Bruce Flessner, Conference Co-Chair
Founding Partner
Bentz Whaley Flessner

Bruce Flessner is a founding partner at Bentz Whaley Flessner.

He has spent his entire working life in development. He began his career as the annual fund director at Kalamazoo College before becoming vice president of the University of Minnesota Foundation. Has has worked with hundreds of colleges and universities across the country and around the world.

Flessner is a recognized expert on new wealth philanthropy and has been quoted in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, LA Times, Star Tribune, Dallas Star, Detroit Free Press and many other major newspapers. He has served on the board of directors of the Council on Foundation's New Ventures in Philanthropy and as a team member for the Kresge Foundation initiatives with community foundations around the nation.

He is a graduate of Central Michigan University and holds a M.P.A. from Western Michigan University. He has been a frequent speaker for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), Regional Association of Grantmakers, and Opera America. Mr. Flessner has also written articles for CASE Currents, CASE Handbooks, AFP Journal, and other publications. He has taught at the Graduate School of Saint Mary's University, the Graduate School of Metropolitan State University, and The Saint Paul Seminary of the University of St. Thomas.

Cassie Hunt, Conference Co-Chair
Senior Associate, Advancement Services Division
Bentz Whaley Flessner

Cassie Hunt is a senior associate in the advancement services division of Bentz Whaley Flessner. Prior to joining the firm, Hunt served as the director of advancement operations at Washington and Lee University, where she led a successful advancement database and online community conversion and expansion, oversaw the implementation of paperless gift processing and documentation and provided leadership for a +$400M capital campaign.

Prior to her work in operations, Hunt served as the annual fund director, responsible for the annual fundraising program including direct mail, phonathons, volunteer management, solicitation and stewardship. During her tenure, annual fund revenue increased more than 55 percent, from $4.41M to $6.85M.

Hubt earned her bachelor's degree from Washington and Lee and has been highly involved in STAFF, VFIC, and CASE, and currently serves as the District III Conference Advancement Services Track co-chair.

D. Andrew Brown
Director, University-wide Development Initiatives
University of Minnesota Foundation

D. Andrew Brown was appointed director of university-wide development initiatives at the University of Minnesota Foundation (UMF) in October of 2009. In this role, he guides the evaluation and planning of fundraising initiatives and campaigns at both the university and collegiate levels.

Prior to joining UMF, Brown was the director of advancement at The Hill School, a coeducational boarding school, responsible for managing a team of seventeen development, alumni relations and communications professionals and staffing the governance and development committees of the Board of Trustees. Before joining The Hill School, he served as regional director of development for Brown University, responsible for raising six and seven figure gifts throughout the Southwestern United States and Southern California.

Brown came to fundraising from finance and organizational consulting, where he advised clients on business transactions, valuations for mergers and acquisitions and estate and gift planning, and the design of executive compensation plans.

He received his JD from the University of Minnesota Law School and his bachelor's degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

Stephen Jeffrey
Vice President for Development and External Relations
American University of Beirut (AUB), Beirut, Lebanon

Stephen Jeffrey has been the Vice President for Development and External Relations at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Beirut, Lebanon since January 2002. Formerly, he was Vice President of Development at the University of Hartford (1996-2001) and worked at Mount Holyoke College (1981-96) where he was Director of Development and External Relations and Secretary of the Board of Trustees. Prior to his career in higher education, Jeffrey spent 12 years as a fundraiser for several voluntary health organizations and an arts group. He is a graduate of Waynesburg College in PA.

Roby V. Key
Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement Operations
Texas Christian University

Roby V. Key has over 25 years in college and university work. He joined Texas Christian University's staff in December 1988. He began his career in development in 1983 at Crichton College, a small private college in Memphis, Tenn.

As associate vice chancellor for advancement operations at Texas Christian University, he has directed the following areas within the advancement department: Leadership Gifts, the Annual Fund, Athletic Fund Raising, Reunion Giving, the Phonathon, Donor Relations, Advancement Research, and Development Information Services.

He is a nationally known speaker and conference chair for CASE conferences, CASE District IV and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). He received CASE's Crystal Apple Award for outstanding teaching in 1999. He is also past president of the Fort Worth Chapter of AFP and a recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow award in Fort Worth's Downtown Rotary Club.

Key earned a bachelor's degree in theology from Crichton College, his master's degree in education and his Ed.D. in educational administration and supervision at University of Memphis.