadership of the 60-member Board of Directors, one of the most highly contributing and respected Boards in the region.

Daniel "Dan" Frezza is chief advancement officer of Institutional Advancement and executive director of the College of Charleston Foundation. He began this position in February 2023.

Frezza leads an organization of professionals engaged in a coordinated, campus-wide approach to university development, alumni relations, stewardship and advancement services in efforts to establish and grow a culture of engagement and philanthropy. He is also responsible for overseeing institutional funds management and growing the endowed funds held for the College by the College of Charleston Foundation. He serves as a member of the president’s cabinet and works in close partnership with the president, provost, executive team, deans and volunteer boards.

Before joining the College, Frezza served as associate vice president of strategic operations and annual giving at William & Mary and the chief strategic operations officer for the William & Mary Foundation. Frezza’s leadership was instrumental in many of William & Mary’s most recent philanthropic achievements in their billion-dollar For the Bold campaign, especially in the areas of alumni participation and engagement. Before joining William & Mary in 2011, Frezza was the director of annual giving at Appalachian State University and, prior to that, assistant director of alumni programs at East Carolina University.

Frezza has a master of education in higher education administration from North Carolina State University and a bachelor of science in communication with a minor in business from Western Carolina University.

Education

2006: M.E., Higher Education, North Carolina State University

2004: B.S. Communication, Western Carolina University

Brittney Snyder is the Assistant Vice President for Unit Development at the ASU Foundation where she leads a team of fundraising professionals who are embedded within colleges at ASU. Brittney provides vision, strategy, and support to fundraising teams in advancement of the ASU charter.

With more than 12 years of industry experience, she has demonstrated expertise in the areas of major gifts, grants, parent philanthropy and annual giving. Most recently Brittney served as the Sr. Director of Development for Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. Brittney has a Bachelor's degree in Music Education and her Master's in Flute Performance.

Eloise Dunn Brice joined the University of Houston System in 2012 as vice chancellor for advancement for the University of Houston System and vice president for advancement for the University of Houston. Eloise is responsible for overseeing UHAA, fundraising, and volunteer engagement. Additionally, she serves as a member of the President’s Cabinet. She leads a system wide organization of over 175 employees, with private support of $202 million in 2019.

Prior to joining the University of Houston team, Eloise held leadership positions at the University of Oregon, Pennsylvania State University, and Vanderbilt University. She also served as a higher education fundraising consultant at Grenzebach Glier & Associates. Eloise is the author of "Don't Make Me Fundraise! A Guide for Reluctant Fundraising Volunteers," which was published in 2020.

Tamara Michel Josserand has more than three decades of successful experience working in institutional advancement, strategic leadership and stakeholder management roles. She currently serves as the vice president for development at the University of Washington. In this role, she leads the university’s fundraising efforts by partnering with the development team and University, philanthropic and civic leaders to galvanize support for the UW’s vision, mission and values.

Prior to joining the UW in 2022, she led advancement at the University of Redlands in California, where she successfully completed an historic $206 million comprehensive campaign. Prior to that, she held key roles and leadership positions at the University of Illinois at Chicago; the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; University of Chicago; Northwestern University; and Yale University. She also served as a senior consultant for the national fundraising consulting firm, Campbell and Company, and over the years, has provided support and strategy for numerous not-for-profits, as well as large and small colleges and universities across the country.

Tamara has a breadth of experience leading development efforts at both public and private institutions, and a deep belief in the value of higher education, passion for student success, and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Tamara earned her B.A. in Government from Connecticut College, and a Master of Education at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. She also holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

With over 30 years of experience in higher education advancement, David Lively has directed successful development strategies across five comprehensive fundraising campaigns. Lively joined Northwestern University in January 2012 and in his current role managed "We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern," a $6.1 billion University-wide fundraising campaign. At Northwestern, he oversees a team of 60 development professionals responsible for principal gifts, regional and international major gifts (including offices in New York and San Francisco), and gift planning.

Lively earned a bachelor's degree in history from Southern Methodist University, a master's degree in history from Colorado State University, an MBA from the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business, and a certificate from the Management Development Program at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. In April 2017, he authored Managing Major Gift Fundraisers: A Contrarian's Guide (published by CASE).

Jenna Goodman is Co-Founder & CEO of Generous Change. As a fundraiser, she managed the largest team at KU Endowment, contributing toward a record total for the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences in a $1.6B campaign. Previously, she raised funds for her alma mater, the University of Central Missouri. While still in college, she bought, ran, and sold a drive-thru espresso shop.

Justin Fincher is Vice President for Advancement and Executive Director of the Stony Brook Foundation. Reporting directly to President McInnis and serving as a member of her senior management team, Fincher provides leadership for the university’s development and alumni relations operations.

Since 2013, while at Ohio State University (OSU), Fincher has been responsible for strategy, operations, and resources to mobilize multibillion-dollar campaigns effectively and engage hundreds of thousands of alumni and donors in developing philanthropic support for the institution’s mission and goals. In that role, he manages a team of 125 staff and cultivates philanthropic support for academic departments and medicine.

He led the successful conclusion of OSU’s previous $3 billion campaign, one that engaged 750,000 donors, and oversaw the planning and launch of its latest $4.5 billion campaign. He served as Chief Operating Officer of the OSU Alumni Association and worked closely with its board, and is providing interim leadership for the 80-person fundraising team for Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center and Health Science Colleges, which raises $200 million annually. Before his work at OSU, Fincher held leadership roles at Rutgers University and Johns Hopkins University.

A higher education leader with a growing national reputation in the advancement profession, Fincher is an active volunteer leader in the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). He also developed and leads the Advancement Leadership Lab, a joint venture of nine public research universities to accelerate the growth of senior leadership in their advancement organizations.

Bill Miller is passionate about working with nonprofit organizations. He has assisted regional, national, and international organizations with major gift initiatives, annual giving programs, planning and feasibility studies, development audits and philanthropic capability assessments, endowment programs, board training and development, corporate and foundation relations, prospect research, and campaign management. During his career, he has been involved with fund development projects that have raised more than $1 billion.

Bill has received a number of awards for his contributions to philanthropy and fundraising including the coveted Robert J. Smythe Award for Outstanding Professional Fundraiser. He regularly presents at industry conferences, authors articles for leading nonprofit and professional publications, and serves as a guest speaker on radio segments as well as podcasts. Bill has taught at Duquesne University and started an internship program with Carnegie-Mellon University students interested in philanthropic resource development.

Bill also has many years of experience working as a nonprofit management and fundraising consultant with CCS, which is one of the largest and most respected international fundraising firms in the country. During his time with CCS, he served as the Executive Director for the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh’s $125 million capital and endowment campaign, which has received more than $233 million in philanthropic commitments and was, at the time, the most successful Catholic fundraising initiative on record. As a consultant, Bill also managed an international campaign for a nonprofit organization based in Paris, France. This particular campaign, which was conducted in both the United States and Europe, solicited gifts in various currencies and involved the management and training of volunteers on two continents.

Bill lives with his daughter in Rahway, NJ.

For more than two decades Becky Fullmer has been designing and driving organizational growth and performance improvement strategies, with much of her career spent in higher education philanthropy. She serves as the Associate Vice President for Advancement Operations at the University of Central Florida, where she leads the IT, Prospect Development, Records and Gifts, Donor Relations, and Operations teams. Prior to UCF, Becky was part of the team at the University of Cincinnati Foundation, serving as Assistant Vice President and Campaign Director. She also spent several wonderful years as part of the Advancement (Prospect Development) team at The Ohio State University. Her prior experience also includes work in non-profit compliance, administration, and communications.

Becky is a two-time graduate of The Ohio State University with an undergraduate degree in English and a graduate degree in Public Affairs. She is a life-long learner passionate about leadership, technology, the Oxford comma, and the power of philanthropy to transform lives.

Greg Willems has served as president and chief executive officer of the KSU Foundation since February of 2022.

Willems has held executive fundraising positions at the University of Hawai’i, University of British Columbia and Texas A&M. Prior to his development work, he worked in the corporate sector in the construction and insurance industries.

Most recently, Willems served as vice president of development for the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, overseeing fundraising, campaigns and development operations. In that role he led them to record-breaking annual fundraising results and directed the planning and implementation for the next comprehensive, system-wide capital campaign for the University of Hawaii System. Prior to his position at the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, Willems was the executive director of development at the University of British Columbia, where he served on the executive leadership team and helped launch a $1.5 billion campaign, the largest in Canadian history at the time.He also served as the senior director of development for the Texas A&M Foundation, where he provided leadership in the university’s successful $1.5 billion “One Spirit One Vision” campaign.

Willems earned a bachelor’s degree in management from Texas A&M University in 1988. He was named three times to Hawaii Business Magazine’s “Executives You Need To Know” list and served on the board of the Engineering Development Forum.

Kristin Sorenson is the Vice President of Development at the West Point Association of Graduates. She joined the WPAOG in November 2009. During her tenure, over $803M has been raised to support West Point’s Margin of Excellence and the Long Gray Line.

Her 30 years of development experience includes serving as the Senior Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at The New School in New York City, the Associate Director of External Affairs and Director of Special Gifts at the Museum of Modern Art, the Director of International Capital Initiatives and Associate Director of University Campaign Projects at Harvard University and the Executive Director of the Simon Bolivar Foundation.

Kristin has also worked as a fundraising consultant for The United Nations Foundation, The Americas Society and the Council of the Americas and has taught fundraising essentials at Columbia University. She has served as a volunteer on numerous non-profit boards and councils over the years including The Horizons Initiative, The International Institute of Boston, The Fogg Art Museum, The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Manitoga: The Russel Wright Design Center, The Hudson Highlands Land Trust, The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, the Garrison Children’s Education Fund and The Desmond Fish Library.

Kristin speaks French and Spanish and has lived in Switzerland, France, Spain, and the Philippines. She has also traveled extensively throughout Latin America and Europe. She holds a 1984 BA in Comparative Religion from Kenyon College.

Steve Rosfeld is Vice President for Development at the University of Cincinnati Foundation. In this role, he leads fundraising efforts of 10 main campus colleges and units, and Bearcats athletics. Additionally, Steve leads the central development team that services the University of Cincinnati and UC Health through specialties involving donor relations, national development, gift planning, corporate relations, and foundation relations. He also carried strategic leadership responsibilities for the comprehensive Next/Now campaign during the early planning, launch, and implementation phases. As a student at the University of Cincinnati, Rosfeld was an intern for the UC Foundation and ultimately joined the organization in 2006 as an alumni relations professional for the UC Alumni Association. He has assumed additional responsibilities over the years including, most recently, serving as the Executive Director of Development for the Carl H. Lindner College of Business. With 20 years of professional experience, Rosfeld previously served in a variety of capacities for several local, state, and national political campaigns.

Michael Reza is an established leader that believes higher education can transform the lives of individuals, communities, and society. This belief drives his passion for the work that we do as Advancement professionals. Michael currently serves as the Associate Vice President, Portland Development & Alumni Engagement at the University of Oregon. He leads the Portland, OR regional advancement strategy and serves on the UO Advancement senior leadership team. Portland is home to the largest concentration of UO donors and alumni, as well as a regional UO Portland campus. He works closely with academic leadership, maintains a portfolio of donor prospects, and takes a prominent role in representing the university in the Portland community.

Michael has more than 17 years of experience in higher education advancement at large public and small private institutions. Prior to the UO, he served as Vice President for Advancement at George Fox University where he led a team that included development, alumni relations and grants. While there, GFU doubled their fundraising in three years and launched a campaign. Michael has experience in advancement from his time in progressive roles at the University of Arizona, UC Irvine and Oregon State University. He is an active volunteer with CASE and serves as immediate past chair of the CASE District VIII Cabinet.

With more than 25 years of fundraising experience, Cheryl Crounse has a passion for high-impact work in higher education and is driven by the opportunities that philanthropy can provide to advance excellence in support of equitable student success. She was appointed as vice president of advancement of Salem State University and executive director of the University’s in 2019. In her current role, Cheryl is responsible for strategically advancing the fundraising priorities, overseeing nearly $60 million in assets in the Salem State University Foundation, Inc. and works with a 22-member Board of Directors who partner with the university to actively steward and invest the contributed private funds.

Under her leadership, the university launched the largest campaign in Massachusetts State University history in May of 2023, set to raise $75 million. Hired by the university in 2011, Cheryl led its first-ever comprehensive campaign which exceeded its goal by raising $26.5 million and doubled the revenue distributed to the university in support of scholarships, on-campus programming and unrestricted support. Nearly 12,000 passionate donors supported the campaign priorities. She previously served as campaign manager, assistant vice president and associate vice president with increasing roles and responsibilities within advancement.

As a first-generation, Pell-eligible, public higher education student studying business at Oswego State University, she learned the fundamentals of fundraising as a student employee calling alumni for her alma mater. Prior to joining Salem State, Cheryl directed leadership giving, annual giving, pre-campaign assessment planning and advancement operations at Emerson College. She spent the early part of her career shaping and significantly growing annual giving programs at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Cheryl is engaged in her community including serving on the Board of Lynn Museum/Arts, as a Board of Director at St. Jean’s Credit Union and started a scholarship at her alma mater. She enjoys all kinds of travel including spending quality time with her family in West Valley, a rural community south of Buffalo, NY.

Scott Roberts holds an associate’s degree from Missouri State University–West Plains, a bachelor’s from the College of the Ozarks, and a master’s in public administration from the University of Nevada–Las Vegas. After college he played professional basketball in Germany and Sweden for two years.

Roberts first entered the world of fundraising as a district executive for the Boy Scouts of America. He loved the job and seeing how he could positively impact others. Two years later, a volunteer urged him to apply for a job as director of major gifts at Pittsburg State University in Kansas, where he found his real passion. He served as director of university development at Pittsburg State University where he directed a $120 million comprehensive capital campaign.

From there, he spent nine years at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) first as associate vice president and then promoted internally to vice president for philanthropy and alumni engagement/President of the UNLV Foundation, which he led to annual fundraising records in both 2017 and 2018 with an all time high of $93 million. During his tenure, UNLV raised more than $500 million and saw a 56 percent increase in the number of gifts and a 51 percent increase in donors.

In 2019, Roberts served as President and CEO of the University of Connecticut Foundation, also setting all time fundraising records in 2020 and 2021. In this capacity he oversaw a team of 160 staff and an operating budget of nearly $25 million.

Roberts joined the Oklahoma State University foundation as the vice president of development in 2021. In his current capacity he oversees nearly 100 staff responsible for fundraising, marketing/communications, donor relations and prospect development. OSUF raised $208 million in FY22 and began the planning phase of the next campaign.

Throughout his career, Roberts has been involved with numerous nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. He served on the Blackbaud Higher Education Executive Advisory Board and the Board of Directors for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Foundation. He has also sat on the CASE District VII Board of Directors and is a member of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.

A Brooklyn, New York native, Dr. Kirk A. Nooks was appointed to serve as the President of Gordon State College effective June 1, 2018. His career spans both the private and public sector which leverages over 25 years of education and engineering experience. Before transitioning to a career in higher education, Nooks worked as an engineering project manager at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center and as an account executive with a health benefits consulting company.

As President of Gordon State, Nooks is responsible for a campus of over 3,000 students which has a mission of being a catalyst for exceptional and accessible education, and a vision to elevate the region’s economic prosperity.

Nooks serves on national and local boards to include The Chair Academy and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. He has been recognized with several awards to include making the Georgia Trend’s Top 500 Influential Leaders list in 2022. As an author and presenter, he continues to stay active on topics that include college and university leadership, strategic planning and the learning college.

Dr. Nooks holds a doctorate in higher education administration from George Washington University (Washington, D.C.) and an MBA in marketing and a bachelor of science in industrial management from Mercer University (Macon, Ga.). He is a graduate of the Thomas Lakin Institute for Mentored Leadership and a member of the inaugural cohort of the American Council on Education’s Spectrum Leadership Institute.

Nooks is a first-generation college student and graduate. He believes that when institutions put students at the heart of its work, the institution can accomplish anything.

Dr. Kirk A. Nooks and his wife Alison reside in Forsyth, GA with their three children.

At the end of May, Dr. Nooks will continue his commitment to bridging the gap between high school students and the growing number of unfilled jobs through affordable, accessible, life-changing educational pathways by serving as as President and CEO of the Council on Occupational Education.

It's a fascinating story. Tune in!

Brian T. Hervey serves as the vice chancellor for University Advancement and Alumni Relations and the president of the UCI Foundation at the University of California, Irvine. He provides leadership over all aspects of the university’s fundraising programs, alumni relations and development initiatives. Before his appointment as vice chancellor, Brian served as associate vice chancellor for UCI Health Advancement.

Prior to joining UCI, Brian led successful multimillion dollar fundraising campaigns at Scott & White Healthcare Foundation as its vice president for philanthropy and communications. In this role, he supervised staff in the areas of major gift development, communications and planned giving for the Baylor Scott & White Health Central Division, which included 14 hospitals and over 65 clinics in central Texas. Previously, he was director of institutional advancement at Texas A&M Health Science Center (HSC) College of Medicine.

Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Texas A&M University. He is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) and a Certified Gift Planning Professional (CGPP). Additionally, Brian served as the chair for development on the institutional advancement steering committee for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and has presented at conferences on advancement topics for the AAMC, Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) and Council for Advancement and Support of Higher Education (CASE).

