On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent hosts Luigi Amendola, Vice President for University Advancement at Loyola University Chicago.

Luigi shares his story as a first generation American and first generation college student whose parents immigrated from southern Italy to Illinois by different routes. He talks about feeling out of place in high school, finding his voice and identity at Lewis University, and how living in a Christian Brothers residence hall with international students and eating alongside the brothers expanded his perspective. Along the way, mentors like the Christian Brothers and business faculty member Father Kevin Spees helped him raise his sights and see new possibilities.

Luigi recalls qualifying for federal work study, leaving a late-night job in campus fast food, and stumbling into an office role in the advancement office. He describes the moment he realized that “not for profit” did not mean “no revenue,” how an internship at the Advocate Charitable Foundation became his first full-time role, and why the mission and purpose of philanthropy drew him into the profession. After several years in health care, he moved into higher education and began to connect the impact of education on individuals and family dynamics with his own lived experience as a first generation college graduate and now as a parent of a college freshman.

Luigi talks candidly about the negative headlines surrounding higher education and why, despite real challenges, he is convinced that the value of higher education remains strong over a lifetime. He explains why he pursued an MBA while working as a development officer, describes the tradeoffs of moving from a large public research university to his alma mater Lewis and then to Loyola, and reflects on building teams, elevating fundraising results, and leaving places stronger than he found them.

At Loyola, Luigi shares his focus on being excellent at the fundamentals and bringing a steady, consistent presence to his team. He emphasizes clarity of goals, consistent outreach, purposeful engagement, and the discipline of stopping work that does not move the mission forward. He likens advancement to a long game that compounds over time, talks about stewarding donors connected to Sister Jean, and describes Loyola’s quiet campaign and strong positioning in a challenging higher ed landscape. Luigi closes by reflecting on the collegial nature of the advancement community and his openness to informal networking and conversations with colleagues across the sector.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent hosts Chip Edmonds, president of Lycoming College and a longtime advancement and enrollment leader at his alma mater.

Chip reflects on how a positive high school experience, a nudge from his soccer coach, and a visit to campus led him to Lycoming. He shares why he pursued a rare trio of majors in history, music, and business administration, and how living in multiple communities – the classroom, choir tours in Europe, and the athletic field – shaped his belief in interdisciplinary learning and seeing the world through different lenses.

Chip traces his path into advancement through a series of invitations: from supporting a trustee as a young staff member, to his first formal role in annual giving at Duke, to major gift work at Yale and Lycoming. He talks about the autonomy and entrepreneurial mindset required of frontline fundraisers, how that experience influenced the way he designs portfolios, and what it was like to step into the vice president for advancement role at a relatively young age. He also shares his leadership philosophy around hiring capable people, giving them clear direction, getting out of their way, and stepping in to remove hurdles.

Throughout the conversation, Chip returns to the tension between specialization and exploration, and why being “comfortable being uncomfortable” is essential for students, faculty, and leaders. He describes addressing first-year students about doing hard things, talks about enrollment as “everybody’s business,” and explains why stories that highlight the impact of higher education are so important in the face of negative headlines. Chip also recalls a powerful gift story from a Lycoming alum who became governor of the state of Puebla in Mexico, whose family established a seven-figure scholarship for students who are “very poor, but also very bright.”

Chip closes by reflecting on mentorship, including the influence of Reverend Dr. Greg Jones, how advancement prepared him for the presidency, Lycoming’s history of innovation, and why he expects more presidents in the future to come from advancement backgrounds.

In this episode, Brent welcomes Eric Holderness, Senior Vice President of Development at the Kansas State University Foundation, whose path into advancement began when he was a student-athlete learning to thrive under pressure. Eric shares how competitive drive, curiosity, and early mentoring shaped his approach to major gifts and leadership.

Eric walks through the building blocks of effective fundraising: qualification, listening, preparation, and being willing to “go there” when donors bring up money early. He breaks down how he coaches fundraisers to enter the conversation with clarity rather than fear, and why the best asks sound like: “What do you want to accomplish with your money, and how can I help you do that today?”

