In an era marked by profound shifts in higher education across North America, advancement and alumni relations professionals are uniquely positioned to harness disruption as a catalyst for connection and transformation. Drawing on insights from the Hope Circuits project, Dr. Jessica Riddell explores how institutions can build sustainable, resilient, and hopeful communities by aligning advancement strategies with the principles of relational wellness and shared purpose.

This talk reflects on a year of applying Hope Circuits’ tools across 13 universities and seven organizations, with a focus on how advancement teams can foster trust, cultivate belonging, and empower alumni to co-create the future of higher education. By framing alumni and donor relationships as active partnerships in institutional flourishing, Dr. Riddell offers a model for navigating uncertainty with a values-driven approach centered on respect, inclusion, justice, and accessibility.

Key strategies include fostering shared vocabularies and visions with alumni, creating actionable pathways for community engagement, and ensuring authentic agency for stakeholders across the advancement ecosystem. Attendees will gain actionable insights on how to embed trust-building, iterative feedback loops, and diverse storytelling into their advancement practices to not only strengthen alumni relations but also reinforce the institution’s capacity to thrive in the face of change.

At CASE's annual conference, this keynote invites attendees to envision a future where advancement and alumni relations play a pivotal role in fostering humane, inclusive, and hopeful institutions. By activating HopeCircuits within their work, advancement leaders can transform challenges into opportunities for alumni and institutions alike to flourish.