When I launched Solmonese Search Partners, I held listening sessions with former colleagues, placements and clients; thought leaders in their fields; and other helpful sources and contacts in my network. So many people willingly answered my questions about their experiences in the search process. They offered sound advice and shared astute observations, which helped me identify what needs were not met by recruitment firms. I repeatedly heard a desire to receive high-level service, at a lower price point, for searches below executive roles. Many chief advancement officers shared that they inherited open positions on their leadership and frontline fundraising teams. Unable to afford a high-end search firm and not pleased with the services provided by lower-fee agencies, they experienced difficulty moving an operation forward and meeting the ambitious objectives of their organizations.

Over the last four years, I have worked with many of these same advancement leaders as they sought to fill critically important positions on their teams. Earlier this year, Boston University engaged me to conduct five major gift officer searches at schools and programs across campus. This fall, Swarthmore College retained SSP to recruit development professionals to raise funds through their individual giving, family and parent philanthropy, and gift planning programs. The ability to help an organization put together a team of development professionals has been rewarding to me, while the impact these placements have had on these institutions and their ability to realize their missions has been great.

In addition to searches in the development and alumni engagement space, SSP also helps fill key positions in other fields. In the last few months, I have partnered with the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) to recruit a vice president for organizational effectiveness and operations. NEFE champions quality financial education initiatives, through research and advocacy efforts, to ensure the effectiveness and adoption of these programs across a diverse audience. The sector is new to me, which prompted me to partner with Liz Vago who has lent her expertise and experience to this search.

In each newsletter, I highlight someone who has collaborated with me on SSP's work. Let me introduce Sharon Hansen, who has also worked at Isaacson, Miller and recently joined the search firm, N2Growth, as a senior associate. Sharon partnered with Henrietta and me on our searches at Swarthmore College. She was a valued member of the team and a great resource to our clients.

Thank you, as always, for your support. I hope you enjoy the holiday season and all it has to offer. — John

OPEN SEARCHES

Swarthmore College, one of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges, engaged SSP to recruit several development professionals to serve in roles focused on individual giving, family and parent philanthropy, and gift planning. Funds generated by the development team will enable Swarthmore to create educational and growth opportunities for students, faculty, and alumni and build a diverse, equitable and inclusive community that enriches experiences and broadens perspectives.

Swarthmore seeks an assistant director and an associate director of individual giving to join a growing and dynamic team led by Josie Burri, assistant vice president, capital giving and campaigns. These individuals will carry a portfolio of major gift prospects and, in collaboration with colleagues across campus, inspire them to new levels of philanthropic support

The associate director, family and parent philanthropy, will partner closely with colleagues in alumni and family programs to identify meaningful engagement opportunities for parents and family members and secure philanthropic support from this important constituency. This individual also serves on the team led by Josie Burri.

The associate director, gift planning, will manage and maintain a portfolio of prospects likely to make bequest intentions, establish life income gifts, and/or donate real estate and alternative assets at the six-and seven-figure levels. Under the director of Renée Atkinson, associate vice president, gift planning, the associate director will formulate and implement short-term and long-range plans that help grow an established gift planning program and develop a robust pipeline of deferred giving donors. The associate director also will share expertise and instruct Individual Giving team and other key development staff members on how to identify and engage planned gift prospects and educate them on the financial advantages of these giving options for both the prospect and the College.

Development Roles Available

• Assistant Director, Individual Giving

• Associate Director, Individual Giving

• Associate Director, Family and Parent Philanthropy

• Associate Director, Gift Planning

Boston University

Boston University has engaged SSP again to seek out a senior major gift officer. This time, the new hire will serve on a team led by Bobbi Woldt, assistant dean for development, at BU’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. The role becomes available at an historic time following the appointment of Melissa Gilliam as BU’s new president and Penny Bishop as Wheelock’s new dean.

Position Available at Boston University

• Major Gift Officer

National Endowment for Financial Education

The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), a nonprofit operating foundation and financial education think tank dedicated to championing financial educational policy and research in the United States, engaged SSP to recruit a strategic leader as its founding vice president, organizational effectiveness and operations (VPOEO). Reporting to the president and CEO and working closely with colleagues on the executive leadership team, the new VPOEO serves as the key leader stewarding organizational effectiveness initiatives and improvements across administrative functions at NEFE. SSP is partnering with Liz Vago on this initiative.

