Cheryl Beckett
Associate Professor of Art
University of Houston

Cheryl Brzezinski-Beckett serves as the area coordinator of the Graphic Communications Program at the University of Houston where she has taught since 1986.  Beckett also serves as the Creative Director at Minor Design Group. Minor Design Group’s client base includes a wide array of corporate and cultural institutions including museums, theatre and arts organizations; educational institutions and libraries; Fortune 500 companies and startup ventures; the architectural community; and public space enhancements. Beckett has received design awards from AIGA, HOW, New York Type Director’s Club, Print, UCDA, STA 100, ADCH, Texas Association of Museums.

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Cheryl Taylor Bowie
Owner
Right Angle advertising agency

Cheryl Taylor Bowie operates Right Angle, a 20-year-old advertising, marketing and public relations firm. For nearly 30 years she has navigated the creative world helping others get in touch with their right brain side and winning numerous awards along the way for clients in real estate, banking, healthcare and start-up business ventures.

Practicing Feng Shui since 1991, Cheryl has studied both Classical Chinese and Tibetan Black Hat Sect methods under world-renown Feng Shui masters and consultants Roger Green of Sydney, Australia; Lin Yun of San Francisco, Calif.; and was among the first American students of Raymond Lo of Hong Kong. Cheryl has taught more than 1,000 students through her continuing education classes at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

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Tracy Sterling Bristol
Art Director, University Publications
Texas Christian University

Tracy Sterling Bristol is an art director and writer at Texas Christian University. She holds a BFA in advertising design from TCU, where she was a Nordan Fine Arts Scholar and the national winner of the Nissan Student Advertising Contest. She has worked at a number of Dallas / Fort Worth advertising agencies creating print and broadcast work for national brands including Quaker Oats, Johnson & Johnson and Satellite Sports Network. In addition to running an advertising consulting business, Sterling Creative, she has dabbled in television graphics, fine art painting, teaching art, and costume design. She has won awards for all of the aforementioned, but is most proud of winning a CASE Grand award for an editorial spread entitled “Captain Filth,” which featured a headline created entirely from cigarettes and garbage. For seven years, Tracy has been ensconced in a sunlit cubicle at TCU with her kitschy collection of 250 souvenir snow domes, where she designs and writes for the university alumni magazine and creates award-winning work for departments across campus.

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Dick Brundage
President and International Consultant
Center for Advanced Media Studies

Dick Brundage is widely recognized as one of the nation’s premiere risk communicators and media response trainers. He is an award winning television director, former anchor, correspondent and author of The Heart In Communicating. Brundage was selected by the U.S. State Department to train new U.S. Ambassadors prior to their taking their posts around the world.

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Lance Burchett
Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations
Ringling College of Art and Design

Lance serves as Vice President for Advancement at the prestigious Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Fla.  He is also responsible for the alumni relations program, community and governmental relations, special events, and the institution’s 75th Anniversary Celebration.  He served Northwest Missouri State University as Vice President for Advancement; was Executive Director of the Alumni Association at San Diego State University, and he has done development and alumni work at his alma mater, the University of Arkansas. 

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Staci Carson
Director of Capital Giving
University of the Puget Sound

Staci Carson is the Director of Capital Giving at The University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., where she manages the operation of three departments: the Office of Capital Giving, the Office of Gift Planning and the development Research Office. 

Before joining The University of Puget Sound, Staci served as Senior Regional Manager of Capital Giving at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., and Campaign Marketing and Special Event Coordinator at Utah Valley State College in Orem, Utah.  Prior to her career in higher education, Staci spent 12 years in the corporate meeting and event planning industry.  She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication from Southern Utah University.

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Charles Crowson
Reporter
KTHV

Charles Crowson is a reporter with Little Rock’s CBS affiliate, KTHV, Channel 11, known as Today’s THV. He joined the station in January 2007 as a backpack journalist. Prior to joining the team, he worked in public relations for Stone Ward and the University of Arkansas.