About Reshunda

Dr. Reshunda Mahone is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving at North Carolina State University. With over twenty years of advancement and development experience, she has supported every aspect of higher education fundraising. Dr. Mahone has previously held fundraising roles at Emory University, Virginia State University, Spelman College, the University of Miami, Georgia State University, and the University of Central Florida. She began her career in advancement at her alma mater, the University of Florida. She has expertise in campaign fundraising, data analytics, diversity, equity, and inclusion in philanthropy, leadership development, and operational optimization.

She is an active member of the Council for the Advancement & Support of Education (CASE) District III Board, and has previously served CASE on the Commission on Philanthropy and the Minority Serving Institution Advisory Board. Dr. Mahone also serves as the chair of the African American Development Officers (AADO) Network board and previously served on the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) boards for the Central Virginia, Greater Atlanta, and the Miami chapters. Dr. Mahone earned an Ed.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University, an MBA from the University of Central Florida, a B.S. in Decision and Information Sciences from the University of Florida, and is a Certified Fundraising Executive.

Mo Cotton Kelly was named senior vice president for stakeholder engagement and chief operating officer (SVP-COO) at the UConn Foundation with responsibility for driving operational and capital campaign strategy, overseeing key administrative functions, and guiding a culture of inclusivity. Cotton Kelly manages the departments of alumni relations, marketing and communications, annual giving, stewardship, and board engagement.

“It is a privilege to take on this new position, which was created with the UConn Foundation’s future in mind,” says Cotton Kelly. “Having direct oversight of engagement, annual giving, stewardship, and marketing and communications affords me a 30,000-foot view for developing strategy foundation-wide, so that we can elevate our critical work in support of Connecticut’s flagship university.”

“I have worked alongside Mo for several years and know her to be an exceptional leader, strategic thinker, and valued colleague,” says Jake Lemon, president and CEO of the UConn Foundation. “I look forward to working in close partnership with Mo in her new role.”

Cotton Kelly, who joined the UConn Foundation in 2014, has a national reputation for strong leadership built over two decades in higher education advancement. Previously, she was executive director of Bowling Green State University’s Alumni Association. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from BGSU. Currently, she is the District I Chair for CASE and an active member in the Council for Alumni Association Executives (CAAE).

Kimberly Russell, Ed.D, vice president for University Advancement, Texas Woman's University.

Russell has served as chancellor of Louisiana State University’s Eunice campus for the past three years, following more than two decades of leadership in advancement, foundations, corporate relations and grants for public and private higher education institutions.

During her leadership at LSU, enrollment at the Eunice campus grew 29 percent, and degree and certificate programs in high-demand healthcare fields were expanded. She also worked with the LSU Foundation on a comprehensive fundraising campaign to benefit all LSU institutions.

“This advancement leadership position is strategically important to TWU’s ability to prepare students to achieve their dreams and contribute meaningfully to Texas, and also to leverage our distinctive position as the nation’s largest university primarily for women,” said Carine M. Feyten, TWU chancellor and president.

Prior to her current position, Russell worked at Tyler Junior College as vice president for University Advancement and executive director of the TJC Foundation, which had a 35-member board of directors. During her 16-year tenure there, TJC completed a historic capital program that expanded the campus by 25 percent, including a new nursing and health sciences center, an energy center and residence hall. In addition, from 2013-2016, CASE consecutively recognized the TJC Foundation’s fundraising program for overall fundraising performance and sustained excellence.

Before joining TJC in 1999, Russell served as director of foundation and corporate relations at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas, where she and her team acquired more than $5 million in successful grant proposals from a number of high-profile foundations. Prior to that, she served as a secondary English teacher (grades 7-9) and as an adjunct professor of English at Kilgore College.

“I’m excited to return to pursuing my passion — higher education advancement,” Russell said. “I’m also glad to return to North Texas, after growing up in East Texas, attending the University of Texas at Tyler, and completing both of my graduate degrees at UNT.”

Jonah Nigh joined The New School in September 2021 as Senior Vice President of Development and Alumni Engagement. In this role, Jonah leads The New School’s strategic fundraising, institutional advancement, alumni engagement, corporate, and foundation relations. He came to The New School from the Jewish Museum, where he served as the Director of Major Gifts, Senior Director of Individual Giving, and Acting Deputy Director of Development before being appointed Chief Development Officer. Other development roles included positions at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Columbia University, Opera America, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

A classically trained singer, he earned his undergraduate degree at Lawrence University and a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory. Performance credits include roles at the Aspen Music Festival, Boston Lyric Opera, Dorian Opera Theatre, Opera Boston, and on TV and film. In 2021, he and his husband were semi-finalists on NBC/Peacock's Baking It, a new baking competition produced by Amy Poehler and hosted by SNL alums Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg.

A frequent public speaker, he has served in a variety of roles for NBC, Peacock TV, ABC, WNYC, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, NYC Pride March, Asian Leadership Collective, Association of Fundraising Professionals, The Aspen Leadership Group, Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design, Development Debrief and DonorScape podcasts, Con Edison Musicians’ Residency Program, Columbia Business School, Florida State University, Lawrence University, Museum of the City of New York, The Jewish Museum, The New School, Phi Sigma Pi National Convention, among other organizations. In 2019, he was appointed to Bronx Community Board Four by former Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and served on its executive and economic development committees. He currently serves on the boards of The Association of Fundraising Professionals (NYC Chapter) and Grapevine.

When he's not fundraising, he's usually baking or running. He and his husband currently reside in the Bronx.

Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter: @nighjonah

Facebook: @Jonah Nigh

Shomari White is the Senior Associate Vice President, Resource Advancement, Emory University. Shomari has a strong track record of leading non-profit organizations through successful strategic planning and change management. As a former frontline fundraiser, his focus has been leading teams to deliver technology, analytics, and reporting that creates a donor centric environment while positioning frontline fundraisers for optimal success. In 2017, he was named Associate Vice President of the Year by the International Association of Top Professionals and has served as the President of the Association of Advancement Professionals (AASP).

Matthew Hodge joined the University of Maryland as vice president for university relations in July 2022. Reporting directly to President Darryll Pines and serving on the leadership cabinet, he leads a team of 200+ advancement professionals responsible for generating private philanthropic and volunteer support among the university’s alumni and friends, and for best-in-class engagement of donors.

University Relations staff, centrally based within the division and within 14 schools, colleges and divisions across campus, focus on annual, major, principal and planned gifts; alumni and donor relations; and the financial management and operations of the division and UMCP Foundation.

The University of Maryland College Park Foundation is responsible for oversight of the private assets held by the university including the $1B+ endowment and the real estate corporation investments.

Prior to Maryland, Matt served in progressive advancement leadership positions at the University of Florida, Seminole State College, and the University of Central Florida. Matt and his wife Erin live in Bethesda with their Springer Spaniel, Camden. We have a son at FSU and a daughter at Wake Forest.

David Nolan is associate vice chancellor of University Development and campaign director at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas.

He graduated TCU and began his professional development career as an annual fund officer in University Advancement during The Next Frontier campaign. After serving two years in the Peace Corps as a non-governmental organization development advisor, David became the associate director of development for the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech. He then served as the director of development for the College of Engineering at North Carolina State, where he led a $250 million campaign as part of a $1 billion university-wide effort. David returned to his alma mater in 2005 to help design and implement The Campaign for TCU, which raised more than $434 million including more than $100 million for scholarships. He currently serves as the director of Lead On: A Campaign for TCU, which aims to raise $1 billion in support of TCU’s people, programs, and endowment.

He earned the Master of Arts in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and served as a Summer Fellow of Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College Institute for Vice Presidents of Institutional Advancement. David was recognized in the 2009 Fort Worth Business Press Forty Under Forty and successfully completed Leadership Fort Worth in 2007.

Dr. Kyle D. Edgington is vice president for development and alumni relations at The University of Texas at Dallas. Since joining the University in 2008, he has served as associate vice president, assistant dean for development and visiting clinical professor at the Naveen Jindal School of Management.

During his tenure, Edgington secured the two largest alumni gifts in UT Dallas history. The unprecedented combined $30 million impact of these gifts resulted in the renaming of the management school to the Naveen Jindal School of Management and the school’s honors program to the Davidson Management Honors Program.

Prior to joining UT Dallas, Edgington held fundraising positions at Texas Tech University, initially as a major gifts officer and later the director of development for the Edward E. Whitacre College of Engineering. While at Texas Tech, Edgington successfully organized and launched a $20 million campaign for the Department of Petroleum Engineering resulting in a $15 million naming gift to establish the Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering.

Edgington received a bachelor’s degree in management information systems from Texas Tech, an MBA from Wayland Baptist University and a PhD in public affairs from UT Dallas. He also holds the Certified Fund Raising Executive credential. Edgington was named one of the Dallas Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” honorees in 2012 for his work as president of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star Foundation. In 2017, he was inducted into the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District Hall of Fame.

A native of Bedford, Texas, Edgington and his wife, Jill, have three sons.

Tom Wamsley joined UIC in 2019. Previously, he served as the Chief Development Officer at Stephen M Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan where his efforts resulted in a significant increase in the school’s visibility and impact, and the fundraising of $415 million for the Business School during the campaign that closed in December of 2018.

Tom arrived at UIC with over 20 years of experience in development, including 18 years in higher education with a demonstrated ability to develop and execute fundraising and engagement strategies, experience in campaign planning and successful campaign closure, and experience in management of alumni engagement and supervision of related staff.

Tom received his Master of Business Administration from Wright State University, and a Bachelors of the Arts in Political Science from Ohio University.

Fred Van Sickle is the vice president for Alumni Affairs and Development and the university's chief fundraiser, overseeing the team responsible for building alumni engagement worldwide and securing private support from individuals and institutions for the University through the “To Do the Greatest Good” campaign.

Before joining Cornell in January of 2016, Fred served Columbia University as executive vice president for Alumni and Development. During his 12 years there, he played a pivotal role in planning, executing, and completing the $6.1 billion Columbia Campaign. Fred also served as chief development officer at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey; associate vice president for Development and assistant dean for Development for the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan; vice president for Alumni and Development and secretary of the College at Lake Forest College (his undergraduate alma mater); and director of Principal Gifts at Princeton University.

Fred holds a Master of Education degree from Harvard University and a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He serves as president of the Board of the Finger Lakes Land Trust and as a board member of the Food Bank of the Southern Tier.

Kathryn Van Sickle is a passionate fundraiser, community builder, and storyteller and has spent the past decade focused on building expertise in fundraising. She has worked for small colleges, large research universities, and now works at an independent day school.

Kathryn currently works in New York City as the Director of Major Gifts & Strategic Engagement at The Chapin School, an independent k-12, day school. She is also the founder and host of The Development Debrief LLC (https://www.devdebrief.com/). The Debrief podcast has been featured in The Chronicle of Philanthropy and Kathryn has been an invited guest speaker for the Association of Fundraising Professionals-NYC, Women in Development, CASE programs and more. Most recently, the Debrief was named the first channel of Evertrue Studios Podcast Network.

Kathryn is a member of Trinity College's Board of Fellows and the Engagement Chair for the Women’s Leadership Council Executive Committee. She is also the Vice President on the Associate Board of Directors for the nationally-acclaimed Jericho Project which is ending homelessness by enabling homeless individuals to attain housing, employment & mental & physical health services. She lives in New York City’s Upper West Side and loves running in Central Park.

Dan Peterson joined the University of Washington in 2016 and recently retired from his position as vice president for development for university advancement and president of the UW Foundation. Dan has served in a number senior leadership roles for four leading public research universities, including as Vice Chancellor/CAO at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dan's career focused on fostering a best-in-class fully integrated advancement organization, in close partnership with college and unit leaders, with a mission of enhancing the impact of edication throughout the world. His 40-year career in the field includes 21 years at Washington State University, where he served as Campaign Director, the Director of Gift Planning, Associate Athletic Director, Regional Giving Director, and the Director of Athletic Development. Dan’s tenure also includes UW Medicine Advancement and Oregon State University Foundation.

Dan was raised in Federal Way, WA, is a 1982 graduate of WSU and earned his law degree from Seattle University in 1985. He is a member of the Washington State Bar Association.

As the Vice President of Alumni Engagement at Boston University, Erika Jordan serves as the chief alumni engagement officer for the campus and plays a key role in providing leadership and strategic guidance to the Alumni Engagement, Annual Giving, and Development Events & Communications teams.

Prior to this role, Erika served as the Assistant Vice Chancellor, Alumni & Constituent Engagement at UC Irvine. She was instrumental in growing alumni engagement, developing the engagement and annual fundraising programs, growing the annual fundraising by establishing campaigns like UCI Giving Day, UCI’s dual alumni engagement campaign goal and leading special projects.

Erika has spent her career in politics, special events, alumni relations, frontline fundraising, and served as the Director, Alumni Relations and Annual Giving for the USC Marshall School of Business prior to joining UCI. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Howard University and executive masters in leadership from USC.

David P. Bennett serves as the Senior Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at Howard University. In this role, David provides strategic vision, and leads the critical work of developing campaigns and activities that will enhance philanthropic support and alumni engagement for the University.

David is an energetic leader with more than 25 years of experience advancing development strategies for organizations with national and international focus. Most recently he led all philanthropic programs globally for one of the world’s largest nonprofit organizations, the National Geographic Society. Serving as Chief Development Officer, his responsibilities included managing a portfolio of trustees and high net-worth donors and prospects, overseeing all international fundraising efforts and providing direction for several keys areas including principal and major gifts, planned giving, annual giving, and stewardship. In addition, he helped to build a network of fundraising and programmatic offices for National Geographic around the world. David has a proven track record of building close, collaborative, and transparent relationships across teams, creating strategies that increase engagement, and driving campaigns that exceed their target goal.

Prior to joining National Geographic, David was Chief Advancement Officer of Safe Kids Worldwide, an international injury prevention organization. In this role, he was responsible for the fundraising, communications, and public policy functions of an organization with over 350 affiliates in the United States and operations in 17 other countries. His previous experience also includes serving as vice president of United Cerebral Palsy of America and as director of the Fundraising and Sponsorship Group of Odell, Simms, & Lynch, a consulting firm that provide services to nonprofit organizations. Early in his career, Bennett worked in federal politics as a finance director for two United States Senate campaigns and as a fundraiser for a national political party.

David earned a Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia.

Joe Kender serves as Senior Vice President for University Relations at Saint Joseph’s University. In this role, he oversees the strategy and execution of university advancement and government & community relations. His primary aim is to position the university externally among a wide array of constituents ranging from our immediate community to the region and the university’s nearly 70,000 alumni and parents.

Kender has more than 30 years of experience working at three institutions - Saint Joseph's University, Lehigh University, and Georgetown University. A creative and collaborative leader, Joe brings expertise in building organizations for sustained excellence and raising capital. During his career, he has worked with university leadership and boards to drive broad institutional excellence and performance.

Specialties: Institutional strategic planning and implementation; Board management and recruitment; Partnering with leadership on a wide array of issues that span the institution; Proven ability to work effectively with academic leadership and members of the academy; Understanding of the higher ed business model and the role of philanthropy; Public speaking and public relations; Building high-performing teams; Acquiring and managing talent; Creating a positive culture to drive performance; Campaign planning and implementation; Broad understanding and experience with virtually every facet of a sophisticated advancement program; Raising capital - specifically, working with donors to bring transformative impact to institutions.

Kender holds a BA and an MBA, both from Lehigh University.

Jean Kramer Crosby joined Ball State University in 2011. She became President of the Ball State University Foundation and Vice President of University Advancement in 2020, with the Foundation’s 35-member board and 75 employees who are responsible for fundraising, alumni relations, donor relations, and stewardship of the Foundation’s $300 million in assets.

Previously, Jean had been the Foundation’s vice president for strategy, engagement, and communications. In that role, she was responsible for developing strategies, building relationships, and instilling a culture of philanthropy among Ball State University students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends of the University. She also has overseen alumni engagement, annual giving, donor relations, marketing, communications, advancement services, prospect research, and alumni center operations.

A Ball State graduate, Jean also served as director of donor relations and special projects for Ball State’s Office of Development and as interim associate vice president for development. She was also a development officer for the Community Foundation for Muncie and Delaware County Inc. and international training manager and fund development supervisor for Rotary International.

Dana Cummings serves as Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Franklin College, located in Franklin, Indiana. She has spent the entirety of her 16-year career in higher education fundraising - working for big public institutions, as well as small privates, and all within her home state of Indiana. Dana is also pursing a doctorate in education, and is set to complete her degree in 2024. Dana's research interests have to do with women in higher education leadership positions and she is a strong supporter of women who are interested in progressing up the career ladder within higher education, especially those with an advancement background. Dana and her husband have three children, ages 14, 11, and 9, and live on a small farm outside of Franklin, Indiana, where they raise katahdin sheep and chickens.

Dan Allenby is an internationally recognized expert on annual giving and the Principal and Founder of Annual Giving Network, the world's leading resources for annual giving programs. Through its training, professional development, and recruiting services, AGN is proud to have supported more than 2,500 colleges, universities and independent schools around the world—including over 700 institutions through its membership program.

