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Annual Conference for Corporate & Foundation Relations Officers
Speakers
Leadership Team
Coleen Burrus, Conference Co-Chair
Director, Office of Corporate Relations
Northwestern University
Sarah Fodor, Conference Co-Chair
Director, Office of Foundation Relations
Northwestern University
Coleen Burrus
Director, Office of Corporate Relations
Northwestern University
Coleen Burrus is the director of corporate relations at Northwestern University, where she previously served as the associate director for foundation relations. Prior to her tenure at Northwestern, she was the director of foundation and government relations at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy Studies. Prior to transitioning to academia, Burrus was a Community Builder Fellow with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and a Senior Urban and Economic Development Planner for St. Louis County, Missouri.
In addition to her work at Northwestern, Burrus was elected to the City of Evanston City Council in April 2009. She holds a master's degree in urban affairs from Saint Louis University.
Sarah Fodor
Director, Office of Foundation Relations
Northwestern University
Sarah Fodor has led the Office of Foundation Relations at Northwestern University as director since March 2006. She began serving as associate director of the office in August of 1998. In collaboration with a team of four colleagues, Fodor is responsible for managing all of Northwestern's grantseeking activities with private professional foundations across Northwestern's eleven undergraduate, graduate and professional schools and the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.
She holds a doctorate in English language and literature and a master's degree in English from the University of Chicago and bachelor degrees in English education and French literature (summa cum laude) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has taught college, high school and middle school composition and literature and has published several articles and book reviews on Flannery O'Connor, the New Criticism and other topics in contemporary American literature. Since 2003, Fodor has taught graduate classes in proposal writing for the School of Business and Nonprofit Management at North Park University.
Katie Cervenka
Executive Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations
Rice University
Katie Cervenka has more than 25 years of professional development experience. She has worked for the past ten years at Rice University, where she is responsible for coordinating and expanding Rice's relationships with corporations and foundations, helping to secure over $150 million to date as part of the institution's current $1 billion capital campaign. Previously, she spent 11 years at Claremont Graduate University where she held various positions overseeing corporate relations, foundation relations, writing, research, annual giving and major gifts. She also spent four years at the Austin Children's Museum, where she oversaw development and marketing.
Cervenka holds a bachelor's degree from Grinnell College and a master's degree in public affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.
Richard Cleaver
Writer, Corporate, Foundation and Governement Relations
Grinnell College
Richard Cleaver is the writer in the Office of Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations at Grinnell College, which combines the usual duties of a CFR office with those of a sponsored research office. He is also a senior contributing writer and campus notes editor for the college's alumni magazine.
Cleaver graduated from Grinnell in 1975, with majors in music and Classics. Before returning to Grinnell in 2000, he worked in Japan for seven years, variously as an English teacher, technical writer and translator. He has a master's degree inadvanced Japanese studies from Sheffield University (U.K.)
His earlier checkered past, relying on the flexibility of mind that comes of a liberal arts education, includes seven years as a member of the Catholic Worker Movement and eleven years as peace education secretary for the Michigan office of the American Friends Service Committee. He is the author of two books, New Heaven, New Earth: Practical Essays on the Catholic Worker Program and Know My Name: A Gay Liberation Theology.
Don McGowan
Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations
Tufts University
Don McGowan has been the director of corporate and foundation relations at Tufts University since November 2006. His organization has a complement of 11 front-line officers and staff that identify and solicit sources of external organizational funding for the support of Tufts scholarship and research in its seven schools on three campuses. Previous to Tufts, he was the associate director of corporate relations at MIT for eight years, where he managed a group of development officers with global corporate portfolios in the fields of chemicals, materials and life sciences.
McGowan joined university development at MIT after a twenty -year career with the Polaroid Corporation, where he was a senior executive in chemical R&D and project management in both instant photography and digital media research. He graduated from Boston College summa cum laude in chemistry, and earned a master's degree and doctorate in synthetic organic chemistry from MIT. He is the co-author of five publications in the chemical literature and holds a number of U.S. patents in imaging technology.
He currently serves as a founding director and co-president (2010-2011) for NACRO, a newly organized national organization, the Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers.
Heather Rich
Associate Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations
Saint Louis University
Heather Rich is currently the director of corporate and foundation relations at Saint Louis University. She manages the CFR operations, manages a portfolio of 100+ corporations and foundations, provides proposal development training to faculty and staff, leads a Corporate Advisory Council, and has spearheaded successful faculty engagement programs on campus. She formerly served as the senior education specialist at the Saint Louis University Institutional Review Board (IRB), and prior to that spent time working at Northwestern University as an IRB Coordinator and Research Administrator. She received her certification as an IRB Professional in 2007.
Rich received her bachelor's degree in theatre performance from Arkansas State University in 2001, and is currently pursuing a master's degree in leadership and organizational development at Saint Louis University. Her development work began when she moved to Chicago after college and joined the theatre company, Quest Theatre Ensemble, as the director of education outreach programs, where she was responsible for fundraising efforts.
Greg Lamb
Assistant Vice President, Corporate and Foundation Relations
University of Iowa Foundation
Greg Lamb was named assistant vice president for corporate and foundation relations at the University of Iowa Foundation in June 2008. He has more than 15 years of nonprofit management, consulting and fundraising experience.
Following his graduation from the University of Iowa, Lamb worked as a leadership consultant and as director of fraternity programs for Delta Upsilon International Fraternity. From 1997 to 2004, he was vice president/senior consultant at Pennington & Company, a development consulting firm based in Lawrence, Kan. Prior to joining the UI Foundation, he served as development director at the KU Endowment Association where he managed the development efforts of the University of Kansas School of Business.
Keynote Speakers
Nora Moreno Cargie
Director, Global Corporate Citizenship
The Boeing Company
Nora Moreno Cargie joined The Boeing Company as director, Global Corporate Citizenship, for the company's corporate offices in Chicago in 2006. Before that, she served six years as vice president of Communications and Development for Illinois Action for Children, working on strategic planning and implementation, policy and resource development.
She took time off from that position to serve as the deputy communications director for the Barack Obama U.S. senatorial campaign in 2004. Prior to her work at Illinois Action for Children, Cargie was deputy commissioner for the Mayor's Office of Workforce Development. Her other government experience includes stints as communications director for the Chicago Park District, assistant commissioner of the Chicago Department of Human Services, and acting press secretary/public relations manager for the Chicago Public Schools.
Cargie began her career in radio, working as assistant program director of Chicago's WBEZ, before becoming assistant producer/director for National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" program in Washington D.C. She also has worked as a freelance audio producer, developing segments for This American Life, Media Rite: Many Cultures Many Voices, National Public Radio's "Horizons" and "Latino" programs, and the Pilsen YMCA.
Her community involvement activities include serving as a board member for the National Museum of Mexican Art and the Metropolitan Planning Council. She serves on several advisory committees including Chicago Workforce Investment Council's CWICStats, Openlands Outreach and Education and the Chicago Children's Museum's Education and Exhibits. Moreno Cargie formerly served on the Young Women's Leadership Charter School (2006 - 2009) board and Redmoon Theater board (1999-2007). She is currently serving as a "Boeing Executive on Loan" at the Chicago Public Schools where she serves as Chief of Staff for the interim CEO.
She graduated from Columbia College, Chicago, and earned her Master's degree in management with a certificate in marketing services from Chicago's North Park University.
Sara R. Slaughter
Director of the Education Program
McCormick Foundation
Sara Slaughter, Director of the Education Program at the McCormick Foundation, oversees $5.9 million of annual funding. The Education Program focuses on building a system of quality early care and education for children ages birth through eight in Illinois. During her tenure as Director, the Council on Foundations awarded the Education Program the 2008 Paul Ylvisaker Award for Public Policy Engagement.
