Faculty
Conference Chair
Christy Cates
Christy Cates is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement Operations at the University of Denver (DU). Christy is responsible for the strategic management of DU’s Advancement Operations team which includes Community Experiences, Prospect Development, Business Intelligence and Analytics, Gift Administration and Records Management, Business Services, Talent Management, and organizational planning. In this role, she drives the overall efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of the advancement enterprise by enhancing the coherence and integration of core advancement functions, administering resources strategically and creatively, leading all planning activities, and cultivating a world-class team of talented advancement professionals.
Prior to joining DU, Christy served the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) as Executive Director of Advancement Services and UC Irvine as the Senior Executive Director of University Advancement Human Resources. Before entering the world of higher education advancement, Christy held human resources leadership positions with In-N-Out Burgers and Pick Up Stix, Inc., both privately held, multi-site corporations that employed between 800-4,000 employees. She earned a degree in political science from San Diego State University and is an active member of CASE and SHRM.
Faculty
Marc A. Barnes
Marc A. Barnes serves as Senior Vice President, Principal Gifts and Strategic Impact Investment at UNCF where he works directly with the President & CEO to strengthen financial support for strategic impact initiatives. In this capacity, he is responsible for the president’s strategic fundraising activities and leading a team to identify opportunities to broaden UNCF’s philanthropic revenue.
Barnes is an accomplished fund development officer who has more than two decades of experience in higher education and nonprofit management. Throughout his career, he has been an asset to leadership, having worked closely with university presidents, executives, and governing boards to raise capital for strategic goals and initiatives.
Prior to joining UNCF, Barnes served as Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Dillard University, one of UNCF’s 37 historically Black college and university (HBCU) member institutions. While at Dillard, Barnes directed strategic planning and operations for fundraising, public relations, community relations, marketing and communications and strategic alumni giving initiatives from. Under his leadership, the university raised over $150 million, increased the alumni giving rate to 23%, secured the largest alumni donation on record in the amount of $1 million, and received more than $10 million from private individuals for strategic initiatives. In previous roles, Barnes served Dillard as Assistant President for Development and Alumni Relations and Director of Major Gifts.
During his term as Director of Development for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival & Foundation, Barnes helped to create and deploy a growth-focused development program and capital campaign. His leadership garnered over $8 million to complete a capital campaign dedicated to building the George & Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center, stimulated fundraising by more than 200%, and increased annual gala net revenue by 400%.
Barnes earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing at Xavier University of Louisiana, a master of arts in philanthropy & development at LaGrange College, and a doctorate in urban higher education administration at Jackson State University. He is also a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE).
He is a past recipient of the Fr. Charles Hall Award (Alumnus of the Year) at St. Augustine High School, and has been recognized by the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Greater New Orleans Chapter and HBCU Grow for his fundraising leadership and innovation.
Barnes serves on a number of boards and committees, including the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Commission on Philanthropy, the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Greater New Orleans Chapter Board of Directors, and the St. Augustine High School Board of Directors. He also co-chairs the CASE Advanced Development Strategies Conference and serves on the faculty for the CASE Conference on Leadership Development. He and his wife, Dr. Kiki Baker Barnes, have two children, Caitlin and Marc, Jr.
David Lively
With 27 years of experience in higher education advancement, David Lively has directed successful development strategies across five comprehensive fundraising campaigns. Lively joined Northwestern University in January 2012 and in his current role manages "We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern," a $5 billion University-wide fundraising campaign. Additionally, he oversees a team of 60 development professionals responsible for principal gifts, regional and international major gifts (including offices in New York and San Francisco), and gift planning.
Lively earned a bachelor's degree in history from Southern Methodist University, a master's degree in history from Colorado State University, an MBA from the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business, and a certificate from the Management Development Program at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. In April 2017, he authored Managing Major Gift Fundraisers: A Contrarian's Guide (published by CASE).
Katrina Onderdonk
Katrina Onderdonk is the Senior Director of Talent Management for Advancement and Alumni Relations at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Bringing over 20 years of experience and expertise in talent management, she specializes in organizational planning, executive search, learning and development, and building workplace culture. Katrina’s career spans both corporate and non-profit sectors, including leadership roles where she has made significant contributions to the growth and success of each institution. Prior to joining Caltech, she was a Search Consultant with S. Benjamins & Company, and began her career at Bank of America Securities and Gap Inc.
Katrina holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and is actively engaged in the Los Angeles community, contributing her expertise to various non-profit boards.
Speakers
Donna Arbide
Donna joined GW on March 1, 2018, after more than 30 years at the University of Miami, including serving as interim senior vice president for development and alumni relations. During her tenure at the University of Miami, Donna oversaw the university’s alumni relations, annual giving, and parent programs, as well as fundraising efforts of the school and college development programs.
As interim senior vice president for development and alumni relations, she worked closely with the university’s board of trustees and the institutional leadership to implement the University of Miami strategic plan and development efforts for its three campuses. She helped greatly expand alumni and parent giving, led several award-winning programs to establish a vibrant national and international network of University of Miami alumni and parents, and was the lead visionary and fundraiser for a new alumni center on the university’s Coral Gables campus.
Donna has served as a board member for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), where she chaired the Commission on Alumni Relations, helping to launch the international initiative creating standards of practice and alumni engagement metrics for the profession. She chaired the 2018 CASE Summit for Leaders in Advancement. Donna has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and a master’s degree from the University of Miami.
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.