Summer 2024 Update

Since I began my career in executive search, I have served an array of organizations including museums, colleges and universities, scientific research institutions, and academic medical centers. My engagement with them afforded me the opportunity to view impressive art collections, examine cutting-edge research laboratories, and explore bucolic college campuses. A recent client visit left a lasting impression on me.

Picture of four very young Epiphany School students wearing bright colors facing the camera, smiling with their arms up high. Taken by Brenda Bancel.

Earlier this year, the Epiphany School, located in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, retained me to recruit a director of annual giving and development operations. The independent school educates children in grades five through eight who come from economically disadvantaged families in Boston.

While affiliated with the Episcopal Church, Epiphany admits children of diverse faiths, races, cultures and cognitive profiles. It adheres to the Episcopal tradition that “We find God in and through each other.” The school is tuition-free and open twelve hours each day. It provides children with three meals and two snacks daily, and offers on-site mental health services. In recent years, Epiphany opened the Early Learning Center to serve infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. There is no charge for families at the center, which also provides meals, snacks, and other basic needs for the children. The impact the school has on these children is truly remarkable and will remain with them throughout their lives.

This past spring, Boston University’s Development and Alumni Relations office asked me to identify four major gift officers (MGO) for their team: two MGOs for the College of Arts Sciences and one each for the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and for the Office of Special Initiatives, which raises funds for interdisciplinary centers and institutes that are the highest funding priority on campus. These searches come at an historic time in BU’s history, following a $100 million naming gift for the school of medicine and as the university welcomes its new president, Dr. Melissa Gilliam, a trained doctor who previously served as provost of Ohio State University and held senior leadership roles at the University of Chicago.

A search for an executive director of individual giving reunites me with Scott Self, a placement at Vanderbilt University who was named vice president of development and alumni relations at Bellarmine University in 2022. In a short period of time, Scott has galvanized fundraising at this Catholic university in Louisville, Kentucky.

Earlier this year, I closed searches at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida; the Cambridge Center for Adult Education in the Harvard Square neighborhood; and Boston University. Information on the placements may be found in the “Closed Searches” section of the newsletter.

In each of my newsletters, I have highlighted someone who has partnered with me to enhance the services of my firm, its presence in the search community, or collaborated with me on a search. As I seek to grow and expand the services of Solmonese Search Partners, I engaged Susan Fonseca, a highly regarded corporate relations and business consulting professional to guide me through this process. Please read her profile in the “Partners” section of the newsletter. She has provided great counsel to me and helped position my firm for even greater success.

Please know that the help, guidance and support you provide to me, as I identify talented individuals to serve these institutions, is greatly appreciated. — John

EXECUTIVE SEARCH NEWS

OPEN SEARCHES

Bellarmine University

Bellarmine University, a Catholic university in Louisville, Kentucky, retained SSP to recruit an executive director of individual giving (ED). The ED will lead a team of development officers and, with them, inspire new levels of philanthropic support that is sustainable, impactful, and in keeping with the mission and values of the university.

The position reports to Scott Self, a native of Louisville, who was appointed vice president for development and alumni relations in 2022. He most recently served as associate vice chancellor for development at Vanderbilt University where he oversaw an array of fundraising programs and initiatives.

Position Available at Bellarmine University

Executive Director of Individual Giving

Boston University

Boston University, one of the nation’s leading research universities, engaged SSP to recruit major gift officers (MGO) for the College of Arts & Sciences; the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine; and the Office of Special Initiatives. Funds generated by these major gift officers will enable members of the Boston University community to expand the possibilities of scientific and academic research; prepare students to become leaders in an increasing global, complex and changing world; and recruit and support faculty members and researchers who are thought leaders in their fields.

College of Arts & Sciences
The Boston University College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (BU CAS) seeks two enterprising individuals to join a highly collaborative and motivated team of development and alumni relations (DAR) professionals led by Assistant Dean Joy McKee. One major gift officer will support departments within the humanities division of the college while the other MGO will raise funds for the departments within the social sciences division of CAS.

Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
The Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine seeks a self-starter to increase financial commitments from alumni, parents and friends and help advance the school’s highest priorities. The position becomes available as the school builds upon a transformational $100 million naming gift received in 2022. The MGO will raise funds from prospects who work and reside in New England and the metropolitan New York City region.

Special Initiatives
Boston University’s Development & Alumni Relations Office seeks an entrepreneurial and driven advancement professional to assume a major gift officer role on the Special Initiatives team, which secures funding for the university’s highest priority endeavors. The MGO will be able to build upon the success of earlier fundraising efforts to launch centers, offices, and programs dedicated to addressing some of the greatest challenges facing society, such as infectious diseases, sustainability, and antiracism, and raise funds to improve the quality of life and opportunities available for students on campus.

Major Gift Officer Positions Available at Boston University

Epiphany School

The Epiphany School, which educates children from economically disadvantaged families in Boston, seeks an enterprising advancement professional to lead its annual giving and development operations efforts. The position becomes available at a pivotal time in the school’s history, following the successful completion of its $25 million Starting Younger, Growing Stronger capital campaign, which helped shore up its finances and funded the construction of an Early Learning Center for infants and toddlers, along with a new graduate support center and faculty housing, in part for their Teaching Fellow Program. It now seeks to launch another fundraising initiative—an endowment campaign—to advance its mission and provide long-term, sustainable support for the school.

Position Available at Epiphany School

Director of Annual Giving and Development Operations
Additional information on these roles available here.

CLOSED SEARCHES

Boston University

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 and supported physician-scientists with the preparation of grant proposals, primarily from the National Institutes of Health. She 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.

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 and 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.

Cambridge Center for Adult Education

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.

Rollins University

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 oversaw various aspects of a CRM conversion. Earlier roles at the foundation focused on engagement of alumni in advocacy efforts with elected and appointed state officials and on behalf of the university. 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 co-chair of the 2025 conference planning committee. Travis has presented at conferences for both professional associations.

Background information on SSP placements available here.

PARTNERS

Susan Fonseca

Susan's professional journey began at Bain & Company and continued over the following 15 years at Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), where she honed her skills in a multinational environment. Her analytical prowess and business acumen were evident in key business areas, including corporate mergers and integration, talent acquisition and staffing, and financial management.

In 2006, Susan transitioned to higher education, joining the Center for Corporate Citizenship (CCC) at Boston College. This role allowed her to leverage her extensive consulting and corporate experience in the field of corporate social responsibility, bridging the gap between business objectives and societal impact.

She soon moved to a leadership position in university advancement at Boston College, where she created and led groundbreaking corporate relations initiatives, further solidifying her reputation as a strategic relationship builder.

Susan has recently launched her consulting firm, empowering small businesses to optimize their processes, enhance efficiencies, and position themselves for sustainable growth. This entrepreneurial venture showcases her ability to identify market needs and deliver tailored solutions.

Susan graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College and earned an MBA from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.