On this episode of the RAISE Podcast Brent sits down with Maria Watson. Maria joined Pomona College in 2020 as Vice President for Advancement. As an Executive Officer of the College and reporting directly to the President, Watson oversees Pomona’s development, principal and major gifts, gift planning, alumni and parent engagement, advancement services and advancement communications and events teams. The team of nearly 60 staff raises over $40 million per year and is currently preparing for the most ambitious campaign in Pomona’s history to support the mission of one of the leading liberal arts colleges in the country.

About Maria

Watson was previously Associate Vice President for Development at the University of Southern California (USC), where she set strategic direction for major gift, regional and school/unit fundraising initiatives to realize the University’s historic $7.2 billion campaign, “Fas Regna Trojae.” She was promoted to AVP of Development in 2014 after her successful tenure building philanthropic support for the University throughout the Northeast as the inaugural director of USC’s New York Advancement office since 2011.

Ms. Watson brings 25 years of experience in the non-profit sector in fundraising, marketing and public relations. Prior to the University of Southern California, she served as the Chief Development Officer for WFUV Public Radio, Fordham University in New York. During the course of her career, Ms. Watson has also held a number of senior positions in management, marketing and fundraising in performing arts organizations, including Lincoln Center, New World Symphony and Brooklyn Philharmonic. She spent seven years in marketing, ultimately as Director of Marketing and Communications for The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Her career began with the National Endowment for the Arts and Congressional Arts Caucus in Washington, DC.

A native New Yorker, Ms. Watson earned a bachelor of musical arts degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on merit scholarship. She and her husband David live in Claremont, CA. An avid motorcyclist, she is a proud Ducatista on the street and track, and has taken up the futile pursuit of speeding on a race track.