Dan is an active writer, speaker, and consultant, and his book Ideas for Annual Giving offers designs for helping organizations increase their levels of sustainable philanthropic support. During his 25 year career, Dan led annual giving and membership programs at Boston University, Tufts University, Georgetown University, and the National Geographic Society. He is a CASE Laureate and a recipient of CASE’s prestigious Crystal Apple Award for Teaching Excellence. He also served on the faculty for CASE’s Summer Institute in Educational Fundraising and chaired its Senior Annual Giving Professionals Conference and Annual Giving Workshop for five collective terms.

Dan holds a B.A. in History from James Madison University and a M.B.A. from Boston College. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family, writing and playing music, and getting away to the beaches on Cape Cod.

Birgit Smith Burton is a respected leader in the fundraising profession who has raised more than $500 million during her 33-year career. As the executive director of foundation relations at the Georgia Institute of Technology, she led her team in raising $309 million toward the Institute's most recent successful $1.8 billion capital campaign.

Birgit is a well-regarded speaker on the topics of fundraising and diversity. She has authored articles on diversity in the fundraising profession, co-authored the book, The Philanthropic Covenant with Black America, and contributed to the book Five Minutes for Fundraising, A Collection of Expert Advice. Birgit is honored to tell her personal story in the book Collecting Courage, which shares the lived experiences of Black women and men working in the nonprofit and charitable space (published fall 2020). She was proud to be selected by Georgia Tech leadership to participate in the first cohort of Leading Women @ Tech, which identified the next community of leaders who will guide the institution in the 21st century. Birgit also was chosen as one of the 2020 Faces of Inclusive Excellence, recognizing faculty, staff, and students who are committed to gender diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Birgit serves on the global board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and recently was voted as the chair-elect for 2021. She has the distinction of being the first African American woman in AFP’s 60-year history to serve in this role. Birgit is the immediate past chair of the IDEA Committee (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access). She also chairs the A.E. Lowe Grice Scholarship Fund, serves on the Hosea Helps board of directors, and advises the Aspen Leadership Group. Birgit is the founder of AADO, the African American Development Officers Network, which for 23 years has provided professional development, education, employment support, mentorship, and networking opportunities for fundraisers of color. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Birgit earned a bachelor's degree in media communications from Medaille College in Buffalo, New York.

Armin Afsahi was appointed Associate Vice President of Alumni Affairs and Development (AA&D) and Dean of Development for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) by Edgerley Family Dean Claudine Gay in August 2019. In this key executive leadership role, Afsahi is responsible for designing and executing a fundraising vision that advances FAS’s mission and diverse academic priorities. In this capacity, Afsahi leads a fundraising enterprise that works collaboratively to generate annual philanthropic resources in excess of $1 Billion, and contributes to strategies to engage alumni, parents and friends with Harvard through creative and meaningful engagement.

An accomplished and respected advancement leader with nearly 30 years of experience, Afsahi brings a wide range of expertise in institutional advancement, strategic management, business development, leadership, and operations. Prior to joining AA&D, he served as the vice chancellor for advancement at the University of Denver. Previously, he held senior roles in advancement for the University of California San Diego and Georgetown University.

Afsahi has served on national and local boards and held volunteer leadership roles for both nonprofit and professional organizations. He holds a BA in communications from UC San Diego and an MBA from the University of San Diego. Afsahi lives in Boston with his husband, Joe Eklund, and enjoy outdoors, travel, playing tennis and enjoying sports.

Scott Mory is Carnegie Mellon University’s vice president for University Advancement. He is responsible for overseeing the university’s overall advancement efforts and for building partnerships with all of CMU’s philanthropic and volunteer communities, including university alumni, parents and friends; charitable foundations; and corporate donors.

Appointed in 2015, Mory works closely with administrative and academic leadership to develop advancement plans and resources to fulfill the university’s potential and support its continued ascent. Under his leadership, in October 2019 the university launched its most ambitious philanthropic campaign to date — Make Possible: The Campaign for Carnegie Mellon University. Thus far, more than 56,000 supporters have supported the campaign, committing $1.9 billion of its $2 billion goal. Among the impacts these supporters have had include the creation of 50 new endowed faculty chairs, including 4 endowed deanships; more than 300 new endowed scholarships and fellowships; and new world-class facilities like the Tepper Quad and ANSYS Hall, as well as new planned facilities for science and for health, wellness and athletics.

Mory was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in July 2022. In the Pittsburgh community, Mory is a member of the Andy Warhol Museum Advisory Board and the AHN Cancer Institute Advisory Council.

Prior to joining CMU, Mory served as associate senior vice president and campaign director at the University of Southern California, managing the day-to-day activities of the Campaign for USC, a historic effort to raise $6 billion. He joined USC in 2007 as associate senior vice president for Alumni Relations, a position he held until his promotion to campaign director in 2012. Prior to USC, Mory served as assistant vice president for Alumni Relations and Annual Giving at George Washington University. He also was an adjunct professor in the university’s law school, teaching a first-year course on legal research, writing and oral advocacy.

Scott holds a bachelor’s degree from the George Washington University and a juris doctor from the George Washington University Law School. Following law school, he clerked for the Hon. John Garrett Penn of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and practiced as a litigation associate at the New York office of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP.

Steven founded Fundriver in March 2006, and serves as President and CEO. He launched Fundriver because he recognized a gap in non-profit financial management. Always being an innovator and having an entrepreneurial mindset, he saw the potential that Fundriver had even before it was fully developed. The initial concept began as a custom project for a client and has since grown to a robust endowment tracking software for over 400 clients. In building Fundriver and hiring 22 employees, he has created a company culture focused on its team members and providing exceptional client service.

Lynne Wester is the Principal and Founder of the DRG Group. She strongly believes that donor relations is the key to unlocking fundraising success and that organizations must be as dedicated to the donor experience, as they are to the ask itself. Sometimes referred to as the Olivia Pope of fundraising, Lynne helps organizations when they need it the most – when crisis or opportunity arrive.

Floyd Akins joined The University of Toledo in February 2022 as a fundraiser with 25 years of experience in higher education advancement, public relations and admissions ready to move UToledo forward through philanthropy and increased engagement of alumni and friends.

Akins came to UToledo from Michigan State University, where he served as associate vice president for advancement, overseeing constituent fundraising, individual giving and prospect development and corporate and foundation engagement. Prior to that, Akins served as a senior consultant for the Aspen Leadership Group where he executed non-profit executive search and counsel in advancement and fundraising strategies.

In his career Akins also has served as assistant vice chancellor for development for the University of Tennessee Foundation, senior associate vice president for constituent fundraising for Ohio State University and vice president of the Ohio State University Foundation, and executive director of development for the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business. He also held several positions at Grinnell College.

Akins earned a master of arts degree from the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communications and a bachelor’s degree in communications from Eastern Illinois University College of Liberal Arts.

Cindi Roth has been leading the private philanthropic efforts of WVU and WVU Medicine as the president and CEO of the WVU Foundation since 2014. Cindi, with her 30 years of experience in leadership, fundraising, finance, and strategic planning, helped guide and direct the Foundation’s historic and successful $1 billion+ “State of Minds” comprehensive campaign for the University, which concluded in 2017. The Foundation is currently in the quiet phase of its next Campaign of $1.6 billion, which is set to go public in the Fall of 2023. Cindi is the first female president and CEO and the sixth president and CEO of the WVU Foundation since it was established in 1954.

A Pennsylvania native, she has served on several nonprofit boards in the western Pennsylvania and West Virginia region. Prior to arriving at the WVUF, Roth played a key leadership role in the University of Pittsburgh’s successful $2 billion “Building Our Future Together” capital campaign, as an associate vice chancellor for institutional advancement.

Cindi earned her Master of Public Management degree from the Heinz School of Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Pittsburgh and is a professional Registered Nurse in the state of Pennsylvania. Cindi lives at Cheat Lake, WV and enjoys golfing, running and cooking to balance her non-work life.

Troy Finn leads campaign and fundraising efforts for the University of New Hampshire across 13 colleges and schools, athletics, centers, and institutes. He joined UNH in 2017 from Development Guild DDI where he provided campaign and fundraising counsel to institutions ranging from large, research-intensive public universities to private liberal arts colleges, schools, and non-profit organizations. Having been a member of fundraising teams during campaigns of historic magnitude at Harvard Chan School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Troy has led both front-line philanthropy efforts and back-end development operations. Troy obtained a master’s degree in Management and Finance from Harvard University Extension School and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the College of the Holy Cross. He’s the youngest of ten kids and loves exploring the northern New England coast with his husband and their German Shepherds, Candide and Cunegonde.

Debbie Dutton has served for the past nine years as the Vice President of Advancement and President of the Foundation at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) where she leads a team of 130 advancement professionals in the leadership phase of capital campaign that follows the University’s most ambitious and successful capital campaign to date, Celebrate 150, the Campaign for UNH. During this effort, UNH has surpassed all previous records in fundraising and engagement and just closed the campaign June 2018 at $308M well above the $275M goal. Prior to this role, she served as vice president for development and alumni relations at Colby College. During her six-year tenure at Colby, and before being promoted to vice president, she served as campaign director and led the school’s largest fundraising effort, the Reaching the World campaign, which surpassed its goal to raise $376 million when it concluded in 2010.

Debbie’s career in development began at the Maine chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. She has held development positions in major gifts and senior management at three Harvard teaching hospitals: the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Children's Hospital, and the Joslin Diabetes Center. She also was a senior leadership giving officer at Bates College.

Debbie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Maine and a Master of Science degree in business management from Lesley College. She lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband and their two children.

Todd founded Pledgemine, a marketing technology company, in 2009. With a diverse background in brand strategy, database marketing and digital print technologies he has developed a highly effective, personal approach to business communication. As Founder and Principal of Strategy One for twelve years, Todd led creative teams serving Motorola, AT&T, AstroTurf and Wheaton College. He has consulted many companies and non-profits on direct mail strategy. Todd has a B.A. in Economics from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois.

Rodney M. Grabowski is Vice President for University Advancement at the University at Buffalo (UB), a position he assumed in December 2017.

Rod has more than 30 years working in higher education advancement, and he is passionate about raising funds to supporting education.

Prior to beginning his tenure at UB, Rod was the President of the University of Cincinnati Foundation, as well as Vice President of Advancement at the university and President and CEO of the UC Health Foundation. He has held similar leadership advancement positions at the University of South Florida and the University of North Florida. His fundraising career began at Alfred University in Upstate NY.

Rod is a native of Phoenix, N.Y. He holds an MBA from the University of North Florida and a BA in international relations from Syracuse University.

Terri Goss Kinzy Ph.D. serves as the 20th President of Illinois State University. She started her career at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) rising to professor in the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Pediatrics. At Rutgers, Dr. Kinzy served as Vice President for Research. Dr. Kinzy then joined Western Michigan University in 2018 as Vice President of Research and Innovation and Professor of Biological Sciences. Previously Dr. Kinzy was elected to the University Master Educator Guild, selected as a Bridges to the Professoriate Faculty Mentor of the Year from the Compact for Faculty Diversity, and named a Crain’s Detroit Notable Woman in STEM. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her mentoring of others has been recognized with the New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research Outstanding Mentor Award and the R. Walter Schlesinger Basic Science Mentoring Award. Dr. Kinzy is recognized as a world leader in the study of protein synthesis. Her work has been funded by numerous sponsors including the NIH, the NSF as a CAREER Award recipient, the Human Frontiers Science Program, and numerous foundations and corporations.

Rod Kirsch, Senior Vice President, brings a wealth of experience in alumni relations and higher education fundraising to the firm. Over his 34-year career in university advancement, he has provided executive leadership in raising more than $5 billion of philanthropy.

Rod is currently Senior Vice President Emeritus for Development and Alumni Relations at The Pennsylvania State University after serving as Senior Vice President for 20 years. Rare in the length of tenure and record of accomplishment at one institution, he led two seven-year, billion-dollar-plus capital campaigns from start to finish. Under his leadership, Penn State’s endowment sextupled, its annual donor base increased from 125,000 to 193,000, and the Penn State Alumni Association grew to 177,000 members, the largest of any dues-paying university association in the country.

Kirsch is widely credited as the driving force behind the success of “For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students.” This seven-year $2 billion effort took place amid an historic economic upheaval and during one of the worst crises a higher education institution has ever faced. The campaign concluded on schedule and exceeded its goal by raising $2.19 billion with donations from 176,000 alumni, setting a new alumni participation record among public and private institutions. Other institutions, such as Michigan State University, the University of Missouri, and professional organizations like the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and the Association of Donor Relations Professionals, have benefitted from his expertise and experience as a leader during a major crisis.

Rod currently consults on a range of topics, including campaign planning and management, organizational design and assessment, resource development and budget planning, crisis fundraising, professional staff development and mentoring, the alignment of academic and philanthropic priorities, and the role of academic leadership in fundraising.

Rod serves as a faculty member of the Big Ten Fundraisers Institute, a premier educational seminar for senior development professionals, and as vice-chair of the Board of Nurturing Minds in Africa, a non-profit working to educate girls in Tanzania. He has been a frequent speaker at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) seminars.

He previously served as Senior Vice President for Development at the Indiana University Foundation; Executive Director, Capital Campaign at the University of California at Berkeley; Director of Annual Giving at Drake University; and Director of Undergraduate Chapter Services at Delta Upsilon International Fraternity.

Rod is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the School of Education at Indiana University. In 2014, the Penn State Alumni Association granted him Honorary Alumnus status. In 2016, he was recognized by Penn State as its Renaissance Honoree of the Year.

A proud native of North Dakota, Rod holds a Bachelor of Arts in English with Phi Beta Kappa honors from the University of North Dakota, as well as a Master of Science in higher education and student affairs from Indiana University Bloomington.

Mike Goodwin joined the OSU Foundation in 2004. With Oregon State President Ed Ray, he launched the university’s first capital campaign in 2007 with a goal to raise $625 million. The Campaign for OSU concluded in 2014 after raising $1.14 billion from 106,000 donors.

“Mike Goodwin is a remarkable champion for Oregon State University,” President Ray said, reflecting on Mike's leadership. “The university has benefitted beyond measure from his vision, leadership and far-reaching contributions while leading the OSU Foundation. His many contributions will continue to have an impact on current and future generations of students, faculty, staff and Oregonians.”

Goodwin came to Oregon State after a successful career at Georgetown University, where he built a fundraising program and led a billion-dollar campaign. He also served in leadership in fundraising at Washington State University. During Goodwin’s tenure at Oregon State, the foundation has almost doubled in size and recently integrated with the OSU Alumni Association. Fundraising totals have grown from $30 million to more than $100 million annually, and foundation assets have increased from $430 million to $850 million.

An active member of the Oregon community, Goodwin serves on the boards of the Portland Business Alliance; Medical Teams International, which he chairs; and The Beaver Caucus, the OSU Foundation's new legislative advocacy effort. A respected leader in his profession, he has also served as board chair of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.

In Mike's words, “I’m deeply grateful to all the incredible people I have worked with here at Oregon State and for all the success we have had together."

Bringing over 20 years of successful fundraising experience to Cranbrook, Eileen’s expertise includes development leadership for complex organizations in higher education and the arts. As Chief Advancement Officer, Eileen directs campus-wide fundraising efforts designed to achieve Cranbrook's institutional priorities for the next decade.

Eileen joins Cranbrook most recently from the J. Paul Getty Trust in Los Angeles, where she has been Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement. She also served as Acting Vice President for Institutional Advancement from March 2014 through February 2015. Prior to her position at the Getty Trust, Eileen was at the Indiana University Foundation for 17 years. She served in positions of significant responsibility and complexity, including as Associate Vice President for the Principal Gifts Program and Assistant Vice President for Major Gift Programs.

One of the world's leading centers of education, science, and art, Cranbrook was founded in 1904 by George Gough and Ellen Scripps Booth. Today, the Cranbrook Educational Community comprises an Academy of Art and Art Museum, a Center for Collections and Research, House and Gardens, an Institute of Science, and Pre-K through 12 independent college preparatory schools. Its National Historic Landmark campus is graced by architecturally significant buildings, outdoor sculpture, and natural and tended landscapes. The Cranbrook community receives more than 300,000 people annually, engaging learners of all ages and interests in educational programs and experiences.

About Jonathan:

Jonathan Purvis is a respected leader in higher education advancement with over 20 years of experience. He was named Butler University’s Vice President for Advancement on April 16th, 2018. Purvis leads the public fundraising phase of Butler Beyond: The Campaign for Butler University which surpassed it’s $250 million goal in February 2022. The largest campaign in the University’s history, Butler Beyond will conclude on May 31, 2022.

Prior to arriving at Butler, Purvis held progressive leadership positions at Indiana University including Vice President for Development and Regional Campuses, Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations for the Indiana University School of Education, and Executive Director of Special Gifts and Annual Giving.

Purvis holds the Certified Fund Raising Executive credential (CFRE) and has taught a variety of fundraising courses. He is a frequent presenter on a range of Advancement topics and a contributing author to the third edition of the acclaimed Achieving Excellence in Fundraising. He holds a BA in English and Master of Public Affairs, both from Indiana University.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent talks with Stephen Rodriguez, Associate Vice President for Development at Brandeis University. Stephen shares his experience playing saxophone on a cruise ship, taking 200 dives in 18 months to get his scuba diving certification, and what led him to accept his first job in development.

Other topics on the menu are: Cryptocurrency. Blockchain. NFTs. Are they the keys to making philanthropy more efficient and sustainable? Also: How to make money off the things that genuinely interest you, and how to break presentation mode and get into listening mode with your donors.

Juan is the Assistant Vice President for Advancement Strategy and Campaign Director for The University of Texas at Austin. His experience includes previous campaign and advancement leadership positions with Texas Athletics, Wake Forest University, and Arizona State University Foundation. His experience includes campaign planning and goal setting, case statement development, analytics modeling. business intelligence, and process optimization.

Prior to joining the development community, Juan spent eleven years as a management consultant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Arthur Andersen and BearingPoint. His client experience focused on strategy formulation, merger integration, revenue growth enhancement, and operational improvement projects.

His education includes a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin.

Dori Sonntag is the Associate Vice President for Organizational Effectiveness at Gonzaga University, overseeing strategic planning, system enhancement, and talent management for University Advancement. She has been with Gonzaga for 23 years, serving in a variety of roles within advancement. Dori has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and Master of Arts in counseling psychology, both from Gonzaga University and is also a certified leadership coach.

Mike took his first job in development to subsidize a running habit (he was an avid cross country runner in college and later ran for the Nike Farm Team at Stanford). But thanks to some amazing mentors at Stanford, Mike came to love the work and built himself a pretty awesome advancement career. He worked his way up from an Administrative Assistant on the Reunion Campaigns team at Stanford, eventually managed the team, and then made the tough decision to leave one of the highest performing fundraising shops in the country to build out a development shop at Santa Clara University.

Brent and Mike talk about what drove that decision, the structures and programs Mike has borrowed from Stanford and adopted at Santa Clara, and the challenges and beauty of building a small but high-performing advancement team. They exchange ideas for educating current students about philanthropy; for personalizing alumni communications; and for discovering donors’ true passions (like the ones they demonstrate on social media platforms). They also talk candidly about about the implications of being down 25% of staff during the past year’s hiring freeze.

Todd is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Alumni Relations and the Executive Director of the Mizzou Alumni Association. As the chief alumni relations officer, Todd leads the alumni relations, annual giving, donor relations and advancement marketing and communication teams. Todd joined the Mizzou Alumni Association staff in 1995 and recently celebrated 25 years at Mizzou. During his tenure, he has served on two advancement leadership teams who completed successful $1 billion campaigns.

Since 1999, the Mizzou Alumni Association has won 24 national programming awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Todd has served in numerous district and national roles for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) including the Commission on Alumni Relations. He is a longtime member and former board member for the Council of Alumni Association Executives.

A native of Harrisburg, Todd earned a Master’s in Education degree from Mizzou, a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Truman State University and an Associate’s degree from Moberly Area Community College.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent chats with Tim McMahon, Vice President for University Advancement at Marquette University. Tim and his stellar team decided they weren’t willing to wait to see how the pandemic played out to launch their capital campaign. So, they decided that the Time to Rise is now. So far, they’ve had 50,000 donors to the campaign already; there was a 62% increase in giving in FY21 vs FY20; over 500 donors have given to the campaign at the $100k+ level; and 42% of donors to the campaign are first-time donors. And, it’s all been done completely virtual. Brent invited Tim onto the podcast to talk about the future of work and advancement’s risk of missing a huge opportunity to retain (and attract) talented employees, but they ended up covering lots of other subjects along the way. Brent and Tim talk about the perks and challenges of getting a part-time MBA, how a career in fundraising allows former athletes to live out their dreams and have a balanced life, and how leadership is action, not position. Now’s your time, Tim - go, Golden Eagles!

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, we have the privilege of learning from Peter Hayashida, Vice Chancellor of Advancement at the University of California Riverside and President of the UC Riverside Foundation. Peter grew up in a military family that moved from base to base, so he learned early on how to be adaptable, resilient, and to accept change as a natural part of life. But, as a result of all that bouncing around, he has invested in setting down his own deep roots. Peter has served long tenures at both UCLA and UC Riverside, and he has lots to say about the value of sticking it out, cultivating happiness right where you are, and becoming a deeply ingrained member of a university community. On this episode, Peter talks about how universities’ value propositions need to adapt in response to social changes; how the first time alums hear from the school after graduation it should be a message of “How are you feeling about UCR?” or “How can we help you?”; and how our alums expect to have a donor experience that’s much closer to Amazon’s intimate, personalized customer experience (and we’ve got a long way to go to catch up to Amazon). Peter points out that we are really good at starting up new things in the advancement world, but we are really bad at letting things go. Thank you, Peter, for sharing some of the amazing new things your team is doing (virtual reality goggles to give campus tours at remote alumni events!), as well as some of the things you’re letting go (mass email appeals).

About Amy

Amy Noah has been appointed Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer for the University of Oklahoma Foundation, effective April 1, 2021. Prior to this assignment, Noah was the Vice President for Development at the Purdue Research Foundation serving as the Chief Fundraising Officer for Purdue University from 2013 to 2020.

As Vice President of Development, Noah led a staff of over 245 employees focused on annual, major gift and planned giving programs and alumni, corporate and foundation relations. Under Noah’s leadership, the University successfully raised over $2.5B as part of the seven-year Ever True campaign, including a record-breaking $517M in fiscal year 2019.

Noah launched Purdue Day of Giving in 2014, which accounted for $147M over six years. In 2019, Purdue Day of Giving was celebrated as the largest single-day fundraising campaign in higher education for raising a total of $41.6M. Noah began her Development career at Purdue University in 2001 after graduating with a BS from Purdue in 1994 and earning her MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2000.

Noah is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. She previously served on the Board of Directors for the Lafayette Symphony Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the Engineering Development Forum. She has provided fundraising counsel for Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, the Salvation Army Lafayette, University of Michigan-Flint, Ivy Tech Community College, the West Lafayette School Corporation, and the Lafayette School Corporation.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast Brent sits down with Kim Nyoni. Kim serves as associate vice president for development at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). Kim has been with UNLV since 2017 and oversees a development team that secures philanthropic gifts in support of academic units across the campus. Kim also serves as a development liaison with the UNLV Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

About Kim

Kim joined UNLV from the University of Missouri, where he served in various leadership roles in university advancement that included Interim Chief Development Officer for the MU School of Law, Senior Director of Advancement for Principal Gifts & Honors College, and Senior Director of Advancement & Interim Chief Development Officer for the College of Engineering. Kim graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with Bachelor of Journalism and a Masters of Arts in Advertising. In his spare time, Kim enjoys serving his community as a member of the Las Vegas Rotary Club, playing golf, hiking and following college and professional sports, especially his beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Las Vegas Raiders. He is a native of Tanzania by the way of Lincoln, Nebraska.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast Brent sits down with Maria Watson. Maria joined Pomona College in 2020 as Vice President for Advancement. As an Executive Officer of the College and reporting directly to the President, Watson oversees Pomona’s development, principal and major gifts, gift planning, alumni and parent engagement, advancement services and advancement communications and events teams. The team of nearly 60 staff raises over $40 million per year and is currently preparing for the most ambitious campaign in Pomona’s history to support the mission of one of the leading liberal arts colleges in the country.

About Maria

Watson was previously Associate Vice President for Development at the University of Southern California (USC), where she set strategic direction for major gift, regional and school/unit fundraising initiatives to realize the University’s historic $7.2 billion campaign, “Fas Regna Trojae.” She was promoted to AVP of Development in 2014 after her successful tenure building philanthropic support for the University throughout the Northeast as the inaugural director of USC’s New York Advancement office since 2011.

Ms. Watson brings 25 years of experience in the non-profit sector in fundraising, marketing and public relations. Prior to the University of Southern California, she served as the Chief Development Officer for WFUV Public Radio, Fordham University in New York. During the course of her career, Ms. Watson has also held a number of senior positions in management, marketing and fundraising in performing arts organizations, including Lincoln Center, New World Symphony and Brooklyn Philharmonic. She spent seven years in marketing, ultimately as Director of Marketing and Communications for The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Her career began with the National Endowment for the Arts and Congressional Arts Caucus in Washington, DC.

A native New Yorker, Ms. Watson earned a bachelor of musical arts degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on merit scholarship. She and her husband David live in Claremont, CA. An avid motorcyclist, she is a proud Ducatista on the street and track, and has taken up the futile pursuit of speeding on a race track.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast Brent sits down with Julie Morgan Hooper, CFRE. Julie is the Vice Chancellor for University Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR) at the University of California, Berkeley. As Vice Chancellor, Hooper provides campus-wide leadership on all philanthropic endeavors and manages advancement programs in UDAR involving a staff of 268 employees and an operating budget of $63 million. In her role, she serves as President of the UC Berkeley Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation that raises, invests, and administers private funds for the campus. She also provides oversight and guidance to the activities of approximately 25 different advancement programs in the schools, colleges, and campus units.

About Julie

Julie came to Berkeley in July 2014 from the University of Texas at Austin. During her almost eight-year tenure at UT, Julie served as Assistant Dean for Development and External Relations in the School of Architecture and as Associate Vice President for Development for the University Development Office. In this role, she acted as Campaign Director for The Campaign for Texas, an eight-year, $3B capital campaign, which ended in August of 2014 and raised $3.11B for the university.

Julie has also served as Executive Director and Senior Director of Development for various non-profit agencies in Texas and was named Outstanding Fundraising Professional in 2010 by the Greater Austin Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). She has over twenty years of experience in leading operations and fundraising for non-profit organizations and institutions of higher education as well as experience working in the private sector in global trade.

Julie holds a master’s degree in historic preservation from the University of Georgia and a BA in history from Boston University. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, the international non-profit association based in Washington DC dedicated to educational advancement. She previously served six years on the Board of Directors and as Board Chair for the Sustainable Food Center based in Austin.

This week on the RAISE podcast, Brent sits down with Dale Wright. Dale serves as associate dean & chief advancement officer for The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is responsible for the strategy and operations in fundraising and constituent engagement and is the campaign director for the college’s $550M goal in the "With Illinois" $2.25B comprehensive campaign. As of today, the college is at 107% of goal.

About Dale

Over the last 20+ years, Wright has held a variety of alumni and fundraising engagement roles in higher education. He has guided several deans, academic leaders and university leadership through the campaign planning process and execution, over three $1B+ comprehensive campaigns. Experienced fundraiser and leader, designing engagement programs to help teams and volunteers meet philanthropic goals.

Wright is an active CASE volunteer, currently serving on CASE District V Cabinet and appears regularly as a faculty member/speaker at CASE conferences and other CASE educational programs. Wright also holds membership in organizations such as the African American Development Officers, the Association of Fundraising professionals and is involved in other non-profit work, including serving on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the American Legion Boys State of Missouri (Missouri Boys State). He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Missouri (Mizzou).

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent talks to a long-time innovator, friend, and Advancement Services Great, Caroline Chang. After a varied career during which she “took the cookies as they were passed” (she’ll explain what that means), Caroline landed as the Vice President of Community and Product Engagement at UC Innovation. Caroline has worked extensively as an internal and external partner with almost every CRM system in the advancement space, so she knows the ecosystem of traditional alumni databases and what each of them can and can’t provide to fundraisers. Caroline was an early believer that if we can connect the digital engagement signals that alumni give us on social media with all the rich data that lives deep within alumni databases, we’ll have the recipe for fundraising success in a modern advancement shop. Besides being a techie, innovator, and expert integrator, Caroline is also a cat-lover, a knitter, a breast cancer survivor, the chair of the CASE Summer Institute for Advancement Services, and a larger-than-life friend with so much personal and professional wisdom to share. Thank you, Caroline, for being a star guest on the RAISE podcast.

About Caroline

Caroline brings over 30 years of advancement experience to UC Innovation. As the former associate vice president for advancement services at Santa Clara University, she oversaw gift and biographic processing, reporting and technical services, training, and research and prospect management. She started her advancement career at Stanford University as director of young alumni and student development, then transitioned to director of annual giving for the Stanford Medical Center. She became Stanford's managing director of development operations in April 2003 and director of operations in November 2006. Outside of higher education, Caroline is passionate about animals and often thinks of becoming a veterinary technician as her next career. She is president and co-founder of The Catz Meow, an all-volunteer cat transport organization started in May 2016. She was recognized for excellence in teaching with the CASE Crystal Apple in 2016. Caroline holds both a bachelor's and master's degree from Stanford University, and a master's degree in business administration from Santa Clara University.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent chats with Gregory Perrin, Associate Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations at St. Edward's University. He is also joined by a special guest, EverTrue’s own Jessica Frey, for a conversation about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Gregory is an accomplished fundraiser who is also an actor, artist, and a former ROTC member. He has fundraising efforts and teams in the arts world for the Houston Grand Opera; in the healthcare world for the AIDS Foundation; and in higher education at UT Austin and now at St. Edward's. One constant throughout his personal and professional life has been his commitment to ensuring that diverse folks thrive in their environments through the support of equitable policies and inclusive and welcoming teams. As Gregory reminds us, when we feel like we belong somewhere, we blossom. Gregory and Jessica share their insights on the daily work that’s needed to uphold DEI in our circles; how important it is to unravel the systemic racism that is embedded in the foundation of many hundred-year-old colleges and universities; and how newer companies have a chance at building a different kind of foundation, one that is inclusive and diverse from the get-go. Thank you, Gregory, for sharing your wisdom with us.

About Gregory

Gregory is a dynamic leader, fundraiser and artist with 30 years of experience in nonprofits, higher education, community engagement and performing arts. Currently he is the Associate Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX.

Gregory serves on the Mid America Arts Alliance board, and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) US/Canada Regional Council; and the advisory council for the Armstrong Community Music School. He has both undergraduate and graduate degrees in theatre from the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts at University of Houston. He is married to Lamonica Guillory Perrin and they have one adult son.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent gets the scoop from Matt White, Vice President of Advancement at Utah State University. The RAISE podcast spotlights the folks in advancement who are thinking about things from a completely different angle and acting on opportunities to innovate. Matt is definitely one of those people. Under his leadership at USU, the team decided not to operate within the structure of a capital campaign. They did away with portfolios. And they repurposed their prospect research team and instead established Development Officer Analysts to team up with frontline fundraisers (and share their metrics and goals). Matt holds a PhD in public policy; has taught courses in non-profit management at the collegiate level; and has built, led, and inspired high-performing boards and teams. We have a theory that he has accomplished so much in his career thanks to a crazy work ethic that started in high school when he worked on farms baling hay and harvesting corn. Thank you, Matt, for rethinking ‘the way things are always done,’ for bringing new ideas into practice, and for sharing some of your hard-earned wisdom with us.

About Matthew

Matt White joined Utah State University in 2018 as the Vice President of Advancement and President of the USU Foundation. He is the chief fundraiser for the university, providing leadership and strategic direction for the university’s philanthropic endeavors. He leads the USU Foundation and provides direction to the USU Alumni Board, ensuring exceptional engagement experiences for USU’s stakeholders. He has worked in the fundraising field for over 17 years serving in various leadership roles. Matt received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Evansville, his master’s and Ph.D. from Saint Louis University in Higher Education and Administration and Public Policy.

In this episode Brent talks with Amy Yancey. Amy joined Boston College in October 2019 as vice president for development where she oversees a team of 120 professionals dedicated to advancing BC’s mission through philanthropy. Amy has more than twenty years’ experience in higher education fundraising. Prior to joining Boston College, she served as associate vice president for development at UVA where she readied the central fundraising team for UVA's $5 billion campaign. Amy previously held pivotal roles at Penn State and the University of Tennessee. She was vice president for production at Mars Publishing, a computer industry start-up in Los Angeles, before pursuing a career in advancement. Amy holds a BA and an MS, both from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where her daughter Wren is a sophomore.

About Amy

Amy Yancey joined Boston College in October 2019 as vice president for development where she oversees a team of 120 professionals dedicated

to advancing BC’s mission through philanthropy. Amy has more than twenty years’ experience in higher education fundraising. Prior to joining Boston College, she served as associate vice president for development at UVA where she readied the central fundraising team for UVA's $5 billion campaign. Amy previously held pivotal roles at Penn State and the University of Tennessee. She was vice president for production at Mars Publishing, a computer industry start-up in Los Angeles, before pursuing a career in advancement. Amy holds a BA and an MS, both from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where her daughter Wren is a sophomore.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent breaks it down with Dan Allen, Senior Vice President of Advancement and External Relations at DePaul University in Chicago. Dan will be a Loras College Duhawk for life but is currently thriving as a DePaul Blue Demon after making a few pit stops on the journey in between. Dan and Brent dig into some really important questions during this conversation. Is higher education really leveling the playing field? Why do many talented, academically-prepared students not apply to institutions for which they’re qualified and would likely do very well at? What is the relationship between preparation and privilege in college choice? (Dan completed his PhD on this topic, so he has lots of wisdom to share.) As soon as COVID hit last year, Dan and the leadership team at DePaul decided that if they didn’t raise more money in FY21 than FY20, it sure as heck wouldn’t be because they didn’t try. Tune in to hear how Dan and his team are bucking national trends in donors in dollars through a proactive and hyper-focused commitment to DePaul’s students.

About Dan

Dan Allen currently serves as the senior vice president for Advancement and External Relations at DePaul University. Since joining DePaul in August 2015, Allen has previously served as associate vice president for Principal Gifts and vice president for Development. In his capacity as senior vice president for Advancement and External Relations, Allen provides leadership and executive management for all fundraising, alumni relations, advancement communications, and community/government relations strategies. He also serves in a leadership capacity as an Administrative Officer of the university.

