The University of Vermont Foundation has announced five new hires, two promotions, and one retirement of a long-time employee.
Benjamin Kennedy has been hired as donor stewardship assistant. Ben will graduate from UVM in May with a B.S. in early childhood special education and will begin work toward an M.Ed. in educational leadership. He has been involved in numerous volunteer and extracurricular activities most recently as director of operations for UVM Program Board, lead resident advisor for Residence Life, and social media and marketing coordinator for the LGBTQA Center.
Kathryn Meader has been hired as development assistant. In this role, she provides support for several college/school fundraisers. Kathryn is a recent graduate of the University of Vermont with a bachelor of arts degree in history and religion and was the recipient of a University of Vermont Presidential Scholarship. During her time at UVM, she has worked as an office assistant in the Religion Department and a gallery proctor at the Fleming Museum.
Mark Ray has been hired as executive director of communications. Mark spent the last 21 years in various roles with the Burlington marketing agency KSV, the last six as director of public relations. Mark is a Middlebury College graduate and served on its alumni association national board. After graduation he spent several years as an account executive at three of New York’s largest global public relations firms. Mark brings more than 25 years of communications, public relations and marketing expertise to this role. An active community volunteer, he currently serves on the board of directors of Make-A-Wish Vermont and is a member of the University of Vermont College of Medicine's Cardiovascular Research Institute of Vermont's Cardiovascular Leadership Council. He also is the co-founder of an annual bike ride in memory of his father. Now in its 16th year, the ride has raised more than $150,000 for heart disease research and education.
Lisa Townson has been hired as associate director of foundation relations in Corporate and Foundation Relations. In this role, her primary focus is on the cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of foundation prospects. Lisa has nearly 25 years of higher education experience at multiple universities. She has worked in various capacities in academic engagement, outreach programs, and extension programs. Since 1998 she has been at the University of New Hampshire and most recently served as assistant director for engagement and external affairs for its cooperative extension program. She has extensive experience in writing grant proposals and working with diverse internal and external university constituencies. She has a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of New Hampshire and bachelor's and master’s degrees from Michigan State University.
Alexa Woodward has been hired as director of corporate and foundation relations. In this role she oversees corporate and foundation major gift work to benefit the research and academic priorities of UVM. Alexa comes to the UVM Foundation from Clemson University, where she served since 2011 as director of program development for its Economic Development Division. In this role she was responsible for securing support totaling $27 million from corporate, federal and foundation entities. She partnered with Clemson University leadership, including the president and provost, to build key relationships with funding organizations and coordinated development and execution of economic development programs. She also has experience in strategic planning and led planning and implementation for Clemson's Economic Development Division. Alexa earned a B.A. in literature and culture studies from Gordon College in Wenham, Mass., and received her Juris Doctor from the City University of New York Law School.
Meredyth Armitage was promoted from director of major gifts to senior director of major gifts in the College of Medicine. Meredyth came to the UVM Foundation in 2013, having previously worked as major gift officer at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, part of the Partners Health Network in Boston. She is primarily responsible for major gift fundraising to benefit strategic priorities of the College of Medicine. As a member of the broader Academic Health Sciences team, she also works closely with the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and its research institute to build philanthropic support from grateful patients and the community. Meredyth earned a B.A. from St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.
Donna Burke was promoted from senior development coordinator to assistant director of gift planning. Donna will serve a critical role in helping build and grow the UVM Foundation’s gift planning program. She will focus on the cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of planned giving donors and assist in the management of the gift planning program. Since joining the development and alumni relations office in 2009, and then the UVM Foundation in 2011, Donna has been a valuable contributor to the development team supporting a variety of projects and programs. Over the last three years she has taken on a greater role in supporting the gift planning program, working directly with donors on their planned gifts. For her commitment to the values of the Foundation, her contributions to the organization and the high level of professionalism she consistently exhibits, she received the Foundation’s PRIDE award in 2015. Donna is a 2001 graduate of UVM's Grossman School of Business.
Joan Cook has retired after 32 years of combined dedicated service to UVM, 28 of which were with Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) and the UVM Foundation. Over the course of her career Joan served in many capacities at UVM. Her first four years were spent working in the College of Arts and Sciences dean’s office. In May of 1988 she began working for DAR as the national screening program manager for UVM's first comprehensive fundraising campaign, later went on to be events coordinator, and then worked in the annual fund in reunion giving. Beginning in 2001 she was a major gift officer working in the Honors College, then the College of Arts and Sciences, and most recently as a senior major gift officer with the UVM Foundation. During her decades in DAR, and over the last four years with the Foundation, Joan built strong relationships with many alumni and cultivated their involvement with the university. Joan has a deep personal commitment to UVM and the Burlington community with many family ties to both. She was a student at UVM, and her husband and daughter are both UVM graduates. Her authentic and passionate representation of UVM in her work led to significant philanthropic investment in the University.
About The University of Vermont Foundation
The University of Vermont Foundation is a nonprofit corporation established to secure and manage private support for the benefit of the University of Vermont.
The Foundation is currently engaged a comprehensive campaign whose goal is to support new opportunities for research, academic success, and learning beyond the classroom. Move Mountains: The Campaign for The University of Vermont seeks to raise $500 million in private support and assert UVM's position as one of the nation's best public research universities.
The Foundation was named by Vermont Business Magazine and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce as one of Vermont's "Best Places to Work" for 2016. This statewide awards program was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Vermont, benefiting the state's economy, its workforce and businesses.
For further information about giving to UVM, contact the University of Vermont Foundation, 411 Grasse Mount, Burlington VT 05401; 802-656-2010, www.uvmfoundation.org, email foundation@uvm.edu.