Faculty
Meet Your Chair
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.
Faculty
Katie Acuff
Katie Acuff earned a bachelor's degree in international economics and finance from the Catholic University of America. As a senior in college, she served as a member of the president's staff and was identified for a position in the annual fund office upon graduation. While working full time, she earned her Juris Doctorate in the evening program at CUA's Columbus School of Law. After climbing the ranks in the annual fund office and finishing her law degree, she eventually worked in a major gifts role.
In 2010, Tulane University—then rebuilding its development operation post-Katrina—recruited Acuff to serve as the senior director of development for its undergraduate college. In 2013, she became director of principal gifts and was named an associate vice president shortly before Tulane publicly launched its comprehensive, $1.3B "Only the Audacious: The Campaign for an Ever Bolder Tulane" in 2018. In her role, she oversees the strategic pursuit of principal gifts across the university, prioritizes the development work of the president and other senior university officials, and maintains her own frontline portfolio.
Leandra Hayes-Burgess
A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Leandra Hayes-Burgess has served as an advancement professional for higher education institutions and nonprofit entities for over 20 years, with 13 of those years dedicated to service in upper administration.
She currently serves as the Vice President for Institutional Advancement for Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina. Over the span of her fundraising career, Leandra has successfully assisted colleges and universities, secure over $60 million in support of their missions, programs and services. She previously served as the Senior Development Director at the University of Miami, Assistant Vice President for Major and Planned Gifts at Claflin University, the Assistant Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Talladega College; Director of Development for Bennett College for Women; and Assistant Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Director of Alumni Affairs at Livingstone College.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication arts from Johnson C. Smith University, a Master of Arts degree in philanthropy and development from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, a certificate in Management and Leadership from Harvard University and is a Certified Fund Raising Executive.
Leandra is married to Marcus H. Burgess, Interim Vice President for Institutional Advancement for Claflin University. Together, they are the proud parents of three wonderful children, Marcus, II, Mariana and Tyler.
Gia Bazil Soublet
Dr. Gia Bazil Soublet has 26 years of successful development and nonprofit experience and currently serves as the Vice President for Strategic Impact Investment Funding at the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), a major philanthropic initiative set to elevate the critical work of UNCF. In this role, she works with the Office of the President and oversees gift acquisition for UNCF’s strategic priorities, which includes prospect management and managing a team of senior fundraising professionals.
Before joining UNCF, Dr. Soublet served as Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) where she increased fundraising by 125% in two years and doubled the alumni giving percentage. Prior to that, Dr. Soublet served as Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Xavier University of Louisiana. Under her leadership, the University enjoyed fundraising increases yearly and she is credited with establishing a corporate partners program, expanding the planned giving program, establishing a presidential funding initiative, and overhauling the stewardship operation, resulting in significant growth in donor retention. Prior to Xavier, she served as Director for Corporate and Foundation Relations at Dillard University, where she started her career in higher education as a Major Gifts Officer. Prior to Dillard she worked in several roles at United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area before eventually serving as the Assistant Vice President for Campaigns. During her tenure at United Way, Dr. Soublet won numerous national participation and goal achievement awards as the director for the Combined Federal Campaign.
Dr. Soublet holds a Doctorate in Urban Higher Education Administration from Jackson State University, a Master of Business Management from the University of Phoenix, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Xavier University of Louisiana. Additionally, Dr. Soublet earned Certification in Fund Raising Management from Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Nationally recognized for her success in fundraising and nonprofit management, she has presented for the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Association for Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and United Way conferences on various topics including major gift acquisition, grant writing, donor participation, board development, diversity and inclusion, and ethics in fundraising. She served on the Board for the New Orleans AFP chapter from 2020 to 2022.
Dr. Soublet is also the principal for Soublet Consulting Group (SCG). SCG has worked with universities and nonprofits locally and regionally to achieve their organizational objectives and it is committed to helping nonprofits of all sizes plan for self-sustainability. Services include board training and development, strategic planning, program audits, development operation audits, fundraising strategies and plans, capital campaign readiness and planning, and ethics and diversity training.