Message From Your Chair

Welcome to the field of alumni relations! Our profession is one of higher education's most exciting, challenging and satisfying careers. Whether you are looking for programming ideas, strategies for managing volunteers, how best to engage your alumni or streams of revenue to help pay for it all, this workshop will steer you in the right direction.

Jeffrey M. Schanz, Conference Chair
Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations
Executive Director of the Rensselaer Alumni Association
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Jeffrey M. Schanz is currently the assistant vice president for alumni relations at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and executive director of the Rensselaer Alumni Association. He joined Rensselaer in 2000 as associate director of alumni relations and has since served as director of alumni relations and director of alumni relations and annual giving. Under his direction Rensselaer alumni programs have received fourteen national and district awards from CASE for student programs, alumni communications, career assistance, volunteer relations and special interest groups.

Schanz is a regular speaker at CASE conferences and has presented on a number of topics, including the importance of communities of practice, benchmarking in alumni relations and the role of special interest groups in alumni programs. He serves on the board of directors of the Association of Private College and University Alumni Directors (PCUAD) where he maintains the group's assessment and metrics database. He is also a longtime supporter of his alma mater, Marist College, where he is currently the president of the alumni association.

He received a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in public administration from Marist College, as well as a master's degree in educational administration and policy studies from the University at Albany.

Leticia G. Acosta
Director of Public Policy & Deputy to the Executive Director
Texas Exes

Leticia G. Acosta, Director of Public Policy & Deputy to the Executive Director for the Texas Exes, the alumni association for the University of Texas at Austin, has been responsible for the association's legislative advocacy program since 2001. The UT Advocates for Higher Education is composed of 1600 alumni and friends whose mission is to advocate on behalf of UT with the state legislature. Prior to her work with the Texas Exes, she served as chief of staff to the speaker pro tempore of the Texas House of Representatives, D.R. Tom Uher. Her work with the higher education community enabled Acosta to tie her two passions, The University of Texas and Texas politics.

Acosta's responsibilities also include serving on the executive management team of the association and direct oversight of the Board of Directors, the governing arm of the Texas Exes. She also manages the university's 11,000 international alumni through chapter and network involvement around the world, thus providing extensive travel opportunities.

Acosta graduated from The University of Texas at Austin, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government.

Raina S. Lenney
Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations
American University

Raina S. Lenney is currently the assistant vice president for alumni relations at American University, where she oversees all aspects of the alumni relations program, including board management, alumni weekend, regional and international programs, affinity programming, and student and young alumni programs.

Previously, she served as senior director for alumni relations at The George Washington University, where she oversaw many aspects of GW's alumni relations program and implemented several special programs, including the first-annual Women and Philanthropy Forum.

Raina received a bachelor's degree in theatre from Florida State University and a master's degree in women's studies from The George Washington University. After graduate school, she joined the GW Annual Fund, where she oversaw the direct mail program. She later spent two years working in development communications, before transitioning to alumni relations, where she spent the last four years prior to her current role at AU.

Nicole LeDuc Meehan
Director, Loyola University Chicago Alumni Association
Loyola University Chicago

Nicole LeDuc Meehan has been director of the Loyola University Chicago Alumni Association since January 2007. In her role, she is responsible for overseeing a team of seven who create and manage an array of programs that engage Loyola's 135,000+ alumni.

She has attended countless CASE conferences (including serving on the faculty of the Newcomers' Workshop last year), presented at the Jesuit Advancement Association (JAA) annual conference, and become an active member of the Association of Private College and University Alumni Directors (PCUAD).

Meehan holds her bachelor's and master's degrees from Loyola University Chicago.