Faculty
Conference Chair
Ronald J. Schiller
Ron Schiller is a nationally recognized advisor to presidents, chief advancement officers, board members, and other leaders and emerging leaders in the nonprofit sector. Since 2011, he has focused his attention on executive search, strategic consulting, writing, and speaking about philanthropy, drawing on his experience as fundraising leader, executive team member, board member, and search consultant built over a 30-year career.
Ron has held leadership positions in seven educational and cultural institutions, including the University of Chicago, where he led a team of more than 450 that completed a $2.3 billion campaign and facilitated two nine-figure gifts. He serves on the faculty of the annual CASE conference, "Inspiring the Largest Gifts of a Lifetime" and has served as co-chair of CASE's Winter Institute for Chief Development Officers. He is the author of four books: The Chief Development Officer: Beyond Fundraising (Rowman & Littlefield); Belief and Confidence: Donors Talk About Successful Philanthropic Partnership (CASE), Raising Your Organization's Largest Gifts: A Principal Gifts Handbook (CASE), and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Advancement: A Guide to Strengthening Engagement and Fundraising Through Inclusion (CASE), co-authored with Angelique Grant. He is a regular speaker for regional and national conferences of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, CASE, the League of American Orchestras, and gift planning organizations, among others, and he is a recipient of CASE’s Crystal Apple Teaching Award.
Ron has served on the Cornell University Council and on the boards of the American Friends of Covent Garden, Chicago's Harris Theater for Music and Dance, the Cornell University Glee Club, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Aspen’s Buddy Program, the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the Salt Bay Chamberfest, and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh.
Prior to founding the Aspen Leadership Group, he served as President of the NPR Foundation, Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development at the University of Chicago, and in various leadership roles at Carnegie Mellon University, Northeastern University, New England Conservatory of Music, and the Eastman School of Music. He began his career in philanthropy at Cornell during the university’s groundbreaking $1.25 billion campaign in the late 1980s.
Ron earned a bachelor’s degree at Cornell University.
Faculty
Colleen Coppla
Colleen Coppla was appointed Vice President for Development and the Montclair State University Foundation in 2018. Ms. Coppla oversees all aspects of Montclair State University’s development operations, including principal and major gifts, planned giving, corporate and foundation relations, alumni engagement, annual giving, donor relations and development communications and oversees the Montclair State University Foundation. Since arriving in 2018, Coppla has helped the University grow its culture of philanthropy and philanthropic support, successfully closing the largest campaign in its history in 2020 and increasing annual overall fundraising nearly 40 percent.
Prior to joining Montclair, Ms. Coppla previously served as Assistant Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Florida Atlantic University, where she directed all campaign planning and fundraising efforts for the institution’s Jupiter campus, including corporate, foundation, principal and major gift fundraising, and was previously the Associate Vice President for University Advancement at Fairleigh Dickinson University, the largest private University in New Jersey. Ms. Coppla holds an MA in Teaching from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a BA in English Literature from The University of Scranton.
Scott Mory
Scott Mory is Carnegie Mellon University’s vice president for University Advancement. He is responsible for overseeing the university’s overall advancement efforts and for building partnerships with all of CMU’s philanthropic and volunteer communities, including university alumni, parents and friends; charitable foundations; and corporate donors.
Appointed in 2015, Mory works closely with administrative and academic leadership to develop the philanthropic support that enables CMU to fulfill its potential and continue its ascent. Under his leadership, in October 2019 the university launched its most ambitious philanthropic campaign to date — Make Possible: The Campaign for Carnegie Mellon University. In Spring 2023, the university announced that it had achieved the campaign’s $2 billion goal more than 18 months ahead of schedule. To date, the university has received philanthropic commitments exceeding $2.26 billion from more than 66,000 supporters. Among the impacts these supporters have had include the creation of 62 new endowed faculty chairs, including 4 endowed deanships; more than 420 new endowed scholarships and fellowships; and new world-class facilities like the Tepper Quad, Alan Magee Scaife Hall of Engineering, the Highmark Center for Health, Wellness and Athletics, and the planned Richard King Mellon Hall of Sciences.
Mory was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in July 2022. He is also a member of the advisory board of The Andy Warhol Museum.
Prior to joining CMU, Mory served as associate senior vice president and campaign director at the University of Southern California, managing the day-to-day activities of the Campaign for USC, a historic effort to raise $6 billion. He joined USC in 2007 as associate senior vice president for Alumni Relations, a position he held until his promotion to campaign director in 2012. Prior to USC, Mory served as assistant vice president for Alumni Relations and Annual Giving at George Washington University. He also was an adjunct professor in the university’s law school, teaching a first-year course on legal research, writing and oral advocacy.
Scott holds a bachelor’s degree from the George Washington University and a juris doctor from the George Washington University Law School. Following law school, he clerked for the Hon. John Garrett Penn of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and practiced as a litigation associate at the New York office of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP.