Prior to joining the Foundation, she was the Program Director at Chicago Metropolis 2020 where she helped bring the voices of business champions to bear on early care and education policy in Illinois. Ms. Slaughter previously served as an advisor to Evan Bayh when he was Governor of Indiana. She practiced law at Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago and clerked for a federal judge.
Ms. Slaughter is a member of the Early Learning Council of Illinois, the Illinois Department of Human Services' Child Care and Development Advisory Committee, the Early Childhood Funders' Collaborative and the Education Funders' Strategy Group. She serves as a board member for Grantmakers for Children, Youth and Families (GCYF) and in 2008, she co-chaired the GCYF Annual Conference in Chicago. She co-authored the Economic Impact of the Early Care and Education Industry in Illinois. Ms. Slaughter holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from Duke University and a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law -- Bloomington.
Terry Mazany
President and CEO
Chicago Community Trust
Terry Mazany is president and chief executive officer for The Chicago Community Trust. In 2004, Mazany was appointed as the fifth chief executive officer in the Trust's history. Mazany has risen through the ranks, serving as chief operating officer and as director and senior program officer for the Education Initiative where he led the design and implementation of the Trust's initial $50 million, five-year commitment to improvement in Chicago schools.
Mazany came to the Trust from a distinguished career in public school administration, leading improvement efforts in school districts in Michigan and California. He received a master's degree in anthropology and a master's degree in business administration, with an emphasis on organizational change, from the University of Arizona. Preceding his work in the public sector, Mazany enjoyed his first career as an archaeologist and dendrochronologist—using tree-ring chronologies to date human settlements and develop past climate records.
In November 2010, Mayor Daley appointed Mazany as interim CEO for Chicago Public Schools. Mazany will continue to serve as head of the Trust while serving in the CPS role on a temporary basis.
Peter Mich
Executive Director
McDougal Foundation
Peter Mich is the executive director of the McDougal Family Foundation. The McDougal Foundation is focused on efforts to increase high school graduation rates and postsecondary success.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee with a doctorate in education and of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, Mich joined the foundation in 2004. Prior to that he served in several capacities at the Joyce Foundation including as technology officer and education program officer. During his tenure at Joyce he worked to facilitate school reform efforts in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee. Previously, Mich served as the director of computer education for the Boys and Girls Clubs in Milwaukee and Chicago, and as a middle school teacher in Milwaukee.
Stacy Palmer
Editor
Chronicle of Philanthropy
Stacy Palmer is editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the number-one news source in the nonprofit world. She has served as a top editor since the newspaper was founded in 1988 and has overseen the development of its websites, Philanthropy.com and Philanthropy Careers.
Palmer regularly is a featured speaker or panel moderator at The Chronicle's own conferences and webinars, as well as those sponsored by organizations such as CauseWired Communications; the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy; the Council for Advancement and Support of Education; onPhilanthropy.com, the media arm of international philanthropic services company Changing Our World Inc.; National Student Partnerships; the Philanthropy Roundtable; the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network; the Urban Institute; the Western Knight Center for Specialized Journalism; and the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network.
Before she joined the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Palmer was editor for government and politics at the Chronicle of Higher Education. She received a bachelor's degree in international relations from Brown University in 1982. She has been an active alumnus, serving on numerous alumni boards, including chairing the Brown Alumni Magazine.
Mariët Westermann
Vice President
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Mariët Westermann is vice president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Prior to taking up her position at the foundation, she was provost and chief academic officer of New York University Abu Dhabi, having started the development of the campus in 2007. At NYU, she was also director of the Institute of Fine Arts for six years, after serving as associate director of research and academic programs at the Clark Art Institute in Massachusetts, and as assistant and associate professor at Rutgers University.
A historian of European art, she is the author of several books, including A Worldly Art: The Dutch Republic 1585-1718 (ranked a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times), The Amusements of Jan Steen: Comic Painting in the 17th Century, Rembrandt: Art and Ideas, and Anthropologies of Art. Collaborating frequently with museums, she wrote the Rijksmuseum Dossier: Johannes Vermeer and served as guest curator of the exhibition "Art and Home: Dutch Interiors in the Age of Rembrandt" (Newark Museum and Denver Art Museum). Her current research concerns the medium of painting as a resource of European culture and the Garden of Eden in the imagination of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Westermann received her bachelor's degree magna cum laude in history from Williams College, and her master's degree and doctorate in the history of art at NYU's Institute of Fine Arts.
Session Designers and Elective Session Speakers
Dennis Alexander
Director of Foundation Relations
Texas Christian University
Dennis Alexander has 30 years of professional writing experience and 17 years in corporate and foundation fundraising. From 1981 to 1994, he was a technical and business writer for clients like Frito-Lay, IBM and McDonnell Douglas. Joining Texas Christian University as a grant writer in 1994, he was promoted to director of corporate and foundation relations in 1997 and has been director of foundation relations since 2000.
His prospect portfolio includes private foundations, charitable trusts and donor-advised funds. At TCU, those dollars account for 20-35 percent of yearly fundraising totals. He is also the designated proposal writer on-request for university executives and college deans.
He has previously taught fundraising sessions for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the CASE Conference for Corporate & Foundation Relations Officers and for his colleagues in university advancement.
Michael Alvarez
Shell Workforce Development Initiative Lead
Shell Oil Company
Michael Alvarez is the workforce development initiative lead for Shell Oil Company. He is responsible for developing and driving strategies for strengthening Shell's talent pipeline for process technology, engineering and geosciences disciplines. He is responsible for developing integrated education initiatives and leveraging university recruitment programs and business funded research projects for the United States. He also serves in an advisory capacity to Shell business units and sites/locations regarding education investments.
Alvarez has been employed by Shell for over 30 years, holding various assignments in Administrative Services, Supply Chain Management and Corporate Affairs/Human Resources. Over those years, he managed contracts for products and services in support of various Shell Exploration and Production Business Segments and Global Operations. He was a member of the Upstream Contracting and Procurement Leadership Team, responsible for performance management and procurement operation activities. He was a manager in the Supplier Diversity and Diversity Outreach Office, responsible for developing strategies that provided business opportunities for diverse suppliers and also managed community outreach programs with national diversity organizations.
Alvarez graduated from Southern University of New Orleans with a bachelor's degree in business administration.
Jane Baker
Director, Corporate & Foundation Relations
Clark University
Jane Baker has served as the director of corporate and foundation relations at Clark University since 2003, and is responsible for managing all aspects of CFR prospect research, relationship management, proposal development and submission, and stewardship for the institution. An advancement professional for 15 years, Baker served as director of development for NASPE/The Heart Rhythm Society (1999-2003), grant writer for the Massachusetts Easter Seal Society (1997-99), and grants coordinator for Needham Public Schools (1995-97).
She holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Smith College and continues to pursue her education through a variety of graduate and undergraduate coursework.
Jessica Bearman
Consultant
Bearman Consulting/Project Streamline
Jessica Bearman works with mission-based organizations, particularly philanthropic organizations. Her work focuses on strategic planning, facilitation, and project research, design, and management to help organizations become more effective and responsive to the communities they serve. Recent clients include The Council on Foundations, Project Streamline, the Diversity in Philanthropy Project , and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations.
As a consultant and in her prior role as deputy director of the New Ventures in Philanthropy initiative, she has written and spoken widely on topics related to the growth of new philanthropic giving and foundation effectiveness. She is the author of Drowning in Paperwork, Distracted from Purpose: Challenges and Opportunities in Grant Application and Reporting, a study of grantmakers' application and reporting practices, and has developed many allied materials and trainings for this initiative. Prior to her work in philanthropy, Bearman spent nine years in environmental nonprofit work. There, she experienced her share of cumbersome and mysterious application and reporting requirements.
