The Development Debrief

The following episode is a live conversation that took place in person at the Yale Office of Alumni Affairs and Development. This interview is with Julie Braverman and Mathwon Howard, both Associate Vice Presidents at Yale. This is a fun pairing because they compare and contrast their experiences that have brought them to where they are now.

If this was your first episode, please connect on LinkedIn and instagram at devdebrief. Please like, share, and subscribe.

Thank you to Kathy Townsend who made this interview possible! Say yes, go forth, and be in control of your own journey!

Happy Valentine’s Day! This week, we have a fun riff onYou’ve Got Mail! Our guest Ashley Budd explains why we only have 2 seconds to get someone’s attention in email. Not only does she explain the context of our high volume phenomenon, but we then talk about ways to work around this reality. Ashley has created an AI tool to help us gift officers and the two of us talk about ways I have applied it in my own work. We are hoping that by the end of this, we will all be irresistibly clickable!

Ashley Budd is senior director of advancement marketing atCornell University. She is based in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., working remotely for the university and consulting with colleges, universities, and other nonprofit organizations. Known for her creative and innovative marketing campaigns, Ashley is one of the most influential voices in education marketing and fundraising. She is author of the popular newsletter Ashley in Your Inbox and co-author of the bestselling email marketing book Mailed It! A Guide for Crafting Emails That Build Relationships and Get Results. 

Welcome to season 15! There are some fun episodes in store this season. This week, we will listen to Tina Bernot reflect on the centennial campaign planning, strategy, and execution for Murray State University. She talks about how she trains her team, raises sites, and stewards big gifts.

Dr. Tina Bernot is currently the executive director of advancement at Murray State University.  She has more than twenty-five years of professional experience in planning, leading, and executing development efforts for universities and non-profit organizations.  Most recently, Dr. Bernot has co-led the planning and execution of the University’s Centennial Celebration.  She is also leading the University’s comprehensive capital campaign, Be Bold – Forever Blue & Gold the Centennial Campaign for Murray State University.  In 2022, Dr. Bernot also established the Murray State Women’s Philanthropy Society, an organization that believes high-quality educational opportunities build the foundation for personal and professional growth and thereby invests in the development and empowerment of women leaders.

 Tina holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Edgewood College in Wisconsin, a master’s degree in organizational communication and a doctorate in P-20 and Community Leadership with an emphasis in post-secondary education.  Both graduate degrees were earned at Murray State University – as a working professional, wife and mother.

 Tina and her husband, Gary, love living on beautiful Lake Barkley in west Kentucky with their two dogs and cat.  They are empty nesters with three children.

Happy New Year, everyone! This episode is a short solo check-in about approaching the New Year. I hope you had a chance to relax, recharge, and take a break over the holidays. I know I did, but I also know that time between the holidays and jumping back into work can feel a little... disorienting. For me, it’s always been a moment to reflect, to get organized, and to try to figure out what’s next. In past years, I’d dive into vision boards or journaling, trying to piece together my life’s direction. But this year? I decided to do something different. Listen to find out what...

This week, Dr. Marc Camille talks to us about his career

Dr. Marc M. Camille took office as the 14th President of

Dr. Camille’s presidency has seen Albertus Magnus launch an ambitious growth plan, deepen engagement within the greater New Haven area, and adopt a bold new strategic plan, Albertus 2025: Lighting the Way to a Second Century, setting the stage for the College’s Centennial Celebration in 2025.

Dr. Camille’s leadership has prioritized deepened

A comprehensive fundraising campaign is underway to coincide with the College’s 2025 Centennial.

Dr. Camille earned his Bachelor’s degree in English at

This week, Liz Elting joins us to talk about her book and

Liz Elting, Founder and CEO of the Elizabeth Elting Foundation, is an entrepreneur, business leader, bestselling author, linguaphile, philanthropist, feminist, and mother. After living, studying, and working in five countries across the globe, Liz founded TransPerfect out of an NYU dorm room in 1992 and served as Co-CEO until 2018. TransPerfect is the world's largest language solutions company, with over $1.2 billion in revenue and offices in more than 140 cities worldwide. Liz’s recognitions include the Trinity College Alumni Medal for Excellence, the Charles Waldo Haskins Award for business and public service from NYU’s Stern School of Business, the American Heart Association’s Health Equity Leadership Award and Woman Changing the World Award, and the GlobalMindED Inclusive Leader Award. Liz has been recognized as a NOW Woman of Power & Influence, American Express and Entrepreneur magazine's Woman of the Year, and one of Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women every year since the list’s inception. Elting is the bestselling author of Dream Big and Win: Translating Passion into Purpose and Creating a Billion-Dollar Business.

