Cheryl Harrelson, associate vice chancellor alumni, annual giving & pipeline development joined University of California San Diego in 2017. With 25 years of experience in multiple areas of advancement, she oversees alumni relations, career services, annual giving (academic and health), campus initiatives, and international engagement. UC San Diego is a young institution at 58 years old, non-traditional in its practices but has nearly 200,000 alumni. With Harrelson's leadership, her team is beginning to build traditions to better engage alumni across the world and developing strategies for greater participation leading to a stronger pipeline. A strategic focus area is engaging alumni connecting with students through the Career Center. The Career Center practices are being reinvigorated working with alumni to better prepare students on critical real-world practices.

Prior to UC San Diego, Harrelson served as the vice president of advancement and President of the foundation at New Mexico State University, associate vice president for Annual Giving, Stewardship and Special Events at Washington State University, associate vice president for advancement information services at James Madison University and served in a number of positions at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (A&T) State University.

Harrelson received her bachelor's degree in mathematics/applied science from the University of California, Los Angeles, a master's degree in higher education from the University of North Carolina Greensboro and a master's degree in computer information systems from the University of Phoenix.