She has an undergraduate degree from Brown University and a master's degree in organization development from American University/National Training Laboratory.
Lawrence Botticelli
Associate Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations
Chief Business Officer, Tufts Institute for Biopharmaceutical Partnerships, Tufts University
Lawrence Botticelli serves as a member of the Tufts University Advancement Division, having as his portfolio the commercialization of drug discovery and development technologies throughout the university and, principally, at the School of Medicine. With more than twenty five years experience in the life sciences industry, he possesses a far-ranging background centered on the discovery, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical innovations.
Prior to arriving at Tufts, he served as interim managing director of commercial development and as director of strategic initiatives/life sciences, respectively, in the Office of Strategic Initiatives in the Office of the Provost at the University of Pennsylvania. In such capacities he was broadly responsible for identifying technological and clinical innovations and establishing collaborative R&D and clinical investigative alliances about exploratory and translational research developments.
Beginning his career on Wall Street, Botticelli served as a Life Sciences Technology merchant banker for firms such as Rothschild Inc, the Manhattan-based American branch of the NM Rothschild & Sons global merchant banking group, and The First Boston Corporation. Thereafter, he leveraged his merchant banking expertise to drive business development and executive management efforts at a number of entrepreneurial pharma concerns including ISIS Pharmaceuticals, Genesis Pharmaceuticals, ILEX Oncology, among others.
Botticelli received a doctorate in neuroscience from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A former Fellow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute of Mental Health and the Grass Foundation, and a recipient of the Hoffmann-La Roche Pharmaceuticals Predoctoral Fellowship Award, he completed postdoctoral training at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and at The Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania.
Andrea Conklin Bueschel
Program Director
The Spencer Foundation
Andrea Conklin Bueschel is a program director at the Spencer Foundation, where she oversees the Foundation's Initiative on Data Use and Educational Improvement and various fellowship programs. Prior to this position, she served as a research scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, working on the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate and on SPECC, the project on California Community Colleges. Her primary research has been on policy links and disjuncture between K-12 and higher education, particularly the high school to college transition.
Bueschel has served as a researcher and managing director for an educational consulting firm and has held various administrative posts in higher education. Her most recent publications are The Formation of Scholars (with G. Walker, C. Golde, L. Jones, and P. Hutchings) and Policies and Practices to Improve Student Preparation and Success, a volume of New Directions for Community Colleges (co-edited with A. Venezia). She is currently co-editing special issues of Teachers College Record and American Journal of Education (with C. Coburn).
Bueschel has a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Bates College and master's degrees in education and sociology, and a doctorate in education from Stanford University.
Maureen Burns
Assistant Director, Government and Foundation Relations
University of Michigan, College of Engineering
Maureen Burns is the assistant director of government and foundation relations at the University of Michigan's College of Engineering. This position was created in 2009 to enhance foundation support and to facilitate large center research proposals and start-up activities. Burns has held a variety of positions at the University of Michigan and has an extensive background in research administration. Special projects includes co-team leader for the development of UM's comprehensive training program for administrators and co-team leader for Business Intelligence-Research. She has also served as a principal investigator of an economic development program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce through which she acquired expertise in advocacy and lobbying.
Now that her role has shifted to research development, Burns hopes to encourage more strategic grant applications and to identify more opportunities with more nontraditional sponsors through improved communications, relationships, planning and processes.
She received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Eastern Michigan University.
Birgit Smith Burton
Senior Director of Foundation Relations
Georgia Institute of Technology
Birgit Smith Burton is the senior director of foundation relations at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. She began her career as a fundraiser more than 20 years in Buffalo, New York, where she was director of public relations for John Hill Enterprises and responsible for organizing special events including the successful Jim Thorpe Celebrity Golf Classic and the Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telethon. In 1987 she established and ran the first campaign office for the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) in upstate New York.
In her position Burton organized comprehensive fundraising campaigns in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. She raised millions from corporations, foundations and individual donors during her eleven years as director. She drafted high-profile individuals to serve on advisory boards in the three cities and recruited the New York state governor to chair the statewide UNCF corporate campaign. She successfully launched major individual donor campaigns in eight cities across New York and quickly became an expert on special events by organizing over 100 including bachelor bids, galas, telethons, radiothons, golf tournaments and college fairs.
In 1998 Burton joined Foundation Relations at Georgia Tech and successfully raised (with the help of the FR team) $107M against a $40M goal during the university's "Campaign for Georgia Tech." She has been recognized by CASE as a Faculty Star and was selected by the Kresge Foundation as an advancement expert to provide advice and counsel to participants in the Kresge HBCU Initiative. She also served on the Design Team for the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta's study of African American philanthropy in metropolitan Atlanta. She currently serves as president of the Greater Atlanta Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, sits on the boards of the A.E. Lowe Grice Scholarship Fund (Michigan), Robert Ferst Center for the Arts (Georgia), the National Visionary Leadership Project (Washington, D.C.), ALL-GA, an advocacy group for the arts in Georgia and chairs Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless board of trustees in Atlanta.
William Buster
Program Officer
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
William Buster is a program officer for the Food, Health and Well-Being and Racial Equity team at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. He is responsible for leadership and vision in program conceptualization, design, planning, management, coordination, communication, evaluation, policy and learning. He works in teams and in partnership with others, serving as a convener, collaborator and catalyst. As well, he contributes to the overall strategic direction for the foundation. He also supports grantmaking in New Orleans and Mississippi and serves on the Mission Driven Investment Committee.
Prior to joining the foundation, Buster was a program officer at the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation. There, he managed a portfolio of grantees primarily located in North Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas. The purpose of his portfolio was to support organizations helping to move people and communities out of poverty. Of special note is his work in creating a strategy for the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation to assist the Gulf Coast states post Hurricane Katrina. Before his work at the Babcock Foundation, he was a program director for community development at the Greensboro Education and Development Council of Greensboro.
Buster has received several awards and recognitions for his work, including selection as a Hull Fellow by the Southeastern Council on Foundations of Atlanta, Ga. He completed Harvard University's JFK School of Government Mastering Negotiations training. He has the distinction of being a founding member of the Steering Committee of the Black Family Land Trust whose purpose is to help African-American families in the southeastern United States find creative ways to save family land in rural and urban settings.
He holds a bachelor's degree in history from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University. He is pursuing a master's degree in public affairs with a concentration in community development from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.
Lily Cabrera
Director Corporate and Foundation Relations
NYU Langone Medical Center (NYU School of Medicine)
Lily Cabrera is the director of corporate and foundation relations for NYU Langone Medical Center, one of the nation's premier centers of excellence in healthcare, biomedical research and medical education.
Cabrera is part of a team that raises over $40 million each year from corporate, foundation and institutional donors. She previously served as the associate director of corporation and foundation relations at Seton Hall University.
She holds a master's degree in business administration from the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University and a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College. She is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society and is a recipient of a CASE District II Accolades Award for Proposal Writing (Gold).
Maren Cattonar
Senior Industrial Liaison Officer, Office of Corporate Relations
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Maren Cattonar joined the MIT Office of Corporate Relations Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) in 2010 as a senior industrial liaison officer. She currently manages a portfolio of companies focused on diverse strategic arenas including aerospace and defense, energy and insurance. She is focused on establishing and furthering industry and university relations to bridge the technological gap between science and commercialization.
Prior to the ILP, Cattonar spent nine years with Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems, where she was the manager of technology strategy and portfolio development. She reported to the Sector's chief technology officer and managed collaborative technology efforts with Government FFRDCs, strategic industry relationships, and developed new business models to foster innovation.