Brent and Eric dig into portfolio strategy, the myth of the “perfect” donor visit, how K-State trains frontline fundraisers to embrace objections, and why cultivating resilience matters just as much as cultivating prospects.

Eric also shares insights into K-State’s unique culture, his team’s national leadership in D-I advancement, and the importance of simplifying systems so fundraisers can focus on relationships—not bureaucracy.

It’s a candid, practical, energizing episode full of told-you-straight wisdom for anyone who’s ever felt nervous about making the ask.

In this episode, Brent sits down with Amanda Hopkins, Associate Vice Chancellor for Development at the University of Colorado Boulder, whose journey begins far from the Rockies—on a family farm in Trinidad and Tobago. Amanda shares how early mornings, hard work, and a first-generation path into college shaped her belief in mentorship, access, and the transformative power of higher education.

After attending Rollins College and later earning her law degree from the University of Florida, Amanda practiced commercial real estate and finance law before discovering that gift planning offered the perfect intersection of relationships, problem-solving, and impact. She talks about how trust is the foundation of every meaningful planned giving conversation—and why donors sometimes literally bring their entire estate plan into meetings.

Now at CU Boulder, Amanda reflects on the momentum sweeping campus: record enrollment, a bold new chancellor, the university’s 150th anniversary, and preparations for a comprehensive campaign. She shares how her team is managing rising engagement through smarter portfolios, data insights, stewardship, and the launch of CU’s DXO program.

Amanda also takes listeners inside a rare multi-generational family visioning session, describing how donors, faculty, and values aligned to imagine transformational philanthropy.

It’s a thoughtful conversation about purpose, leadership, and building systems that scale generosity.

In this episode, Brent sits down with Matt Bethea, Vice President for University Advancement at Sam Houston State University, whose path to fundraising started in an unexpected place: a Dallas metal band. Matt shares how dreams of becoming a fighter pilot and years on the road as a musician led him to sales—until a chance conversation at church introduced him to advancement work at the University of North Texas.

Matt reflects on why the move from sales to fundraising felt surprisingly natural, why advancement “cold calls” are never actually cold, and how his time at TCU shaped his belief that fundraising is noble, relationship-first work. He shares a powerful case study from TCU: the story of a fallen Marine and former student whose planned gift became both a scholarship and a named professorship in history that will impact generations of students.

Brent and Matt then dig into dean partnerships, building culture, portfolio strategy (“stop watering the weeds”), and the importance of disqualification. Matt also outlines his vision for integrated advancement, where alumni engagement starts before students even set foot on campus and continues through their entire careers, supported by data and AI.

It’s a conversation about purpose, people, momentum, and the work that truly matters.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent hosts Karl Miller Lugo, Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Engagement at The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Karl shares his journey from Puerto Rico to rural Kentucky, where he was a Breckenridge County High School Tiger, class president, and deeply involved student who later followed a family path to Western Kentucky University. There, an eighth-grade camp visit, multiple family connections, and a powerful student ambassador experience as a “Spirit Master” opened his eyes to advancement and the power of donor relationships.

He describes starting his career in admissions at Lindsay Wilson College, where the president reminded him that 75% of the institution’s income came through his office. As a twenty-two-year-old “green as grass,” he learned relationship-based recruitment, drove hours to personally pick up prospective students for campus visits, and spent long evenings on the phone—lessons in resilience, fit, and mission that still shape his work.

Karl then moves from admissions to development, back to his alma mater for major gifts, into a ten-year run at UT Austin, and later into consulting with BWF, which he calls his “PhD work in the field.” Today, at UTSA, he leads advancement and alumni engagement for a growing, research-intensive, Hispanic serving institution focused on access, success, and transformational impact in San Antonio and beyond.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent hosts Bill Kavan, Vice President of Engagement and Outreach at the Arizona State University Foundation.