Welcome back! This week, we will talk about some tools

 A bit more about our guest--Having served as a trusted

Internally, CJ is responsible for setting and driving achievement of Orr Group’s financial targets and overseeing efficient operations within the firm. Additionally, CJ supports the efforts of Orr Group’s Growth team to identify and cultivate new business opportunities and build relationships with nonprofit partners, ensuring that the services offered are best aligned with their partners’ needs. 

 CJ’s background in finance provides him with a strong foundation in analytics, metrics and ROI. Prior to working at Orr Group, CJ worked in Institutional Fixed Income Trading at Alliance Bernstein, where he was responsible for funds trading, account management, and reviewing analytical research. He also spent several years in municipal bonds sales and trading at Oppenheimer & Co.

On our teams, we are trying to use AI in some form or another each day. One example is putting email chains of correspondence into chatgpt and having it summarize your conversation. This cuts down on a lot of time! If you want to go back and hear what CJ said he knows for sure the first time-- it is episode number 105. Please connect on instagram and Linkedin- I would love to hear from you!

Welcome to the podcast! Today, we’re thrilled to welcome Jessica Carbone, the Associate Director of Development for Major Gifts at Boston College, where she oversees initiatives in Seattle and Denver. A proud alumna of BC herself, Jessica graduated from the Lynch School of Education and Human Development in 2014, and her journey since then has been nothing short of inspiring.

After earning her degree, Jessica jumped into the nonprofit world with Partners In Health, where she made a significant impact as a major gifts coordinator and stewardship associate. She played a key role in launching their first fundraising gala, "An Evening for Equity," and was honored to tour nationally with the late Dr. Paul Farmer for the documentary "Bending the Arc."

Continuing her pursuit of knowledge, Jessica went on to complete her master’s in Education Policy and Management at Harvard. From there, she moved to Denver, where she excelled as a Major Gift Officer at the University of Colorado Boulder. In July 2023, Jessica returned to her roots in Massachusetts, taking on her current role at Boston College.

In addition to her impressive career, we’re excited to discuss Jessica’s book, Philanthropy Means Love, which delves into the deep connections between giving and love in our communities. Beyond her professional accomplishments, Jessica is an avid traveler—having explored destinations like Bangkok, Madrid, and Sorrento. When she’s not on the go, you can find her enjoying time at Long Beach in Rockport, MA, where she has made cherished memories with family.

Join us as we dive into Jessica’s journey, her insights on philanthropy, and the themes of her book.

You can find the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Philanthropy-Means-Love-Jessica-Carbone/dp/B0DC4S4K1R

Welcome back to another episode of The Development Debrief! It’s Episode 153, and today we’re diving deep into the world of effective communication with our special guest, Ben Feller, who joins us for the second time. If you’re interested in looking back, he was also featured in Episode 66, a few years ago.

Here’s a powerful thought to kick things off: It’s not what you say, it’s what they hear. Ben, an expert in communications consulting within higher education, is here to explore this concept with us. We’ll be discussing the critical role of urgency and language use in making sure your message hits the mark. And stick around for a memorable segment we’re calling “The Oatmeal Story”—trust us, you won’t want to miss it! Let’s get started! 

Ben Feller is a partner at maslansky + partners, the firm that finds exactly the right words to ensure audiences will listen, care and act. An award-winning writer during his distinguished career in journalism, Ben now specializes in moving organizations from how they are known to how they want to be known. As a strategic adviser, Ben has a distinctive ability to help companies by asking the right questions and distilling their stories with clarity. His business role follows a 20-year reporting career in which he was honored as a "master of deadline reporting" and served as the Chief White House Correspondent for The Associated Press. During the presidencies of Barack Obama and George W. Bush, Ben helped lead White House coverage for the largest news organization in the world. Ben is also a writing coach, event moderator, public speaker and the author of Big Problems, Little Problems, a children's book on conquering life's frustrations that reviewers have described as "simply extraordinary." He lives in New York City.

This week, we chat with Boi Carpenter about her career journey and her business, Inquisitive Leader. In the first half, we dive into her career path, and in the second, we explore her business. We discuss management, the role of curiosity and inquiry, strategies for preventing burnout, modeling behavior, and the importance of unplugging on vacation days.

Boi Carpenter serves as Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at Johns Hopkins University. In her role, she has operational and frontline responsibilities and manages several large-scale teams. Her professional career in development and alumni relations spans over twenty-nine years, twenty-four of which have been spent in her current organization.

 In 2022, Boi started a personal endeavor, Inquisitive Leader, a community inspired by her conversations with bright, enthusiastic, talented professionals. She has a blog covering topics like navigating personal and professional growth dynamics, career management, belonging, managing, leading, recruitment, hiring, and retention. She is also regularly active on LinkedIn.