Cattonar was manager of the Sector's mergers acquisitions and divestitures, a contributing author to the long-range strategic plan and was responsible for the internal research and development investment allocation process. She has been special assistant to the Sector President, a systems engineer on strategic missile defense programs, and a program manager for advanced technology programs working solutions for the DoD, JIEDDO, and the DHS.
Cattonar received a bachelor's degree in engineering and economics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master's degree in technology management from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Lynne Chronister
Assistant Vice Provost
University of Washington
Lynne Chronister serves as assistant vice provost for research at the University of Washington. With sponsored awards at over $1.3 billion, UW is one of the largest research universities in the United States. Until February of 2008, Chronister was vice chancellor for research at the University of California, Davis, and had a Volunteer Clinical Faculty appointment in the Department of Public Health Sciences within the School of Medicine. Previously, she was director of sponsored projects and research at the University of Utah, Mississippi State University and the University of South Alabama.
Chronister has served on numerous international and national task forces, boards and review committees and is listed in International Who's Who and the Who's Who in Executives and Business. She co-edited and wrote Research Administration and Management, the definitive and only book available for researchers and research administrators on building and managing university research administration programs.
She has a bachelor's degree in experimental psychology from the University of Vermont and a master's degree in public administration from the University of South Alabama.
Heidi L. Ciha, SPHR
Program Manager, Global University Relations
John Deere
As Program Manager, Global University Relations (GUR), Heidi Ciha has responsibility for establishing and managing a university relations network and function at John Deere across multiple internal stakeholder groups. Heidi's regions of focus include North and South America.
Heidi joined John Deere Horicon Works in June 1998 in the Human Resource Department as a Sr. Human Resource Representative. Heidi has held a variety of Unit HR generalist roles as well as specialist roles within Human Resources including US Recruiting and Staffing, Career Development and Global Performance Management. Prior to coming to Deere, Heidi worked in Human Resources for four years in the service and consulting industries.
Heidi received a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1994 from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, with a double major in Human Resource Management and Management Information Systems. In 2009, Heidi completed an Executive MBA at the University of Iowa.
Jeff Coney
Director, Economic Development
Northwestern University
Jeff Coney serves as the director of economic development at Northwestern University, a position he was appointed to in September, 2007. He is also a member of the management team of the Innovation and New Ventures Office (INVO). His responsibilities include selected intellectual property and license management, marketing and business development for INVO.
Coney joined Northwestern in 2000 as the director of new business initiatives. In that role, he was responsible for day-to-day operation of the Illinois Technology Enterprise Center (ITEC) in Evanston. ITEC - Evanston delivered a variety of technology commercialization services to both Northwestern faculty and other local early stage technology companies. Prior to joining the University, Coney spent 14 years as a software entrepreneur. He co-founded Facility Management Systems, Inc., a local software company, which was sold to a publicly traded company. He has also had prior employment with Arthur Andersen, Metropolitan Structures and the City of Chicago.
Coney received his bachelor's degree and master's degree in business administration from Northwestern and is a CPA. He is on the Mayor's Council of Technology Advisors. He also serves as a director for Context Media, Northwestern Student Holdings and the Youth Job Center of Evanston.
Dondi Cupp
Associate Vice President for Development
University of Michigan
Dondi Cupp serves as the associate vice president for development at the University of Michigan. As a member of the senior management team in the office of university development, he is responsible for leading the regional major gifts and constituency fundraising programs, the operations teams including finance and administration, and the talent management program.
Cupp came to Michigan from the University of Washington, where he led the office of corporate and foundation relations and advancement teams in the health sciences. He joined the University of Washington in 1999 as director of development for the sciences. While at the Washington, Cupp founded the advancement leadership class, a comprehensive leadership development program for advancement staff. In 2012, he was nominated by his peers for the university's David B. Thorud Leadership Award. In 2006, he received the Marilyn Batt Dunn Endowed Award for Excellence in University Advancement.
He has served as associate director of the Western Washington University Foundation and as director of the annual fund at his alma mater, the University of Oklahoma.
Cupp holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and public relations from the University of Oklahoma.
Jane Zimmer Daniels
Founder and CEO
JZD Consulting
Jane Zimmer Daniels is founder and CEO of JZD Consulting and the former program director for the Henry Luce Foundation's Higher Education Program and Clare Boothe Luce Program—the nation's largest private source of support for women in the sciences and engineering.
Previously, Daniels served as director of Purdue University's Women in Engineering Program for more than 20 years, as a program director at the National Science Foundation, and as founding president of the Women in Engineering ProActive Network. In 2010, she served as president of the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology, a nonprofit organization specializing in the collection, analysis and publication of reliable information about the human resources in the fields of science, engineering and technology.
Daniels is a fellow of both the Society of Women Engineers and the Association for Women in Science. She is a speaker, author and consultant on gender equity and organizational change.
Regina Flynn
Manager, Graduate Recruitment and University Relations
Shell Oil Company
Regina (Gina) Flynn is manager for U.S. graduate recruitment for Shell Oil Company, leading the University Relations team responsible for sourcing talent from U.S. universities. Her responsibilities include coordinating and managing Shell's Campus Ambassador Program (CAP) and its related on-campus processes and programs, and managing the attraction, application and pre-selection stages in Shell's university recruitment process.
Prior to joining Shell in June 2007, Flynn was the director of university and diversity recruiting for Merck & Co. She was with the pharmaceutical company for almost 18 years in various HR assignments, including as the director of diversity and work environment and as the manager of human resources for Merck Research Laboratories. She also lived and worked abroad for several years in Brussels, Belgium, serving as the manager of site services for Merck's European division.
Flynn started with Merck in the Human Resources Associates development program, recruited from campus. She received her bachelor's degree in human biology, race and gender, from Brown University.
Emily Froimson
Senior Director of Scholar Programs
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
Emily Froimson is the senior director of scholar programs at the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, where she oversees all of the foundation's scholarship programs, serving exceptional students with financial need from high school through graduate school. She remains involved in the foundation's grant-making initiatives, with particular emphasis on the Community College Transfer Initiative. Froimson previously served as the director of higher education programs for the foundation.
Froimson's experiences before joining the foundation included serving as the executive director of the Greater Phoenix Youth at Risk Foundation, a grassroots agency providing mentoring and after-school programs to high-risk youth, and working as a private attorney with two national law firms. Prior to coming to the foundation, she was pursuing a doctorate in justice and social inquiry, and working as a faculty associate at Arizona State University, teaching courses in research methods and justice studies.
She received her law degree from Boston University School of Law and her bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College.
Bart Grachan
Director, Community College Transfer Opportunity Program
New York University
Bart Grachan joined NYU as the director of the Community College Transfer Opportunity Program (CCTOP) in January 2008. CCTOP is a scholarship and advisement program in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, offering merit- and need-based awards of up to $20,000/year to eligible students. Working with 13 area partner schools, CCTOP has enrolled over 1,600 students over the course of 20 years in every academic area of Steinhardt's programs. CCTOP actively offers community college outreach, pre-admission advisement, transitional assistance, and support services through graduation, in addition to the scholarship.
Prior to arriving at NYU, Grachan worked with transfer, adult and graduate student admissions at Iona College, following time as a high school teacher. In addition to his duties with CCTOP, he is currently a doctoral student in the Higher Education Administration Program at Steinhardt, where he is conducting research on the four-year institutional role in the community college transfer process.
Off-campus, he has served as the president, as well as in other roles, for the New York State Transfer and Articulation Association (NYSTAA), a 600-member organization dedicated to the professional development of educators and administrators who work with transfer students in all facets.
Grachan earned his bachelor's degree with a double major in history and English literature from Fordham University, and earned a master's degree in teaching, secondary social studies and a master's degree in art history, both from Iona College.
