Professor Miranda Lou is the Executive Vice President of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). She provides strategic leadership across a diverse portfolio, including institutional advancement, alumni engagement, mainland development, finance, human resources, communications and public affairs, campus development, and facilities management. PolyU is committed to building strong connections with alumni, donors, and partners, and our goals are to rally their support and secure resources for the University to achieve sustainable development and better serve the community.

Miranda is an experienced leader across the public and private sectors. She is currently a council member of the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications and a member of the Standing Commission on Disciplined Services Salaries and Conditions of Service. She also sits on many governing and advisory committees in Hong Kong. Miranda previously held senior positions at Wharf (Holdings) Limited, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and the OOCL Group, where she last served as Chief Operating Officer of OOCL Logistics, overseeing its global strategy and business development before joining the University.

Alex Furman is a highly experienced executive leader of philanthropic, engagement and business transformation programs. He was Vice-President for Advancement at the Australian National University from 2022-2026, overseeing a tripling of philanthropic income and a successful reimagining of university's Advancement program. Prior to ANU, he was Director of Development at the University of Melbourne for the decorated Believe Campaign that secured $1.16 billion. He has also held senior and executive roles as Head of Public Relations and Development for Murdoch Children's Research Institute, where he also led a capital campaign, and leadership positions in fundraising and management in the Australian arts sector for Opera Australia and Victorian Opera. Alex is a long-standing volunteer for CASE, having co-chaired the 2025 APAC conference, and continues to serve as a member of Faculty for the CASE Academy and CASE APIEF programs. He was made a CASE Laureate in 2025 for his volunteer service. He is also a Board member of the Mietta Foundation and a National Advisory Council member for Musica Viva Australia. 

John Groom is a highly accomplished professional fundraiser with a proven track record of fostering a culture of giving in schools. As Director of Advancement & Alumni Engagement at The Hutchins School in Hobart, Tasmania, he has overseen three successful Giving Days, launched an online wills service, and led a capital campaign that raised over $23 million.

John is deeply committed to ethical fundraising and has personally cultivated and secured multiple 7-figure gifts. His data-driven, results-focused approach underscores his passion for the vital role philanthropy plays in advancing educational institutions.

Api Kumaradevan is currently serving as the Executive Director of Advancement Services at the University of Sydney, where she oversees a diverse portfolio including prospect development, business insights and analytics, data reporting and systems, gift implementation and administration, as well as strategic project enablement teams.

With a robust background in IT and AI leadership and delivery of SaaS sales, marketing, professional education, operations and logistics across the Asia Pacific region, Api brings a wealth of expertise in risk/privacy, data governance, analytics/insights, business analysis, process development, change management, and project management. This unique blend of skills ensures the alignment of technology and operations with the strategic goals and best practices of commercial and non-profit institutions.

Prior to joining the University of Sydney, Api held significant roles in various industries as Head of IT and in leadership positions focused on demonstrating a strong track record in driving data-driven operations and effective technology implementations to achieve organisational success.

Api has been an active participant and volunteer for CASE in recent years, as well as contributing valuable insights and expertise to the advancement community. 

Salma Dannawi Oueida is associate vice president for development, alumni relations, and university events at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and an AUB alumna with both an Executive MBA and a bachelor of electrical and communication engineering.

She began her career at AUB in 2003 as associate director of development. Since then, she has been steadily promoted and taken on additional responsibilities. She was appointed senior director of development in 2015; associate vice president for development and alumni relations in 2016; and, most recently, associate vice president for development, alumni relations, and university events in 2022. She has extensive experience in organizational management, fundraising, business development, alumni relations, and event planning and a proven track record at establishing and building relationships with high-net-worth individuals, corporations and foundations, alumni, and volunteer groups.

During her career, Ms. Oueida has set records in fundraising and alumni engagement and launched new fundraising and alumni engagement programs and initiatives for AUB’s seven faculties and the AUB Medical Center (AUBMC). She manages the university’s relationship with its alumni community outside North America and works closely with some of AUB’s most successful volunteer groups to develop valuable and mutually rewarding partnerships. Oueida played an instrumental role in both AUB’s Campaign for Excellence (2002-07) and in AUB’s current $650 million fundraising campaign: BOLDLY AUB: The Campaign to Lead, Innovate, and Serve.

Oueida has consulted about establishing offices of development and alumni relations with many educational institutions in the Gulf and MENA region including Ahfad University in Sudan and Mohammed Al-Mana College for Medical Sciences in Saudi Arabia.

She is a two-time member of the Planning Committee for the CASE Advancement Committee in Middle East that took place in Dubai in February 2020 and the upcoming conference in Abu Dhabi in February 2024. Oueida is on the board of several NGOs including “Nusaned” and is a member of “the Lebanese League for Women in Business”. She is also a member of the 2023 Takreem Selection Board and a member of the Lebanese Order of Engineers and Architects.