Prior to joining DePaul, Allen served as senior associate dean for External Relations at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. He also served as vice president of Institutional Advancement at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois and at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. Allen has worked in educational development roles for more than 25 years, and has been a frequent presenter at various educational and healthcare development conferences and seminars.

Allen completed his PhD at Loyola University–Chicago and continues to pursue his interest in the area of postsecondary educational access for low-income students. His dissertation considered how academically talented, low-income students access highly selective postsecondary education. He has presented work on improving opportunity for academically qualified, low income students to the Association for Institutional Research and has had his research published in “Research in Higher Education.” Allen also has presented research on college choice and social reproduction to the American Educational Research Association, and the National Association for College Admission Counseling. His scholarship focuses on how various forms of human, cultural, social and economic capital influence the college choice behavior of low-income students.

On this episode of the podcast, Brent chats with Phil Castleberry, Vice President for University Advancement at the Rochester Institute of Technology. They cover topics like the compounding impact of building strong personal and professional relationships; how being from a military family and moving with regularity shaped Phil to be adaptable to almost any new environment; and what it’s been like to onboard remotely in his new VP capacity. Phil also reflects on how he received a full scholarship to complete his undergraduate degree at the University of Central Missouri, but never really knew (nor was taught) where the scholarship money came from until the VP of Development asked if he would be interested in managing the student phonathon program. On this episode, Phil and Brent talk about MGO salaries and whether they are proportional to the revenue that they bring into the university; the importance of portfolio transition upon a gift officer’s departure; and how cool it is that Phil has his pilot’s license and could fly himself to a donor visit.

About Phil

Phil Castleberry, a 20-year veteran of higher education advancement and fundraising, was named Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, now University Advancement, at Rochester Institute of Technology in February 2020. He provides strategic vision and operational leadership for all aspects of the university’s development and alumni initiatives, including oversight of a team of more than 100 professionals, as well as direction of a $1 billion blended campaign, Transforming RIT: The Campaign for Greatness, which has raised $765 million to-date.

Prior to joining RIT, Phil was Vice President for Institutional Advancement at St. John Fisher College for four years where total giving increased from $3.3 million to $12.3 million annually and unrestricted giving more than tripled during his tenure. Phil also designed and launched “Fisher Forward,” the most ambitious campaign in the college’s history with a goal of $75 million. He previously served in a variety of progressively responsible roles at the University of Rochester from 2009-2016, concluding his tenure there as Associate Vice President of University Advancement. Other roles in higher education advancement include service at Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Missouri – St. Louis, William Jewell College, and the University of Central Missouri.

Castleberry holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and speech communication from the University of Central Missouri as well as a master’s degree in political science from the University of Missouri — Kansas City.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent sits down with an Advancement Great. Jim Langley is the President of Langley Innovations, a title he earned after 30 years in the higher ed advancement space. Jim has so much to share with our podcast listeners, including the difference between a crying need and offering help, schmoozing prospects versus developing partnerships, and soliciting round numbers versus providing carefully-crafted budgets. Jim reminds us that thanking is not the same as stewarding, and that we should never “put the ego cart before the content horse” and cast a prospect as ego-driven when they may be (and likely are) purpose-driven. He reflects on regional differences in giving behaviors, and on the importance of posture when asking for a gift. And, in true Jim fashion, he shares a genuine story of his most embarrassing solicitation (followed by his most rewarding one). Jim is one of the most helpful and authentic thought leaders in this space, and we are so excited that he joined us as a guest on the podcast.

About James

James M. Langley, President of Langley Innovations, has pioneered a number of practices that have been emulated by hundreds of institutions of higher learning. The knowledge he acquired from conceiving and conducting three path-breaking campaigns at three major institutions and the insight he gleaned from decades of research on donor behavior has been shared in five books, dozens of articles, hundreds of blog posts and scores of seminars, workshops and speeches. As a result, his expertise and insight, particularly on how institutions can adapt best to changing and unchanging philanthropic realities, is highly sought after by Canadian and U.S. institutions and professional advancement organizations.

His most recent book, The Future of Fundraising: Adapting to New Philanthropic Realities, was published by Academic Impressions in 2020. It builds on the vast experience and extensive research imparted in his four previous books, Comprehensive Campaigns: A Guide for Presidents and Boards, Fundraising for Boards: A Guide, Fundraising for Deans: A Guide, and Fundraising for Presidents: A Guide and Fundraising for Presidents: A Guide. He has also written chapters in Advancing Higher Education: New Strategies for Fundraising, Philanthropy and Engagement and How to Recruit and Retain Good Staff and published numerous articles including his most recent, “Cultivating a Culture of Philanthropy” in Trusteeship, the magazine produced by the Association of Governing Boards. After 30 years in higher education, he founded Langley Innovations. In its first eleven years, Langley Innovations has served over 130 clients, providing a wide variety of strategic services.

As Vice President for Advancement at Georgetown University (2005 to 2010), Langley imagined and led a massive “Discovery Initiative,” employing current students to conduct face-to-face interviews of alumni around the world. The purpose of the interviews was to discover what Langley calls the “animating passions” of the alumni, then link those passions with the University’s programmatic initiatives to establish Georgetown as the place that alumni “not only give to but through to realize their larger societal ideals.” Over 6,000 alumni in 42 states and 17 countries were interviewed. Giving by those interviewed rose 43 percent in the year after the visit with 20 percent giving their largest gift ever. In addition, the interviews yielded 1,000 new career mentors, 500 new alumni admission interviewers, 200 regional club and class committee volunteers, and 570 new major gift prospects, 63 percent of whom had a capacity of over $100,000. Langley also launched the quiet phase of a campaign that secured over $558 million, including a record $189 million in 2009 despite the worst economy since the Great Depression.

At the University of California, San Diego (1997-2005), Langley served at Vice Chancellor for External Relations and President of the UCSD Foundation. He forged a public-private coalition and secured support from both sides of the political aisle to establish a model school for economically disadvantaged youngsters. After only four years, the graduates of this model school were being admitted to the nation’s most competitive colleges and universities. Langley also led efforts to secure $100 million from the State to create an advanced information technology center then matched that grant with $140 million in support from business and industry, which he secured within five months. Though advised by fund raising experts that the University did not have sufficient alumni support, Langley led the school into a $1 billion campaign, the largest campaign ever attempted at the time by a school established in the post World War II period. That campaign put forward a series of bold concepts, which attracted one nine-figure gift, and 7 eight-figure gifts, all of which were greater the largest gifts previously raised --- and all from non-alumni donors.

When he left that University, Langley was cited by the Chancellor as “a pivotal force behind the campus’ ascension as a world class institution.” The citation, in part, reads, “He engineered a meteoric rise in the philanthropic giving …and his vigorous launch of the landmark “Imagine What’s Next” campaign ensured its extraordinary early success. Jim’s unique vision …energized such key constituent groups as alumni, federal, and state officials, and community leaders. His blueprint for successful strategic communications had dramatically raised UCSD’s public profile, and his dynamic participation in higher education advancement circles won UCSD national renown for innovative stewardship.”

At Georgia Tech, where Langley served as Vice President of External Affairs (1989-1997), he led an initiative to increase that university’s market share of the most qualified students in the face of demographic decline. Using innovative market research and targeted communications, Langley increased the University’s average SAT score from 1187 to 1234 in two years. He also was instrumental in the Georgia Tech being selected as the Olympic Village for the 1996 Summer Games and converting that platform into an international news bonanza for the University. Under Langley’s direction, fund raising receipts tripled and his operations won numerous awards in virtually every area of advancement.

Renowned for his public speaking, Langley’s professional seminars are consistently described as the “best I have ever attended” by his peers and he has been awarded the Crystal Apple by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education for having received the highest possible evaluations from attendees at ten different conferences.

Langley graduated magna cum laude from the University of Cincinnati where he was also selected to Phi Beta Kappa. He also received a master’s degree in history from the University of Cincinnati where he was awarded the prestigious Taft Fellowship. He is a Vietnam era veteran of the U.S. Army.

On this episode of the podcast, Brent gets a Planned Giving crash course from Greg Knott, Senior Director of Principal and Planned Gifts at the University of Connecticut. Greg is our first Planned Giving podcast guest, and he’s also the first guest with expertise in Germanic languages and a law degree. Brent and Greg talk tax optimization, annuities, and deductions. (But, like, in a fun way.) They also cover the storytelling, trust, and deep mutual respect that are essential components of Planned Giving fundraising. Greg raised his hand to fill the gift planning gap in our podcast content, and we’re so glad he did. There’s lots to learn from this episode!

About Greg

Greg Knott is Senior Director of Principal and Planned Giving at the University of Connecticut Foundation. He has led Gift Planning at the Foundation since 2013, helping the team achieve the Foundation's highest gift planning totals ever in the years since through collaboration with more than 40 development officers across the University, including UConn Health and Athletics. Greg's responsibilities have recently expanded to include principal giving.

Greg started working in advancement as an intern at Saint Louis University before joining Bradley University as Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations. From there he moved into gift planning, where he started with the UConn Foundation as a Gift Planning Officer.

A graduate of the University of Delaware, Greg earned a PhD at Washington University in St. Louis and a JD at Saint Louis University.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent catches up with Amanda Trabue, Vice President of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement at Western Kentucky University. Amanda reflects on how the persistence, grit, and thick skin she built as a student caller in the Phonathon program at WKU launched her into an uber-successful advancement career. Amanda also shares some really useful insights including her roadmap for the first 100 days on any new job; how to survive an all-hats, super busy, entry level annual giving role while also completing your MBA; and tips for empowering your team to test new things and take risks by letting them know you’ve got their backs. Amanda has launched and led a new Donor Experience Officer program at WKU, and it’s reversing downward trends in engagement, donor count, and cash flow for the first time in years. Tune in to learn from Amanda about how she’s having the most fun she’s ever had in career by trying out a new way to RAISE.

About Amanda

Amanda L. Trabue returned to the Hill in June 2019 as the Vice President for Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement.

Most recently, she served as the Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations for Peabody College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University. In this role, she closely collaborated with the Dean to execute a strategic vision of philanthropy and engagement from alumni, parents, and friends of the institution. She was also charged with managing a staff of professional colleagues raising major and annual support, devising effective communications, overseeing annual donor events, and coordinating prospect development for the team. She spent five years as Director of Development for Peabody College prior to this role.

She also previously served as a Regional Director of Development at Washington University in St. Louis. During this time, she oversaw the alumni and development efforts in four metropolitan cities while securing financial resources for all undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs of the university. She was also responsible for overseeing two regional volunteer boards and planning strategic philanthropic events in assigned cities.

Amanda’s career in higher education began at Western Kentucky University where she was a student caller and manager for four years in the Phonathon program. After graduation, she started as a Coordinator, then Assistant Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving, responsible for the Phonathon program, faculty/staff campaign, senior class challenge, alumni chapters, and reunion programming. Before departing WKU, Amanda spent three years as the Director of Development for the Gordon Ford College of Business.

A two-time WKU alumna, Amanda received a Bachelor of Science in Marketing in 2002 and a Master of Business Administration in 2004.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent connects with Diane MacGillivray, Senior Vice President for University Advancement at Northeastern University. Diane has worked in her actual office at Northeastern every day since June 1st of last year, and she explains to our listeners why she despises WFH. (Spoiler alert: she is the ultimate people-person.) Diane submitted one sole college application to Boston University, enrolled site-unseen, and she now describes herself as a Southerner by birth, a Californian by upbringing, and a New Englander by choice. Diane has worked in admissions, undergraduate advising, and advancement, so she deeply understands the entire lifecycle of an alum. On this episode, we learn about the Women Who Empower Initiative; the Young Global Leaders Program; and what it’s like working at Northeastern, an institution whose five-year, co-op experiential learning model offers a distinct value proposition in an industry where demonstrating ROI and impact to donors is the make-or-break for universities. This one is a must-listen.

About Diane

Diane MacGillivray is Senior Vice President for University Advancement at Northeastern University, where she oversaw the successful completion of the university’s largest ever campaign in 2017, which raised $1.4 billion, setting a new a university record. Under Diane’s leadership, annual fundraising has increased from an average of $20 million to an average of $85 million, including securing a gift for the first named college at the university and a $50 million donation for a second named college. Most recently, MacGillivray was instrumental in attaining two $100 million gifts to launch an advanced technology campus in Portland, Maine—one from David and Barbara Roux to create the Roux Institute and a second from the Harold Alfond Foundation to provide scholarships and other resources for its students.

MacGillivray steers a University Advancement team that works closely with the deans of Northeastern’s nine schools and colleges, as well as with athletics and the university library, to develop and execute fundraising strategies that fuel the university’s momentum. She oversees a broad range of functions including: advancement communications; advancement services; events, alumni relations; development; interdisciplinary initiatives; and special projects. After coming to Northeastern, she implemented a strategic restructuring of the fundraising operation from a centralized model to a more effective hybrid structure and oversaw the creation of new initiatives such as the parent giving program, innovative alumni engagement programs, and Women Who Empower—a university-wide scholarship and conference series.

Prior to joining Northeastern in 2007, MacGillivray was senior associate dean for Advancement in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California (USC). There Diane directed USC’s $400 million Tradition & Innovation fundraising initiative. She also oversaw the development of its annual giving society; parents’ program; seven regional and thematic boards; and an international fundraising effort. In addition, she established endowment funding for USC’s Korean Studies Institute and Institute for Armenian Studies and led the integration of the Shoah Foundation’s fundraising operation when it moved to USC in 2005. MacGillivray holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston University and a master’s in 19th century British history from USC.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent connects with Brandon Busteed, President of University Partnerships and Global Head of Learn-Work Innovation at Kaplan. As you might guess, this episode is all about the critical need for innovation in higher ed, and Brandon’s broad and deep industry knowledge makes his calls to action for advancement folks all the more urgent. A few of his key suggestions: Hire staff and appoint board members that are specifically tasked with uncovering and identifying innovative solutions to problems. Put programs in place that intentionally match students with real mentors; folks who have the time, energy, and commitment to invest in students’ personal and professional success. Blur the lines between student and alum so that you can deliver on that “lifelong learning” decree that is in your mission statement. As Brandon points out, the two biggest issues facing higher ed are the rising cost of tuition and growing doubt about graduates’ work readiness. He reminds us that there is big work to be done (quickly) if the business of US higher education is to survive the next 50 years. Under Brandon’s leadership, Kaplan only builds relationships with higher ed leaders who are ready to grow, adapt, and innovate, and there are tenable and actionable ideas that we can take from those innovative partnerships on this episode of the RAISE podcast.

About Brandon

Brandon Busteed leads Kaplan’s work serving U.S. colleges and universities, leveraging the organization’s highly diversified, global educational offerings and insights. His mission is to help U.S. higher education adapt, grow and thrive.

Prior to Kaplan, Busteed was Global Head of Public Sector at Gallup – serving higher education, government and foundations. In that role, Busteed led dozens of ground-breaking studies and consulted with hundreds of higher ed leaders.

Busteed was the founder and CEO of Outside The Classroom, one of the country’s first successful Ed Tech companies which was acquired by EverFi in 2011. Its flagship online courses on alcohol abuse and sexual assault prevention have been taken by more than 10 million college students.

An internationally known speaker and author on education and workforce development, Busteed has published more than 100 articles and keynoted more than 200 conferences. He was named a LinkedIn “Top Voice” in education and is a frequent contributor for Forbes.com.

Busteed received his bachelor’s degree in public policy from Duke University where he was also a two-sport Division 1 athlete. He received an honorary doctorate from Augustana College. He is a trustee emeritus of Duke and has served on the Board of Visitors of the Sanford School of Public Policy.

Busteed is a current member of the Business-Higher Education Forum - the nation’s oldest membership organization of Fortune 500 CEOs, college and university presidents, and other leaders dedicated to the creation of a highly skilled future workforce. He also serves on the board of directors for the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U).

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent gets the scoop from Jessica Jones Wilson, Associate Vice President for College Advancement at Dickinson College. Jessica got hooked on fundraising when she secured her first $1K gift as a student telefund caller at Albright College. Since then she’s had experience in just about every facet of development work, and it shows. Jessica and her team of prospect researchers at Dickinson have launched some amazing initiatives, including their Presidential Fellows program through which students connect with alums in their hometowns every summer (and gather invaluable data through those conversations); and the Revolutionary Challenge that empowered the Dickinson alumni community to suggest, vote on, build out, and promote the priorities of their new capital campaign. It’s clear that Jessica fits in well at the helm of her team of creative, inspired, data-loving go-getters who continue to shoot the moon.

About Jessica

Jessica joined Dickinson College in 2015 and currently serves as the Associate Vice President for College Advancement. Jessica manages Advancement Services, Prospect Research, Donor Relations, Alumni & Parent Relations and the Annual Giving offices. She served as the Advancement representative on the College’s Strategic Planning Committee in FY16 and the 2017 Presidential Transition Committee where she led the national tour to introduce the new president. In FY17, she led her team through a successful database conversion from Banner to Raiser’s Edge. In 2019, Jessica's team established the Presidential Fellows program- approximately 25 current students were hired to go home over the summer and interview alumni. This discovery initiative resulted in over 800 interviews. In 2020 despite Covid challenges, students interviewed over 1300 Dickinsonians. Jessica served on the college's FY21 Financial Working Group. She currently serves on the Fall 2020 Reopening Implementation Committee - specifically on the subcommittees for Health & Quarantine and Travel & Campus Safety.

