RAISE Podcast

On this episode of the RAISE podcast Brent sits down with Kim Nyoni. Kim serves as associate vice president for development at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). Kim has been with UNLV since 2017 and oversees a development team that secures philanthropic gifts in support of academic units across the campus. Kim also serves as a development liaison with the UNLV Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

About Kim

Kim joined UNLV from the University of Missouri, where he served in various leadership roles in university advancement that included Interim Chief Development Officer for the MU School of Law, Senior Director of Advancement for Principal Gifts & Honors College, and Senior Director of Advancement & Interim Chief Development Officer for the College of Engineering. Kim graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with Bachelor of Journalism and a Masters of Arts in Advertising. In his spare time, Kim enjoys serving his community as a member of the Las Vegas Rotary Club, playing golf, hiking and following college and professional sports, especially his beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Las Vegas Raiders. He is a native of Tanzania by the way of Lincoln, Nebraska.

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.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast Brent sits down with Julie Morgan Hooper, CFRE. Julie is the Vice Chancellor for University Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR) at the University of California, Berkeley. As Vice Chancellor, Hooper provides campus-wide leadership on all philanthropic endeavors and manages advancement programs in UDAR involving a staff of 268 employees and an operating budget of $63 million. In her role, she serves as President of the UC Berkeley Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation that raises, invests, and administers private funds for the campus. She also provides oversight and guidance to the activities of approximately 25 different advancement programs in the schools, colleges, and campus units.

About Julie

Julie came to Berkeley in July 2014 from the University of Texas at Austin. During her almost eight-year tenure at UT, Julie served as Assistant Dean for Development and External Relations in the School of Architecture and as Associate Vice President for Development for the University Development Office. In this role, she acted as Campaign Director for The Campaign for Texas, an eight-year, $3B capital campaign, which ended in August of 2014 and raised $3.11B for the university.

Julie has also served as Executive Director and Senior Director of Development for various non-profit agencies in Texas and was named Outstanding Fundraising Professional in 2010 by the Greater Austin Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). She has over twenty years of experience in leading operations and fundraising for non-profit organizations and institutions of higher education as well as experience working in the private sector in global trade.

Julie holds a master’s degree in historic preservation from the University of Georgia and a BA in history from Boston University. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, the international non-profit association based in Washington DC dedicated to educational advancement. She previously served six years on the Board of Directors and as Board Chair for the Sustainable Food Center based in Austin.

This week on the RAISE podcast, Brent sits down with Dale Wright. Dale serves as associate dean & chief advancement officer for The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is responsible for the strategy and operations in fundraising and constituent engagement and is the campaign director for the college’s $550M goal in the "With Illinois" $2.25B comprehensive campaign. As of today, the college is at 107% of goal.

About Dale

Over the last 20+ years, Wright has held a variety of alumni and fundraising engagement roles in higher education. He has guided several deans, academic leaders and university leadership through the campaign planning process and execution, over three $1B+ comprehensive campaigns. Experienced fundraiser and leader, designing engagement programs to help teams and volunteers meet philanthropic goals.

Wright is an active CASE volunteer, currently serving on CASE District V Cabinet and appears regularly as a faculty member/speaker at CASE conferences and other CASE educational programs. Wright also holds membership in organizations such as the African American Development Officers, the Association of Fundraising professionals and is involved in other non-profit work, including serving on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the American Legion Boys State of Missouri (Missouri Boys State). He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Missouri (Mizzou).

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent talks to a long-time innovator, friend, and Advancement Services Great, Caroline Chang. After a varied career during which she “took the cookies as they were passed” (she’ll explain what that means), Caroline landed as the Vice President of Community and Product Engagement at UC Innovation. Caroline has worked extensively as an internal and external partner with almost every CRM system in the advancement space, so she knows the ecosystem of traditional alumni databases and what each of them can and can’t provide to fundraisers. Caroline was an early believer that if we can connect the digital engagement signals that alumni give us on social media with all the rich data that lives deep within alumni databases, we’ll have the recipe for fundraising success in a modern advancement shop. Besides being a techie, innovator, and expert integrator, Caroline is also a cat-lover, a knitter, a breast cancer survivor, the chair of the CASE Summer Institute for Advancement Services, and a larger-than-life friend with so much personal and professional wisdom to share. Thank you, Caroline, for being a star guest on the RAISE podcast.

About Caroline

Caroline brings over 30 years of advancement experience to UC Innovation. As the former associate vice president for advancement services at Santa Clara University, she oversaw gift and biographic processing, reporting and technical services, training, and research and prospect management. She started her advancement career at Stanford University as director of young alumni and student development, then transitioned to director of annual giving for the Stanford Medical Center. She became Stanford's managing director of development operations in April 2003 and director of operations in November 2006. Outside of higher education, Caroline is passionate about animals and often thinks of becoming a veterinary technician as her next career. She is president and co-founder of The Catz Meow, an all-volunteer cat transport organization started in May 2016. She was recognized for excellence in teaching with the CASE Crystal Apple in 2016. Caroline holds both a bachelor's and master's degree from Stanford University, and a master's degree in business administration from Santa Clara University.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent chats with Gregory Perrin, Associate Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations at St. Edward's University. He is also joined by a special guest, EverTrue’s own Jessica Frey, for a conversation about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Gregory is an accomplished fundraiser who is also an actor, artist, and a former ROTC member. He has fundraising efforts and teams in the arts world for the Houston Grand Opera; in the healthcare world for the AIDS Foundation; and in higher education at UT Austin and now at St. Edward's. One constant throughout his personal and professional life has been his commitment to ensuring that diverse folks thrive in their environments through the support of equitable policies and inclusive and welcoming teams. As Gregory reminds us, when we feel like we belong somewhere, we blossom. Gregory and Jessica share their insights on the daily work that’s needed to uphold DEI in our circles; how important it is to unravel the systemic racism that is embedded in the foundation of many hundred-year-old colleges and universities; and how newer companies have a chance at building a different kind of foundation, one that is inclusive and diverse from the get-go. Thank you, Gregory, for sharing your wisdom with us.

