Message From Your Chair

The donor relations profession is constantly expanding and evolving, but one thing remains constant: In the highly competitive field of fundraising, a strategic and progressive donor relations team can make your organization stand out above the rest.

We will take a highly interactive approach to the conference as we explore basic to advanced concepts and best industry practices. You will learn how to work collaboratively with individuals and units throughout your organization, and will leave equipped with tools to help you experience success.

Jodi Andersen
Director, Donor Relations
Iowa State University Foundation

Jodi Andersen began her professional career as a high school English and drama teacher. She then moved her career to the not-for-profit world and went to work for the Iowa State University Foundation in 2001 as a communication specialist. Since joining the ISU Foundation, she has moved up the ranks as assistant director of communications and currently leads the donor relations team as director.

During her time in the donor relations department, Andersen has restructured the donor reporting process and developed a procedure for completing a campus-wide stewardship audit. She completely reorganized the donor stewardship and recognition program to promote pipeline movement and a culture of annual giving alongside major gift and leadership giving. Recently, she created a cutting-edge model for strategic stewardship planning of leadership donors and prospects which provides highly personalized touches and encourages increased future gifting and lasting donor affinity.

Andersen earned her bachelor's degree in English from Iowa State University. She is an active volunteer in the Ames community.

Kay Coughlin
Director of Stewardship
Oberlin College

J. Kay Coughlin has been with the Office of Stewardship at Oberlin College since 2004, and was named director in 2007. Her background in nonprofit management is reflected in her approach to donor relations in a college setting, which is focused on making the most of limited resources. Her experience ranges from front-line fundraising and events management at small arts and social service organizations, to volunteer program coordination and producing performing arts. Currently, she is responsible for overseeing all major fund and gift agreements (including a recent overhaul of the fund agreement process), reporting to donors annually on 400 funds, gift acknowledgements and divisional paper records.

Coughlin holds a bachelor's degree in speech, communications and theatre from Baldwin-Wallace College, and is a charter member of the Association of Donor Relations Professionals.

Paige Eubanks-Barrow
Associate Director, Donor Relations
Carnegie Mellon University

Paige Eubanks-Barrow began her career in stewardship and donor relations in 2002, with Spring Hill College, followed by Southern Methodist University. She now serves as associate director of donor relations at Carnegie Mellon University.

A founding board member of the Association of Donor Relations Professionals, Eubanks-Barrow served multiple terms on various committees. In 2006 she was honored with the ADRP Service Award. She was conference chair for the ADRP Annual International Conference as well as the CASE Nuts & Bolts: Introduction to Donor Relations Conference. She is a frequent speaker on donor relations topics for nonprofit associations including CASE, ADRP and AFP.

Her best known work is with leadership giving programs and most recently with her progressive programs in annual giving and donor retention. She is especially interested in the development of initiatives that empower institutions to foster a greater culture of giving through the education of its students.

After receiving her bachelor's degree from Converse College in 1998, Eubanks-Barrow will earn her master's degree from Spring Hill College in 2010.

Darnell Hines, Jr.
Director of Donor Relations
Wake Forest University

Effective May 18, 2010, Darnell Hines will assume the role of director of donor relations at Wake Forest University.

Hines has worked in higher education for nearly eight years and in the field of donor relations for over six years. He first started out as membership/development coordinator at a small nonprofit organization just after graduating from college. From there, he was hired to build a donor relations program at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law where he was responsible for the donor relations and reunion programs.

In 2007, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP). He has served as chair and member of the Professional Development Committee, chair and member of the Governance Committees, and a member of the Finance and Nominations Committees. He has hosted and chaired two Ohio regional workshops, presented at the 2009 ADRP's Annual Conference and in the same year, served on the faculty of the CASE Donor Relations Conference were he received a faculty star.

Stephanie Schoen
Director of Donor Relations and Communications
Northeastern University

Stephanie Schoen has been working in the field of donor relations since 1993. She currently serves as director of donor relations and communications at Northeastern University, where she has worked since 2007. She oversees a staff of four and a broad range of stewardship, donor relations and communications projects, including acknowledgments, reports, print and Web materials, and donor recognition vehicles. Previously, she managed the stewardship program at Smith College.

With a love of digital media, Schoen has been a leader in introducing and promoting the use of new media for donor relations. She has created and produced numerous short videos as stewardship gifts and for events; she has also worked as a freelance writer focusing on the arts. She has presented on many topics at Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP) conferences and is delighted to share her expertise by serving as a CASE conference faculty member.

Schoen received her bachelor's degree with honors from Smith College in 1991. As a Smith student, she was a proud member of the Ada Comstock Scholars Program for "women of non-traditional age."

Keynote Speaker

Cynthia Wood
President
Philanthropy Partner, LLC. 

Cynthia Wood is currently serving as a strategic development consultant to nonprofit organizations on developing strategic development plans and engaging women as donors through her company, Cynthia Wood, Philanthropy Partner, LLC.

In 2009, Wood retired after 19 years of development experience at Rollins College, including serving as vice president of institutional advancement, assistant vice president and executive director of the Alumni Association, and director of donor and community relations. There she received extensive experience in all areas of the "development continuum," as well as strategic planning, leadership, multigenerational constituent relations, trustee relations, and board and program development.

Wood has extensive experience and training in promoting and developing women philanthropists and working with organizations to effectively engage women donors.
She is currently chair of the Center for Women's Philanthropy whose purpose is to promote women's philanthropy in central Florida, an initiative of the Community Foundation of Central Florida; former chair and member of two giving circles; local and national speaker and presenter on the topic; and most recently, she led central Florida's first educational forum on women in philanthropy, Women: The Leading Edge of Philanthropy, which was attended by over 350 women from central Florida.

Wood's community involvement includes serving as development chair for GRACE Medical Home, a clinic for low-income, working uninsured in Orange County, Fla.; participating on the advisory council for the Center for Public and Nonprofit Management at the University of Central Florida; and co-chairing the 2009-2010 stewardship campaign for First Congregational Church of Winter Park. She is a member of Florida Executive Women and sustaining member and former president of the Junior League of Greater Orlando.