Patricia Gregory
Assistant Vice Chancellor and Executive Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations
Washington University in St. Louis
Patricia Gregory joined Medical Alumni and Development Programs at Washington University in 1992. Previously she was the assistant chairman of the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Cell Biology at Northwestern University and the associate director of Northwestern's Center for Biotechnology.
In addition to publications in the scientific literature, Gregory has authored book chapters for faculty and fundraisers, including "Foundation Support" in the CASE Handbook of Institutional Advancement and "Obtaining Funding for Clinical Research" in Translational and Experimental Medicine. She manages an online discussion group for corporate and foundation relations at http://cfrnet.wustl.edu.
She received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in biology from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, held a research appointment at the University College London for three years, earned a doctorate in physiology and biophysics in 1986 from the University of Vermont and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Chicago.
Ann McAdam Griffin
Associate Director, Corporate Relations
Rice University
Ann McAdam Griffin is the associate director of corporate relations at Rice University. Before coming to Rice, she taught undergraduate courses at the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore School of Business and Economics and participated in research on the economic status of women in New Hampshire and the economic impact of air quality information and forecasts.
Griffin earned a bachelor's degree in economics and psychology from Tufts University and a master's degree in business administration from Boston University. In addition to a broad understanding of global business honed through several years as a management consultant, Griffin brings a wealth of Rice knowledge to her role as she and her husband, Rob, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, serve as masters of Hanszen College at Rice.
Robin Habeger
Director of Development
Iowa State University Foundation
Robin Habeger is a the director of development in corporation and foundation relations at Iowa State University Foundation. She is a liaison to seven different units on campus including the College Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, College of Human Sciences, College of Business, ISU Extension, Plant Sciences Institute and Bioeconomy Institute.
Habeger coordinates campus activities and comprehensive relationship management activities with corporate and foundation partners. Before joining the ISU Foundation in 2007, she worked for four years as the director of industry relations at Iowa State University College of Business. Robin graduated with a master's degree in community and regional planning in 1997 and a master's degree in business admnistration in 2001, both from Iowa State University.
Brian Haller
Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations
Borough of Manhattan Community College
Brian Haller is the director of foundation and corporate relations at Borough of Manhattan Community College. Before beginning his career in educational development at the City College of New York, Haller worked in the CBS Newsroom, in Philip Morris' Corporate Contributions Department and at the Ford Foundation.
He is a graduate of Tulane and New York Universities.
LaMar Haugaard
Chief Pilot
Horizon Airlines
Chief Pilot LaMar Haugaard started as a first officer in the SA-227 Metroliner for Horizon Air in June 1985. After upgrading to captain on that airplane the following year, Haugaard was asked to become a check airman. In May 1988, he was offered the position of assistant chief pilot. For the next nine years, Haugaard remained current on the SA-227 and then the Do-328. In September of 1996, he took over the role of turbo-prop chief pilot for Horizon's fleet of SA-227s, Do-328s and Dash 8s. The position of chief pilot was a result of a reorganization in January of 2000, and Haugaard was named system chief pilot. Today, he remains current in the Q400 and oversees a team of five assistant chief pilots and 750 pilots. He leads the Horizon-CWU direct hire program and offers his time and talent to assist CWU's Department of Aviation.
Haugaard graduated from the University of North Dakota.
Cheryl A. Heads
Grants Manager
The Brinson Foundation
Cheryl A. Heads has been the grants manager at The Brinson Foundation since 2008. The grants manager serves as the liaison between the foundation's grantees and grantseekers on the one hand and its board and staff on the other. She is responsible for the initial review of letters of inquiry, oversight of the foundation's grants management processes and software, and for monitoring grantmaking deadlines and requirements to ensure consistent grant processing.
Prior to joining The Brinson Foundation, she worked at the Field Foundation of Illinois as grants manager/executive assistant. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Chicago Women in Philanthropy and is co-chair of the Project Streamline Member User's Group at the Donors Forum.
Heads has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Roosevelt University. She is pursuing a master's degree in nonprofit management from Spertus College.
John Hicks
President and CEO
J.C. Geever, Inc
John Hicks is president and CEO of J.C. Geever Inc. He provides consultation and strategic guidance for annual and capital fundraising programs for a variety of clients serving diverse constituencies and communities. During a career of more than 20 years, he has worked with a diverse and broad group of more than 75 clients, ranging from grassroots organizations to national not-for-profits.
Hicks presents the Foundation Center's Proposal Writing and Cultivating Grantmaker Relationships seminars across the nation. He is a contributing author to The Nonprofit Handbook: Fund Raising (Wiley, 2001) and the Foundation Center's book, After the Grant (2010). A Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), Hicks is a member of the Association of Fund Raising Professionals. He is immediate past president of the Greater New York Chapter of AFP and has served in volunteer leadership positions for AFP International. He is a member of the faculty of Columbia University's Master's Degree in Fundraising Management program.
Richard J. Kaplan
Associate Vice President for Institutional Research and Grants Management
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Richard J. Kaplan is responsible for the initial review of unsolicited proposals arriving at the MacArthur Foundation and for providing the foundation with in-house research services and information retrieval.
Kaplan has been with the MacArthur Foundation for 13 years. During that time, he was responsible for developing the foundation's first information center, centralized grants management system, and in-house research department.
Prior to working for the foundation, Kaplan worked as the senior archivist for the Special Collections Division of the Chicago Public Library. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Information Technology Resource Center in Chicago, and a member of the Urban Institute National Center for Charitable Statistic's NTEE National Advisory Committee. He also serves on the national advisory committee for GuideStar, an Internet database that provides access to more than 600,000 990-PF forms from nonprofit organizations.
His undergraduate work was completed at the University of Iowa. He went on to receive a master's degree in history and a master's degree in information science, both from the University of Iowa.
William Keator
Vice President for Programs
The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
Since 1998, William Keator has served as program officer, program director and now vice president for programs at the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. The Foundations are located in Jacksonville, Fla., with assets that have ranged from some $165 million to in excess of $250 million during this time. He is directly responsible for the Foundations' Private Higher Education and Secondary Education programs, which combine to represent 55 percent of grants made by the Foundations. During his tenure, trustees have approved 265 higher education grants totaling $51.6 million and 124 secondary education grants totaling $18.4 million.
Previously, Keator served as program officer for the Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation. In addition to grant related work, a key responsibility included developing and directing the Foundation's Honor Rows program. The first of its kind in professional sports, Honor Rows allows nonprofit agencies serving disadvantaged youth to develop incentive programs for youth and families to earn tickets to Jacksonville Jaguars home games. By 1997, 30 programs involving 45 agencies were awarded nearly 3,000 seats. Honor Rows received the 1996 Florida Governor's Community Investment Award. He also developed the Jaguars Foundation Playbooks program, a reading initiative in partnership with area public libraries.
Keator came to the Jaguars Foundation after working for the National Football League (NFL) in New York City. He served in the Player Programs department assisting in the administration of the Continuing Education, Financial Education and Career Internship programs. Prior to joining the NFL, he was a seventh grade teacher at the Hill School in Middleburg, Va.
Keator received a master's degree in administration, planning and social policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1993 and a bachelor's degree from Amherst College in 1986.
While at Harvard, he served the National Association of Independent Schools' Project On Pricing And Affordability Research Group. He is a past treasurer of Daniel, Inc., which is the oldest child-serving agency in Florida and remains involved with the Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation by serving on the Honor Rows Volunteer Committee.
Lance King
Executive Vice President and Managing Director
Grenzebach Glier and Associates
Lance King joined Grenzebach Glier and Associates (GG+A) in 2009 as executive vice president and managing director. He provides strategic leadership and management to GG+A's consulting staff and GG+A Philanthropic Analytics as well as the firm's core operational areas, including: consulting services, client services, marketing, client relations, information technology and talent management. He also plays a central role in developing and improving services and solutions that foster sustainable cultures of philanthropy in GG+A's client institutions.
