I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. I am excited for the fall season as we close out the summer and season 8. This week, I chat with Leah Burton, the Deputy Director and Chief Advancement Officer at the Guggenheim. It has been a little while since we have had an arts and culture leader here. We talk about their pandemic response, handling times of crisis, plans for the future, and learn about Leah’s background and personal journey near the end of the conversation. I used a quote from Leah to title the episode—a circle in a world of squares. This is talking about the museum itself, but I also like the idea of being different and thinking out of the proverbial box.

Leah joined the Guggenheim in September 2019. Burton oversees the planning, management, and execution of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation’s strategic engagement with current and prospective donors regionally, nationally, and internationally. Burton comes to the Guggenheim from CCS Fundraising, a strategic consulting firm where, as Vice President, she advised nonprofit clients in the art and culture, higher education, healthcare, and social services sectors. She has worked as a consultant for the Guggenheim since 2016. for ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in New York, where she oversaw fundraising initiatives for the greater New York and New Jersey area in support of the hospital. She previously was the Director of Development for St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children, where she managed a prospect portfolio, developed strategies for donor solicitation and cultivation, and prepared the organization for campaign readiness. She serves as an adjunct faculty member at Columbia University in the Master of Nonprofit Management program, where she teaches fundraising fundamentals. She graduated from Knox College and received her Master of Science in Nonprofit Management with a focus in fundraising from Columbia University. A member of the Columbia University School of Professional Studies Alumni Council, Burton is also a board member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, New York City, and received the National Young Professional of the Year Award from AFP.

This is the final episode of season 8. I will be taking a short break and would love to hear from you in the interim. Check out my linkedin page or the instagram @devdebrief. I would love to hear how you are exploring being a circle in a world of squares, and what thoughts and ideas this episode brought up for you.