Board of Directors

Nancy Benavente, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Tom Chaves, Lehigh University

Gail Ferris, American University

Anita Lawson, RAND Corporation
Jennifer Liu-Cooper, University of Delaware

Vicky Medlock, Shenandoah University

Robert Saunders, Illinois Institute of Technology

John Taylor, North Carolina State University

Meredeth Winter, The Nature Conservancy

 

 

Board Member Biographies

 

 

Nancy Benavente

Nancy Benavente has been a professional in the advancement and development services area for over 25 years and is an active member of AASP, CASE, APRA, AFP, PMI and WITI. She currently provides leadership for optimizing engagement through a comprehensive strategy utilizing social networks and CRM based on innovation and best practices in support of advancement for Starlight Children's Foundation.

Previously, Benavente worked in higher education at UCLA and UC Davis managing advancement services teams and implementing new technology in support of fundraising. Her professional experience includes providing executive leadership in the areas of prospect research & management, information technology, donor relations, stewardship, and donor information systems, as well as oversight of analytical reporting. She has a strong background in reengineering business processes having managed or implemented the top three fundraising systems and a business intelligence/ data warehouse. She has managed several projects involving the redesign of systems to produce forecasting, predictive modeling and performance metrics reporting capabilities. Benavente has designed and implemented several online giving and community web sites and is currently implementing the use of social networking for fundraising.

She is a graduate of UCLA with a BA in sociology, where she also received an Executive Management Certificate from the Anderson School of Management.

Tom Chaves

 

Thomas Chaves is currently Senior Director of Advancement Services at Lehigh University where he is building and leading a dynamic information management environment to support Lehigh's advancement operations.  Managing a centralized team in a decentralized environment, Tom strives to effectively and efficiently utilize technology, process, & people to bring valuable information to Lehigh's advancement team of over 100 people.    

Tom spent over 17 years at SunGard/SCT working with over 100 Banner clients to implement and effectively use Banner Advancement.  He chaired the 2010 CASE Senior Advancement Services conference and is a member of the Banner Advancement advisory board.   Tom just finished a 9-year tenure on Albright College's (Reading, PA) Alumni Association board where he was president the last two years.  He enjoys running marathons, looking to run one per state as part of his 50 by 50 by 50 goal.

He holds a BA from Albright College and an MS from Penn State.

 

Gail Ferris

 

Gail Ferris is the Director of Technolgy and Information Services in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at  American University. He is responsible for the university’s alumni records and gift processing, as well as the university’s development information management system.

Prior to joining the university’s staff in 2012, over the last 25 years he has led advancement services operations at Catholic University of America, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, World Wildlife Fund, George Washington University, Georgetown University, and Yale University.

Ferris has authored chapters in several books published by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and has taught at numerous CASE conferences in advancement services, including chairing the Summer Institute for Advancement Services and the Matching Gift Symposium.

He is the recipient of the CASE Crystal Apple Award for outstanding teaching.  He holds a BA from Yale University, a JD from the University of Cincinnati, and an MBA from the University of New Haven.

 

 

Anita Lawson

Anita Lawson is the Advancement Services Manager at RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, CA.  RAND is a nonpartisan, internationally respected think tank focusing on issues that matter most such as health, education, national security, international affairs, law and business, the environment, and more.  Anita is responsible for establishing and leading RAND’s Advancement Services operation.  Prior to RAND, Anita was in Dallas, TX serving as Director of Database Operations at Communities Foundation of Texas responsible for establishing their database operations department and leading the data warehouse implementation.  

Previously, Anita ran development operations at Susan G. Komen For The Cure headquarters in Dallas, TX leading the foundation through its first major database conversion and overseeing Komen’s high volume gift entry, sophisticated tribute gift processing, and donor acknowledgements while managing the development database.  She also served as Director of Advancement Services at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles Foundation and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, establishing the advancement services department and leading a database conversion at both organizations.

Anita has been an advancement professional for more than 20 years, has served on the board of CASE IV and is a founding member of AASP.

Jennifer Liu-Cooper

 

 

Vicky H. Medlock

 

Vicky H. Medlock, a 28 year career advancement veteran, has enjoyed a rich and diverse background serving higher education (public and private) and association programs.  Her experience encompasses gift processing, reporting, records, annual giving, donor relations, events, research, alumni affairs, campaign programming, human resources, finance and operations, training, strategic planning and board relationships.

 

Vicky currently serves as the Associate Vice President for Advancement at Shenandoah University with responsibility for Advancement Services, Annual Giving, Alumni Affairs and Stewardship.  Previously held leadership positions include The National Rifle Association of America, the University of South Florida, the University of Cincinnati and the University of Florida.

Vicky is also a proud recipient of CASE’s Crystal Apple having taught at numerous conferences, including chairing the Summer Institute for Advancement Services.

Robert Saunders

 

Rob Saunders is the Senior Director of Advancement Services in Institutional Advancement at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago,  Rob is responsible for prospect research and prospect management, information services and analytics along with administrative services and organizational development.

 

Rob worked for over 11 years with Oakland University where he served as the Director of Development Information Services.  In this position he was involved in the management of constituent databases, gift processing, stewardship, prospect management, as well as training.  While in this position Rob was also involved with Oakland’s Banner Shared Data Committee and was a member of Oakland’s steering committee for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association.  Rob also earned several CASE Awards over the years and was an instructor for SunGuard Higher Education’s Summit conference, as well as a co-presenter of the Association of Advancement Services Professional’s first webinar. 

 

In addition to working in higher education institutions, Rob has also worked within the healthcare and non-profit fields.  During his time with St. Joseph Mercy Hospital and Providence Hospital in the Detroit area, he worked as a budget and financial analyst where he was able to analyze budgets, budget variances, and overhead cost in order to create appropriate pricing procedures.  His budget and financial experience carried on throughout his next leadership roles, within HBO & Company where he served as senior service associate, and Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries where he was vice president of finance and information systems.

 

John H. Taylor

John is Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement Services at North Carolina State University.  He holds a BA in Mass Communications and Socio-Political Change from Vanderbilt University, and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University.  Before assuming this position, John was the Principal for Advancement Solutions Consulting Group, and served as Vice President for Research and Data Services at CASE.  Prior to that John served as the Director of Alumni & Development Records at Duke University for 15 years.

 

John is published, including being the consulting editor of the 3rd edition of the CASE Management and Reporting Standards, and editor of the CASE best seller, Advancement Services: A Foundation for Fund Raising.  He has spoken at over 300 conferences across the country and abroad and has been awarded the CASE Crystal Apple Award for outstanding teaching.

Meredeth Winter

 

Meredeth is the Director of Fundraising Systems Specialists at The Nature Conservancy, having celebrated her tenth anniversary with the organization in 2007.  Before moving into her current role in 2005, she did annual and major gift fundraising for the Maine and New Jersey Chapters of the Conservancy.

 

Meredeth holds a BA from Dartmouth College in French and Russian language and literature, and an MA from Tufts University in Applied Child Development. She is not quite sure how these relate to her career, but is happy to try to make up something if you ask.  She has presented at the Target User Forum (Target Software was recently purchased by Blackbaud) as well as at numerous Conservancy conferences and trainings.