Presenters' Bios
Growing Giving: Securing Private Support
for Your Community College
November 7-9, 2007
Shingle Creek Golf Resort
Orlando, Florida
Brenda Babitz
Brenda Babitz, author of the book Growing Giving: A Guide to Securing Private Support for Your Community College, serves as president of the Monroe Community College Foundation and chief advancement officer for Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York. During her 17-year tenure at MCC, the foundation has engineered a multifaceted advancement program—focused on leadership development, corporate partnerships, and alumni giving—that has raised more than $39 million in support of college initiatives.
Babitz has authored numerous articles on fundraising and has received many awards for her work in development, community education, and public relations. A graduate of the State University of New York College at Brockport, Babitz pursued graduate studies at Nazareth College and earned a certificate in nonprofit management from Harvard University's Graduate School of Business Administration.
Building on her experiences as a development and public relations professional, she is a frequent consultant and guest lecturer, specializing in working with nonprofits to enhance productivity and effectiveness and address roles and responsibilities. Before coming to MCC, she was director of development and community affairs at the University of Rochester Medical Center. As a member of the State University of New York's Chief Advancement Officers Executive Group, Babitz works to develop fundraising plans, policies, and procedures throughout the 64-campus system. She also serves on the board of the Rochester Rotary Club, the Holocaust Genocide Studies Project, and the New York State Division for Women, and she is a member of CASE's Philanthropic Commission.
Rita Bornstein
Dr. Rita Bornstein, immediate past chair of the CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) board of directors, served as 13th president of Rollins College from 1990 to 2004, the first woman to hold that office. In 2001, she was named to the George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Chair of Distinguished Presidential Leadership when Rollins received a $10-million gift for the first endowment of a college presidency in the nation. At the conclusion of her 14-year presidency, she was named President Emerita and appointed to the George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Chair of Philanthropy and Leadership Development.
President Bornstein oversaw Rollins' most ambitious fundraising effort. Widely considered to have transformed the College, The Campaign For Rollins secured $160.2 million, providing support for academic programs, scholarships, faculty chairs, and facilities, and significantly strengthening the College's financial health. Thanks to the generosity of donors, including the largest gift in Rollins' history—alumnus George Cornell's $93.3-million bequest, and astute financial management, the College's endowment more than quintupled during Bornstein's presidency.
A recognized leader in higher education, Dr. Bornstein regularly consults on issues of leadership, governance, and fundraising in the nonprofit sector. She is also the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters and two books, including Legitimacy in the Academic Presidency: From Entrance to Exit, published in 2003.
Shauna A. S. Chabot
Shauna A.S. Chabot, MBA, CRFE, has been in the development and marketing fields for over 20 years, first as a staff member and now as a consultant. Chabot has held key positions at major institutions in Toronto, New York City and Washington, DC.
Prior to becoming a development consultant, Chabot was most recently the Senior Vice President of Development at the National Alliance of Business in Washington, DC. In this position, she developed strategies to engage high-level corporate executives in the work of K-12 education reform across the country. In addition, she worked closely with the board of directors who included national CEOs and senior corporate leadership. Prior to this, Chabot held the position of Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business. In this role, she developed high-level corporate strategies and partnership opportunities to raise money and to heighten the School's image amongst national and international organizations seeking to recruit the schools students and graduates. From 1995-1998, Chabot held the position of Director of Corporate Relations & Special Events at the South Street Seaport Museum, a major NY history museum in Lower Manhattan. Whether at the local or national level, Chabot has substantial experience in developing winning strategies for increased corporate giving and innovative marketing partnerships.
Since joining Brakeley Briscoe in 2003, Chabot has worked with local, regional and national organizations on development strategy, and major gift and capital campaigns. Some of her most recent clients include: Annapolis Maritime Museum, The Brookings Institution, Fannie Mae Foundation, Homes for Working Families, National Science Teachers Association, International Life Sciences Institute, Maryland Business Roundtable for Education, Planned Parenthood of Maryland and the Journalism Fellowships Program in Child & Family Policy at the University of Maryland.
Cabot is a graduate of the University of Toronto, and holds an MBA degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. In addition, she holds the Certified Fundraising Executive designation from CFRE International.
Arunas A. Chesonis
Arunas A. Chesonis serves as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of PAETEC Holding Corp., and is responsible for the vision, leadership, and direction of the company.
Under the watch of Mr. Chesonis, PAETEC has achieved remarkable growth. Within five years of founding PAETEC in May 1998, Chesonis led the company to achieve the number two ranking in the 2003 Deloitte Fast 500 list of the fastest-growing public and private technology companies in North America. In 2001, he was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In 2006, Chesonis received the Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award by the College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology.
