Young Alumni and Student Programs

Faculty

Message From Your Chair

The best time to start building a relationship with your alumni is while they are students and young alumni. By engaging alumni early, you can set them on a course to be committed to your institution throughout their lifetime.

Whether you are interested in developing these sorts of programs, or looking to take your current program to the next level, this conference will offer you the latest trends and best practices, and the opportunity to learn from the experiences of other institutions.

Scott Mory, Conference Chair
Associate Senior Vice President, Alumni Relations
University of Southern California

Scott Mory joined the University of Southern California (USC) in August 2007. As associate senior vice president for alumni relations, he is responsible for planning, developing and implementing diverse programs to engage all USC alumni. He also serves as chief operating officer for the USC Alumni Association and works closely with its Board of Governors.

Mory came to USC from the George Washington University, where he served as assistant vice president for alumni relations and annual giving. Additionally, as an adjunct professor in the university's law school, he taught a first-year course on legal research, writing and oral advocacy. From 2002 to 2003, he was a member of the George Washington University Board of Trustees, and he was a member of the GW Alumni Association Board of Directors from 2000 to 2003.

In the broader community, Mory is a frequent presenter at CASE conferences and was recently elected to a three-year term on CASE's Commission on Alumni Relations. He also served a term as secretary of the Board of Directors of the Association of Private College and University Alumni Directors and is a member of the Council of Alumni Association Executives.

He holds a bachelor's degree from the George Washington University and a Juris Doctorate from the George Washington University Law School. His previous professional experience includes clerking for the Hon. John Garrett Penn of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and serving as an associate at the New York office of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP.

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Zach Briton
Assistant Director, Young Alumni & Student Giving
George Washington University

Zach Briton is currently the assistant director of young alumni & student giving at The George Washington University. In his current role, Briton works to create a culture of philanthropy on campus by overseeing the Senior Class Gift Campaign, GW's underclass giving initiatives and educational partnerships with Student Affairs offices. He is also responsible for GW's young alumni philanthropy programs which aim to create higher participation rates and better connections between recent graduates and the university.

Prior to his current role, Briton served as the program manager in the GW Annual Fund, overseeing the GW Colonial Connection, the year-round telemarketing campaign. Before joining the GW development team, he worked at Prudential Financial as a marketing assistant, serving the marketing needs of a team of financial planners. He has also worked in the fields of government affairs and political fundraising.

Briton holds a bachelor's degree in American studies from The American University. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in political management from GW.

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Kate Lawlor
Director, Alumni and Student Leadership
Emory Alumni Association

Kate Lawlor joined the Emory Alumni Association in January of 2006. As director of alumni and student leadership, she is responsible for managing Emory's regional chapter and interest group program and all aspects of student leadership and programs. She advises student leadership groups such as the Student Alumni Association and the Senior Experience Committee and serves as an alumni relations resource for any student group on campus interested in connecting with their alumni. She also works closely with campus partners in all of Emory's schools and units to embed the culture of alumni participation in the daily life of students. Her management of regional programs along with student leadership embodies the connection that Emory sees between an engaged student experience and vibrant alumni life.

Prior to her role at Emory, Lawlor was the director of Thomas Arvid Fine Art, Inc., a boutique art publishing firm. She was also an active young alumni volunteer with the Emory Alumni Association.

Lawlor holds a bachelor's degree in English and in history from Emory University. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in business administration from Goizueta Business School at Emory.

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Chris Marshall
Associate Vice President, Alumni Affairs
Cornell University

Chris Marshall is in his second year as associate vice president for Alumni Affairs at Cornell University. Prior to joining Cornell, he served for seven years as the executive director of the Lehigh University Alumni Association, his alma mater.

In his tenure at Lehigh he restructured the alumni association with a bold vision for a 21st century alumni relations program. His vision included a state of the art Web site (including an event management system, a customer-centric alumni database and an online community), an increased regional and international presence for alumni events, an improved reunion program, a focus on affinity groups, young alumni, and career development programs, a reinvigorated Alumni Admissions Outreach program and a new Association of Student Alumni.

Under his direction, the Lehigh University Alumni Association received the CASE Circle of Excellence Award for Alumni Relations Programs on four occasions. He is a frequent speaker at CASE conferences.

From 2004-2007, Marshall served as the president of the Association of Private Colleges and University Alumni Directors (PCUAD). As part of this group of schools, he has lead the effort to develop an online benchmarking and assessment tool to measure a successful alumni relations program. The tool, known as ARAMP (Alumni Relations Assessment and Metrics Program), will be launched in 2008 by CASE for broad circulation to all member institutions.

Marshall graduated from Lehigh University with a degree in architecture in 1988. Upon graduation, he served Lehigh as head coach of the highly successful men's and women's swimming and diving program for 12 years. As a coach, his teams won five Patriot League Team Championship titles. Marshall also was recognized as the Patriot League Coach of the Year on eight occasions.

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Guest Speaker

Paul J. Clifford
Associate Vice Chancellor for Alumni Relations
President of the East Carolina Alumni Association
East Carolina University

Paul J. Clifford is the associate vice chancellor for alumni relations and the president of the East Carolina Alumni Association at East Carolina University (ECU). He is responsible for directing a program that offers programs, services and communications to 120,000 Pirate alumni worldwide.

Prior to taking the post at ECU, he was the director of outreach at the University of Connecticut Alumni Association, responsible for chapters, affinity groups, school & college societies, community service and volunteer management. He was director of alumni relations at SUNY-New Paltz, prior to joining the staff at UConn. He began his career as assistant director of alumni relations for communications and student programs at James Madison University.

Clifford has received peer recognition for both individual achievement and outstanding programming. He served as the adviser to the James Madison University Student Ambassadors, the 1998-1999 SAA/SF District III Most Outstanding Organization. His alumni program at New Paltz received the 1999-2000 State University of New York Council for University Affairs and Developments Excellence Award in Alumni Programming and he was the recipient of the 2001 CASE District I Rising Star Award. In 2005, his programs were recognized by CASE District III with Special Merit Awards in Electronic Communications and Overall Alumni Programs. Most recently, CASE District III again deemed his programs award worthy with the 2007 Grand Award of Excellence for Overall Alumni Program and a Special Merit Award for Constituent Programs. In addition, his program earned their first international recognition with a CASE Circle of Excellence bronze medal in the category of collaborative programs.

An active member of CASE, Clifford has been a presenter, faculty member and faculty chairperson at numerous conferences sponsored by the professional organization. In addition, he has published a number of articles in the Development & Alumni Report and was the co-editor of Alumni Clubs and Chapters (CASE Books; 2002.) He has also served as a commissioner on CASE's Commission on Alumni Relations. He will be the editor of CASE Books' upcoming Launching Your Alumni Program.

In January of 2008, Clifford was named to the inaugural class of 20 that was selected to participate in the Chancellor's Leadership Institute. The Institute is the most prestigious leadership training program at ECU designed for faculty and staff that are poised for future leadership roles.

Clifford is a 1996 graduate of Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania where he was named the 2005 Young Alumnus of the Year.

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This faculty member has earned a CASE Crystal Apple award in recognition of excellence in teaching at 10 or more conferences, workshops, and institutes.