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Rollins College
Winter Park, Florida
Assistant Director of Development Operations & Strategic Initiatives
Laurie Houck, vice president for institutional advancement at Rollins College, recently appointed Kelly Travis to serve as the school’s assistant vice president for advancement services and strategic operations. A highly regarded advancement services professional, Travis has over 17 years of experience developing programs, improving processes, and creating high-functioning teams and departments that contribute to the effectiveness of development operations. She was recruited to the role from the University of Central Florida Foundation (UCF) where she most recently served as senior director of records and gifts. During her 15-year tenure at UCF, Travis managed and processed information for a 1.4 million record database and managed various aspects of a CRM conversion. Earlier roles at the foundation focused on engagement of alumni in advocacy efforts on behalf of the university with elected and appointed state officials. Concurrent to these positions, Travis also served as chair of a gift acceptance policy committee and an advancement technology and operations governance committee.
Prior to the start of her tenure at UCF and following her graduation from the university, Travis worked as a staff assistant with Freedom Alliance in Washington, DC.
Travis is an active member of AASP, where she serves as the current chair of the Aspire Awards Committee and past chair of committees focused on membership and mentorship. In addition, she currently serves as a cabinet member for CASE District III and is co-chair of 2025 conference planning committee. Travis has presented at conferences for both professional associations.
Travis received a Bachelor of Science degree in political science, a master’s degree in nonprofit management, and a graduate certificate in fundraising, all from the University of Central Florida.
Cambridge Center for Adult Education
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Director of Development
Linda Burton, executive director of the Cambridge Center for Adult Education (CCAE), recently appointed Steven Kumins as CCAE’s director of development. In this capacity, Kumins will lead efforts to broaden and strengthen the center’s outreach efforts and provide philanthropic support that is sustainable and impactful. CCAE, founded in 1870 and located in the heart of Harvard Square, is one of the oldest adult learning centers in the country and offers more than 2,000 innovative classes each year.
A trained attorney with tenures at the law firms then known as Hale & Dorr and Edwards & Angell, Kumins transitioned into the field of development and assumed roles at community-based organizations. His first position was as director of development for WaterFire Providence, which organizes a series of prominent public art installations and events in the city. Kumins was then named the executive director of Pawtucket Armory Association, which sought to transform the city’s facility into an arts center. In 2009, he was appointed development director of the Providence Community Library, the nonprofit newly created to operate the city’s branch library system. After nine years in the role, Kumins became director of advancement at Bridges Homeward, a social service agency that serves families with children with developmental disabilities as well as children and families involved in the foster care system.
Kumins earned a BA from Brown University and a JD from Northeastern University School of Law.
Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts
Assistant Director of Foundation Relations
Tristan Barako, associate vice president of foundation relations at Boston University (BU), recently recruited Susan Sheng to the position of assistant director of foundation relations. In this role, Sheng will support the science departments within BU’s College of Arts & Sciences. A trained neuroscientist, Sheng joins BU from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) where she served as a science writer for the Division of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine. In this role, she supported physician-scientists with the preparation of grant proposals, primarily from the National Institutes of Health. Sheng also built and maintained websites for the Medoff Laboratory, which studies the mechanisms of lung injury, inflammation, and fibrosis, and, through the MGH Center for Faculty Development, provided editorial support to junior faculty members. During the pandemic, she and her colleagues launched FLARE to share information on COVID’s impact on the care and treatment of patients with respiratory disease.
Sheng earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in biology, with a concentration on neurobiology, from the University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD in neuroscience and physiology from New York University. While in graduate school, Sheng was a staff writer for a graduate student-run newsletter focused on science and medicine; volunteered with BraiNY, an organization that seeks to raise awareness of and make brain science more accessible to the broader community. She also contributed to articles that appeared in scholarly publications.
Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn, New York
Associate Dean for Career and Professional Development
Last summer, SSP had an opportunity to assist Liz Vago, founder of Liz Vago Talent Strategy and Recruitment, in her search for an associate dean for career and professional development at Brooklyn Law School. Heather Spielmaker was selected for the role from a competitive pool of candidates. She started her position in November 2023. Spielmaker began her career in law school administration in 2005 and previously led pro bono and professional development programming before leading career services offices in West Virginia, Kansas, and Arizona. She is a member of the National Association of Law Placement (NALP) ABA Employment Protocols Advisory Committee and co-chair of the NALP Experienced Professionals section. As a first-generation college graduate and non-traditional student who completed law school as a single, working mother, Spielmaker strives to support students wherever they are in their academic and professional journeys.
