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Faculty
Sue MacEachen is currently a senior program manager for the University of New Mexico Alumni Relations Office in Albuquerque. She has been with her alma mater over 18 years. Her duties include development of the Young Alumni Association and advising the SAA program known as the UNM Trailblazers. She currently serves on the Executive Board of the CASE ASAP program, serving as the adviser for the District 4 Representative. Sue helped to develop the young alumni program and recently established a volunteer advisory board that creates programming to keep recent alums involved with the university. Their goals are to reinforce the common bonds shared among young alumni by fostering a lifelong connection to the University of New Mexico and recognizing young alumni who have made substantial contributions to their community and/or the University. As a program manager, Sue oversees the coordination of homecoming activities, reunions and career development programs for the UNM Alumni Association. She has a bachelor's of arts in Communicative Disorders and a master's in Public Administration. She is passionate about her school and proud to be a Lobo! Prior to pursuing a career in advancement, Sue was an assistant coach of track and field at UNM for 10 years and previous to that taught in K-6 deaf/hard of hearing programs in Southern California.
Kelly Brown is the assistant director of alumnae relations at The Madeira School in McLean, Va. After graduating from Ohio University in 2000 with a bachelor's of science in Communications, Kelly studied media literacy at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. Serving in three separate roles within Madeira's development office, Kelly has a true understanding of what makes a development operation successful. Although Kelly's development experience ranges from database management to campaign work, her true passion is alumnae relations. Kelly was asked to join the alumnae relations team in order to make the school's Centennial Alumnae Celebration in 2006 a success. Since then Kelly has been engaging alumnae of all ages through comprehensive regional events, on campus reunions, print and online communications, and personal outreach.
Laura Lentz is currently the assistant director of membership & marketing at the UF Alumni Association. Her main duties include advising the Florida Cicerones (student ambassadors) and running the day-to-day operations of the Student Alumni Association, which currently has over 8,000 members. She also is responsible for membership appeals and retention efforts for all new and recent graduates. Laura grew up only seven blocks from the University of Florida campus, so it was only natural for her to attend UF and continue her journey with the Gators. As the advisor for the Florida Cicerones/Student Alumni Association, Laura received the 2008 Outstanding Advisor award from CASE Affiliated Student Advancement Programs (ASAP) at the CASE ASAP Network Conference in Salt Lake City, UT. The Florida Cicerones/SAA were awarded Outstanding Student Ambassador Group at the 2008 District 3 CASE ASAP conference in Savannah, Ga. Laura has also helped to revive the F Book, which has won three national awards including the 2008 CASE Circle of Excellence Award and a Silver Medal from the University and Colleges Design Association. Laura holds a bachelor’s degree in Special Events and Meeting Planning from the University of Florida.
Jasmine Stewart received her bachelor's of science degree in Psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2005. After working as a small business banker for JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A., she returned to UT Arlington as the assistant director of alumni and student programs for the alumni association in late 2005. She currently handles all alumni association chapter programs, scholarships and the Student Alumni Association. As the advisor for the Student Alumni Association, Jasmine received the 2008 District IV Outstanding Advisor award from CASE Affiliated Student Advancement Programs (ASAP) and the Student Alumni Association was awarded the Outstanding Student Alumni Association award at the CASE ASAP Network Conference. Jasmine is currently pursuing her master's in Business Administration from the University of North Texas. Guest Speakers Patti Whitcomb Patti Whitcomb is currently the assistant director of annual giving at Gonzaga University. She has been with Gonzaga since 2007, and her primary duties are to instill a culture of philanthropy through the development of the student awareness and young alumni programs. Patti helped to develop Gonzaga’s student awareness program, which is designed to educate current students about the gap between the cost of tuition and the total cost of educating each student per year. Additionally, she works to inform them of ways they can maintain a lifelong relationship with the university after graduation. Patti also oversees the Young Alumni Development Committee, Gonzaga’s young alumni volunteer board. This board exists to grow awareness, engagement and fundraising opportunities targeted especially for graduates of the last decade. Patti graduated with a bachelor’s of arts in business administration from Washington State University in 2003 and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in communication leadership at Gonzaga University. She has worked in nonprofit fundraising for five years and is particularly passionate about education. Dori Sonntag Dori Sonntag is currently the director of annual giving at Gonzaga University. She has worked in Gonzaga’s annual giving office since 1998 and took over as director in 2006. Over the past ten years, she has played an active role in reorganizing the office of annual giving at Gonzaga and been instrumental in developing strategies in key areas including young alumni, student education, leadership giving, direct mail, phonathon, reunion giving and online engagement. Dori has been featured in CASE Currents magazine and Successful Fundraising, along with several online resources for annual giving professionals. She has been actively involved with CASE since 2002, serving as a conference presenter and as a member of the CASE District VIII Planning Committee. Dori has a bachelor’s of arts degree in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling psychology, both from Gonzaga University.
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Sue MacEachen, Conference Chair
Kelly Brown
Laura Lentz
Jasmine Stewart