About Gregory

Gregory is a dynamic leader, fundraiser and artist with 30 years of experience in nonprofits, higher education, community engagement and performing arts. Currently he is the Associate Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX.

Gregory serves on the Mid America Arts Alliance board, and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) US/Canada Regional Council; and the advisory council for the Armstrong Community Music School. He has both undergraduate and graduate degrees in theatre from the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts at University of Houston. He is married to Lamonica Guillory Perrin and they have one adult son.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent gets the scoop from Matt White, Vice President of Advancement at Utah State University. The RAISE podcast spotlights the folks in advancement who are thinking about things from a completely different angle and acting on opportunities to innovate. Matt is definitely one of those people. Under his leadership at USU, the team decided not to operate within the structure of a capital campaign. They did away with portfolios. And they repurposed their prospect research team and instead established Development Officer Analysts to team up with frontline fundraisers (and share their metrics and goals). Matt holds a PhD in public policy; has taught courses in non-profit management at the collegiate level; and has built, led, and inspired high-performing boards and teams. We have a theory that he has accomplished so much in his career thanks to a crazy work ethic that started in high school when he worked on farms baling hay and harvesting corn. Thank you, Matt, for rethinking ‘the way things are always done,’ for bringing new ideas into practice, and for sharing some of your hard-earned wisdom with us.

About Matthew

Matt White joined Utah State University in 2018 as the Vice President of Advancement and President of the USU Foundation. He is the chief fundraiser for the university, providing leadership and strategic direction for the university’s philanthropic endeavors. He leads the USU Foundation and provides direction to the USU Alumni Board, ensuring exceptional engagement experiences for USU’s stakeholders. He has worked in the fundraising field for over 17 years serving in various leadership roles. Matt received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Evansville, his master’s and Ph.D. from Saint Louis University in Higher Education and Administration and Public Policy.

In this episode Brent talks with Amy Yancey. Amy joined Boston College in October 2019 as vice president for development where she oversees a team of 120 professionals dedicated to advancing BC’s mission through philanthropy. Amy has more than twenty years’ experience in higher education fundraising. Prior to joining Boston College, she served as associate vice president for development at UVA where she readied the central fundraising team for UVA's $5 billion campaign. Amy previously held pivotal roles at Penn State and the University of Tennessee. She was vice president for production at Mars Publishing, a computer industry start-up in Los Angeles, before pursuing a career in advancement. Amy holds a BA and an MS, both from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where her daughter Wren is a sophomore.

About Amy

Amy Yancey joined Boston College in October 2019 as vice president for development where she oversees a team of 120 professionals dedicated

to advancing BC’s mission through philanthropy. Amy has more than twenty years’ experience in higher education fundraising. Prior to joining Boston College, she served as associate vice president for development at UVA where she readied the central fundraising team for UVA's $5 billion campaign. Amy previously held pivotal roles at Penn State and the University of Tennessee. She was vice president for production at Mars Publishing, a computer industry start-up in Los Angeles, before pursuing a career in advancement. Amy holds a BA and an MS, both from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where her daughter Wren is a sophomore.

On this episode of the RAISE podcast, Brent breaks it down with Dan Allen, Senior Vice President of Advancement and External Relations at DePaul University in Chicago. Dan will be a Loras College Duhawk for life but is currently thriving as a DePaul Blue Demon after making a few pit stops on the journey in between. Dan and Brent dig into some really important questions during this conversation. Is higher education really leveling the playing field? Why do many talented, academically-prepared students not apply to institutions for which they’re qualified and would likely do very well at? What is the relationship between preparation and privilege in college choice? (Dan completed his PhD on this topic, so he has lots of wisdom to share.) As soon as COVID hit last year, Dan and the leadership team at DePaul decided that if they didn’t raise more money in FY21 than FY20, it sure as heck wouldn’t be because they didn’t try. Tune in to hear how Dan and his team are bucking national trends in donors in dollars through a proactive and hyper-focused commitment to DePaul’s students.

About Dan

Dan Allen currently serves as the senior vice president for Advancement and External Relations at DePaul University. Since joining DePaul in August 2015, Allen has previously served as associate vice president for Principal Gifts and vice president for Development. In his capacity as senior vice president for Advancement and External Relations, Allen provides leadership and executive management for all fundraising, alumni relations, advancement communications, and community/government relations strategies. He also serves in a leadership capacity as an Administrative Officer of the university.

Prior to joining DePaul, Allen served as senior associate dean for External Relations at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. He also served as vice president of Institutional Advancement at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois and at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. Allen has worked in educational development roles for more than 25 years, and has been a frequent presenter at various educational and healthcare development conferences and seminars.

Allen completed his PhD at Loyola University–Chicago and continues to pursue his interest in the area of postsecondary educational access for low-income students. His dissertation considered how academically talented, low-income students access highly selective postsecondary education. He has presented work on improving opportunity for academically qualified, low income students to the Association for Institutional Research and has had his research published in “Research in Higher Education.” Allen also has presented research on college choice and social reproduction to the American Educational Research Association, and the National Association for College Admission Counseling. His scholarship focuses on how various forms of human, cultural, social and economic capital influence the college choice behavior of low-income students.