Jessica led the technology and event needs for the Revolutionary Challenge - a chance for Dickinsonians to come together, leverage the college’s emerging and existing strengths and address grand challenges with big ideas and bold deeds. In October 2020, Dickinson held an event that will brought the four finalist teams together to present to the Dickinson community. Originally planned for May 2020, the team pivoted and held the successful event virtually.

Prior to Dickinson, she worked for Gettysburg College as Interim Campaign Director and Director of Prospect Research. Jessica’s career in advancement began as an phonathon caller at her alma mater, Albright College, Reading PA. She also worked for Hollins University, Roanoke, VA in several different positions over a seven-year period, including Annual Fund Director. Jessica’s background in annual giving gives her a unique perspective on prospect research, solicitations, and portfolio management.

Jessica is passionate about philanthropy, higher education and the liberal arts. She is a member of the Blackbaud Higher Education Executive Advisory Board and volunteers for Junior Achievement for the local schools. She is past Secretary of the Mechanicsburg Midget Football Association, the former President of APRA-PA, and co-chaired the 2015 Mid-Atlantic Researchers Conference. She lives in Mechanicsburg, PA with her husband, their 14-year old son, and their pets - Vinegar the cat and Sprite the dog.

About Megan

Megan served in an analogous role at Amherst College, under the title Chief Advancement Officer since 2007. Prior to that she worked at Williams from 2000-2007, first as Senior Development Officer and then as Director of Leadership Giving. Megan began her career in development at her alma mater, then progressed through positions of increasing responsibility at Denison University, Barton College and the University of Redlands.

Megan earned her B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University in economics management and French. She’s served on the boards of her children’s preschools and elementary schools and as a member of the Town of Amherst Disability Advisory Committee. She enjoys trail running, mountain and road biking, and reading.

About Marc

Marc Anthony Barnes has served as Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Dillard University since February 2013. This is not his first stint with the university, having worked in Dillard’s Development Department in various positions from 2000-2009. Before his return to Dillard, Marc served as Director of Development at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc. (NOJHFF). At NOJHFF, he was responsible for the development of a major gifts fundraising operation and the launch of a major capital campaign designed to support the renovation of the Jazz & Heritage Center. In his current role, he is responsible for all of the university’s fundraising efforts, government grants & contracts, alumni relations, marketing & communications, and community outreach. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing at Xavier University of Louisiana, an M.A. in Philanthropy & Development at LaGrange College and a Ph.D. in Urban Higher Education Administration at Jackson State University. Marc received the Fr. Charles Hall Award (Alumnus of the Year) at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans, LA in 2014 and recognized by the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Greater New Orleans Chapter as their “Outstanding Professional Fundraiser” in November 2015. In 2017, he was recognized nationally as a top HBCU leader by HBCU Grow. He has a passion for uplifting children and he serves on a number of boards and committees in New Orleans. He and his wife, Dr. Kiki Baker Barnes, have two children, Caitlin and Marc, Jr.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent sits down with Joanna Curtis, CFRE, the Chief Advancement Officer at the University of Memphis.

About Joanna

With more than 20 years of fundraising experience, including 12 years at the UofM, she originally joined the university’s development staff as Director of Development for the College of Education and subsequently served as director of major gifts, sr. director for university development, and deputy chief development officer. As CAO, Curtis guides academic fundraising and alumni engagement for the university.

Curtis received a Bachelor of Arts from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Memphis, and earned her CFRE in 2008. She serves on the board of directors for the Madonna Learning Center.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast Brent sits down with Brooks Hull. Brooks brings over two decades of leadership experience in the advancement field to his position as Vice President for University Advancement at Louisiana Tech University. If you’re passionate about innovation in advancement, you’ll love this conversation.

About Brooks

Brooks joined Louisiana Tech in 2015, and leads the Louisiana Tech University Foundation including all alumni and development efforts for the University. Under his leadership, the Division has increased alumni engagement and donations significantly, and created thriving programs for students and young alumni, working to cultivate the next generation of Tech donors. In 2019, the University exceeded its $125 million goal for “Forever Loyal: The Campaign for Louisiana Tech,” the largest campaign in the institution’s history.

In 2010, Brooks joined Austin College as Vice President of Institutional Advancement. While there, he created a system of data-driven decision-making processes and implemented a strategic approach to building donor relationships and engagement. During his tenure, the college initiated a $125 million comprehensive campaign and increased church-related and estate giving in the process.

Prior to his role at Austin College, Brooks served in various development roles at the University of Oklahoma including director of development for the College of Architecture and the College of Education. He led development programs for the two colleges during an institutional-wide "Reach for Excellence" campaign. Following that, he served as director, then executive director, of development for the College of Engineering, providing leadership during a $100 million “Campaign for Engineering” which celebrated the college’s 100 years of engineering leadership for OU.

Brooks holds bachelors and master’s degrees from the University of Oklahoma. He is a Certified Fund Raising Executive, and is a frequent presenter at both national and international conferences. For this, he was recognized as a 2019 CASE Stellar Speaker. Additionally, he has served on teams that have been recognized with numerous awards, including the CASE-Wealth ID Award for Fundraising and Overall Performance in 2002 and 2006, the CASE award for Overall Fundraising Improvement in 2018, and the Ruffalo Noel Levitz Fundraising Innovation Award in 2019. Most recently, his team at Louisiana Tech received the CASE Circle of Excellence Award for Overall Fundraising Performance in both 2020 and 2018.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent sits down with Kris Gulick Schaefer. Kris spent the last 10 years serving as Senior Associate Dean of External Relations and Global Programs at MIT Sloan. She received her crash course in all things Higher Ed as the daughter of a college Professor turned Dean, and finally President. She shared her journey with us, which took her across 12 different campuses between her career and her father's. This past summer Kris launched her own fundraising coaching and consulting business helping all types of institutions problem solve in this challenging environment.

About Kris

From January 2011 until June 2020 Kris was Senior Associate Dean of External Relations and Global Programs at MIT Sloan. During her time there giving to the MIT Campaign from Sloan graduates topped $525 million. At Sloan, Kris was also responsible for overseeing the international partnerships around the world which brought in revenue to the school and included relationships in China, Malaysia, Portugal, a new relationship with Australia and a dedicated office in Latin America.

From 1998-2010, Kris served as the Vice President of Advancement for Simmons College. Under her direction, The Dare to Imagine Campaign for Simmons raised 33% more than originally anticipated: with a $50M goal, the campaign concluded in 2004 with $69.3M raised. Prior to Simmons, Kris served as Vice President for Development and Director of Foundation Operations for Children’s Memorial Foundation in Chicago. Under her leadership, annual fundraising totals more than tripled in a three-year period from $7.6M to $25M. At Rice University, Kris was the Executive Director of Development and the Campaign Director for the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, where she led a $30M campaign to establish the Institute. Before joining Rice, Kris directed the annual fund at Texas Christian University. She launched her career at the University of Vermont working in the annual fund and with the parent’s fund program.

Kris’ accomplishments and active involvement in regional and national professional organizations have earned her the respect and admiration of her peers. She has served on the National Board of Trustees for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and is a highly requested speaker and faculty member for CASE-sponsored conferences and institutes. Kris has been awarded the CASE Crystal Apple Award for outstanding teaching.

Kris is a graduate of Allegheny College and an active alumna volunteer most recently serving on the committee to hire the new Vice President for Advancement. She was deeply engaged at St. Lawrence University and the University of Delaware where her children were enrolled as undergraduates. Kris is engaged in community service as a mentor for Conexion and as an advisor to The Wily Network and OUT Metrowest.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast Brent caught up with Andy Shaindlin, Vice President for Alumni Relations at Brown University. Andy has led an impressive career as a leader in strategic alumni engagement with extensive experience at major research universities. When speaking with Advancement professionals, Brent has often said “all roads lead to Andy”.

About Andy

Andy Shaindlin serves as Vice President of Alumni Relations at Brown University. In this role he oversees all aspects of alumni relations for the University, creating and directing a comprehensive program of events, activities and organizations to engage Brown’s community of more than 90,000 alumni across the world. He serves as chief liaison to the Brown Alumni Association and provides leadership, vision and direction to the alumni relations staff in the Division of Advancement.

Throughout his career, he has been a frequent speaker and author on topics related to global nonprofit strategy and the effects of technology on organizations and their communities. In 2007, he launched Alumni Futures, a website devoted to the alumni relations profession and covering new directions and innovative ideas for nonprofit professionals.

Shaindlin has also chaired the Commission on Alumni Relations for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and served on the CASE Board of Trustees.

In addition to his bachelor’s degree from Brown, where he concentrated in international relations, Shaindlin earned a master of arts in education from Claremont Graduate University in California. His concentration was higher education administration.

On Giving Tuesday 2020 Brent sat down with Beth Crigler, Associate Vice Chancellor for Development at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. Beth shared some highlights from her long and successful career in development, including closing a major gift with Michael Jordan. She shares how getting to the donors interests is critical and how it can sometimes be found in unlikely places.

About Beth

Beth Crigler is a Certified Fundraising Executive and serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Development at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. As a 20 year veteran in the development profession, Beth has led numerous capital campaigns raising over $1 billion for charitable organizations in North Carolina. During her career, she has provided leadership for several non-profits including Novant Health Foundation, Charlotte Latin School, the US National Whitewater Center, Sharon Towers, and the Cabarrus County Boys and Girls Club.

While serving as the Senior Director, Leadership and Principal Gifts for Novant Health Foundation, Beth led capital campaigns and major gifts programs for 13 hospitals across North Carolina and Virginia. Beth was a consultant for a number of organizations throughout the Southeast. Her expertise includes executive search, nonprofit leadership and management, fundraising, strategic planning, and organizational development

Committed to the community, Beth has been involved in a number of organizations. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership and Camp Debbie Lou, a family camp for children with cancer that she helped found. She has just completed her services as Board Chair of Charlotte Interclub Tennis Association and Olde Providence Racquet Club.

Beth completed her undergraduate degree at the University of South Carolina. She lives in Charlotte with her husband John and two daughters. In her free time, when not with family, Beth enjoys spending time outdoors hiking or playing tennis.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent is joined by CEO, DeAnna Carlson Zink, and VP of Operations & Engagement, Bob Knutson. DeAnna and Bob have been deeply connected to the University of North Dakota for most of their lives. Their conversation goes from growing up on the farm, to being first-generation college students, and ends on how they are taking their Moon Shot with EverTrue.

About DeAnna

DeAnna Carlson Zink is CEO of the University of North Dakota Alumni Association & Foundation.

DeAnna has worked in higher-education non-profit for more than 30 years and became the CEO of the UND Alumni Association and the UND Foundation (two separate non-profit organizations) in January 2014. During her first year, DeAnna led the two organizations through a successful merger. Prior to becoming the CEO, DeAnna served as the Association Executive Vice President and the Campaign Director for the $324 million North Dakota Spirit Campaign.

DeAnna started with the organization in 1986 and has served in a variety of roles during her tenure including events, annual giving, donor relations, marketing & communications, and development. Additionally, she served as a regional marketing manager for Bremer Bank for four years.

DeAnna holds her CFRE and serves on a number of University and Community Boards. She also has been a leader in North Dakota with the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

About Bob

Bob Knutson is the Vice President of Operations & Engagement at the University of North Dakota Alumni Association Foundation. He is a proud graduate of UND and holds a BS in Marketing Education.

Bob taps into his mantra, “efficient, effective, and productive,” often as he develops policy and processes to improve operational efficiencies. The UND Alumni Association & Foundation’s technology infrastructure is continuously improving and evolving under Bob’s analysis and recommendations.

When Bob needs to unwind from leading his large Operations & Engagement teams, he likes to golf, spend time with family and friends at his lake home, and watch sports. He also serves on a number of boards and committees for organizations he’s passionate about, including Valley Senior Living, The Chamber Grand Forks-East Grand Forks, United Lutheran Church Foundation, and Red River High School DECA.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent is joined by Melissa Korn, reporter for The Wall Street Journal covering business education, workplace issues and the college-to-career pathway. Melissa was one of the journalists covering Operation Varsity Blues for The Wall Street Journal. She co-authored “UNACCEPTABLE: Privilege, Deceit and the Making of the College Admissions Scandal," which gave life to the largest college admissions scandal ever prosecuted by the department of Justice.

About Melissa

Melissa Korn writes about higher education for The Wall Street Journal.

She joined Dow Jones in 2007, first writing breaking corporate news for the Dow Jones Newswires Spot News desk and then covering for-profit colleges, student lenders, alcohol and tobacco for the wire. She moved to The Journal in 2011 to cover business education, workplace issues and the college-to-career pathway.

Melissa graduated from Cornell University with degrees in English and History and has a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

She is co-author of "UNACCEPTABLE: Privilege, Deceit and the Making of the College Admissions Scandal," published in 2020.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast Brent comes in live from Newport Beach California to chat with Ray Earl-Jackson, Executive Director of College Based Advancement at Northern Illinois University. This Thanksgiving episode and will leave you with plenty of Giving Tuesday inspiration.

About Ray

Ray Earl-Jackson is the Executive Director of College Based Advancement at Northern Illinois University. He grew up in the South Suburbs of Chicago and is a lifelong Illinois resident. He is one of six children.

He attended Benedictine University where he studied communications and public relations and later earned an MBA. He also played football at Benedictine and worked for The Candor, the student led newspaper and Eye of the Eagle, the student television program.

He became the luckiest man in the world when he married his wife, Brittany Earl-Jackson in 2014. They have one beautiful daughter, Eliana, and two pups, Ethel and AJ. In his spare time, he enjoys working out, cooking for his family and reading. During ‘normal times’ he loves traveling and experiencing other cultures through food. He and his wife are self-proclaimed ‘foodies.’

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast Brent welcomes fellow Iowan, Nick Linde, Assistant Vice President of Central Development at the University of Nebraska Foundation. Nick's advancement journey began in alumni relations at his Alma mater, University of Northern Iowa. Tune in and hear how he made the transition to the fundraising side, where all the guitars fit in, and everything in between.

Read Nick's work on student programs and fundraiser retention.

About Nick

Nicholas Linde serves as the Assistant Vice President at the University of Nebraska Foundation, a Chronicle of Philanthropy Top 100 Charity. He manages annual giving, pipeline development, donor relations & stewardship, foundation relations, corporate relations, planned giving and development operations for a four-campus system. Nick focuses on blending engagement and financial support in an interdisciplinary way.

Before arriving at the University of Nebraska Foundation, Nick led teams at Minnesota State University and Upper Iowa University, where he earned his Master’s in Higher Education Administration.

Nick began his career as a Program Coordinator at the University of Northern Iowa, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast Brent is joined by VCU's Jay Davenport. Jay’s background as an undergraduate working in the admissions office of his Alma Mater, Xavier University, sparked a passion that would launch his impressive career in Higher Ed. If you're a VP leading a younger advancement program, you will not want to miss this one!

About Jay

Jay Davenport serves as Vice President of Development & Alumni Relations for Virginia Commonwealth University and VCU Health.

As VCU’s chief development and alumni officer, Davenport leads fundraising and engagement efforts for the university, health sciences division, and VCU Health. Areas under his purview include advancement services, alumni relations, annual giving, corporate and foundation relations, development and alumni communications, donor relations, planned giving, presidential advancement, principal giving, regional philanthropy and the university-wide development staff.

Jay has previously led fundraising teams at Wake Forest University, including assistant vice president of college development, assistant vice president of major gifts, and associate vice president and campaign director. He has also served as director of development and team leader at Rice University and held fundraising positions as a college development director at the University of Memphis College of Business and Wright State University College of Engineering. He began his higher education career as an assistant dean of admissions at Wittenberg University.

Jay currently serves on the Board of Directors for Make-A-Wish of Greater Virginia and the Benedictine Schools of Richmond. Davenport holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Xavier University and a master's degree in higher education administration from Ball State University.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent catches up with Jake Lemon, Senior Vice President for Development at the UConn Foundation. Jake shares his team's strategy for using incentive compensation for gift officers and how it's helping them break records.

About Jake

As Vice President for Development, Jake oversees planned giving, corporate and foundation relations, constituent, health, and athletic fundraising programs. Prior to joining the Foundation, he served as assistant vice president for development and principal gifts at Florida State University, with gift planning, regional development, performing arts, and principal gifts in his purview. He also held development positions at the University of Mississippi as development officer for the School of Pharmacy and at the University of Alabama at Birmingham as assistant athletic director for development. Jake earned a BBA and MBA from the University of Mississippi and a certificate of financial planning from Florida State University.

About Angela

Angela Wimmer serves as vice chancellor of Institutional Advancement for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), a standalone health sciences university. She has responsibility for managing all advancement programs, including principal, major and annual gifts, comprehensive and capital campaigns, alumni and constituent relations, all gift processing and database services as well as donor relations. She also serves as primary liaison to the 56-member UAMS Board of Advisors. Previous roles include associate vice chancellor for Central Advancement at the Texas Tech University System, senior associate director of development at the University of Cambridge and director of corporate relations at Auburn University.