Position Available at NEFE

• Vice President, Organizational Effectiveness & Operations

Additional information on these roles available here.

CLOSED SEARCHES

Boston University

Joy McKee, assistant dean for development and alumni relations at Boston University’s College of Arts & Sciences, recently recruited Sam Arthur to serve as a leadership gift officer. Arthur most recently worked at Tufts University where he entered into the development office six years ago as an assistant with the annual giving program. Within a year, he secured an administrative assistant role in the Gift Planning Office where he learned about the various types of deferred giving vehicles available to donors. Two years later, Arthur assumed a newly created donor engagement officer (DXO) role in a pioneering program at Tufts. As a DXO, Arthur managed a portfolio of 1,500 leadership annual giving donors, utilizing SalesLoft, EverTrue, and Vidyard platforms to reach his engagement goals. He and his colleagues played a major role in giving days, fiscal and calendar year end appeals, and reunion outreach efforts. Arthur’s gift planning training was helpful in his DXO role. During conversations with prospects, he saw an opportunity to raise the subject of deferred giving options. Arthur worked in partnership with the Gift Planning Office to create a process for identifying gift planning prospects through the DXO program and handing them off to staff members in that office. His efforts led to a dramatic increase in the number of prospects who shared that they included Tufts in their wills and others who later established a deferred giving vehicle in support of the university. Arthur was recognized with the “Top Dog” award, presented by the Gift Planning team, for record-breaking identification of estate donors in a single quarter. Arthur engaged in a number of professional development programs to expand his knowledge of fundraising, including the TIAA Kaspick Summer Workship; Plus Delta Partners’ Discipline of Frontline Fundraising; and the Planned Giving Group of New England’s Planned Giving Fundamentals seminar.

Arthur earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics and chemistry from Colby College. As an undergraduate, he held a summer internship, funded by the National Science Foundation, at the University of Michigan. Arthur volunteers with his class committee at Colby College. He also has been involved in organizations, locally and in New York City, that serve the homeless population.

Joy McKee also recently recruited Jorge Villarini to serve as a major gift officer on her team. In his role, Villarini will support departments within the college’s humanities division. A trained professional ballet dancer, Villarini discovered dance at the age of 11 in his native Puerto Rico. Following years of training, he secured his first appointment as a company artist with BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio in 2011. Three years later, he performed with both Martha Graham Dance and the Dance Theatre of Harlem until 2018. His last position as a company artist was with the Boston Ballet, where he performed from 2019 to 2020. Between appointments, Villarini worked as a studio manager and head of business development with Rachel Neville Photography in New York from 2018 to 2019.

While performing with dance companies and as a graduate student, Villarini had an opportunity to work in administrative roles at Dance Theatre of Harlem. When his tenure as a dancer ended with the Boston Ballet, he joined the Institute for Nonprofit Practice as a development coordinator in 2020. In this role, Villarini learned about development and the process for securing philanthropic support from all funding sources—individuals, foundations, corporations and government entities. He also recognized the critically important role of philanthropic support to the sustainability of a nonprofit organization and realized that he liked interacting with donors. After two years with the Institute, Villarini secured a major gift officer role with the Boston Ballet. His appointment coincided with the conclusion of a $100 million campaign and the launch of a mini-endowment campaign. As a major gift officer, he cultivated new and existing prospects and engaged the artistic director and the executive director in the fundraising process. Villarini also contributed to efforts to prepare for the endowment campaign, including involvement with the feasibility study and strategies on how to best leverage board members.

Villarini earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in ballet performance from Marymount Manhattan College. He also earned a professional training certificate from the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the American Ballet Theater and a certificate in Nonprofit Administration and Leadership Development from the Institute for Nonprofit Practice.

Jessica Telemaque recently was named a senior major gift officer for special initiatives at Boston University (BU). She joins a team led by Ron Gray, associate vice president, special initiatives, and focused on securing philanthropic support for BU’s highest priority endeavors. Centers, programs and offices, which have benefitted from support generated by the office, have addressed and studied some of the greatest challenges facing society, including forced displacement, infectious diseases, antiracism, and sustainability. The Special Initiatives team also has raised funds to improve the quality of life and opportunities available for students on campus.

