Vice President of Advancement
Family:
My wife, Wendy, and I will celebrate 18 years of marriage in July. We have three children – Katie (13), Joey (9) and Clare (5). Both Wendy and I grew up in the Ft. Lauderdale area, and our families are still in Florida. My parents and brother remain in Ft. Lauderdale, Wendy’s parents are in New Port Richey, and her brother is in the Orlando area.
Career:
I was fortunate to have an opportunity to begin my career while in my junior year of college at Florida International University. For several years prior, I was a correspondent and then gameday ops assistant for the Miami Fusion of Major League Soccer. In 2001, the club offered me its media relations coordinator position, and it was an absolute dream to work with a professional soccer team. That experience and the network that I began to build provided further opportunity following the contraction of the club in January 2002 and completion of my bachelor’s degree in communications in 2003. I began working in college athletics as a sports information professional, first at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale and then as an administrator at Saint Leo University, north of Tampa. Following a two-year stint as a high school athletic director, my career took a turn toward alumni engagement and fundraising. I returned to Saint Leo as director of alumni relations, and after six years made the move to Owensboro and Kentucky Wesleyan College.
Responsibilities as vice president of advancement:
I have the privilege of being a member of the president’s cabinet and working alongside a dedicated team of individuals who make the dream of a KWC experience reality. Our division consists of alumni and external relations, development, advancement services and the institution’s grants office. We engage alumni and friends of the College, tell their stories and share their amazing successes. In doing so, we also have the responsibility of seeking financial support for scholarships, operations and special projects to support our College mission. Our team produces communications, coordinates media relations, manages the alumni and donor database, hosts engagement events for alumni and friends, secures financial investments and appropriately stewards those generous investors.
Our team loves our awesome opportunity to share stories of our KWC family.
What is most challenging about your job?
The biggest challenge is trying to share all the amazing things our students, alumni and friends of the College are doing. The history of Kentucky Wesleyan College is so rich and that tradition is what inspires us to help make sure the institution continues for generations to come. We often say we are simply stewards of the institution and want to leave it better than we found it. Thankfully, we have such a great community, with leadership from the board of trustees through our cabinet, and in the entire KWC family – all of whom believe in the mission we serve. As a result, those “challenges” are truly opportunities.
What do you find most rewarding about your responsibilities?
Seeing the impact that giving back has – not only on the institution and students who benefit, but also for those who are making the investment.
What are highlights of your time at KWC?
We have truly been blessed to work together as a College community to achieve tremendous successes in the last six years, building on the foundation laid by so many who have served the College long before us. Our engagement of alumni and friends has steadily increased in terms of the number of events, programs such as the Panther Career Ally Program, and ultimately in the total investment by donors who understand and fully support our vision. These successes are an affirmation of the transformational educational experience we provide.
What does The Wesleyan Way mean to you?
I was asked this shortly after my arrival at KWC in 2016, and the same holds true to this day. The four principles embodied in The Wesleyan Way are exactly what I strive to achieve in my own personal and professional life. They are the foundation of what we do and who we are at Kentucky Wesleyan. These principles are also a constant reminder of what we do and how we operate as an advancement team; in our work across campus, in the community and with our alumni, friends and families.