Conference Chair

Floyd Akins
Senior Associate Vice President of Development
The Ohio State University Foundation

Floyd Akins, a native of Chicago, joined The Ohio State University in February 2010 as senior associate vice president of university development and vice president of The Ohio State University Foundation. Akins works closely with deans, directors and chief development officers, providing leadership for the constituent fundraising program. He also oversees the corporate and foundation relations, regional major gifts, planned giving and parents programs.

He previously served as the assistant vice president principal gifts at the University of Iowa Foundation in Iowa City, working with donors and prospects and assisting the president of the University of Iowa, the president of the University of Iowa Foundation, and college deans and directors of academic programs. He also served as a foundation executive director of development for the UI's Tippie College of Business, as the director of the capital campaign at Grinnell College, and in areas of admission, student development and public relations at UI. He has been actively involved with CASE throughout his career and has served as chair and faculty member at CASE conferences since 1998; In addition, Akins was an original member of the R&B group Funkdaddies of Iowa and opened for the Beach Boys in 2005.

Akins received his bachelor's degree from Eastern Illinois University and his master's degree from the University of Iowa in journalism and mass communication.

Faculty

Jeff Liebermann
Executive Director of Development, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
University of Iowa Foundation

Jeff Liebermann is in his 23rd year as an advancement professional. He started his career in 1989 as the assistant director of alumni relations at the University of Northern Iowa where he worked in almost every facet of the alumni relations program, including membership and marketing, clubs, reunions, awards and student service and philanthropy. He moved to the University of Iowa Alumni Association in 1995 and became the director of alumni programs where he oversaw the UIAA's Iowa Clubs and other outreach activities.

Liebermann moved to the UI Foundation in 1998 to become the associate director of development for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and was named the college's executive director of development in 2005. He has worked on numerous endowment and capital projects, and in addition to his leadership of the CLAS development staff, is currently serving as the UI Foundation's associate campaign director/arts campus campaign.

He also has a lengthy record of CASE service. He has chaired two CASE conferences and served on the faculty for five CASE Summer Institutes in Alumni Relations. He also spent three years on the CASE District V Conference Committee and is currently in his second year as chair of the CASE V board of directors.

Liebermann received his bachelor's degree in communications/public relations from the University of Northern Iowa and his master's degree in journalism from the University of Iowa.

Susan H. Peirce
Executive Director of Development
Nova Southeastern University

Susan Peirce is enjoying a career in university advancement that includes annual giving, major and leadership gift fundraising, campaign management, athletic fundraising, and the development and management of comprehensive advancement programs.

Peirce joined Nova Southeastern University in 2009 as the executive director of development to provide leadership to NSU's first comprehensive capital campaign. Her advancement career began as supervisor of the student telemarketing program at West Virginia University. Promoted to director of annual giving at WVU, she later joined the Pennsylvania State University to lead the annual giving component of Penn State's first campaign and was later promoted to associate director of major gifts. She returned to her alma mater Chatham College as the director of institutional advancement, overseeing development and alumnae relations. She then joined Villanova University to direct its first comprehensive campaign. Peirce also helped in restructuring the development program as assistant vice president at Northern Illinois University and led Florida Atlantic University's first campaign as associate vice president. As vice president for university advancement at Saint Leo University, she strengthened alumni relations, public relations and fundraising programs to lead the university's first campaign.

Peirce earned her bachelor's degree in communication from Chatham College and her master's degree in educational leadership and educational policy studies from Northern Illinois University. She served as a member of the CASE Philanthropy Commission and is a recipient of the CASE Crystal Apple Award for Teaching Excellence.

Carla Smith Willis
Assistant Vice President for Development
The Ohio State University Medical Center

Carla Willis has more than 20 years of experience in the advancement field. She currently serves as an assistant vice president for medical center development at The Ohio State University Medical Center. During the course of her career, Willis has also served as vice president of university relations and as executive director of the FAMU Foundation Inc., at Florida A&M University; as a principal gifts officer for the University of Toledo; as a senior consultant for John Brown Limited; as a director of development at Ohio Northern University; as a regional director of development covering the east coast for the University of Michigan Law School; and as founder and principal of her own full-service development consulting firm, Willis Development and Communications Associates. She began her development career in the early ‘90s at the University of Missouri as a supervisor of the Mizzou Annual Fund after a successful career with IBM Corporation. She has worked in most facets of advancement, including healthcare, athletics, campaign architecture and management, planned and major gift fundraising, volunteer engagement and annual giving.