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Bill Dean
Director of Alumni Relations
Texas Tech University

Dr. Bill Dean is the Executive Vice President of the Texas Tech Alumni Association and an Associate Dean in the College of Mass Communications.    He is the former President of the Texas Association of Alumni Directors, current Vice-President / President elect of the Council of Alumni Association Executives, and former President of the Big 12 Alumni Directors.

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Deedie Dowdle
Executive Director of Communications and Marketing
Auburn University

Deedie Dowdle is Executive Director of Communications and Marketing at Auburn University, overseeing media relations, electronic communications, broadcast, marketing/creative, publications, writing/editing and photographic services. She formerly was in the University System of Georgia and in the private sector.  She earned her undergraduate degree in public relations from the University of Alabama, and her master’s degree in writing from Kennesaw State University.

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Trisha Dubina
Instructor of graphic design
Nicholls State University

Trisha Dubina serves as an instructor of graphic design at Nicholls State University and creative director of Eye Candy Creative. Trisha believes that the marriage between two design paths has allowed her to fulfill her dream of working in branding—its meaning, purpose and its stature in our culture while at the same time helping young designers shape their passion for good design. She thinks the two are connected by their common desire to fully realize their potential in the world.

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Walt Eilers
Consultant
Horizons Stewardship

Walt Eilers, MA,  is a consultant with Horizons Stewardship, Inc. providing Northwest Arkansas with full-service fundraising and development consulting services.  Eilers brings several years of fundraising experience to the firm.  He specializes in grant writing, feasibility and needs assessment research, non-profit board development, team development and strategic planning.

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Mark Elliott
Senior Development Advisor
Bucknell University

Mark holds an undergraduate degree from Furman University and a graduate degree University of North Carolina, Greensboro, both in experimental psychology with a focus on human learning, memory and visual neurophysiology. 

In 1981, Mark began working in the annual fund program at Furman, and moved in 1984 to Bucknell University as Director of Planned Giving, joining what was at that time an 8-member development staff.  At Bucknell, he helped advocate for an increased focus on the University’s existing deferred giving program—instituting planned giving marketing efforts for the first time, as well as offering and closing Bucknell’s first-ever charitable remainder trusts and charitable gift annuities through the program.  Throughout his tenure at Bucknell, Elliott has worked not only on several odd and interesting gifts but also on a staff ethic of collaboration with shared responsibility and shared credit for all fund raising.

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Dorothy Evans
Director of Alumni Relations
Texas State University

Dorothy, who has been involved with CASE for a number of years, is heavily involved in her local community serving as a past president of the Texas State Alumni Association.  Dorothy is a member of the Beta Sigma Phi Women’s Hall of Fame and a former Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year. 

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Matt Frazier
Founder and CEO
Pursuant

Matt Frazier is the founder and CEO of Pursuant, a full service fund raising agency serving over 150 non-profit, university and alumni based organizations. Matt has spent his entire career in development and technology. He is an online fund-raising futurist, development strategist and sought after speaker on issues related to tomorrow’s donor.  Matt is best known for his creative approach to integrating Internet technology, direct marketing and development methodologies to help strengthen organizations.

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D’Lyn Ford
Publications Director
Eastern New Mexico University

D’Lyn Ford is publications director at Eastern New Mexico University, where her responsibilities include directing the ENMU Web site’s redesign and overseeing creation of recruiting, marketing and informational materials. She has worked in the public sector for 17 years as a communications specialist for two universities. As assistant director for media relations at New Mexico State University, she led a reporting team, maintained an online News Center and cultivated relationships with state, regional and national media.

Her experience includes reporting for radio, television, newspapers and the Associated Press. She has taught workshops and classes on interviewing, news writing, media relations, creativity, marketing and crisis communication. She holds a bachelor’s degree in broadcast and print journalism from ENMU and a master’s in communication studies from NMSU.

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Paul Gardner Ph.D., CFRE

Dr. Paul Gardner brings more than 40 years of “in the trenches” fundraising experience to our clients.  He has served a variety of organizations including schools, colleges and universities, retirement and long-term care organizations, international development agencies, health care, youth agencies, arts organizations, and numerous churches.  He has been a part of capital campaigns whose combined goals exceed $200 million.