Telemaque most recently served as a senior development officer at the Animal Rescue League of Boston where, motivated by a desire to work in the area of animal welfare, she led a team of development officers to secure philanthropic support for the organization. She also played a key role in the Foundation for the Future capital campaign and oversaw the Rescue League’s annual fundraising event.

Telemaque began her development career in 2010 as an assistant director of annual giving at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. In her role, she hired, trained and supervised students for the Institute’s call center. One year later, she began a six-year tenure with Wellesley College where she served as assistant director and, later, associate director of the Wellesley Fund. In these positions, Telemaque managed fundraising for reunion and non-reunion classes, from alumnae just out of college to graduates who have been out of school for 60 years.

Telemaque joined the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 2017 as a leadership gift officer and served as a liaison to the Art of Asia and Photography Departments. During her tenure with the museum, she helped identify donors and raise funds for all areas she supported, but particularly for the South Asian art collection.

Telemaque received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Worcester State University. She was nominated for and completed the Emerging Leaders Program through the University of Massachusetts, Boston, in 2022-2023.

Suzanne Maselli, associate dean of development for the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine at Boston University (BU), recently hired Paula Weafer to serve as a senior major gift officer to advance the school’s efforts in New England, metropolitan New York, and the Mid-Atlantic region. Weafer joins BU from Cathedral High School where she directed the $60 million, Cathedral Now, Cathedral Forever campaign and secured philanthropic support from alumni and friends.

Weafer began her development career at her alma mater, Endicott College, when she was named director of advancement in 1993. During Weafer’s nine-year tenure, the school launched its first ever campaign, initiated phonathons and direct mail campaigns, instituted major and planned giving fundraising efforts, and established alumni chapters throughout the United States. Through her efforts, Endicott created the infrastructure, programs, and staffing needed to develop a robust advancement program.

In 2003, Weafer was appointed director of alumni relations at the Sawyer Business School at Suffolk University. During her tenure, Weafer launched programs featuring prominent Boston area CEOs, athletes, and political figures; created corporate affinity programs with the largest employers in Boston; and established alumni chapters in major US cities.

In 2007, Weafer joined the Landmark School where she served as director, major and planned giving, and, later, as associate director of development. During her tenure, she focused on major gifts and planned giving efforts, but also participated in various fundraising events at the school.

Weafer was appointed director of parent giving and programs at Babson College in 2010, which began a 12-year tenure at the business school. As director of parent programs, she redesigned development efforts and programming, which led to greater fundraising results and engagement opportunities for this critically important constituency. Weafer later assumed fundraising positions that broadened her duties and responsibilities as she engaged Babson parents and alumni. Her efforts led to increased support for a number of key priorities and initiatives on campus, including the Institute for Family Entrepreneurship, scholarship funds for international students, and support for LGBTQ+ students.

Weafer earned an Associate of Science degree in hospitality from Endicott College and a Bachelor of Science degree in speech and communications from Emerson College. She also took graduate coursework towards an MBA at Suffolk University.

PARTNERS

Sharon is an executive search consultant who brings to her practice over 20 years of experience in higher education. Through her work at some of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges, she has helped students and alumni launch successful careers via strategically sourced recruiting relationships with national and regional organizations. This includes work as associate director for employer engagement at Bryn Mawr College & Haverford College and serving as the inaugural associate director for employer engagement at Ursinus College. Sharon was later appointed director of career and professional development at Ursinus where she reported to the vice president of academic affairs/provost and served as a member of the academic affairs leadership team.

Sharon’s executive search experience includes serving as a senior associate at Isaacson, Miller where she placed leaders in nationally recognized colleges/universities and prominent nonprofits. She has also served as a consultant to several national search firms focused on higher education and mission-driven work. Recently, Sharon assumed a senior associate role with N2Growth, a global search firm. She is committed to finding the best leaders for her clients to maximize the impact of their work.

Sharon has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from SUNY Fredonia and a Master of Science in Education degree in college student development from Alfred University. She is an active member of the Philadelphia Society of People and Strategy (PSPS) and volunteers in connecting local community members who are homebound with much needed fellowship and support.