Health Law Advocates
Boston, Massachusetts
Staff Attorneys (Springfield & Lawrence)
Matt Selig, executive director, and Marisol Garcia, deputy director, of Health Law Advocates, recently appointed Stephanie Ozahowski and Amanda Stutman to serve as staff attorneys for the organization’s Mental Health Advocacy Program for Kids (MHAP for Kids) initiative. MHAP for Kids attorneys work out of family resource centers across Massachusetts and advocate for children in school, court, and mental health systems to ensure that their mental health needs are met, and their legal rights are protected. Ozahowski will serve children primarily in Essex County while Stutman will operate from the Gandara Family Resource Center in Springfield and serve children in Hampden County.
Please click on the button below to review the hire announcements for Stephanie and Amanda.
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
New York, New York
Executive Director, Individual Giving
Director, Planned Giving
Director, Corporate Giving
Claude Johnson, chief development officer at NAACP LDF, recently appointed Gary Whidbee to serve as executive director, individual giving, and Katie Pooser to the role of director, planned giving. Laura Fino, executive director of institutional giving, named Rosalind “Rosy” George, to the position of director, corporate giving. Please click on the button below to review the hire announcement for each new team member.
Since 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Inc. has played a critical role in the fight for civil rights and racial justice in the United States. LDF’s litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education programs in the areas of criminal justice, economic justice, education, and political participation seek to ensure the fundamental and basic human rights of all people to quality education, economic opportunity, the right to vote and fully participate in democracy, and the right to a fair and just judicial system.
Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee
Quincy, Massachusetts
Litigating Attorneys
Phil Kassel, executive director of Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee (MHLAC), appointed M. Claire Masinton to serve as a litigating attorney for the organization. She will work with Kassel and other MHLAC attorneys on impact litigation efforts undertaken to protect, defend, and ensure the rights of individuals with mental health concerns. Kassel and Sarah Yousuf, MHLAC senior supervising attorney, led the search. Please click the button below for a profile on Claire.
Colorado College
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Associate Vice President for Development
Mary Ann Graffeo, vice president for advancement, appointed Warren Lloyd to serve as associate vice president for development at Colorado College (CC). In this role, Lloyd will report to Mary Ann and serve on her leadership team. His areas of oversight include major gifts, planned giving, and corporate and foundation relations. Lloyd started his role on November 29, 2022.
Prior to assuming his position at Colorado College, Lloyd served as executive director of advancement for Student Life and for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University at Buffalo. The areas he supported are among the largest and most diverse within the university. The Office of Student Life has nine areas of focus and covers the entire university. The College has 30 departments, 13 centers, 11 institutes, and four art galleries. During his tenure at Buffalo, Lloyd and his team broke annual fundraising records.
Lloyd began his advancement career as a development associate at the University at Buffalo in 2008. He was subsequently promoted to an assistant, then later, associate director of development for the College of Arts & Sciences. In addition to managing a portfolio of major gift prospects, Lloyd rebranded, managed, and grew the College’s leadership annual giving society; helped expand the Dean’s Advisory Council; and served as the liaison to the associate dean of undergraduate education.
Between Lloyd’s two stints at the university, he held senior development roles at the Behrend College at the Pennsylvania State University Erie campus, the University of Rochester, and the Ringling College of Art and Design.
A trained and practicing artist, Lloyd received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting from the Pratt Institute; a Master of Art degree in English from the University at Buffalo; and a Master of Fine Arts degree in new forms and aesthetic theory from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Colorado College
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Associate Vice President for Engagement
Mary Ann Graffeo, vice president for advancement, appointed Cynthia Hyman to serve as associate vice president for engagement at Colorado College (CC). A graduate of Colorado College, Hyman is a strong advocate for CC and speaks eloquently and passionately about the positive impact her education and student experience has had on her life as both an undergraduate and alumna of the school. As a freshman, she visited the admissions office to volunteer as a tour guide for prospective students. Hyman continued in this role throughout her four years at CC and has been an advocate for the college ever since.
Hyman most recently served as director of alumni career and professional development (CPD) at the University of Denver (DU). She has been in Alumni Career Programs at DU since 2009. Under Hyman’s direction, the office has offered over 40 programs annually, including webinars, a networking platform, a library of virtual resources and vendor-provided career fairs and workshops. CPD attracts, on average, 4,400 program participants each year.
In addition to her duties in career services at DU, Hyman also managed several regional alumni chapters and participated in the planning and execution of numerous university-wide events, including: Homecoming, Parents Weekend, Orientation, 50th Reunion, Founder’s Day, and key athletic events.
Hyman helped design the diversity, equity, and inclusion plan for CPD and developed programs that serve recent graduates, women, and the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities.
Prior to entering into career development and alumni engagement, Hyman was a litigating attorney and served as an internal recruiter for two Colorado law firms. Between stints at law firms, Hyman was manager of student affairs at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law.