Paul has served in the Development Office of Harding University working with major gifts, alumni development, and annual giving.  He also served as Vice-President for Institutional Advancement at Ohio Valley College and Director of Resource Development at Heifer Project International.  He was associate Vice Chancellor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and as the Executive Director of the Arkansas Cancer Research Center Foundation at UAMS.

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Rae Goldsmith
Vice President for Communications and Marketing
CASE

Rae Goldsmith has served as CASE’s communications chief since February 2005. She joined the leadership team after 22 years in educational communications and marketing, including six years as associate vice president for communications and marketing at the University of Louisville. She is a frequent conference presenter and coordinates CASE efforts to maximize the communications and marketing resources of member institutions.

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Kathy Guimond
Chief of Police
University of New Mexico

Kathy Guimond has been chief of police for the University of New Mexico for 12 years of her 33 year career in law enforcement. She is actively involved in the New Mexico Campus Safety Task Force. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University with a double major in political science and history. She is a graduate of the FBI National Academy’s 173rd Session in Quantico, Va.

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John Gyllin
Director of Development
Northeastern State University

As Northeastern State University’s Director of Development and Executive Director of the NSU Foundation, John leads the development and fund-raising efforts of Oklahoma’s premier regional university, while coordinating the activities of the NSU Foundation, which encourages, receives, invests, and disburses private support on behalf of the University.  John has a wealth of experience in higher education and university relations. Before coming to Northeastern, he worked at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where he served in several capacities including director of Alumni Relations and most recently, Director of Development. Previously, he worked in the Student Affairs department at Muskingum College in Ohio.

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Julia Grayson Hamra
Public Relations Head
Easter Seals of Arkansas

She previously was a reporter with television stations in Little Rock. She has worked on both sides of the aisle in the relationship between media firms and non-profit entities.

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Laura Hansen Dean
Executive Director of Gift Planning
University of Texas at Austin

Laura is Executive Director of Gift Planning for the University of Texas at Austin.  Prior to joining the University of Texas, she served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana, Associate Director of the Indian University Center on Philanthropy, Executive Director and Legal Counsel for the Ball State University Foundation, and as Senior Legal Counsel and Director of Gift Planning for the Central Indiana Community Foundation, Incorporated.

Laura holds a Juris Doctor degree from the Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis, and has served on the Board of Directors for the National Committee on Planned Giving.  She has also served as President of the Planned Giving Group of Indiana, and is on the Board of Directors for the Ball State University Foundation and the editorial review committee for the Journal of Gift Planning.

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Brenda Harms, Ph.D.
Client Consultant
Stamats

Dr. Brenda Harms is an experienced higher education administrator who has built her entire academic career specializing in the adult student population. She offers a unique perspective having served this population in academic and administrative roles at a branch campus, as well as experience in online course development and instruction. As a client consultant at Stamats, she leads the firm’s adult student marketing initiative.

Dr. Harms received a B.S. in allied health and an M.A. in educational psychology and counseling from the University of South Dakota. She received her PhD in human services with her dissertation focused specifically on adult student retention.

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Jerry Holbert
Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Austin College

Jerry graduated from Texas A&M with a B.A. in English and later with a Ph.D. in history. He earned a M.Ed. from Pan American University. After a tour as an Arabic linguist in the United States Navy, he began his 31 years in education as a high school teacher, advancing over the years to private school development director, private school headmaster, and finally university fund raiser at Louisiana State University and Stephen F. Austin State University, where he served 13 years as Vice President for University Advancement. His tenure at SFA was interrupted by a two-year stint at the American Heart Association where he served as National Vice President for Major Donor Relations at AHA headquarters in Dallas. Jerry has served since 2006 as Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Austin College.