Prior to joining GG+A, King served as vice president for university advancement at Stony Brook University and president of the Stony Brook Foundation, where he led the successful conclusion of the university's first-ever capital campaign, "The Emergence of Stony Brook," which exceeded its $300 million goal by more than 20 percent. During his tenure, the advancement staff was expanded significantly, the university opened a new alumni center, and the campaign set numerous records for the State University of New York, including the largest-ever gift.
Previously, he held the position of senior vice president for development for the University of Colorado Foundation, overseeing fundraising efforts for the multicampus University of Colorado System and implementing new productivity standards for all development professionals, following his role as vice president for corporate and foundation relations and development services.
As executive director of corporate and foundation relations, King played an instrumental role in the $1.6 billion "We're Texas" capital campaign at The University of Texas at Austin where he previously served as director of development for the College of Pharmacy.
A pharmacist by education, King is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and completed a post-graduate executive residency in nonprofit management with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists in Bethesda, Md., where he also held positions in government relations, student affairs and with the ASHP Research and Education Foundation.
Robbee Baker Kosak
Vice President of University Advancement
Carnegie Mellon University
Robbee Baker Kosak leads the Division of University Advancement at Carnegie Mellon University, which includes four integrated departments: advancement services, alumni relations, development and marketing/media relations. She has served as vice president since 2000, after holding senior advancement positions at a number of institutions, including Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Illinois Institute of Technology and Northwestern University.
David Langiulli
Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations
Princeton University
David Langiulli is an executive with more than 20 years of experience spanning the corporate and higher education sectors. Reporting to the dean for research, Langiulli leads a team that supports research and scholarship at the university through partnerships with corporations and foundations.
Prior to joining the Princeton staff, Langiulli served as the director of development at Stony Brook University, where he supported the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. His private sector experience includes serving as vice president of AbsoluteyNew, a San-Francisco based product development company where he transformed, reorganized and invigorated the licensing division.
Langiulli holds a master's degree in business from Stony Brook University, a master's degree in engineering from Columbia University, and a bachelor's degree in physics engineering and mathematics from Washington and Lee University.
Stacy Litchfield
Regional Manager of Talent Acquisition
John Deere
Lisa Lorenzen
Director of Industry Relations
Iowa State University
Lisa Lorenzen is the director of industry relations for Iowa State University, focused on technology transfer and economic development. She coordinates campus activities related to providing a comprehensive relationship management system to industry, manages grant programs related to economic development and facilitates relationship development with industry and economic development professionals.
Before joining ISU in March 1999, Lorenzen worked for five years as a computational biologist in the bioinformatics group at Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. She graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor's degree in 1989 and a doctorate in 1994, both in genetics.
Maureen Martin
Senior Director, Foundation Relations
University of Michigan
Maureen Martin is the senior director of foundation relations at the University of Michigan and is responsible for enhancing relationships between major foundations and the university. In ten years at UM, fundraising achievements include a $25 million lead gift for a building, multiple million-dollar and more program grants, and startup and project funding at much more modest scales. She has served in leadership and committee roles for Michigan's National Center on Institutional Diversity, the Presidential Delegation to Africa, Michigan Community Scholars program and the Research Impacts Team.
A fundraiser for more than 20 years, Martin has been part of many organizations, including volunteer leadership and board service at her local land trusts and the watershed council. She helped to found Performance Network in Ann Arbor and Signature Theatre Company in New York and was first board chair for Mosaic Youth Theater of Detroit. In her professional life, she has been the development director at Nature Conservancy - Michigan, Henry Ford Museum, and Ensemble Studio Theater, and a staff member at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Martin received a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan in women's studies and journalism, and a master's degree in business administration from the Ross School of Business.
Erin Miller
Senior Research Specialist, CFR
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Erin Miller is a senior research specialist at the University of Illinois, which recently completed its $2.25 billion "Brilliant Futures" campaign. She oversees corporate and foundation prospect research, data analysis and competitive intelligence projects for all campus units and departments.
Prior to joining the University of Illinois Foundation, she led student outreach programs and workshops for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library; and worked as an instructor for Bowling Green State University.
A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, Miller holds a master's degree in library and information science from the University of Illinois and a second master's degree in theater from Bowling Green State University.
William F.L. Moses
Program Director
The Kresge Foundation
William F. L. Moses leads The Kresge Foundation's Education Program, which focuses on promoting access and success in higher education for low-income, first generation, and under-represented students. A key architect in developing the program's new strategic direction, Moses oversees the Education team's entire continuum of grant activities in higher education, from reviewing preliminary ideas and helping grantees develop proposals to awarding funding and monitoring existing grants. He presents the Education grant docket to Kresge's board and represents the foundation at media and nonprofit events.
After joining Kresge in 1997, Moses became a program officer and later, a senior program officer. During that time, he played an instrumental role in developing Kresge's Green Building Initiative and spearheading its international grantmaking in South Africa. Previously, he served as executive director of The Thomas J. Watson Foundation in Rhode Island and as an analyst in the South Africa department of the Investor Responsibility Research Center in Washington, D.C. He also worked as a research officer at TechnoServe and held various administrative positions in Alaska's state legislature and the federal government, including the U.S. Embassy in Cape Town.
A graduate of Claremont McKenna College, Moses holds a master's degree in international relations from Yale University. He has authored two books and several articles on South Africa, and has been interviewed on numerous radio and television news shows. He currently co-chairs the seven-foundation Partnership for Higher Education in Africa and serves on the Africa Grantmakers' Affinity Group steering committee.
Alexandra Nikitas
Executive Director
Cancer Research Foundation
Alexandra (Zanna) Nikitas currently serves as the executive director of the Cancer Research Foundation, an organization that raises funds to support early and cutting-edge cancer research in Chicago area medical centers.
Prior to taking the helm of the CRF, Nikitas spent more than seven years developing and investing in commercial real estate as a part of The John Buck Company (JBC), based in Chicago. As a vice president of JBC, she was integrally involved in the development, valuation, acquisition and disposition of office, residential, retail and hospitality properties, including having direct involvement in the sourcing of over $800 million dollars of real estate financing.
Nikitas has an early background in politics and government and maintains a role in a number of Chicago institutions, including sustaining membership on the Lincoln Park Zoo Auxiliary Society and the John G. Shedd Aquarium Auxiliary Board as well as membership in the Economic Club of Chicago.
She has a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago with a concentration in strategy and finance, and a bachelor's degree in philosophy and English from Williams College.
Margaret Nover
Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations
Central Washington University
Margaret Nover is Central Washington University's first director of corporate and foundation relations, with a dual reporting to the CWU Foundation and CWU Office of Graduate Studies and Research.
Previously, she worked for fifteen years at the City of Portland's Environmental Services as fund development program manager, sustainability guru, pollution prevention manager, and environmental compliance doordinator. During her five years as fund development manager, Nover secured over $40 million in grants and low-interest loans (and an additional $35 million post-employment as a contract employee) for projects ranging from revegetation of critical habitat for birds and fish to converting from chlorine gas to sodium hypochlorite for wastewater disinfection.
She is a past guest lecturer at Lewis and Clark College and Portland State University, and created and delivered workshops about high performance/green buildings, systems approaches to environmental management, and integrating sustainable practices into government operations. In 2000, Nover developed curriculum and taught a graduate level course on Sustainable Production, Business, and Public Policy at Portland State University. She earned a master's degree in public administration from Lewis & Clark College (with honors), and a bachelor's degree in political science from Southern Oregon State College.
Colin Ong-Dean
Associate Program Officer
The Spencer Foundation
Colin Ong-Dean is an associate program officer at the Spencer Foundation in Chicago, which supports investigation related to improvement of education. Previously, he worked on a federally funded evaluation of a literacy intervention for middle school and high school students in San Diego.