Ara Serjoie
Ara Serjoie joined Haverford as vice president for institutional advancement in August 2021. He has extensive experience as a senior leader and educator in higher education and nonprofits, having worked at Guilford College, Meyer Memorial Trust, Creighton University, California State University East Bay, Clark College Foundation, Girl Scouts of Utah, University of Utah, Weber State University, and Utah State University. A native of Iran, Ara lived in Tehran, West Berlin, and London before immigrating to the United States to pursue post-secondary education. He holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership and Human Resource Studies from Colorado State University. He has been an active leadership volunteer in community and civic organizations, including the Greater Greensboro Community Foundation, Girls Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington, Vancouver Symphony, and as a gubernatorial appointment to the State of Utah Martin Luther King, Jr. Human Rights Commission.
Guest Speakers
Angelique S.C. Grant, Ph.D
Angelique S.C. Grant, Ph.D., is a Senior Consultant and Principal at The Inclusion Firm. She has more than 27 years of experience in the nonprofit sector partnering with organizations, ranging from education, arts and culture, foundations, healthcare, social and community services, and government agencies. She is considered a thought leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and the co-author of the first published DEI book in our industry Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Advancement: A Guide to Strengthening Engagement and Fundraising Through Inclusion in addition to cited in The New York Times, Chronicle of Philanthropy, and other media of record.
She is a certified unconscious bias trainer and certified diversity recruiter who has presented globally and counseled numerous organizations on creating a culture of inclusivity, both internally within organizational settings (e.g., workplace environment, talent management), as well as externally regarding constituent engagement. Dr. Grant provides services that enhance the success of leaders and teams which includes strategic thought partnership consulting, executive coaching, talent management efforts, DEI assessments, DEI educational experiences which includes workshops and trainings, and program evaluations.
Prior to leading The Inclusion Firm, she served as a Vice President and Senior Consultant with Aspen Leadership Group, an executive search and consulting firm. Throughout her career, Dr. Grant has successfully managed teams and exceeded fundraising goals in several billion and multi-million dollar campaigns. Previously, she served as an Assistant Vice President of Development and Assistant Dean of Medical Advancement, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University. Her extensive experience in higher education advancement has also included roles at Princeton University, Washington State University, and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Dr. Grant is a proud Miami, Florida native and a Fulbright Scholar who holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration specializing in Institutional Advancement from Washington State University. She has a M.A. in Communication, specializing in Public Relations and Media Management from Washington State University, and a B.S. in Journalism from Florida A&M University. She serves on numerous boards, including Our Fund (LGBTQ) Community Foundation, the African-American Development Officers (AADO) Network, Black Leaders in Philanthropy, and the Advisory Committee for Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy (WOC), and a DEI advisor for the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy.
Rob Henry
Rob Henry is Vice President, People, Culture & Talent. at CASE where he is responsible for creating an overall global strategy for achieving CASE's vision and mission related to talent management and for guiding conference programming, diversity/inclusion initiatives, research, and the CASE Library.
Formerly an active CASE volunteer speaker and adviser, Rob joined the CASE staff in 2006 as head of emerging constituencies, later adding the responsibility for online educational programs. He previously held advancement management positions at Yale University, the University of Connecticut Foundation and Michigan State University.
Rob is a graduate of Murray State University and has a master's degree from Eastern Michigan University. In 2006, he received the prestigious CASE Crystal Apple Award for Teaching Excellence.
Wendy Raymond
An accomplished molecular biologist and teacher, Wendy Raymond has been president of Haverford College since 2019. She previously served as vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty at Davidson College. As Davidson’s chief diversity officer, Raymond led a multidimensional effort to broaden and deepen faculty diversity, equity, and inclusion. Raymond began her teaching career in biology at Williams College, where she was also the college’s first associate dean for institutional diversity and went on to gain national prominence for her work on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in academia, the sciences, and liberal arts institutions. At Haverford, she is leading a new strategic planning process, while also overseeing the College’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the development of anti-racism strategy.
Carla S. Willis
Carla Willis serves as Vice President of University Advancement, Brand Marketing and Communications at Saint Leo University. Carla has more than 25 years of experience as an advancement practitioner and thought leader. Prior to Saint Leo, she served as the vice chancellor for University Advancement and executive director of the Foundation at the University of North Carolina- Asheville and has served in advancement leadership roles at Kean University, The Ohio State University, Florida A&M University, the University of Toledo and the University of Michigan. Carla is also a Senior Consultant with the Washburn & McGoldrick Consulting Firm. A long serving member of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Carla is a graduate of the University of Toledo with a Bachelor of Arts degree in interdisciplinary studies. Carla and her husband, Ed have two adult sons, Brandon and Christopher.