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Bob Johnson
President
Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Bob Johnson is president of Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC. Specialties include Customer Carewords research to better engage website visitors, competitive website reviews, and communication capability reviews of individual websites. Bob’s popular email newsletter, “Your Higher Education Marketing Newsletter,” is sent monthly to 3,900 subscribers at more than 923 US colleges and universities and others in several other countries including Australia, Austria, Canada, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Alfred University and his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

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Jason Jones
Freelance Commercial Photographer

Jason Jones is a freelance commercial photographer specializing in college recruitment campaigns.  His work has won dozens of ADDY awards in several markets, and he has contributed to more than thirty CASE Gold Award-winning projects. Mr. Jones is a frequent faculty member and speaker for regional and national CASE, CCAE and UCDA conferences. Originally from New Orleans, he moved to Toronto following what all New Orleanians refer to simply as: The Storm.

Graduating with an M.F.A. in photography, he is a member of the national honor society Phi Kappa Phi, and brings to his college admissions work several years experience as a member of the art department faculty at the University of South Florida.  He has been the recipient of a national Ford Foundation grant.

Recent higher education clients include Harvard Medical School, Notre Dame, Tulane, Villanova, Vanderbilt, Rollins College, Carleton, McMaster, The University of Lethbridge, The University of Guelph, Hawaii Pacific, The University of Rochester, Colgate, Saint Lawrence, The Claremont Colleges, The University of Richmond, Rhodes College, and several hundred others. Entertainment industry projects have included the Grammy winning Goin’ Back to New Orleans by Dr. John.  His work has appeared in the pages of Rolling Stone, US News & World Report, Time, Sports Illustrated and Women’s Sports and Fitness.

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Jayne Jones
Vice President for Development
Arkansas Tech University

Jayne Jones has served as vice president for development at Arkansas Tech University since 2001. In seven years in her present role, Jayne has helped Arkansas Tech raise approximately $12 million in private gifts from alumni and friends of the university.

She served in a leadership role during the Return to Glory capital campaign, which raised $5 million in private gifts to help fund construction of a new women’s sports complex and renovations to the university’s football stadium. Jayne’s service to Arkansas Tech dates back to 1976. She has served as associate vice president for administration and finance, business manager and director of student accounts. She has also worked in the admissions office, the news bureau and the endowment fund office during her tenure at Arkansas Tech.

Jayne is a certified public accountant. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in instructional technology from Arkansas Tech.

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Mark Kahler
Associate Vice President for University Communications
Union University

Mark Kahler has been head of communications at Union University since 2004. Before joining the administration of the private college of 3,300 students, he worked in television news in the Cincinnati market.

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Sherry Kamali
Policy Analyst, New Mexico Department
Homeland Security and Emergency Management

Sherry Kamali is policy analyst for the New Mexico Department Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Part of her role is to work with higher education to train university staff and develop emergency plans.

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John Kelly
Professor of Communications
Eastern New Mexico University

John Kelly is news director for PBS affiliate KENW-TV, and is a professor of communications at Eastern New Mexico University. He has worked in the television industry for more than 20 years.

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Walter M. Kimbrough
President
Philander Smith College

Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough is the 12th president of Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. As the first college president from the hip-hop generation, he is one of the youngest college presidents in the nation. Prior to Philander Smith College, he served in administrative capacities at Albany State University, Old Dominion University, Georgia State University and Emory University.

After graduating from the Benjamin E. Mays High School and Academy of Math and Science in Atlanta as the Salutatorian and Student Body President, Dr. Kimbrough earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Degree in biology from the University of Georgia in 1989.  He continued his education at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, completing a Master of Science Degree in College Student Personnel Services in 1991, and in 1996 he earned the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Higher Education from Georgia State University.

He is the author of the book, “Black Greek 101: The Culture, Customs and Challenges of Black Fraternities and Sororities.” After five months, the book was an Essence Magazine top 10 best seller, and is currently in its eighth printing.

Locally, he is a member of the board of directors for the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Heart of Arkansas United Way. He was named one of the people who made a difference in Arkansas in 2005 by the Arkansas Times newspaper, and named by Powerplay Magazine in 2006 as one of the 25 influential African Americans in Arkansas.

