Faculty
Conference Chair
Floyd Akins
Floyd Akins is vice president for university advancement at the University of Toledo. Prior to his role at UToledo, Akins served as associate vice president for advancement at Michigan State University, where he oversaw constituent fundraising, individual giving and prospect development and corporate and foundation engagement. Prior to joining MSU he was a senior consultant with Aspen Leadership Group, an executive search and consulting firm specializing in nonprofit and philanthropic leadership, where he consulted with prominent organizations in higher education, the arts, community services, and institutes to recruit and retain talented advancement professionals.
Previously Floyd was an assistant vice chancellor for development for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In this role, he provided leadership and managerial support for UT’s Regional Major Gift Officers and Corporate and Foundation Engagement Team. He also helped develop the framework for and oversaw the creation of UT’s principal gifts program. He has been a strong advocate for diversity in advancement and higher education at all levels throughout his professional career and was the Co-Chair of UT’s Council for Diversity and Interculturalism.
Floyd has raised numerous multi-million-dollar gifts and managed staff in several billion-dollar campaigns. Before joining UT, he served as The Ohio State University’s Senior Associate Vice President for University Development and Vice President of the OSU Foundation and previously was Assistant Vice President for Principal Gifts at the University of Iowa Foundation. Other positions include Executive Director of Development in the Henry B. Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa and Director of the Capital Campaign at Grinnell College. In addition to his fundraising positions, he held numerous positions at both Grinnell College and the University of Iowa that included admissions, public relations and multicultural affairs.
He currently serves as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisor to Aspen Leadership Group. He has been an active speaker for CASE since 1998 and has chaired several conferences on major gift fundraising in both the US and Canada. He lives in Columbus, OH and received his bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University and his master’s degree from the University of Iowa in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Faculty
Angelique Grant
Angelique S.C. Grant, Ph.D., Senior Consultant, and Principal at The Inclusion Firm is a seasoned industry leader with more than 27 years of experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. As a Senior Consultant, she provides counsel on diversity, equity and inclusion practices, fundraising, and nonprofit strategies. Her services include inclusive strategic thought partnership, building and leading effective, diverse teams, recruitment and retention strategies, diversity audits and assessment, and cultural awareness training. She is a certified unconscious bias trainer and certified diversity recruiter, has been an active speaker for countless industry associations over the years, and has chaired and served as faculty for several conferences across the country.
Dr. Grant recently compiled, as co-author, this expertise into the first comprehensive book on DEI in advancement: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Advancement: A Guide to Strengthening Engagement and Fundraising Through Inclusion (CASE 2020). It serves as a guidebook for nonprofit teams seeking to move from awareness of DEI to action and sustained behavioral change. It features interviews with philanthropy leaders across all nonprofit sectors, as well as the "DEI Maturity Model," which she developed.
Throughout her career, Dr. Grant has successfully managed teams and exceeded fundraising goals in several multi-million dollar campaigns, and two separate billion 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 Leonard M. 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. degree in Journalism from Florida A&M University.
She is the founder of the South Florida Network of Blacks in Philanthropy and serves on numerous boards, including Our Fund (LGBT) Community Foundation, the African American Development Officers (AADO) Network, and the Advisory Committee for Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy (WOC). She has been recognized as one of the 25 Most Influential and Prominent Black Women in South Florida by Success South Florida Magazine, a Lumina 10 in ICABA Honors South Florida 100 Most Accomplished Blacks Healthcare & Law, and selected as a Top Hat Woman of Achievement Award for Community Empowerment.
Kayla K. Hale
As vice president of institutional advancement at the university of Tulsa, Kayla Hale leads a team of 60 professionals in the areas of fundraising, alumni relations, special events, advancement services, and marketing and communications. She has 29 years of direct experience in the field of higher education advancement at progressive levels of responsibility and leadership, and in both public and private settings. As a member of the President's Small Executive Staff, she serves as an advisor to the president and key members of the university's Board of Trustees. Hale serves as a liaison between faculty and non-faculty constituencies at the university and is responsible for creating a strong and team-oriented advancement program based upon creating fundraising strategy and establishing plans, goals and metrics.
She has been an active participant in two comprehensive fundraising campaigns at the University of Tulsa which, collectively raised more than $800 million for the institution. She and her team are preparing for the next fundraising campaign, "A Greater Commitment," which will focus on need-based scholarships, endowed faculty support and student support initiatives.
Hale previously held the position of assistant vice president for university development at OU-Tulsa; she also served as director of development and alumni relations at Rogers State University and as director of public relations and publications at Friends University. She has been actively involved at CASE for 29 years and has served CASE District IV in a number of leadership capacities. She is a regular speaker for CASE at both the national and district level and she has been a faculty member for CASE at 10 national conferences.
She holds a bachelor's degree from Pittsburg State University and a master's degree in business management from Friends University. In 2008, she received her doctorate in organizational leadership from the University of Oklahoma.
Jeff Liebermann
Jeff Liebermann is the assistant vice president for main campus development at the University of Iowa Center for Advancement (UICA). In addition to his role as a major gifts officer, he is responsible for overseeing Iowa's fundraising programs in the College of Law, university non-collegiate programs and the regional development team.
He joined the UICA in 1998 as an associate director of development for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), then in 2005 became the executive director of development for CLAS. At Iowa, he has worked through two $1+ billion comprehensive campaigns, including four building projects. Prior to the UICA, he served as the director of alumni programs at the University of Iowa Alumni Association (1995-1998) and the assistant director of alumni relations at the University of Northern Iowa (1989-1995).
Liebermann has a deep background in CASE service, including serving as the chair of the board for CASE V, five years on the faculty of the CASE Summer Institute in Alumni Relations, three years on the CASE V conference committee, participation on numerous CASE conference faculties, and presenting educational sessions at the CASE IV, V and VI conferences. He received the CASE Crystal Apple Award for excellence in teaching in 2016.
He received his bachelor's degree in public relations from Northern Iowa and his master's degree in journalism from Iowa.
Jeffrey Schoenherr
Jeff Schoenherr has 25 years of experience in higher education and health sciences advancement, serving increasing greater roles at some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions. In his current position at West Virginia University, Jeff leads all aspects of medical and health sciences development for a growing team, with a focus on alumni and grateful patient fundraising.
Formerly as an assistant vice president, he helped to manage principal giving at The Ohio State University, guided fundraising efforts for the university's Discovery Themes, and oversaw specific areas of central development.
As vice president at Emerson College, he created best practices in alumni, parent and donor relations and developed a strategic plan, which was leading the college to its first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign. Under his leadership, the college experienced three consecutive record-breaking years of fundraising and engagement.
At Harvard Law School, he managed all aspects of alumni relations, the annual fund, major gifts and gift planning, leading a staff of 25 professionals. For 10 years at Johns Hopkins, he directed a team responsible for regional and international major gifts, which helped the university successfully complete the $3.74 billion "Knowledge for the World Campaign." Among other responsibilities, his team successfully engaged alumni, parents and friends for the university and departments of medicine, and hosted regional campaign outreach events.
Schoenherr started his career at the University of Michigan, where he received a bachelor's degree in political science, working in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, as an engagement director for the alumni association, and in development for the Ross School of Business.