As a doctoral student in sociology at the University of California, San Diego, he researched the social class dimensions of parental involvement in special education, the results of which are published in Distinguishing Disability: Parents, Privilege, and Special Education (University of Chicago Press, 2009).
His current research interests lie particularly at the intersections of education, knowledge, social identity and inequality.
Brandi J. B. Orbin
Associate Director of Development, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
NC State University
Terry Pearl
Senior Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations
NYU Langone Medical Center (NYU School of Medicine)
Terry Pearl is the senior director of corporate and foundation relations for NYU Langone Medical Center at New York University. She leads a team of development professionals that raises over $50 million each year from corporate, foundation and other institutional donors. She previously served as the director of corporate and foundation relations at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City and Morristown Memorial Health Foundation in Morristown, N.J.
Pearl has served on the board of directors for the Learning Community Charter School in Jersey City, the Association of Fundraising Professionals New Jersey Chapter and the Morristown Rotary Club, and has been named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International. She is a graduate of the Leadership Morris program, sponsored by the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, and has served as a presenter for the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy. She has also taught grant writing courses for post-doctoral students and researchers at NYU and served as a grant panelist for the Arts Council of the Morris Area and the State of Florida.
Pearl holds a bachelor's degree in art history from the University of Pennsylvania. She is completing a master's degree in nonprofit management and an MBA in leadership from the University of Miami.
Michael Ransom
Associate Director, Corporate Relations, & Senior Advancement Officer, College of Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University
Michael Ransom is the associate director for corporate relations for Carnegie Mellon University and the senior advancement officer for the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He manages a portfolio of corporations for both the College of Engineering and the university as a whole. In addition, he holds a strategic position within the Engineering College on the dean's staff to direct corporate activities and carry a small portfolio of individual donors who have strong industry connections with the college. He has held these roles and additional similar roles since 2006 when he joined Carnegie Mellon University.
Prior to joining Carnegie Mellon, Ransom spent more than six years as the associate director of corporate relations for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In this capacity, he managed a portfolio of corporations for the university with a focus on building both a philanthropic and research partnership with industry.
Prior to working at the University of Illinois, he served as performance manager/consultant for BellSouth. He was responsible for coordinating employee developmental initiatives between field human resource personnel and BellSouth Corporate Centers. Additionally, he implemented and managed the two high potential programs designed to facilitate the experiences and opportunities for the industry leaders of tomorrow.
He is a founding member and on the Board of Directors for the Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers. He is also on the Board of the Engineering Development Forum.
Ransom earned a master's degree in education in curriculum and instruction, with an emphasis on instructional development from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
Karen Pekow
Senior Associate Director, Foundation Relations
University of Chicago, Medical Center Development
Karen Pekow is the senior associate director of foundation relations for the University of Chicago Medical Center. She leads a team of professionals responsible for building and maintaining relationships with hundreds of private foundations.In 2009, she was recognized with the Frederick T. Gates Award, the prestigious University of Chicago award for excellence in fundraising.
Pekow has more than ten years of experience in development for medicine and social service. Prior to joining the University of Chicago, she oversaw all grants and communications for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. She also formerly served as the deputy director for a Chicago nonprofit, Working In The Schools (WITS).
Pekow received her bachelor's degree in English and women's studies from Tulane University.
Jason Saul
Founder and CEO, Mission Measurement LLC
Faculty, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Jason Saul is one of the nation's leading experts on measuring social impact. He is the founder and CEO of Mission Measurement LLC, a strategy consulting firm that helps corporations, nonprofits and public sector clients to measure and improve their social impact. He has advised some of the world's largest corporations, government agencies and nonprofits, including: Walmart, Starbucks, McDonald's, Kraft Foods, Levi Strauss & Co., Easter Seals, American Red Cross, the Smithsonian and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Prior to founding Mission Measurement, Saul practiced as a public finance attorney at Mayer Brown LLP in Chicago.
Saul serves on the faculty of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, where he teaches corporate social responsibility and nonprofit management. He also serves on the faculty of Boston College's Center for Corporate Citizenship. He is the founder of the Center for What Works, a national nonprofit focused on benchmarking and performance measurement. He is the author of numerous books and articles on social strategy and measurement, including: Benchmarking for Nonprofits: How to Manage, Measure and Improve Performance (Fieldstone Press 2006); Social Innovation, Inc.: Five Strategies to Drive Business Value through Social Change (Jossey-Bass, October 2010); and The End of Fundraising: How to Raise More by Selling Your Impact (Jossey-Bass, March 2011).
Saul holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and an M.P.P. from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Alex Schmidt
Director of Advancment, College of Education
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Alex Schmidt is a director of advancement specializing in corporate and foundation support. He previously worked as general counsel and director of alumni relations for Greenville College and as an associate for Barack Ferrazzano and Foley & Lardner LLP.
He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois.
Barb Sheedlo
Manager, Recruiting & Staffing
ConocoPhillips
Barb Sheedlo is the manager of recruiting and staffing at the Talent Management Center of Excellence, for ConocoPhillips. In this role since 2005, she is responsible for global recruiting processes, policies, technology and best practices for both university and experienced hire recruiting.
In support of university recruiting, she leads the ConocoPhillips university relations programs for over 50 targeted U.S. universities. In addition, she directs the U.S. recruiting operations, consisting of corporate recruiting/ sourcing teams for all business lines and functions.
Sheedlo began her career with ConocoPhillips in 1984 and has worked in a variety of roles for the company, including exploration, production operations, asset management, and talent management.
She has bachelor's and master's degrees in geology from Rice University.
Michael Smith
Assistant Director, Advancement Services
Central Washington University
Michael Smith is the assistant director of advancement services at Central Washington University. Advancement services maintains and enhances the complex operational infrastructure for the development team. With his technological skills and experience, Smith, the former assistant director for annual giving at CWU, provides day-to-day guidance as well as long-term strategic planning necessary to develop and refine documentation, research, tracking and reporting procedures. Smith is proficient in constituent relationship database systems and modern software applications, and has extensive experience in strategic planning and special events.
Carol Smoots
Partner
Perkins Coie
Carol Smoots is a partner in Perkins Coie's Washington, D.C., office and has more than 25 years of experience representing energy companies in domestic and international energy transactions. Smoots provides energy counseling on contracts, electricity and gas rates, regulatory compliance issues, Independent System Operator rules, FERC enforcement actions and regulatory appeals. She also works with all major renewable fuels, including solar, biomass, wind, landfill gas, geothermal and hydroelectric resources. Smoots regularly represents power marketer, independent power producer and utility clients in electric, gas and hydroelectric regulatory proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and numerous State commissions. This work includes tariff issues, rate cases, contract issues, complaints, enforcement matters, the certification of new electric generating facilities, gas pipeline and gas storage facilities and the relicensing of hydroelectric facilities.
She represents energy companies on the construction and operation of energy projects, including interconnection issues, transmission access and regulatory compliance. Her transactional experience includes the preparation and negotiation of hundreds of power purchase agreements and the resolution of contract disputes. Smoots is chair-elect of the CWU Foundation Board, graduated from Central Washington University, summa cum laude, and received her Juris Doctorate from Willamette University.
Mara Sovey
President
John Deere Foundation
Mara Sovey is the president of the John Deere Foundation and director of the Corporate Citizenship Center of Excellence at John Deere. She is responsible for further developing and executing John Deere's strategy for corporate citizenship, philanthropy and volunteerism on a global basis. She serves as the company's primary representative to many key economic development and nonprofit organizations in the company's worldwide headquarters area. Working with the chairman of the John Deere Foundation and its board of directors, Sovey determines the most effective ways of supporting key programs in education, community betterment and solutions for world hunger.