In 2010, Ms. Oueida received the President’s Service Excellence Award, a prestigious distinction which is given to a select number of AUB staff members each year “who have shown continuous outstanding performance over a long period of time and have gone beyond the call of duty in helping students, patients, and fellow employees.”

Florence Neo is Director of Alumni Relations at the Singapore Management University, Singapore’s only city campus university known for its entrepreneurial and innovative characteristics; and leads a team of energetic engagement professionals. With over two decades of experience in strategic planning and organisational leadership across industries that include education (IHL), startups, business tourism, and hospitality (MICE), she has been an advocate for building social, business and entrepreneurial networks and ecosystems. During her eight-year career at the National University of Singapore as Director of Alumni Communications and Engagement, Florence had oversight of its 330,000-strong alumni community and initiated a spectrum of engagement programmes both locally and overseas.

Prior to joining the education sector, Florence was an entrepreneur and the former CEO of ACE.SG, Singapore’s key trade association for startups and entrepreneurship which contributed towards Singapore’s ten-notch rise in startup ecosystem ranking. Her wide networks and passion for empowering communities through effective collaboration and the adoption of data-driven strategies has fostered stronger, wider, and more engaged communities.

Florence is a CASE volunteer and former judge of CASE Circle of Excellence Awards. She currently serves as the Co-Chair of SMU’s Silver Jubilee Taskforce and as a mentor for startups.  

Lia Cosco is Development Manager for Major Gifts, at the United World College of South East Asia, Singapore, one of the largest international schools in the world. Lia has been with UWCSEA for three years, previously holding the role of Development Manager for Donor Relations, responsible for stewardship, events, and impact reporting.

Lia is a dedicated professional who has worked in education for over twenty years across the Asia-Pacific region. She started her career as an educator in Tokyo, moved into educational research, and prior to moving to Singapore worked as an operations, people, and administrative leader at the University of British Columbia for close to a decade.

Lia is passionate about people, and empowering individuals and institutions to meet their personal and professional goals. She has a Masters in International Education and Masters in Law, and this is her first year volunteering with CASE.

Mr. Kapil is a seasoned fundraising professional with close to 20 years of proven leadership and rich experience of working with diverse stakeholders and organisations across; Higher Education, Non-Profit and Banking sectors. He is skilled in creating and implementing fundraising strategies, building organisations from scratch, building relationships, business development, securing high value philanthropic gifts, CSR, mass market fundraising, people development, stakeholder management, sales, and P&L management.

Mr. Kaul has rich, multi-sectoral experience of working with some of the leading brands across the domains of banking, non-profit and higher education. His professional journey started with HDFC Bank where he joined as a part of the first batch of management trainees. He went on to work with brands like ABN AMRO, Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Save the Children, and Indian Institute for Human Settlements. His last professional assignment was with IIT Bombay where he was leading the Development Office of the Institute.

Mr. Kaul is a management graduate from University of Mumbai and completed his undergraduate degree in commerce from Hindu College, Delhi University.

Cyrielle Bazin is the Director of Strategic Communications at Seoul Foreign School, a non-profit international school of 1600 students with a 112 year history. Prior to relocating to Seoul with her family in 2022, Cyrielle held similar roles at the International School of Riga and Shanghai American School. She is fascinated by all aspects of school advancement, and passionate about non-profit education. She's a mom of 2 young boys and a 4-legged girl so her hobbies usually involve a playground of some sort, but when she has free time she enjoys watching random documentaries and reading travel guides of places she might never visit. 
 

Brooke Burns is the Assistant Director of Communications at Taipei American School, and the proud leader of a dynamic and joyful communications team. Brooke believes in the transformative power of school communications and the many paths to relationship-building and problem-solving in school communities. 

Originally from Seattle, Washington, USA, she joined TAS in 2022 by way of France, where she worked at the American School of Paris. Brooke holds a Master of Science in Economics and Psychology from Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne and Paris V - Descartes, and a PGCE from the University of Sunderland. A dedicated supporter of CASE, she is a Virginia Carter Smith scholar, a CASE Academy alumna, and a Circle of Excellence judge.

Heath joined Hong Kong International School as Chief Advancement Officer in September 2022. Prior to relocating to Hong Kong, Heath served at Colorado Rocky Mountain School as Director of Development between 2019-2022. Between 2015-19, he lived in Saudi Arabia at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), serving as the first Center Manager of the Ali I. Al-Naimi Petroleum Engineering Research Center. Starting in 2006, Heath managed fundraising and corporate relationship activities in the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

A 2006 graduate of Leadership Austin and a 2009 Austin Area Research Organization McBee Fellow, Heath served on multiple education and arts nonprofit boards in Austin, Texas. Heath has worked as a consultant and invited review panelist for the National Science Foundation and various Central Texas workforce councils, committees, and program teams. Heath graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Arts, English in 1995, and Master of Arts, English in 1998. Since 2015, Heath is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE).

Heath was born and raised in Oklahoma, and is married to Kimberly Draper, a designer of bespoke jewelry and furniture. Kimberly is a proud Baylor University graduate and a member of the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma.