Pam Russell
Director of Communications
CASE
+1-202-478-5680
russell@case.org

For Immediate Release
Jan. 12, 2009

CASE Names 2009 Independent Schools Award Winners

DENVER, Colo.-The Council for Advancement and Support of Education has announced the winners of its 2009 Independent Schools Awards. The recipients-three individuals and one foundation-were selected for their commitment and service to primary and secondary independent school education.

The awards were presented Sunday, Jan. 11, during the opening ceremonies of the 39th annual CASE-NAIS Independent Schools Conference being held Jan. 11-13 in Denver, Colo.

The four award winners are:

• Kathleen Hanson, senior consultant with Marts & Lundy Inc., a consulting firm serving the nonprofit community, and former assistant head/vice president for advancement and external affairs at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn. Hanson is the recipient of this year's Robert Bell Crow Memorial Award, which recognizes advancement professionals for dedication to the profession, their institutions and CASE. For nearly 20 years, Hanson has played a key role in independent school advancement. In addition to leadership roles at Baylor School, the Fessenden School and Kent Place School, Hanson has served with distinction as a member of the CASE Board of Trustees and as an expert speaker at numerous conferences and author of articles on independent school advancement.
• William D. Green, board of trustees chair at Newark Academy in Livingston, N. J. Green is this year's winner of the Seymour Preston Award, which honors a trustee who has provided exceptional leadership to an institution. Green has served the academy in various leadership roles for more than 32 years and is now completing a 10-year term as board chair. His fundraising prowess and leadership helped moved the school from one with a shaky financial footing to one with a thriving endowment and balanced budget. Green is also widely recognized for his strong support of faculty.
• Barbara Backman, gifts administrator at Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Conn. Backman is the recipient of this year's Support Staff Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes exceptional commitment to a school by a member of the support staff. Backman has been a member of the school's staff for 16 years, serving first as special gifts secretary and then as gifts administrator. Her supervisors laud her "hawk-like" attention to detail and her management of a wide variety of duties, including gift receipt and acknowledgment and generating data for reports and surveys. In addition, she is well-regarded for her cheerful good nature and willingness to lend a hand on office-wide projects.
• The Thomas B. and Elizabeth M. Sheridan Foundation of Hunt Valley, Md. The Sheridan Foundation is the winner of the John R. Chandler Award, which recognizes the long-term support of a corporation or foundation to independent schools. The foundation is a generous supporter of the St. Paul's School for Girls in Brooklandville, Md., providing gifts for technology and capital projects. The foundation also supports a number of other independent schools in the area through a unique grants program that provides financial assistance to students from middle-income families. This is the only financial aid program of its kind for middle-income families in the Baltimore area.

Recipients of the CASE Independent Schools Awards are selected from an international pool of nominees. Winners receive a Steuben crystal award and are recognized by their peers at the CASE-NAIS Independent Schools Conference held each year in January.

About CASE

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is a professional association serving educational institutions and the advancement professionals who work on their behalf in alumni relations, communications, development, marketing and allied areas.

CASE was founded in 1974 and maintains headquarters in Washington, D.C., with offices in London (CASE Europe, 1994), Singapore (CASE Asia-Pacific, 2007) and Mexico City (CASE América Latina, 2011).

Today, CASE’s membership includes more than 3,600 colleges and universities, primary and secondary independent and international schools, and nonprofit organizations in 76 countries around the globe. This makes CASE one of the world’s largest nonprofit educational associations in terms of institutional membership. CASE serves more than 70,000 advancement professionals on the staffs of its member institutions and has more than 17,000 professional members on its roster.

To fulfill their missions and to meet both individual and societal needs, colleges, universities and independent schools rely on—and therefore must foster—the good will, active involvement, informed advocacy and enduring support of alumni, donors, prospective students, parents, government officials, community leaders, corporate executives, foundation officers and other external constituencies.

CASE helps its members build stronger relationships with all of these constituencies by providing relevant research, supporting growth in the profession and fostering support of education. CASE also offers a variety of advancement products and services, provides standards and an ethical framework for the profession and works with other organizations to respond to public issues of concern while promoting the importance of education worldwide.

About NAIS
The National Association of Independent Schools represents about 1,300 independent schools and associations in the United States and abroad. NAIS's mission is to serve and strengthen member schools and associations by articulating and promoting high standards of educational quality and ethical behavior; to work to preserve their independence to serve the democratic society from which that independence derives; and to advocate broad access for students by affirming the principles of diversity, choice, and opportunity.

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