Faculty
Chair
James Piatt
James B. Piatt, Jr., a 35-year higher education advancement professional, serves as Senior Vice President University Advancement and External Affairs at Elon University. He has served Elon since 2008, when he joined the advancement team as Vice President for University Advancement. He has led Elon through two campaigns, the Elon LEADS Campaign, a $260 million comprehensive campaign concluded in December 2022, and the Ever Elon Campaign, a $107 million effort completed in December 2011. His portfolio includes development, alumni engagement, parent programs, career services, national campus programs, continuing education, cultural programs and university events.
During his tenure at Elon, the University’s annual fundraising production has tripled, the university’s endowment has grown from $83 million to $455 million, more than 500 endowed scholarships have been created, 15 new campus facilities have been fundraised, the number of alumni donors has doubled, and parent annual giving participation has advanced from 26% to 43%.
Prior to joining Elon, Mr. Piatt served as Vice President for Advancement at Mount Union College, Associate Director of Development at the Law School at Stanford University, Development Director for the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, and Assistant Dean for Development in the College of Communications at Ohio University.
Mr. Piatt earned two degrees from Ohio University; a Master’s in Business Administration in 1993 and a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism in 1987. He has presented at the Council for the Aid and Support of Education, the Independent College Association of Ohio, the Southeast College Advancement Consortium, the American Council on Education, and the North Carolina Independent Association of Colleges and Universities.
Faculty
Skylar Beaver
Skylar Beaver is Chief Advancement Officer at The Out-of-Door Academy in Sarasota, Florida, where she leads the advancement team overseeing development, marketing, and communications for the independent PreK-12 school and directs the school's comprehensive campaign.
Previously, Skylar served as Director of Development at The Lawrenceville School, where she played a major role in the school's record-breaking $475M+ campaign. Her experience spans nearly 18 years in educational advancement, including leadership roles at The Spence School, Washington and Lee University, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges, with expertise in annual giving, major gifts, alumni engagement, and international fundraising.
Skylar is a CASE Laureate and CASE Crystal Apple Award-winning speaker and teacher. In addition to her institutional work, she serves as an Advancement Search Consultant with RG175 and maintains an independent fundraising consulting practice. Beaver holds a BA in Sociology from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a Master's degree in Public Administration with a focus in Nonprofit Management from SUNY Brockport
Lishelle Blakemore
Lishelle Blakemore is the associate vice chancellor at UC Berkeley and vice president of the UC Berkeley Foundation, where she has worked since 1994 in various leadership capacities. She oversees university alumni relations, annual programs, external relations, foundation relations, gift planning, international relations, major gifts, marketing and communications, and student experience and diversity programs. Considered a “builder” of new programs, she designed and established the university’s first comprehensive annual and individual giving department. She has been a part of the campaign management team for the $1.44B "Campaign for the New Century," the $3.13B "Campaign for Berkeley" and the Light the Way Campaign launching in 2020.
Prior to joining Cal, Blakemore served as assistant vice president for The Pacific Group where she provided consulting and fundraising services for universities throughout the country, including UC Davis, UCLA, UC Riverside, UC Santa Cruz, California State University Fullerton, Texas A&M University, the University of Arizona, and Arizona State University.
Edgar Gonzalez
Edgar Gonzalez is an experienced and proven leader, team-builder, and collaborator with over 20 years of experience in higher education advancement and program development. He currently serves as Senior Vice President of University Advancement at Seattle University. Prior to joining Seattle University, Edgar held leadership roles at Oregon Health and Science University, the University of Washington, and the Alliance for Education.
A native of Argentina, Edgar and his family emigrated to the US when he was 9 years old in pursuit of the American dream. After earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington, he has dedicated his entire career to working in higher education and ensuring that everyone has access. Edgar is passionate about the positive impact philanthropy can have on the institutions, communities, and individuals he is fortunate to serve. His career has always been focused on building institutional capacity through cultivating deep relationships, transformative philanthropy, leadership development and impactful branding and storytelling.
Colin Hennessy
Colin Hennessy brings over 15 years of professional fundraising and management experience with expertise in annual giving, alumni engagement, segmentation strategy, data analysis, and more. He is recognized as an industry leader with a proven track record of developing philanthropic pipelines through thoughtful interventions informed by behavioral economics, data science, stewardship, and engagement.
As Vice President for Alumni and Donor Engagement, Colin leads a team dedicated to supporting the University of Iowa through thoughtful and innovative engagement and programming—overseeing alumni engagement, communication and marketing, events, and stewardship efforts.
Before joining the UI Center for Advancement in 2022, Colin held leadership positions at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago. In addition, he was a senior vice president and practice area leader at the fundraising management consulting firm Grenzebach Glier and Associates. Colin earned his bachelor’s degree in communication and media studies from the University of Iowa, a master’s degree in adult and distance education from the University of Phoenix, a master’s in public policy and administration from Iowa State University, and a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania. He is the 2019 Diane Thompson Award Winner for Excellence in Annual Giving from the Northeast Annual Giving Conference Association. In addition, Colin is a CASE Crystal Apple Award-winning speaker and teacher, in addition to the numerous CASE Circle of Excellence Awards presented to teams under his leadership.
Jen McGrath
Jen McGrath is the Deputy Executive Director of Donor Engagement and Communications for Resource Development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT.) Her team creates and implements strategies to support donor engagement, fundraising, and stewardship while showcasing and building the MIT story of philanthropy.
Jen has been working in development for more than 25 years with experience in nonprofit, small liberal arts college, and large university settings. In addition to her work in donor relations and communications, she has served in reunion campaign, annual giving, and corporate and foundation relations-related roles.
As a past conference presenter for CASE as well as the Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP) Jen has addressed topics of particular interest to both new and seasoned professionals. She was a member of the ADRP Board of Directors from 2015-2020, serving as President of the Association 2018-2019.
Casey Peterson
A 2003 graduate of St. Lawrence, Casey serves as the Assistant Vice President/Chief Philanthropy Officer. In this role, Casey works closely with President Morris on strategic planning around the principal gift program, presidential travel, and events. She collaborates with the Vice President on division-wide strategic fundraising initiatives and works with alumni, parents, and friends on their philanthropic plans to support the University.
Casey joined University Advancement in November 2015 as a Senior Associate Director of Major and Planned Gifts. Prior to St. Lawrence, Casey spent nearly 12 years working in advancement at Hobart and William Smith Colleges (HWS). During her tenure at HWS, Casey served in a variety of roles including Director of Annual Giving, Director of Development for Athletics, and most recently, Senior Director of Leadership Giving.
In addition to her B.S. in Economics and Mathematics, Casey also earned a Master’s degree in Educational Administration from St. Lawrence in 2004. A former Saints ice hockey player, Casey remains active helping to coach her son and daughter’s hockey teams.