Willis is an active member of CASE and was selected in 2007 as one of 20 international participants in the Minority Advancement Institute, sponsored by CASE. She is a former board member of CASE District V and served as chair of the district's Committee on Equity. A noted and frequent presenter on topics related to philanthropy and development, Willis also held offices in the Northwest Ohio Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals to include the office of president.

She is a graduate of the University of Toledo with a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies.

Keynote Speaker

Archie Griffin
Senior Vice President for Alumni Relations and President and CEO, Ohio State University Alumni Association
Former Professional Football Player and Two-Time Heisman Trophy Winner

Archie Griffin became president and chief executive officer of the Ohio State Alumni Association on Jan. 1, 2004. It is one of the biggest dues-supported alumni associations in the world. As the leader of 130,000 active members, Griffin's aim is to make it possible for all graduates and former students to stay connected and continue to strengthen the status of the university. He expects the association to be recognized as the gateway to Ohio State for all alumni. The Ohio State Alumni Association was a leading model for alumni work throughout the 20th century. Griffin's goal is to assure that the association becomes the leading model for 21st century alumni work.

In addition to his role as president and CEO, in July of 2010, the alumni association aligned with the university and he became part of the university's senior leadership team as senior vice president for alumni relations.

Griffin is also known as the only two-time winner of the prestigious Heisman Trophy, symbolic of "The Outstanding College Football Player of the Country." He was a three-time All American in 1973, 1974 and 1975. He received many awards and recognitions during his college career. In 2006, he was listed in NCAA's "100 Most Influential Student-Athletes" and was appointed to the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame Board of Directors.

He has received the 2007 Duffy Daugherty Award presented by Michigan State University to individuals for lifetime achievement and contribution to collegiate football. In 2006, he was presented with the Ernie Davis Humanitarian Award. And, locally, he has been inducted in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Circle of Champions, which recognizes former Ohio high school student-athletes who have demonstrated outstanding character and accomplishments both on and off the field.

Griffin earned his bachelor's degree in industrial relations. In 1976, he was a first-round draft choice of the Cincinnati Bengals where he served as co-captain and played with the franchise for seven years.

He returned to his alma mater in March 1984. He later accepted the position of special assistant to the director of athletics in June 1985. In July 1987, he was named assistant director of athletics for external affairs, and in April 1994, he was named associate director of athletics for sports.

Griffin created the Archie Griffin Scholarship Fund, which benefits Ohio State's Olympic sports programs. He and his wife, Bonita, formed the Archie and Bonita Griffin Foundation Fund that helps develop sports, educational and travel programs for youth in central Ohio. He is the spokesperson for the Wendy's High School Heisman Program, a member of many charitable organizations, including the Columbus Foundation, Columbus Youth Foundation, Centennial Honorary Committee for the Central Ohio Breathing Association, Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation Board, and serves as honorary chair of the Diversity Enhancement Program for The James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute. He also serves on Columbus' 2012 Bicentennial Commission for Sports and Recreation Focus Group.

Workshop Presenter

Jeff Hoffman
Founder
MJ Hoffman and Associates

A successful entrepreneur, Jeff Hoffman currently consults with industry leaders throughout the world on the topics of entrepreneurship, sales and personal development, and delivers keynotes and presentations bringing personal and business development strategy to audiences of all sizes. With a 25-year record of outstanding results, Hoffman has delivered sold-out presentations to thousands, including hundreds of audiences within the F500 and to many of the world's top universities.

Some of his recent corporate engagements have included Agilent Technologies, Akamai Technologies, Aramark Corporation, British Telecommunications, Deutsche Bank, Dow Jones and Company, Forrester Research, Gartner Group, InfoUSA, Intuit, Monster.com, PC Connection, Salesforce.com, SAP, Symantec, UPS and Wolters Kluwer. He is also a frequent lecturer at the Harvard Business School, and currently delivers the popular Global Sales Development Series at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Prior to its reincorporation as Basho Technologies in 2008, Hoffman was the founder and CEO of Basho Strategies, Inc., an internationally renowned training firm that introduced cutting-edge sales and leadership strategies throughout the world. His award-winning techniques are now taught in 20 countries over six continents, and his achievements have been cited with numerous business awards, as well as profiled in Inc. Magazine, Fortune Small Business, The Boston Business Journal, and Mass High Tech.

Hoffman is a graduate of Cornell University.