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Robin Kistler, APR
Marketing Director,
LSU Office of Public Affairs

Robin Kistler has been involved in the field of communications for more than 15 years.

By far, her favorite job has been to serve her alma mater as the Marketing Director for the LSU Office of Public Affairs. Kistler provides strategic planning leadership with regard to marketing, branding, public relations and communications tactics used for the development of programs and projects that bring recognition to LSU as a nationally competitive research university on the move.

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Randy Lann
Executive Director and Lobbyist
Arkansas Homefurnishings Association

Randy Lann is executive director and lobbyist for the Arkansas Homefurnishings Association. He worked with Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (A.D.E.M).

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Jim Lewis
Vice President of Institutional Advancement
Austin College

Jim Lewis joined Austin College in Sherman, Texas as the Vice President for Institutional Advancement in July of 1995.  He is responsible for the College’s external affairs programs including media relations, publications, constituent relations programs, and fund raising.  He received a Master of Business Administration degree from Southern Methodist University, a Master of Science degree in Counseling from East Texas State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from East Texas State University.  He previously served Millsaps College as Vice President for Development and Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University as Director of Development.

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Scott Linzey
Principal Consultant
STAMATS

Scott is a principal consultant with a combined 17 years of professional admissions experience and higher education marketing and communications consulting. Scott holds an M.B. A. with a concentration in marketing and a B.A. in political science from Mount Saint Mary’s University. He’s been the guest speaker on the regional and national levels on topics related to college and university admissions, market research, brand marketing, financial aid leveraging, e-mail marketing and student-athlete recruitment.

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John Lippincott
President
CASE

In 2004, John Lippincott became president of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), providing strategic and operational leadership for the largest association of education-related institutions in the world.  During his tenure he has overseen creation of principles of practice in each of the advancement disciplines, development of ongoing operations in the Asia Pacific region and strengthening of the relationships with members, districts and other associations.  Prior to his arrival at CASE, John served for 12 years as association vice chancellor for advancement at the University System of Maryland.

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Jeffery L. McLain, CFRE
Vice President of Development
Louisiana State University Foundation

With over 25 years in higher education fundraising, Jeffery L. McLain, CFRE, joined the LSU Foundation as Vice President of Development in September 2005.  Previously, he was Associate Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement in the Texas Tech University System.Since joining the LSU Foundation, gifts and pledges have nearly quadrupled.  LSU is currently in “Forever LSU,” a $750 million campaign for LSU institutions located on the Baton Rouge campus.

Active in his profession, McLain is a CFRE, a certified fundraising executive.  He has held offices in local chapters of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and is President-elect of the Baton Rouge AFP Chapter. 

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Matt Ter Molen
Associate Vice President of Alumni Relations and Development
Northwestern University

Before joining the Northwestern staff as Vice President of Alumni Relations and Development, Matt Ter Molen was assistant dean for development at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. His experience includes work in annual giving, planned and major giving, prospect strategy and volunteer management. Ter Molen spent eight years working at the University of Chicago in the offices of annual giving and then major gifts. Prior to that, he was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras.

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Laura Mulry
Director of Communications
New Mexico Higher Education Department

Laura Mulry is director of Communications for the New Mexico Higher Education Department. She is providing the coordination and communication for the Governor’s Campus Safety Task Force.

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Susie Nicholson
Assistant to the President for University Relations
Arkansas Tech University

Susie Nicholson is assistant to the president for university relations at Arkansas Tech University.  She is responsible for numerous marketing and public relations initiatives since arriving at Arkansas Tech in 1998 in addition to serving on the president’s executive cabinet.  In 2007 she served as the campus coordinator for the university’s Strategic planning process.

Previous to her tenure at Arkansas Tech, Susie was Vice President for Marketing at First National Bank in Russellville, Arkansas, from 1988-98, and Public Relations Director for Pilgram and Associates in Russellville from 1986-88.   Susie is a 1986 graduate of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism.