Bill traces his journey from a ten-year-old in Westhampton Beach, New York, pulling a lawnmower behind his bike, to an Arizona State University student looking for community on a campus where his first class was larger than his entire high school. He shares how a landscaping business, a father who would only cover “Converse money” for sneakers, and an elderly client who became a close friend shaped his work ethic, generosity, and early interest in business and investing.

At ASU, Bill found his footing in the Greek system, becoming deeply involved in philanthropy, leadership, and eventually serving as fraternity man of the year. A year on the road as a chapter adviser, including a fraternity event at the White House, exposed him to alumni, networking, and the power of people giving to support others they may never meet.

From there, Bill moved into entry-level fundraising at the National MS Society, then into higher-ed advancement software and implementation work for campuses ranging from community colleges to Cornell and SMU. Today, at ASU, he leads teams focused on annual giving, donor relations and engagement, digital donor engagement, scholarship advancement, and leadership annual giving, all with an eye toward engagement at scale for a six-hundred-thousand-strong alumni community.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent hosts Christine Pena, Chief Advancement Officer at Miss Porter’s School.

Christine shares how a childhood fascination with The Facts of Life led her from a small dinner table in West Falmouth on Cape Cod to a snowy visit at St. Paul’s School, where she instantly knew, “This is where I want to be.” As a heavily aided, first-generation student from a working-class, third-generation Cape Cod family and an African American girl crossing “the bridge to the rest of the world,” she reflects on feeling like a fish out of water, challenging assumptions about wealth and privilege, and learning never to judge a book by its cover.

From there, she traces her path to Wesleyan University, a brief but lucrative detour into management consulting in New York City, and the mental checklist that pushed her toward more meaningful work: respecting the people she worked for, doing work that mattered, and, as she jokes, not having to wear pantyhose every day. That audit led her into admissions at Dartmouth, graduate study at Harvard’s ed school focused on higher education governance and history, and eventually into major gifts work at The Madeira School and Wesleyan.

Today, at Miss Porter’s, Christine thinks deeply about the global nature of girls’ education, the cost of private education, and why institutions must joyfully, factually, and collaboratively tell the stories that prove the power of investing in human potential.

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent welcomes Patrick Hewett, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Endicott College—and one of the first advancement professionals to give EverTrue feedback, way back in 2011.

Patrick traces his path from Portsmouth Abbey School to Saint Anselm College, from a short-lived stint in insurance to his first advancement job developing a young alumni program for his alma mater. He shares how his time at Middlesex School and Boston University shaped his approach to building donor relationships and how he's helping Endicott lean into cause-based fundraising, value creation, and a donor experience rooted in real impact.

Patrick and Brent reflect on the early days of EverTrue, the evolution of donor expectations, and why advancement offices must play a more active role in identifying institutional value and bridging it to today’s most urgent challenges—from workforce development to mental health. Patrick also introduces new thinking around accessing philanthropic capital through community foundations and impact investing.

Tune in for a deep conversation on data, purpose, product-market fit, and why it’s more important than ever to "tell everyone."

On this episode of the RAISE Podcast, Brent welcomes Peter Wilch, Senior Vice President for University Advancement at Loyola Marymount University.

Peter shares his journey from growing up as the youngest of nine in Mount Vernon, Iowa, to finding purpose in higher education fundraising. As a first-generation college graduate, Peter reflects on the transformative experience he had at Cornell College and how it ignited his commitment to pay it forward through philanthropy.

He walks us through his early career—from financial services to an unexpected introduction to development—and highlights the transferable skills that helped him thrive as a gift officer. Peter shares lessons from formative roles at Grinnell and the University of Iowa, and explains how those experiences shaped his leadership at Cornell, the University of San Francisco, and now LMU.

Peter also discusses how AI can empower fundraisers to focus on what matters most: building lasting relationships. He emphasizes the importance of mentorship, healthy competition, and the shared wins that define great advancement work—like the $25 million Levy Foundation challenge gift that galvanized the LMU team and set a new bar for impact.

Tune in to hear about Peter’s approach to growing teams, cultivating lifelong donor relationships, and leading with humility, curiosity, and purpose.