Hyman has been actively engaged and held numerous volunteer roles, including president, in the Alumni Career Services Network.
Hyman holds a BA in English from Colorado College and a JD from the University of Colorado School of Law.
Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts
Executive Director, Alumni Engagement
Erika Jordan, Boston University (BU) vice president, alumni engagement, selected Danielle Reddy to serve as executive director, alumni engagement. In this role, Danielle will oversee the growth and development of regional engagement programs and affinity networks at BU. In partnership with her colleagues, she will foster relationships between alumni and strengthen their ties with the university, its faculty, and students.
Danielle comes to BU from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she served, most recently, as director, communities. From 2015 to 2021, she held the role of director, student/alumni relations, and from June 2019 to February 2020, served as interim co-executive director, alumni relations, at the Institute. During her tenure at MIT, Danielle and her team created opportunities for undergraduate and graduate alumni to connect in new and meaningful ways with one another, to their departments, and to undergraduate and graduate programs that defined their experience as students and whose missions are important to them as alumni. Danielle worked at MIT earlier in her career, from 2008 to 2010, when she held senior leadership roles with the annual fund, including director, class giving.
Prior to her most recent tenure at MIT, Danielle served as director of annual and leadership giving at her alma mater, Emerson College. In this role, she launched a crowdfunding platform, created the college’s first-ever reunion giving program, and managed a rebranding of the leadership giving societies.
Earlier in her career, Danielle oversaw annual giving and alumni relations at Ursuline Academy and held development positions at the National Down Syndrome Society in New York City and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Danielle received an undergraduate degree in communications, management, and public policy, from Emerson College and a law degree from Suffolk University. She is an active member of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the MIT Women’s League. Danielle held various volunteer roles with the Emerson College Alumni Board of Directors, including chair of the development committee. She also served as a member the college’s Graduates of the Last Decade Association.
Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, New Jersey
Assistant Vice President for Annual Giving & Alumni Engagement
Megan Stevens has been named assistant vice president of annual giving and alumni engagement at the Stevens Institute of Technology and executive director of the Stevens Alumni Association. Her first day at Stevens will be on January 18, 2022.
Megan joins Stevens from Lehigh University where she served as senior director, regional and affinity programs. In this role, Megan formulated strategies for engaging the university’s 85,000 alumni across the United States and around the world through Lehigh-centric events, identity-based affinity groups, faculty engagement opportunities, and the Alumni Travel Program. She also contributed to efforts to reach alumni engagement goals for the university’s $1B campaign. Megan joined Lehigh in 2013.
Previously, Megan served as assistant executive director of the Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society, which recognizes college seniors for distinguished ability and achievement in scholarship, leadership, and service. In this role, she coordinated chapter initiatives; selected, supervised, and trained volunteers; and planned and executed the annual conference.
Megan began her career as a career advisor for the Ohio State University (OSU) College of Engineering.
Megan earned Bachelor of Arts degree in history and a Master of Arts degree in higher education and student affairs, both from OSU.
Health Law Advocates, Boston, Massachusetts
Staff Attorneys (Pittsfield & Hyannis)
Mental Health Advocacy Program for Kids
Matt Selig, executive director, and Marisol Garcia, senior director and managing attorney, of Health Law Advocates recently appointed Mark Koch and Caitlin Reed to serve as staff attorneys for the organization’s Mental Health Advocacy Program for Kids (MHAP for Kids) initiative. Mark will operate out of the Continuity Family Resource Center in Hyannis and serve clients on Cape Cod and the islands. Caitlin will work from the 18 Degrees Family Resource Center in Pittsfield and serve clients in Berkshire, Franklin, and Hampshire counties. Click the button below for background on Mark and Caitlin.
MHAP for Kids improves the health and increases the educational success of children with unmet mental health needs and at risk for possible or further court involvement, by advocating to improve access to needed mental health services. Central to this program are the staff attorneys who are embedded in Family Resources Centers across the state and represent children and work with their families to ascertain what support the child needs. The attorney then engages various state and local agencies to ensure that the child receives appropriate and needed care.
Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee
Boston, Massachusetts
Senior Supervising Attorney
Phil Kassel, executive director of Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee (MHLAC), recently appointed Sarah Yousuf to serve as the organization’s senior supervising attorney. In this role, Sarah will report to Phillip Kassel, work with advocate teams pursuing cases and projects, and help supervise attorneys and paralegals engaged in impact advocacy efforts. Click on the button below for background information on Sarah.
MHLAC is a state agency of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Created by the legislature in 1973, it offers free legal assistance to indigent people with mental health challenges throughout the Commonwealth.