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Jeffrey A Ockwood, CIMA
Managing Director – Investments
Wachovia Securities

Jeffrey Ockwood has achieved a distinguished career in financial services by putting his clients’ interests first.  With more than 25 years of experience, Jeff has earned a reputation for exceptional service and personal integrity. Jeff earned his designation as a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.  Jeff has earned the Accredited Investment Fiduciary™ (AIF®) professional designation, awarded by the Center for Fiduciary Studies, which is associated with the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School of Business.  Active in his community, Jeff is the current President of the Texas 4-H Foundation.  He has also served in leadership roles for the Dallas Council on World Affairs, the Easter Seal Society; supports Texas A&M University’s Corps of Cadets Association; and is a life member of the Marine Corps League.

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Ray Ogar
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design
University of Central Arkansas

Ray Ogar is a graphic designer, electronic musician, and writer. In several books and numerous short stories and essays, Ogar examines the implications mobile technology use in Western culture from a graphic design perspective. He is a graduate of University of Houston with a MFA in Graphic Communication, and is currently Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Central Arkansas. His latest designer novel, titled Origami Unicorn, was published in 2007.

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Danny Ormand
Director
Arkansas Department of Emergency Management

Danny Ormand is the director of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management since 2007. He was sheriff for Lafayette County from 2003 – 2006.

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Teresa Valerio Parrot
Senior Project Director
Simpson Scarborough

Teresa Parrot is a recognized expert in higher education administration, media and public relations, marketing and branding. She recently served as special assistant to the president of the University of Colorado System and as chief of staff to the vice president for academic affairs and research. She is experienced in the design and implementation of strategic media and marketing efforts aimed at enhancing an institution’s image, reputation and brand. Parrot has a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in environmental biology and a master’s degree in public administration with emphases in state and local government and non-profit management, both from the University of Colorado.

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Mark A. Petersen
Associate Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs
Southern Methodist University

Mark Petersen is a 17-year veteran of university fundraising.  At SMU, his oversight covers Development Services, Alumni Relations and Annual Giving, Principal Gifts (college and school fundraising teams), National Major Giving, Planned Giving and Endowment Giving, and Athletics Development.  Prior to joining, SMU, he was Assistant Vice President for Development at the University of Texas at Austin.  He began his career as a marketing and communications consultant in Los Angeles.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brandeis University and a Master of Arts degree from the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California.

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Marianne B. Piepenburg
Assistant Vice President for Planned & Endowment Giving
Southern Methodist University 

Marianne Pipenburg and her team support all the schools and divisions of the university in marketing and closing planned gifts of all types, as well as and building SMU’s endowment resources through effective marketing, solicitation and stewardship of endowment gifts. A graduate of Baylor University and Southern Methodist University School of Law, Marianne focused on probate and estate planning in the private practice of law.  Before joining the SMU staff in 1996, she was Assistant Vice President and Trust Counsel of the Baylor Health Care System Foundation.  She has served as on the Board and as President of the North Texas Chapter of the National Committee on Planned Giving.

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Betheny L. Reid
Executive Director               
Dallas County Community College District Foundation

Betheny L. Reid has more than twenty-seven years of professional experience in marketing communications, public affairs, and development in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors.

Prior to joining the Dallas County Community College District Foundation as executive director in 1997, Ms. Reid served as president of a high-profile business association representing one of the largest economic development districts in the nation. During that tenure, Betheny secured corporate and private sponsorship for five of the six largest events held in North Texas. Betheny also has served as marketing director for a Fortune 1000 company and chief of staff for the presiding elected official of Dallas County.

During her tenure as executive director of the DCCCD Foundation, Betheny has been responsible for doubling the organizations assets, securing the largest gifts in the foundation’s 26 year history and launching the nationally recognized Rising Star Program -- all during her first year. She also serves on the DCCCD Chancellor’s Cabinet.