This growth has not come at the expense of doing business the right way, as shown by PAETEC receiving the national 2005 American Business Ethics Award sponsored by the Society for Financial Service Professionals.
Chesonis began his career at Rochester Telephone Corporation, now part of Citizens Communications Company. He went on to serve as President of ACC Corp., until it was purchased by TCG/ATT in 1998.
Chesonis holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MBA from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester, and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Rochester. He is Chairman of the Director's Council for the Earth System Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and serves as trustee at the Harley School, Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Rochester.
Kevin Drumm
Dr. Kevin Drumm has been president of the Northern Wyoming Community College District since August 2004. The district comprises two colleges—Sheridan and Gillette Colleges—serving a three-county area in north central Wyoming. During his tenure the district has grown to enroll over 4000 students annually and has grown its budget from $24 million to a $32 million annual operating budget with 230 full-time staff and faculty. Full-time faculty positions have increased by nearly 20%, enrollment by 10% and foundation assets by well over 100% from $9 million to nearly $23 million and over 100,000 square feet of new facilities are currently under construction with another 40,000 in the engineering phase.
Prior to becoming president of NWCCD Drumm was for six years Vice President for Enrollment/Student & Public Affairs at Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, MA. STCC enrolled 6500 students and had an operating budget of approximately $50 million. Before arriving at STCC, Drumm held a variety of student services and academic affairs positions at community colleges, universities, and private colleges, ranging from Student Life Director and Assistant Academic Dean for Distance Learning to Vice President for Student Affairs at a community college in New Hampshire.
Drumm has taught throughout his career and is also a graduate of the first AACC FLI. He was educated at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, MA and both Boston and New York Universities. His Ph.D. is in Organizational Studies and Higher Education Administration from NYU, with an emphasis in community college leadership.
Thomas Flynn
Thomas Flynn is Monroe Community College's fourth President and longest serving college officer. As such, he leads a multi-campus college that enrolls more than 36,000 students each year.
Prior to his presidential appointment in November 1999, Mr. Flynn served as vice president, Student/Administrative Services and chief financial officer (1994-99) and vice president, Student Affairs (1974-94), bringing his MCC tenure to more than 30 years.
President Flynn serves on numerous state and national committees and boards, including: president of the Board of Directors, League for Innovation in the Community College; Board of Directors for the Institute for Community College Development (ICCD); Chair of the National Advisory Council of the American Student Association of Community Colleges (ASACC); Board of Directors, Community College National Center for Community Engagement (CCNCCE); and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Ad Hoc Task Force on Homeland Security. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the National Council on Student Development (NCSD) and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), and he continues to serve as a consultant to two-year and four-year colleges/universities in areas of institutional management and student development programs and services.
Additionally, President Flynn is an adjunct professor in the Educational Foundation Department at Buffalo State College.
President Flynn holds a master's degree from the University of Montana and a bachelor's degree from MacMurray College, Jacksonville. He pursued doctoral studies at Rutgers University and has an honorary doctorate of letters from Roberts Wesleyan College, Rochester, New York.
Garry E. Malone
Garry E. Malone was named Assistant Vice President for Philanthropy and Alumni Affairs at the Research Foundation of the State University of New York in March of 2003. He works with the campuses to evolve more effective planned giving marketing programs and help direct a comprehensive development program to promote philanthropic giving from alumni and friends of the SUNY system.
Prior to joining the Research Foundation, Malone served as regional vice president of a national planned giving marketing company. His twenty-eight year career spans healthcare, education, performing arts, museums, and foundations, where he initiated a diverse client base to advance existing planned giving marketing programs. His clients have included many of the SUNY campuses, and he has been effective in service to the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the University of Massachusetts System, the Association of Graduates of the United State Military Academy, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Yale-New Haven Medical Center, and numerous other prestigious organizations.
Specializing in planned giving development and marketing, Malone has been a speaker at planned giving councils, workshops, health care organizations, and fund raising professional association meetings throughout the Northeast. He has served in an active leadership capacity in various fund raising professional associations and has received state and national awards for his leadership and work with the regional and National Association of Life Underwriters.
Ann McGee
Dr. E. Ann McGee has been president of Seminole Community College, located just north of Orlando, since 1996. SCC enrolls approximately 30,000 students annually in programs that range from adult basic education to workforce education to transfer studies.
McGee currently serves as trustee of the CASE board, as a charter trustee for Florida State University, and is on various other local, regional and national boards. She began her career as a faculty member, teaching Speech and English, at Florida Keys Community College in Key West, FL. She then served as Dean of Students at FKCC; Provost for Broward Community College’s South Campus in Hollywood, FL; Vice President for Development and Executive Director of the BCC Foundation in Ft. Lauderdale, FL; and then President of Seminole Community College in Sanford, FL.
