Tahsin I. Alam is Associate Dean of Advancement for the Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington in Seattle. He serves as a member of the Foster Advisor Board and is part of the Dean’s senior leadership team and University Advancement’s Executive Leadership Team.

A higher education advancement industry veteran with over 17 years of experience in Presidential and Advancement professional searches, Mr. Alam began his career as an Associate with Isaacson Miller, a Boston-based national search firm. After eight years of working with the development and alumni relations search practice, Mr. Alam went on to become a Managing Associate with the Nonprofit Professional Advisory Group (NPAG), a boutique consulting firm with clients across the nonprofit sector. Here he served as a partner for the development and communications search practice, where in four years, the practice grew from inception to the most profitable practice at the firm. Tahsin has also conducted Presidential, Dean of Faculty, and Dean of Student level searches.

At the Rutgers University Foundation, Tahsin served as the Vice President for Advancement Services and Talent Management. He oversaw 70 employees across the departments of Talent Management, Donor Relations, Stewardship, Prospect Research, Prospect Management, Board Relations and Campaign Operations. His expertise is people and operational dynamics with a strong focus on data driven decision making and measurable outcomes. Mr. Alam holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics, Economics and Theater from Bates College and a Master’s in Organizational Communications from Rutgers University’s School of Communication and Information. He is a native of Bangladesh.

Vu Le (“voo lay”) writes the blog NonprofitAF.com. He is the former executive director of RVC, a nonprofit in Seattle that promotes social justice by supporting leaders of color, strengthening organizations led by communities of color, and fostering collaboration between diverse communities. Vu is a founding board member of Community-Centric Fundraising, a movement that aims to ground fundraising practices in racial equity and social justice. Vu was born in Vietnam. He and his family came to the US when Vu was eight. He spent several years in Seattle, attending elementary and middle school, before moving to Memphis, Tennessee for high school and St. Louis for college and graduate school. He has a BA in Psychology and a Master in Social work. He is a vegan, a father of two kids (ages eight and five), and a staunch defender of the Oxford Comma.