Paige Bartels has been at Bennington College, one of the country’s most innovative liberal arts colleges, since 2004. She led advancement and alumni relations from January 2004 to May 2016, and in that time, the College raised more than $133 million. She oversaw the restructuring of the advancement operation, doubled the size of the team, created and expanded new alumni engagement programs and structures, and significantly increased major and annual giving and alumni participation. Bartels oversaw the launch and completion of Bennington’s last comprehensive campaign, which concluded in 2008 and raised $92 million in commitments toward a $75 million goal, and led the planning phase for the College’s current $150 million campaign.

In May 2016, Bartels assumed a new position of senior vice president for strategic partnerships, and was subsequently named senior vice president for strategy, philanthropy, and partnerships in June 2019. In this role, she leads the College’s reputational campaign, developing relationships with mission-aligned partners and stakeholders (cultural and educational institutions, foundations, influential alumni and parents, and the board) to help Bennington achieve its 10-year goals, expand the College’s network, and deepen the culture of philanthropy, engagement, and innovation within that network. Bartels also advises the president and board on philanthropic strategy and manages a small portfolio of principal gift donors. She also serves as secretary to the board of trustees, appointed in June 2019. 

Bartels began her advancement career as part of the first team to staff University of Oxford’s North American development office; she later led fundraising and public relations efforts at Homes for the Homeless in New York City and at the Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin, where she directed the $100 million fundraising campaign to build a new museum facility as well as managed the university museum's communications and membership programs.