Welcome to Part II of our series on getting an advanced degree while working full time.  Today’s guest is a dear friend of mine on the development side of my career - Dr. Kristen Bennett, whom I met while serving on the CASE Annual Conference Committee.

Dr. Bennett has over 21 years of professional fundraising experience at higher education and social service nonprofits in Kentucky and Texas. Prior to TVCC as the VP for Institutional Advancement/Executive Director of the TVCC Foundation she served as Vice President for Advancement at St. Catharine College, Director of Development at Eastern Kentucky University, Development Officer at Lexington Public Library/Foundation, Director of Development/Grant Writer at Habitat for Humanity and Major/Planned Gifts Officer at Christian Appalachian Project.

Kristen, a first generation graduate, earned her doctorate degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Eastern Kentucky University, earned a Master's in Business Administration at Midway University and earned a Bachelor of Science in Communication and Information Studies from the University of Kentucky.

Her dissertation topic was Inspired Positive Organizational Scholarship. The Beneficial Effects of Mindfulness for Nonprofit Leaders that just recently became copyrighted so she can write a book, speak and write on her findings. She has a new facebook page called: Ophelia's Positive Prose and she is working on her LLC. 

Dr. Bennett is a CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive), holds her certification in fundraising management (CFRM) and nonprofit leadership (CNLE) through the Indiana University-Lily School of Philanthropy (IUPUI).

Kristen was the Chair of the 2019 CASE Community College Advancement Conference in San Diego, CA, Board Member of the Texas Association of Community College Foundations, Previous Team Captain of the CASE Federal Funding Task Force (FFTF) and the CASE District IV Treasurer. Dr. Bennett has spoken at numerous CASE conferences such as, CASE-IRF, CASE CCCA, CASE District IV Conference, TACCF and CASE Grants Conference. In March, Kristen was interviewed and quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education on the topic of Community College Advancement.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Job-in-Which-Everyfilngle/245 849/

Kristen has been married to Alan Bennett for 21 years and they have five children together named Chad, Brandon, Faith, Angelica and Gabriella. They are also proud grandparents to 3 granddaughters, one grandson and one on the way. They have three dogs: A 9 yr. old West Highland Terrier named Gizmo Rocky, a newly adopted pekingese named Casper and a 2 yr. old Great Pyrenees named Charmaine Aurora and special kitten Luna Casia. Kristen loves to read, spend time with family, attend sporting events, and travel.

Kristen has a deep-rooted passion to help the under-served achieve their dreams and does so by bringing supporters and students together to make a familial and societal impact for generations.

that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

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