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Ben Renberg CFRE, M.B.A.
Senior Consultant
Dini Partners

Prior to joining Dini Partners as a consultant in 2004, Ben Renberg served as Associate Vice President for Development at Baylor University where he was part of the leadership team responsible for Baylor’s comprehensive $500 million Campaign for Greatness.  Ben also served as a development officer for Methodist Children’s Home (Waco, Texas) and Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, Texas).  Prior to his work in the nonprofit arena, Ben worked in the oil and gas sector. Ben has provided counsel in all aspects of fundraising and planning to organizations in the areas of higher education, health care, arts and culture, and youth service.   With a strong understanding of the important role higher education plays in society and the hearts of donors, Ben has provided interim leadership for development, major gifts coaching, and campaign counsel in institutions of higher education.

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David Roloff
Director of Alumni Membership
University of Missouri

As Director of Membership & Marketing of the Mizzou Alumni Association David works to understand what drives and motivates alumni-building effective membership and marketing programs to reach them. David has worked for the Mizzou Alumni Association for seven years and as a college-niche marketing specialist for 19 years, gaining experience in student auxiliary services, student media and university publications/alumni communication. His work has received numerous CASE national and regional membership, marketing and design awards. David is President of the Council of Alumni Marketing and Membership Professionals (CAMMP). A Missouri Tiger through and through, David received his BES in Radio/TV/Film and MA in Counseling Psychology from Mizzou.

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James L. (Skip) Rutherford
Dean
University of Arkansas Clinton School

Skip Rutherford of Little Rock is Dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School (UACS).  UACS, which opened in 2005, located on the grounds of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park in Little Rock, Arkansas.  It is the only school in the country offering a Master’s degree in public service.

Prior to joining the Clinton School, Rutherford served as Executive Vice President of Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods (CJRW), one of the region’s largest communications firms.  In addition, he served as Chairman of the Board of the William J. Clinton Foundation from 1997-2006, stepping down from the chairmanship when he accepted the UACS position in May 2006.  He remains a Clinton Foundation board member.  From 1997 until it opened in 2004, Rutherford also supervised the planning for the Clinton Presidential Library.

A 1972 journalism graduate from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, he received the Journalism Department’s first Distinguished Alumnus Award.  He has served as a visiting professor at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas; Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas; the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas; and the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas.

He coordinated the 40th anniversary commemoration of the 1957 crisis at Little Rock Central High School.  He also coordinated the dedication of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, only the third new commercial airport to open in the last 25 years.

He was the first president of the advisory board for the Arkansas School for Mathematics and Science.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Lyon College and a founding member of the Little Rock Central High Museum and Visitor Center Board. He is the founder and organizer of the Political Animals Club, a non-partisan grassroots organization of community leaders and activists who meet regularly to discuss politics and issues.

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Elizabeth Scarborough
President and Partner
Simpson Scarborough

Elizabeth Scarborough is a nationally recognized expert in the use of research to drive marketing and branding efforts. With 15 years of experience conducting market research and providing strategic solutions to colleges and universities, she is an innovative leader in developing marketing intelligence.

Her work has helped colleges and universities reach measurable marketing goals, engage boards, secure new revenue for marketing, establish brand identities and enhance institutional images and reputations. She is chair of the American Marketing Association Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education, the largest and most prestigious conference for marketers in higher education.

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Curt Schafer
Director of Career Services
Texas State University

Curt Schafer has been the Director of Career Services at Texas State University since 1997 and prior to that, he was the Associate Director of Career Services at LSU for ten years.  Curt has served as the Chair of the Future Directors Task Force for the National Association of Colleges and Employers and he was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the Southern Association of Colleges and Employers.  In 2005 he was honored with the Southwest Association of Colleges and Employers President’s Award.

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Rob Shoss
Founding Member
Performance Enhancement Group, Ltd.

Robert D. Shoss is a founding member (1992) of Performance Enhancement Group, Ltd. (PEG), an organizational development consulting firm specializing in measuring customer/alumni satisfaction, market perceptions, and employee/alumni perceptions of organizational support.