In her previous position as director of international affairs, Sovey successfully led the development and implementation of the Global Public Affairs Council in addition to working on international trade and regulatory policy, export finance and business development issues in global markets. In a prior role as manager of State Public Affairs, she was responsible for state advocacy efforts in several states in addition to the coordination of Public Affairs Worldwide Communications and the John Deere Political Action Committee (JDPAC). Sovey began her career with Deere in the Tax Department in 2000.
Sovey earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from St. Ambrose University in 1998 and completed her master's degree in business administration at the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 2007.
Nancy Sullivan
Director of the Office of Technology Management
University of Illinois at Chicago
Nancy Sullivan is the director of the Office of Technology Management (OTM) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She leads a team of nine professionals responsible for the identification, protection, marketing and licensing of intellectual property arising from the approximate $335 million in research conducted on the campus. Sullivan also works with a wide range of campus, corporate and community partners, furthering the office's mission to encourage innovation, enhance research and facilitate economic development.
Prior to joining the OTM, Sullivan was senior director of business development for KeraCure, an early-stage biotechnology company currently in clinical trials of a cell-based device for treatment of chronic wounds. Previously, Sullivan was director of the Entrepreneurial Life Sciences Initiative at Northwestern University.
Sullivan earned a master's degree in business administration from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and a master's degree in biotechnology, also from Northwestern. She earned her bachelor's degree in business administration from Loyola University.
Eileen Sweeney
Senior Director of Foundation and Community Relations
Motorola, Inc.
David Tiemeier
Deputy Director, Office of Technology & Intellectual Property
University of Chicago
Matthew White
Executive Director of Medical Center Development
Saint Louis University
Matthew White is the executive director of medical center development at Saint Louis University, leading the Development team for the School of Medicine, School of Public Health, School of Nursing, School of Allied Health, the Center for Advanced Dental Education, Health Care Ethics and the Cancer Center. Prior to this role, he was the director of development of the School of Public Health and the director of medical center corporate and foundation advancement.
White recieved his master's degree in higher education administration from Saint Louis University and is currently finishing his doctorate in higher education administration and also in public policy. He serves on several nonprofit boards that include Friends of Kids with Cancer and The SLU Friends of the Liver Center.
Peter Wilch
Vice President for Alumni & College Advancement
Cornell College
Peter Wilch serves as vice president for alumni and college advancement at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. His areas of responsibility include annual and major gift fundraising, alumni relations, advancement services, capital campaigns, college communications and community relations. He provided leadership on the recently completed "Extraordinary Opportunities" capital campaign which totaled $105.8M in commitments on an initial goal of $92M. This total represents the largest capital campaign in history by a private national liberal arts college in Iowa.
Angelo Williams
Program Officer
W. K. Kellogg Foundation
Angelo Williams is a program officer with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The foundation, established in 1930, supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Grants are concentrated in the United States, southern Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. As a member of the Family and Economic Security team, he works to develop programming priorities, identify and nurture opportunities to affect positive change within communities. His responsibilities include reviewing and recommending proposals for funding, conducting site visits and maintaining strong relationships with grant seekers and external partners. He manages and monitors a portfolio of active grants, providing technical assistance to grantees on model development, partnership negotiations, leadership capacity building and coaching.
Williams comes to Kellogg with an interdisciplinary foundation including more than fifteen years of professional practice and leadership in K-12 and post secondary education policy and administration, government and public policy, communications and classroom instruction and with families and children. During his professional tenure he has served as interim dean of student services and enrollment management, as a community college retention intervention specialist, as state director and vice chancellor of government relations and external affairs for the statewide California Community Colleges Chancellors Office, as education and economic development consultant in the California State Senate and as director of legislation, public policy and communications in the California State Assembly among other positions.
In addition to his work in government and community college administration Williams is an instructor, having served as a K-12 classroom instructor, faculty member in the department of Sociology at Sacramento City College, in the College of Education at California State University Sacramento (CSUS) and in the College of Education at Drexel University, Sacramento Campus. He holds a doctorate in education from California CSUS, a master's degree in higher education policy and leadership from the same institution and a bachelor's degree in sociology and African and African American studies from the University of California, Davis. He has completed advanced studies at the University of Ghana, West Africa, and served as a teaching and technical assistant in both Trinidad and Haiti.
Newcomers Workshop Faculty
Dondi Cupp
Associate Vice President for Development
University of Michigan
Dondi Cupp serves as the associate vice president for development at the University of Michigan. As a member of the senior management team in the office of university development, he is responsible for leading the regional major gifts and constituency fundraising programs, the operations teams including finance and administration, and the talent management program.
Cupp came to Michigan from the University of Washington, where he led the office of corporate and foundation relations and advancement teams in the health sciences. He joined the University of Washington in 1999 as director of development for the sciences. While at the Washington, Cupp founded the advancement leadership class, a comprehensive leadership development program for advancement staff. In 2012, he was nominated by his peers for the university's David B. Thorud Leadership Award. In 2006, he received the Marilyn Batt Dunn Endowed Award for Excellence in University Advancement.
He has served as associate director of the Western Washington University Foundation and as director of the annual fund at his alma mater, the University of Oklahoma.
Cupp holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and public relations from the University of Oklahoma.
Erik Fast
Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations
Lewis & Clark College
Erik Fast is a senior member of the advancement staff at Lewis & Clark College, where he oversees corporate and foundation relations activities throughout the institution's College of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of Education and Counseling and School of Law. He works closely with Lewis & Clark's three academic deans to cultivate and maintain relationships with regional and national foundation donors.
Before joining Lewis & Clark in 2006, Fast managed corporate and foundation relations for the College of Arts and Science and School of Education at the University of Portland for four years. He holds a bachelor's degree in politics from Willamette University, where he served as an admission counselor after graduation. Prior to entering the field of corporate and foundation relations, he worked at the Metropolitan Group, a Portland, Ore., firm specializing in strategic communication and branding, social marketing and resource development.
Don McGowan
Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations
Tufts University
Don McGowan has been the director of corporate and foundation relations at Tufts University since November 2006. His organization has a complement of 11 front-line officers and staff that identify and solicit sources of external organizational funding for the support of Tufts scholarship and research in its seven schools on three campuses. Previous to Tufts, he was the associate director of corporate relations at MIT for eight years, where he managed a group of development officers with global corporate portfolios in the fields of chemicals, materials and life sciences.
McGowan joined university development at MIT after a twenty -year career with the Polaroid Corporation, where he was a senior executive in chemical R&D and project management in both instant photography and digital media research. He graduated from Boston College summa cum laude in chemistry, and earned a master's degree and doctorate in synthetic organic chemistry from MIT. He is the co-author of five publications in the chemical literature and holds a number of U.S. patents in imaging technology.
He currently serves as a founding director and co-president (2010-2011) for NACRO, a newly organized national organization, the Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers.
Kathy Veit
University Corporate & Foundation Relations
Stanford University
Kathy Veit is director of university corporate and foundation relations in the Office of Development at Stanford University. Before assuming this position in 2008, she served in a variety of administrative and development roles at Stanford, including director of university foundation relations, director and associate director of The Stanford Fund's Class Giving program, associate director of development relations in the School of Humanities and Sciences, and director of stewardship and communication for the Haas Center for Public Service. She joined the Stanford staff in 1991.
Over the years, Veit has also volunteered for a number of organizations both on and off campus, including Stanford Freshman Advising, the Stanford LGBT Resources Center, Stanford Phi Beta Kappa, East Palo Alto Project Read, the California AIDS Ride, and the Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist, San Francisco.
She earned her bachelor's degree from New York University and master's degree from Stanford, both in classics.