About Stephanie

Stephanie Froehlich, CFRE, serves as associate vice chancellor for development for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), Arkansas’ only health sciences university. In this role, she leads the enterprise-wide major gift fundraising strategy and efforts, including prospect research and prospect management.

Prior to UAMS, Froehlich led the College of Human Sciences development team Auburn University. Previous roles at Auburn included successive positions at the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business, culminating as director of corporate and foundation relations. Froehlich began her development career as a community representative and e-revenue manager for the American Cancer Society Mid-South Division.

Froehlich is from Huntsville, Ala., and lives in Little Rock, Ark., with her husband, Dan, and two soccer-loving boys.

About Megan

Megan Doud serves as the Assistant Vice President for Strategic Resource Development in the Office of University Development at the University of Michigan. In this role, she is responsible for strategic planning and resource management, finance and administration, talent management, leading the development of new digital fundraising strategies, and overseeing annual giving and pipeline programs including student philanthropy.

Since beginning her tenure at Michigan nearly 12 years ago as an Assistant Director of Annual Giving, Megan has helped to build and develop programs in Annual Giving, Leadership Annual Giving, Student Philanthropy, and Digital Fundraising for both the university and Michigan Medicine. Last year, U-M had more than 116,000 annual donors who collectively contributed more than $66 million.

Prior to joining the University of Michigan, Megan worked on the Annual Giving team at Northwestern University and served as the Director of Development for Peninsula Players Theatre in Fish Creek, Wisconsin.

Megan holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

About Carrie

Carrie Bhada has spent more than 20 years working to advance the goals of national non-profits, healthcare organizations and institutes of higher education. She has comprehensive fundraising and management experience and has raised millions of dollars on behalf of these organizations over the years. Her efforts and those of her teams have resulted in the establishment of scholarships and endowed chairs and provided funding for capital projects.

Currently, Carrie serves as Assistant Vice Chancellor of University Development at NC State University. In this role, she collaborates with other senior university advancement leadership on the management of the University’s Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign. The growth and leadership of the central development teams (central major gifts, corporate and foundation relations, annual giving and gift planning) along with several other school and unit-based teams are a primary focus. Prior to this, she served as the Chief Development Officer for the Wilson College of Textiles and Executive Director of the North Carolina Textile Foundation.

Before joining NC State University, Carrie served as vice president for institutional advancement at St. Joseph’s College (New York), she has been responsible for all areas related to fundraising, alumni relations, planned and major gifts, and special events for two campuses. She developed both short- and long-term goals which included building the infrastructure of the Institutional Advancement office by employing best practices and board development. She previously served as the vice president of development at Huntington Hospital and as the senior director of development at Stony Brook Medicine. She holds a master of healthcare administration from Hofstra University and a bachelor’s degree from St. Joseph’s College.

About Colin

Colin Hennessy serves as the Executive Director of Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving and head of the University of Chicago Alumni Association. In this role, he leads the overall strategy and direction for University-wide engagement and annual giving activities and spearheads the University’s ambitious alumni participation efforts. From 2018 to 2019, Hennessy served as Associate Dean of Alumni Relations and Development for the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. As a member of the Dean’s senior leadership team, he provided advice and counsel on all matters related to alumni relations and philanthropy and was a core member of the team charged with the grand opening of the Keller Center, the new home of Harris Public Policy.

Previously, he served as executive director of The Penn Fund at the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, he oversaw the global undergraduate annual giving program and the largest of the university's annual funds. Under his direction, The Penn Fund won national awards from CASE, for partnership with Wharton School faculty on fundraising experimental design and testing, and steadily increased annual alumni donor participation and both unrestricted and endowed scholarship revenue to the university. Prior to joining Penn, Hennessy held positions at the University of Iowa Foundation, the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and as a global training and implementation manager specializing in the implementation of complex information technology solutions for local government, healthcare, and direct store delivery vendors.

He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa and a doctorate in higher education management from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the 2019 Diane Thompson Award Winner for Excellence in Annual Giving from the Northeast Annual Giving Conference Association and CASE Crystal Apple Award winning speaker.

About Brittany

Brittany Shaff is the Assistant Vice President of Digital Engagement + Philanthropic Giving at the University of Miami. In her role, she oversees an innovative team that focuses on creating personalized and measured experiences supporting all units across the University and the University of Miami Health System. Her team is constantly testing and improving new ways to engage, measure, and retarget current and prospective donors. Prior to this role, she served in various analytics and marketing positions including at the University of San Francisco, Towson University, and Johns Hopkins University and Medicine.

About Rob

I dream big, get sh*t done, and have fun. I also kill quotas (2019 NAMER Sales MVP, Top 1% global sales rep 42 consecutive quarters, 6X Club winner), create amazing experiences and craft creative content. All with love, compassion, and positive energy.

A thought-provoking speaker with a unique perspective on sales, education, marketing, and the college to career transition I love to share real stories assembled from over a decade working with global employers, students, and educational institutions of all types. On a continuous transformational journey, I have completed several successful “missions” at LinkedIn, most recently as a Senior Manager of Content Marketing pioneering personalized and episodic video marketing, taking our marquee events to virtual audiences and creating the best performing content for LinkedIn Talent Solutions.

I am top-performing member of LinkedIn’s Education Vertical team, and advisor to Arizona State University, Ithaca College, Denison, and the author of an upcoming book on the college to career journey. #dowork

About Astria

Astria L. Smith is the Senior Executive Director for Annual Giving and Alumni Relations at SMU. She provides strategic leadership and direction for efforts that engage, solicit and steward SMU alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students and friends. This role allows her to integrate several areas of passion and expertise, including front-line fundraising, annual giving stewardship, multi-channel direct marketing, volunteer management and alumni engagement.

Astria holds a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and master’s degrees from Amberton University and SMU. She began her development career at Methodist Children’s Home in Waco, TX before joining SMU in 2007. Astria has been a presenter for a variety of conferences and webinars and has participated in numerous fundraising and alumni relations networks over her 16-year career in advancement.

About Payton

Payton Keith is an Associate with Harris, DeVille & Associates, an issues management firm based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he provides a range of public affairs and governmental relations services to clients in the energy and manufacturing industries. He specializes in strategic planning, strategic communications, public opinion research, and public affairs management. A graduate of Southern Methodist University, he held various positions on political campaigns and in state governance before joining HDA.

Payton currently resides in Port Neches, Texas, with his wife, April, and three daughters (Grace, Emma, and Charlotte).

About Jo

Jo Lew is a Sophomore at Southern Methodist University studying Political Science and Public Policy with minors in Economics, History, and Law & Legal Reasoning. She is involved in SMU's Student Senate as the Queer Senator, East Asian Student Association and First Generation Association as the Vice President, and Armstrong Commons Council as the Event Coordinator. In her free time she enjoys working on social justice activism projects and she is currently working on multiple majors at Southern Methodist University.

About Dr. Collado

Dr. Shirley M. Collado is the ninth president of Ithaca College. She is known nationally for designing and implementing innovative approaches to higher education that expand student access and success, and has extensive experience overseeing complex not-for-profit organizations in both the private and public sectors of higher education. She is a national thought leader on developing successful cross-sector collaborations, building the capacity of equity, inclusion, and full participation in organizations, and strengthening the pathway to the professoriate and leadership roles in higher education.

Prior to joining the Ithaca College community, President Collado served as executive vice chancellor and chief operating officer at Rutgers University–Newark. Prior to Rutgers, she served as VP for Student affairs and Dean at Middlebury College, and as the executive VP of Posse.

About Chris

Chris Campbell is the Sr. Associate Vice President for the Information Strategy Business Unit, where he oversees a team of 25+. He’s been with the Oklahoma State University Foundation since December 2004 and has worked across the organization during that time. He started in Athletics, securing private funds for the football stadium’s $300 million Next Level Campaign, which was the largest single capital campaign in the history of the University at the time. He then served as a major gifts officer for OSU’s Spears School of Business, also managing the annual fund drive for the Spears School. In 2008, Chris moved into the Foundation’s central offices to oversee the Prospect Development Team, growing it from two staff members to a department of ten during OSU’s largest ever comprehensive campaign, Branding Success.

About Jim

Jim Husson is the Senior Vice President for University Advancement at Boston College, overseeing the university’s development and alumni relations functions. He joined the development team in 2002 as the Vice President for Development and was promoted to his current position in June 2004. He and his colleagues spearheaded “Light the World,” the university’s 150th anniversary campaign, which concluded in 2016, having raised a record $1.6 billion in gifts from more than 140,000 alumni, parents and friends.

Jim has more than 30 years of experience in educational advancement and has served as the Vice President for Development for Brown University and as the Director of Major Gifts for Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Jim is a graduate of the University of Rochester and Northfield Mount Hermon School.

About John

John Feudo is Vice Chancellor for Advancement at UMass Lowell, leading a team of 46 staff members through the university’s first-ever fundraising and engagement campaign.

He formerly served as SVP of development and Chief Development Officer for United Way of Massachusetts Bay. Prior to arriving at United Way, Feudo spent eight years at his undergraduate alma mater, Boston College, as well as University of Connecticut Alumni Association, the UMass Amherst Alumni Association.

John’s expertise has been sought by more than 200 colleges, universities and organizations around the world. He is also an award-winning speaker and author, having published six books in the field of advancement.

About Mark

Leveraging over twenty years in higher education advancement, Mark has extensive experience in the development and utilization of fundraising best practices. This includes employing analytics to increase fundraising efficiency and effectiveness, and developing and measuring the return on investment for engagement. Most recently, he’s been leading the OSU Foundation’s efforts to digitally transform the organization (and industry) by driving innovation and change, ultimately leveraging technology, talent and strategies to create a sustainable and scaleable best-in-class approach. In 2018, Mark led the OSU Foundation’s successful adoption of a new customer relationship management system, Ellucian CRM Advance, after taking part in extensive alpha and beta testing with colleagues nationwide.

About Janzell

Janzell Tutor’s long career at the University of Utah started with 10 years in student affairs before she started managing the College of Nursing’s alumni relations over five years ago. Through these years, Janzell has directed the launch of a renewed Alumni Weekend, including a Half Century Society; Distinguished and Young Alumni Awards; and an annual spring gala, Honors for Nursing which she and her team said goodbye to while celebrating its 25th anniversary last year. Not surprising with her roots in student affairs, Janzell strives to ensure current students have a great experience while in their program in hopes they will continue to be engaged alumni. Janzell was born and raised in Hawaii, received her bachelor’s degree in Business, moved to Utah, received her master’s in public administration and enjoys singing and performing around town. As a part Hawaiian, Chinese, Korean and Norwegian woman, she proudly proclaims her multi-racial identities and is invested in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work. Though she does not seem old enough, she has been married for more than 18 years and adores her two “mediums” (as she calls them), while trying to find the right balance as a working mom. She says the best part of her job is reconnecting with College graduates from the 1940s, 50s and 60s, many of whom have been disengaged for decades.

About Chris

Chris Barragan is the Director of Advancement for the University of Utah School of Medicine. Previous to this role he was the Sr. Development Director for the Goddard School of Business at Weber State University. He is a dedicated husband and father and loves baseball, surfing, cooking and eating tasty food, and walking his dog who’s name is Mucho Gusto.

About Paul

Paul J. Clifford is the chief executive officer of the Penn State Alumni Association and associate vice president for alumni relations for Penn State. He is the organization’s 11th chief executive in its 146-year history and began his tenure in January 2016.

With 174,074 members, the Penn State Alumni Association is the largest dues-paying alumni association of its kind worldwide. The Alumni Association’s mission is to connect alumni to the University and to each other; provide valued services to members; and support the University’s mission of teaching, research, and service.

Clifford guides Penn State’s alumni relations strategy; oversees engagement initiatives with the Alumni Association’s 174,000+ members and 315 affiliate groups; leads a 70-member staff; and manages the Alumni Association’s broad range of programs, benefits, services, and resources, including a $12.5 million annual operating budget.

A Pennsylvania native, Clifford joined Penn State after serving as the University of Oregon’s associate vice president of advancement and executive director of the University of Oregon Alumni Association. While at Oregon, Clifford directed all programs, events, communications and services for the University’s 190,000 alumni and led a team of 40 professionals across four locations. He was responsible for increasing membership by more than 8 percent; implementing an alumni scholars program; and leading the University’s Philanthropic Relationships and Engagement Team, an innovative model that cross-functionally integrates traditional alumni relations, annual giving, and other engagement strategies.

Clifford has spent his entire career in the alumni relations field and has broad national experience. A 12-time CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Award winner, Clifford has served on or chaired myriad CASE committees and is a five-time faculty member for the organization’s Summer Institute for Alumni Relations.

Clifford earned his bachelor of arts degree in History from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in 1996. Prior to his service at the University of Oregon, he was associate vice chancellor for alumni relations at East Carolina University and the president and CEO of the East Carolina Alumni Association—positions he held from 2004–2014. Previously, he was director of alumni outreach at the University of Connecticut Alumni Association, director of alumni affairs at SUNY New Paltz, and assistant director for alumni communications and student programs at James Madison University.

A native of Conyngham, Pa., Clifford and his wife Jennefer have three children: Aidan, Avery and Abbey.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent sits down with Cindy Fredrick, AVP of Alumni, Parents and Friends at the University of Virginia, to talk about increasing the size of your network and scaling 1:1 experiences.

About Cindy

Cindy Fredrick is a respected leader with 35 years of administrative experience in higher education and community-based organizations. Cindy currently leads the University of Virginia’s central engagement office for alumni, parents, and friends. Cindy oversees the central annual giving team, including creating The Virginia Fund which raises financial support for Presidential priorities. Cindy serves on the University Advancement senior leadership and $5 billion capital campaign team.

She previously served as President and CEO for Madison House, UVA’s award-winning volunteer service non-profit organization. Before her time at UVA, she held leadership positions with Virginia’s coalition of sexual assault crisis centers, a professional touring theatre for children, and long-term care facilities. Cindy is a graduate of Luther College, with a degree in social work and California State University, with a master’s degree in educational administration.

About Jane

Jane DiFolco Parker has contributed to institutional success from various levels of service during her 45-year higher education career.

For the last 25 years, Parker has led high-impact fundraising and operations in the university setting. Since March 2012, she has served as vice president for development at Auburn University, and as president of the Auburn University Foundation and the Auburn University Real Estate Foundation, Inc.

During her tenure, Auburn celebrated several record-setting fundraising years; launched the university’s largest campaign with a goal of $1 billion; and achieved this goal more than a year ahead of schedule, ultimately raising $1.2B.

About Anne

Anne is the managing director, Research & Relationship Management at George Washington University, leading the team that provides prospect research and relationship management services to a division of more than 200. Prior to GW, Anne worked in UC San Diego’s External Affairs and Development Research offices. An industry volunteer, speaker, and writer, Anne is currently the membership director for Apra Metro DC and chair of the Online Content Committee for Apra. In 2019, Anne was named an EverTrue 40 under 40. Anne earned her BA in economics, magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University and completed a certificate in Work Leadership from UC San Diego.

Age should not be perceived as a limiting factor in the advancement sector. That's what the LSU foundation's VP of development Krista Raney believes, and she's made incredible strides early in her career. Krista's experience shows that by combining a great attitude, a strong work ethic, professional mentorship, and a commitment to delivering results, rapid progression might just be possible within your current institution.

About Krista

Krista Allen Raney is the Vice President of Development for the LSU Foundation. Raney has served LSU for 10 years and currently drives the comprehensive academic fundraising strategy for the University. Raney also provides system-wide leadership for the Fierce for the Future campaign, the first of its kind at LSU. Krista’s daily efforts focus on the development of a robust, talented, results oriented team, executing at a high-level for the benefit of students and faculty. She also works in concert with LSU’s most supportive donors and friends. During her time at LSU, she spearheaded the restructure of the development enterprise to effectively drive resources to refocused fundraising priorities, leveraging synergies across the campus. Raney has had the pleasure to serve several senior colleges at LSU over the course of her career and was tapped to build the first cohort fundraising model, working in partnership with three deans to build a strong, cross-functional fundraising team. Raney has presented several times for the Council in Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), with most recent emphasis on how to build robust, effective partnerships between academic leaders and lead fundraisers. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and is active in the Baton Rouge community. Raney has served on the board of the Baton Rouge Affiliate of Susan G. Komen and chaired the signature fundraising event, Race for the Cure, in both 2012 and 2013. Krista now serves on the boards of the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center as well as the South Louisiana Affiliate of Teach for America. She was honored as one of the top Forty Under 40 in Baton Rouge in 2017.

About Dan

Daniel G. Lugo, J.D., began his service as president of Queens University of Charlotte on July 1, 2019. He was named president after serving in key leadership positions at three top-ranked liberal arts institutions. These roles included vice president of college advancement at Colby College, vice president and dean of admission and financial aid at Franklin and Marshall College, and associate dean of admissions at Carleton College.

As vice president for college advancement at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, Lugo orchestrated the strategy, launch and execution of a $750 million fundraising campaign, the largest of its kind for any liberal arts college in history. In the first two years of the campaign, Colby secured $415 million in philanthropic commitments including 40 gifts that exceeded $1 million.