In 2001 PEG worked with leading alumni and development executives from universities across the country to develop the first Alumni Attitude Study, which defines key drivers of alumni loyalty and provides the right information to successfully manage communication, programs, and participation issues.  With more than 90 colleges and universities having participated, the Study gives institutions the unique ability to compare their results against a group of peer universities.  For more information visit www.alumniattitudestudy.org

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Julie Simon-Dronet
Director of Public Relations and News Services
University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Julie Simon-Dronet is the Director of Public Relations and News Services at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.  She initiates and manages public relations and marketing programs that increase awareness; promote consistent, positive messages; and build a successful brand for the university.  She is responsible for the oversight of initiatives in areas like print and broadcast media, trademark licensing, and publications.

Julie also serves as the university’s spokesperson and represents UL Lafayette in community organizations such as United Way and the Chamber of Commerce.

Prior to joining the university in 1991, Julie was Director of Marketing for an HCA-owned Psychiatric Hospital.  She also served as a Marketing Consultant for special HCA projects.  Julie’s previous experience also includes working as a Writer/Producer for an advertising agency. She graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a B.A. in English/Journalism, and a minor in Public Relations.

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Beth Smith
Director Alumni Relations
Arkansas State University

Beth Smith was a journalism/public relations graduate at Arkansas State who loves her alma mater.  After graduation, she began here career as a marketing and trust officer in banking, but when asked returned to Arkansas State as the director of Alumni Relations.  Beth and her team keep tabs on the family of more than 55,000 alumni of ASU.  Under her leadership, the alumni program has expanded to include legislative advocacy, recruitment of students and raising the profile of ASU.  The loyalty of her alumni paid off, when the construction of an Alumni Center was completed on the Jonesboro campus.

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Bob Steel
Host
First News

Bob Steel, an Arkansas broadcasting legend, hosts First News on KARN, 920 AM, in Little Rock. He is a veteran television news director with 16 years in news management and almost 30 years experience as a broadcast journalist in the Little Rock market. Bob owns and operates a public relations firm where he does media, presentation, and crisis communication skills training along with event management.

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Beck A. Taylor, Ph.D.
Dean, Brock School of Business
Samford University

Dr. Beck A. Taylor is Dean and Professor of Economics for the Brock School of Business at Samford University.  He joined Samford University in August 2005.  In his previous post, Dr. Taylor was Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and The W.H. Smith Professor of Economics for the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University in Waco, TX. After earning his undergraduate degree from Baylor in 1992, cum laude, with majors in economics and finance, Dr. Taylor was employed as an economic and financial analyst for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in Houston, TX.  Dr. Taylor then went on to earn the M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.

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Katie Wesner
Assistant Director of Student Services for
Northwestern University Alumni Association

Katie Wesner is the Assistant Director of Student Services for Northwestern University Alumni Association in Evanston, Illinois.  She is responsible for planning and implementing events and programs targeted to the undergraduate students on campus.  She advises the student run Homecoming committee as well as the Northwestern Class Alliance, a student group whose mission is to create campus activity, class identity, and strengthen the alumni/student relationship.

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Susan J. Wommack
Gift Planning Legal Counsel
Baylor University

Susan J. Wommack currently serves as gift planning legal counsel for Baylor University in Waco, Texas.  Prior to her employment with Baylor University, Susan was in the private practice of law as a litigator.  Susan is a member of the McLennan County Bar Association, the National Committee on Planned Giving, and the Heart of Texas Estate Planning Council.  She serves on the Midway ISD Education Foundation Board and is past president of the Texas Baptist Development Officers Association. Susan received a B.A. from the University of Texas and a J.D. from Baylor University School of Law.

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Darrow Zeidenstein
Vice President for Resource Development
Rice University

Darrow Zeidenstein oversees all fundraising programs, alumni affairs, capital campaign strategy and fundraising analysis at Rice University.  He also serves as Counsel with the philanthropic consulting firm of Marts and Lundy, where he once served as Managing Director.  Before joining Marts and Lundy, Darrow was the Executive Director for Strategic Planning and Marketing Strategy at the University of Texas at Austin.  Prior to his time with the University of Texas, Darrow was Director of Planned Giving and Director of Research and Systems for the Stern School of Business at New York University.  Darrow has earned a Ph.D. in economic anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin, and completed his undergraduate degree in social anthropology at the University of Illinois.

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