Recently, she was honored by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) with the 2006 Marie Y. Martin Award recognizing her as the top CEO in the nation. Phi Theta Kappa honored her in 2005 with the Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction; and the Seminole Chamber of Commerce honored her in 2004 with the "Lifetime Achievement Award" for making a difference in the quality of life in Seminole County.
McGee has a passion for community colleges which extends back to her enrollment at St. Petersburg Junior College when she was 16. She is a graduate of St. Petersburg Junior College, Florida State University and Nova Southeastern University.
Mark David Milliron
Dr. Mark David Milliron is an award-winning education leader, author, speaker, and consultant known for exploring leadership development, future trends, learning strategies, and the human side of technology change. Milliron works with K-12 schools, community colleges, universities, corporations, associations, community groups, and government agencies across the country and around the world. He serves as President and CEO of the private consulting and service group, Catalyze Learning International (CLI). He also sits on numerous education, nonprofit, and corporate boards, including serving as Chair of the Board for the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education and as a Trustee for Western Governors University. In addition, he is a guest lecturer at educational institutions nationally and internationally and author and moderator of the Catalytic Conversations Blog.
Milliron brings to this work broad experience, having previously served as an Endowed Fellow, Senior Lecturer, and Director of the National Institute of Staff and Organizational Development in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin; Vice President for Education and Medical Practice with SAS, the world's largest private software company; President and CEO of the League for Innovation, an international association of more than 850 education institutions and 160 corporate partners; and as Vice President for Academic and Student Services at Mayland Community College (NC).
While teaching at Arizona State, Milliron received the International Communication Association’s Teaching Excellence Award. More recently, the University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education honored Milliron as a Distinguished Graduate for his service to the education field. He was also named one of the top Shapers of the Future by Converge Magazine in August 2000. In 2005, PBS Adult Learning Service named Milliron the recipient of its annual O'Banion Prize for transformational work in support of teaching and learning. And in 2007, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) presented Milliron with its National Leadership Award for his outstanding accomplishments, contributions, and leadership.
Doug White
Doug White is a national leader in the philanthropic community. Since 1979 he has consulted on planned and major giving and on organizational development with charities of all types and sizes.
In addition to his consulting work, White is an adjunct instructor in ethics and fundraising at New York University.
A graduate of Dartmouth College, White is the author of the books Charity on Trial: What You Need to Know Before You Give (2007, Barricade Books), and The Art of Planned Giving: Understanding Donors and the Culture of Giving (1996, John Wiley & Sons), which was awarded the 1996 Staley/Robeson/Ryan/St. Lawrence Prize for Research by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He has written several articles for a variety of magazines and periodicals, including Trusts and Estates, the Journal of Gift Planning, Charitable Gift Planning News, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
White has served in leading roles with two national planned gift and endowment investment firms, and, in addition to his other general consulting at charities, has helped develop gift acceptance and investment policies. He also has worked as the development director at Holderness School (NH) and has served as a trustee at several charities. For almost two decades (1982 – 2000) he served on the Capital Giving Committee at Phillips Exeter Academy and as its national chair for several years during that time. As a long-term consultant to Blackbaud, Inc. in the 1980s and 1990s, he also developed one of the first planned giving software programs.
White is a past member of the Board of Directors of the National Committee on Planned Giving. During his tenure at NCPG he founded the national initiative of Leave A Legacy. He is also a past chair of the NCPG Ethics Committee and the 1995 NCPG National Conference. He is a past president of the Planned Giving Group of New England and a past president of the New Hampshire/Vermont chapter of AFP. In 2002 the National Capital Gift Planning Council (Washington, DC) presented White with its “Distinguished Service Award.” Today he chairs that council’s Ethics Committee.
In 1995 White testified before a Congressional committee in support of the Philanthropy Protection Act, and served as an expert witness for the charitable defendants in a national lawsuit that threatened the way charities raise money.
Since 1981 he has spoken at over 700 conferences on philanthropy, including the Association for Fundraising Professionals, The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, the National Committee on Planned Giving, the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, United Jewish Communities, and dozens of local professional organizations and planned giving councils, as well as many audiences sponsored by local charities and other groups.
Sponsored in part by
Program
Accommodations
Register for "Growing Giving"
To Sponsor and Exhibit at this Program
If your organization would like to sponsor and exhibit at "Growing Giving," download the following pdf's for more information:
An Invitation to Sponsor and Exhibit
Sponsor and Exhibit Registration Form
"Growing Giving" is a Resource Development program,
part of Gravitational Leadership.
For more information, contact Barbara Viniar, Executive Director, by email or at (607) 255-7758.
Register