In addition to overseeing Colby’s fundraising, Lugo worked to strengthen the campus and alumni communities, both individually and collectively. He co-chaired the diversity, equity and inclusion task force, partnering with faculty members on Colby’s inclusivity efforts. Lugo also initiated innovative technology and programmatic solutions for alumni to mentor current students and impact the student experience through philanthropy. These efforts led to Colby’s top 10 national ranking in alumni participation.

At Franklin & Marshall, Lugo collaboratively developed a global talent strategy that led to a 45 percent increase in applications and yielded a more academically talented and diverse—socioeconomically, ethnically and geographically—incoming class. Earlier in his career, Lugo supervised the admissions process and enrollment marketing strategy, as well as helped to develop cultivation and solicitation strategies for leadership donors at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn.

A first-generation college graduate, Lugo strongly believes in the transformative power of education. He earned his bachelor of arts in political science from Carleton College, and his juris doctorate from the University of Minnesota School of Law, where he was an editor of The Journal of Law & Inequality. Prior to his career in higher education, Lugo was an intellectual property and entertainment attorney, representing national music artists.

We recently caught up with Matthew Lambert, VP for University Advancement at William & Mary. Matthew is one of the most respected leaders in our field, he and his colleagues have delivered incredible results and contributed so much as an author. We cover everything from Matthew's first job as a member of the elite Oscar Mayer Wiener hotdogging team to his book, Privatization and the Public Good: Public Universities in the Balance.

About Matthew

As vice president for University Advancement, Matthew T. Lambert ’99 oversees all William & Mary efforts related to alumni engagement, private fundraising and philanthropic outreach, university marketing and alumni communications. Under Dr. Lambert’s direction, University Advancement’s overarching goal is to create a lasting, robust culture of engagement and philanthropy among the greater William & Mary community.

A graduate of William & Mary with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology, Lambert earned a master’s degree from The Ohio State University, and a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to returning to William & Mary in 2013 as the vice president for university development, he was associate vice president in Georgetown University’s Office of Advancement. In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, he is active in public policy research and scholarship and is the author of the book Privatization and the Public Good: Public Universities in the Balance (Harvard Education Press) and co-editor of Advancing Higher Education: New Strategies for Fundraising, Philanthropy, and Engagement (Rowman & Littlefield). Lambert and his wife, Karen Silverberg Lambert ’98, live in Williamsburg with their two sons, William and Harrison.

Privatization and the Public Good: Public Universities in the Balance

Brent is joined by Lynette Marshall, President and Chief Executive Officer of the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. This episode was recorded early on in the COVID-19 crisis, at a time when they were both adjusting to their new work from home environments. We loved hearing about her journey from growing up on a fifth-generation family farm in Illinois to being one of the most respected leaders in advancement today.

About Lynette

Lynette Marshall is proud to serve as president and chief executive officer of the University of Iowa Center for Advancement, an organization that combines two longstanding institutions—the UI Foundation and the UI Alumni Association. Lynette leads the organization’s mission to advance the University of Iowa through engagement and philanthropy. During her tenure, the UI Foundation experienced record performance and growth and became a national leader in creating a campus culture of philanthropy. In 2016, the UI completed For Iowa. Forever More., the largest fundraising campaign in the history of the university and the state of Iowa, raising more than $1.975 billion and exceeding the initial goal by $275 million.

Lynette joined the organization in 2006 and provides leadership to several national groups, including the Association of Governing Boards, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the CASE 50 Steering Committee, and she currently serves as dean of the Big Ten Fund Raisers Institute (BTFRI). Lynette served 25 years in fundraising at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, including her final two as associate chancellor for development. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural science and a master’s in educational policy studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Lynette grew up on a fifth-generation family farm near Peoria, Illinois. She and her husband, Jeffery Ford, have two adult children, Michael and Katharine.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent caught up with Nate Clapham, Assistant Vice President for Development & Annual Giving at University of Northern Iowa. Nate’s approach to fundraising is simple; he expects to win. They chatted about why Nate is so passionate about education philanthropy, why he pursued a masters in this field, how he evaluates every ask with the 6 rights strategic giving framework, and much more.

About Nate

Nathan Clapham currently serves as Assistant Vice President for Development & Annual Giving. In this role, he leads our collegiate development officers and annual giving team. Prior to this he served as AVP for Outreach & Annual Giving and Senior Director of Development at UNI. Before joining UNI, Nate was a Development Officer and Director of Annual Giving at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Cindy Fredrick, Associate Vice President, Office of Engagement for Alumni, Parents and Friends.

Julie Featherstone, Associate Vice President for Advancement Operations.

Jen Andrasko, President & CEO, University of Virginia Alumni Association.

If you’re looking for guidance or support during the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve pulled together a library of resources to help you navigate this new normal. Check it out.

On today's episode, I caught up with Jeff Martin, Senior Director of EAB's Advancement Forum. Jeff shares incredible insights into the key themes that will shape the Advancement sector in the coming years. If you aren't familiar with Jeff's and his team's work, you are in for a treat and I hope you enjoy the conversation.

About Jeff

Jeff Martin is the Practice Manager with EAB’s Advancement Forum. His recent research has focused on digital transformation, major gift pipeline development, and big data in fundraising. He oversees the Advancement Forum’s ROI benchmarking initiative, and he has led and supported studies on mid-level giving, student philanthropy, parent giving, academic partnerships, and alumni relations.

Previously, he worked with the Academic Affairs Forum on strategies for scaling learning innovations and with the Student Affairs Forum on responding to students of concern. Jeff also served as a custom research associate, completing over 30 white paper reports on topics ranging from responsibility center management budget models to international online education.

Here’s EverTrue’s take on the novel coronavirus pandemic and its impact on advancement: We don’t have all the answers, but we’re going to learn from each other and share best practices for remote fundraising, working from home, managing fundraisers remotely, and handling uncertainty. Bookmark this page and subscribe for ongoing updates.

Here’s EverTrue’s take on the novel coronavirus pandemic and its impact on advancement: We don’t have all the answers, but we’re going to learn from each other and share best practices for remote fundraising, working from home, managing fundraisers remotely, and handling uncertainty. Bookmark this page and subscribe for ongoing updates.

Visit evertrue.com/remote to see all our COVID-19 resources and a summary of the key lessons from this podcast with Lynne.

More about Lynne: https://www.donorrelationsguru.com/

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent sits down with Kyle Vaughn, the Assistant Director of Athletic Fundraising at Ashland University. Kyle was an EverTrue 40 under 40 winner and our RAISE 2019 MVP. Kyle shares his perspective on building a community around athletics, and how he uses social media engagement and a giving funnel approach to fuel his donor pipeline. If you’re looking for someone to bring enthusiasm and optimism to any situation, look no further than Kyle Vaughn. Here we go!

About Kyle

Kyle Vaughn is Ashland University’s Associate Director of Athletics Development.

Vaughn came to athletics from across campus, where he has been the university’s Director of Advancement Services for the previous 16 months. Included among his duties were gift processing, data analytics/reporting and metrics development and tracking. Prior to that, Vaughn served the campus in separate two-year stints as Director of Annual Giving, Assistant Director of Admissions and Registrar Representative.

Vaughn is a former Ashland University men’s soccer player. He is a 2006 AU graduate with a degree in Finance and Economics, and he earned his Masters of Business Administration from AU in 2014.

Vaughn and his wife, Jenise, along with his daughter, Arienne (age 9), and son, Oliver (6), reside in Ashland. Jenise (Smalley) played volleyball at AU, and teaches math and is the head volleyball coach at Ashland High School.

Peggy McCorkle is Associate Vice President for Annual and Leadership Giving at Boston College.

Megan Tiede is Executive Director, Advancement Engagement & Communications at Boston College

if you’re looking for guidance or support during the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve pulled together a library of resources to help you navigate this new normal. Check it out.

About Howard

Howard Heevner joined the University of California, Berkeley in 2019 as the Executive Director of Annual Programs. In his current role, he oversees Annual Giving, Leadership Annual Giving, Milestone Giving, Next Generation Giving, and Parent Philanthropy and Engagement.

With more than 20 years of higher education fundraising experience, he has held a number of roles. Prior to coming to Berkeley, Heevner was the Assistant Vice Chancellor of University Development Programs at UC Santa Cruz, the Director of Annual Giving at Penn State University, the Director of Annual and Special Giving at DePaul University and the Associate Director of Annual Giving at the University of Michigan. He began his career in development at the University of Iowa.

Howard has been a regular speaker at CASE conferences throughout his career and currently serves on the CASE District VII board. He has also worked with more than 30 institutions across the country to review the effectiveness of their annual giving programs.

Heevner earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Iowa and his master’s degree in higher education administration from Penn State.

Howard is the chair of the CASE Advanced Annual Giving Strategies conference April 29- May 1. Learn more at https://www.case.org/conferences-training/advanced-annual-giving-strategies

About Ashley

Ashley Budd is director of digital marketing for alumni affairs and development at Cornell University. She is based in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., working remotely for the university as a digital strategist and project manager for the division. She runs a small team based in Ithaca, N.Y., executing social media, digital content and digital marketing analytics.

Prior to joining the digital team at Cornell, Budd spent more than five years at her alma mater, Rochester Institute of Technology, where she led social media strategy for undergraduate admissions. She serves as producer for the Higher Ed Live network, a podcast exploring innovations and trends in higher education. She speaks before national nonprofit groups and appears regularly at higher education conferences including Confab Events, NACAC, CASE, and HighEdWeb.

Ashley is an EverTrue 40 under 40 winner and the creator of a digital marketing newsletter for advancement professionals (sign up here).

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent catches up with Nick Fulton from the University of North Carolina Rams Club, the fundraising arm that supports Carolina athletics. Nick and his team have ambitious goals to continue to grow membership and revenue while maintaining industry leading retention rates. Nick shares some of the innovative tactics the Rams Club is employing to accelerate relationship building with their next wave of prospective major gift donors.

About Nick

Nick is the Director of the Annual Fund at The Rams Club – a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is: Providing educational & athletic opportunities for Carolina student-athletes. He oversees efforts to grow membership and unrestricted giving. In 2017, Nick was part of the initial team responsible for a signature cross-unit initiative to develop a shared data warehouse between The Rams Club, Carolina Athletics & UNC Development. The resulting data warehouse has enabled data utilization across campus for communication segmentation, modeling & visualization. Nick has been with The Rams Club since 2011.

A swimming student-athlete, Nick holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin & an MS from the University of North Carolina.

Laura Day, Director of Annual Giving at Williams College, joins Brent Grinna on this episode of the RAISE podcast. Williams boasts one of the highest participation rates in the US. Six years into her tenure, Laura is constantly asking how to improve and is striving for 100% participation. She is an active participant in the Schuler initiative to increase young alumni engagement, and she will share the impact of that work. Laura is also a member of EverTrue’s inaugural 40 under 40 class.

About Laura

Laura Day is director of annual giving for Williams College, where she leads a team of ten staff members and 1,600 volunteers to run the college’s Alumni Fund. After graduating from Williams in 2004, Laura moved to New York and began working in arts administration. In 2010, she completed her MBA from Fordham University and decided to gain some practical fundraising experience in order to advance her career even further, and so she began volunteering for Williams as a class agent in her spare time.

That decision turned out to have been a pretty good one. In 2012, Laura returned to Williams in a professional capacity, working with the 30 oldest classes on their annual campaigns. In the fall of 2013, she became director of annual giving. Under Laura’s leadership, the Williams Alumni Fund has introduced multiple new initiatives around engagement and giving, and the fund itself has grown from $10M to over $13M while sustaining ~55% participation.

Want to hear more? Hear Laura share tips for managing Volunteer programs with Millbrook School.

About John

John Tatum Grice began his career in philanthropy as a Student Foundation member at Kansas State University serving within the K-State Proud Student Campaign. This experience jump-started his passion for higher education philanthropy. Following graduation in 2012, John began his tenure in KSU Foundation’s Annual Giving department focused on direct mail, phonathon, student philanthropy, and student life fundraising. In 2014, John moved to the Oklahoma State University Foundation, charged with developing student giving, young alumni programs, and digital giving strategies. In November of 2018, John accepted a role as the Director of Annual Giving at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

About Arup

Arup is the CEO and Co-Founder of Windfall. Windfall is a data company focused on modeling out the net worth of every person in the world. Prior to Windfall, Arup served as SVP, Product at Radius, a B2B predictive marketing company that raised over $125 million from firms like Founders Fund, AmEx Ventures, and Formation 8. Arup is also a product alum of GoodData and Box. Prior to business school, he worked at Updata Partners, a growth equity firm based out of Washington DC, and deployed over $45 million over 3 years. Arup started his career at Citigroup working in the Global Technology Investment Banking Group.

About Nico

Nico Karagosian is the President & CEO of the Ohio University Foundation and the Vice President, Division of University Advancement. He brings more than 20 years of experience in fundraising, having previously served in a variety of leadership positions at the University of Cincinnati Foundation. Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Karagosian is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) who earned his MBA and MS in Health Administration from the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute. He earned his BA in English from Hobart College in Geneva, New York.

Nico and Brent spoke at CASE D5 in Chicago. Read the 3 takeaways from that presentation.

About Keith

Keith Hannon is a major gift officer for athletics at Cornell University. Previously, he was a member of Cornell’s alumni affairs and development’s digital innovation team where he managed online alumni communities and developed digital strategies for major- and leadership-level donor discovery and cultivation. He’s a recovering television/film professional who is quickly approaching 10 years in higher ed advancement.

(Check out Keith’s recent guest post on our blog: The Illusion of Local)

About Glenn

Dr. Glenn F. Kosse was appointed Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at Bellarmine University in December 2005. During his tenure at Bellarmine, he’s led the University to the completion of a $100M capital campaign, the largest in its history. The highlight of the campaign was the effort to raise $25M for Centro, the largest building project the University has undertaken. Glenn is responsible for all facets of development, alumni relations, athletic fundraising, special events and legislative affairs, leading a team of 18 professionals who work with the campus community, deans, alumni, donors and friends in pursuit of the University’s external goals.

About Elizabeth

Elizabeth Breidinger currently serves as the Director of Institutional Advancement at The Pingry School. Previously, she’s worked in fundraising at the University of Chicago, Brown University, and Bennington College, where she has held leadership positions in alumni relations, development, and major giving. She quickly found that fundraising was a natural fit when she began her career and has transitioned flawlessly from being a direct fundraiser to a manager.

Elizabeth has done it all over the years. She’s created and implemented new metrics, reporting, and donor relations best practices. She’s implemented new advancement services operations, rebranded annual funds and reignited dormant planned giving programs. Her natural passion for the field comes through in everything she does and gets teams and donors excited.

About Patrick

Patrick Lynch currently serves as the Senior Director of Strategic Engagement and Alumni Relations for the College of Engineering at Ohio State. Prior to this opportunity at Ohio State, Patrick spent nearly adecade in Charlotte, North Carolina. He started his career in the for-profit industry managing operations for a natural resource product manufacturing facility and then pivoted to a career in education. He worked at two different public charter schools before joining the advancement team at Queens University of Charlotte.

Patrick is always looking for new and innovative ways to solve problems. In his 10+ years as an advancement professional he has started dozens of new initiatives in both the annual giving and engagement space. Patrick has an undergraduate degree from Miami University, where he met his wife, and a MBA from the McColl School of Business at Queens. He enjoys building LEGOs, reading bedtime stories, and the occasional pillow fight with his two young children.

About Regan

Regan Holt is the former CEO of Uprising and current Senior Director of Product at EverTrue. While working in advancement services at Northwestern, Regan realized that there was a big need for modern, automated search and data aggregation tools for higher ed advancement. After building a reputation in the advancement space as an ultra-capable and collaborative data wizard, Regan founded Uprising, a platform with a Google-like interface for fundraising professionals to search for prospective donors based on their interests. Five years later, Regan’s inner data geek has found a new home at EverTrue, and we can’t wait to work with her to evolve fundraising through data technology.

About Anna

Anna helps amazing people find meaning and impact through their support of the Eastman School of Music. She joined the team in 2014 as the Director of Advancement and has since started pursuing a doctorate in Higher Education with a focus on fundraising at the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester. Previously, she’s earned her an Masters of Education in Institutional Advancement with Dr. Tim Caboni from the Peabody College at Vanderbilt University and has a B.A. from Loyola University New Orleans in Music Business and Clarinet. When she finds a spare moment between fundraising and studying, she enjoys comedy, jazz, opera, Mardi Gras and any form of caffeine she can get her hands on. She lives in Rochester, NY with her husband and two kids.

About John

John Morris joined the Kansas State University Foundation in 2016, as the Senior Vice President of Development. Morris leads all aspects of fundraising, working with Foundation leadership, campus partners and the KSU Foundation Board to strengthen the Foundation’s overall fundraising capacity. He is the primary architect of the University’s $1.4b campaign and under his leadership annual fundraising production has increased 50%. Morris came to the KSU Foundation from the University of Minnesota Foundation, where he served as a Senior Director of Development. At the University of Minnesota Foundation, Morris led his development team to increase their growth in gift productionby 60%. Prior to his position at the University of Minnesota Foundation, Morris held the position of Associate Vice President of Advancement at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. Under his leadership, giving to the Athletics Department increased 300%, and he led the University to an all-time high in annual fundraising production. Education: Morris received his bachelor’s degree from Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota, and his master’s from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois.