District I Individual Achievement Awards
Each year, CASE District I recognizes outstanding individual contributions to education through volunteer leadership and professional achievement.
Chief Executive Leadership Award
The Chief Executive Leadership Award has been established to honor institutional leaders for outstanding contributions to their campus communities, for efforts promoting public understanding of education, and for support of advancement at their campuses. Nominees must have demonstrated the ability to increase their institution’s stature in the community and to establish a positive image for their institution while leading it to even higher levels of success.
Kathleen DesJardins
Kathleen DesJardins is the Vice President and Chief Information Officer at the University of Vermont Foundation. With over 20 years of experience, she has provided senior-level leadership in a range of advancement functions, including Annual Giving, Stewardship, Prospect Research/Management, Information Systems, and Alumni & Donor Records. Significant milestones along the way have included operational support for the $500,000,000 Move Mountains campaign for UVM, the formation of the UVM Foundation, and, most recently, the full conversion to a brand-new CRM.
Kathleen's experience with the impact of philanthropy began as a student when she received a scholarship from The Clark Foundation Scholarship Program. This support allowed her to earn an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and pursue a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Medicine. She has dedicated her career to advancing higher education and supporting the transformative impact of philanthropy.
Opportunity and Inclusion Award
The Opportunity and Inclusion Award, established in 2022, recognizes an advancement professional who displays leadership in fostering inclusion and diversity within the profession, on their campus, and/or within the surrounding community.
Recipients will possess the following criteria:
- A demonstrated and sustained passion for the advancement of diversity.
- A demonstrated and sustained contribution to increasing diversity within their institution and community.
- A demonstrated and sustained commitment to the progression, career advancement, and promotion of diverse, new leaders in the profession.
- Achievements in support of diversity plan goals and/or demonstrated diversity improvement effort.
Leah Wittenberg
Leah is the Assistant Director of Volunteer Management on the Annual Giving team at Tufts University. She works with hundreds of alumni to increase philanthropic support through volunteer engagement. At Tufts, Leah overhauled the young alumni giving community, resulting in unprecedented levels of alumni engagement. In addition to growing the volunteer base and increasing donor count, she secures new and upgraded leadership gift commitments. In an era where young alumni are inundated with choices, Leah’s goal is to inspire a desire for alumni to reconnect with the university. Leah is passionate about increasing access for students through philanthropic support, and ensuring the next generation of alumni volunteer leaders and donors reflects the composition of society. After earning a BA from Tufts University, Leah moved to Mississippi where she gained experience in marketing and program management in nonprofit and for-profit sectors. She then received a Master of Social Work with a concentration in Management and Leadership at the University of Michigan before returning to Tufts to work in advancement.