The Director of Donor Engagement oversees a comprehensive donor stewardship program that supports the cultivation, recognition, and stewardship of donors and prospects at all levels to foster their lifetime engagement. Responsible for the planning, execution, documentation, and evaluation of all stewardship activities collaborating with colleagues throughout University Advancement and across campus. Responsible for establishing standards that help direct University-wide stewardship efforts and are key in creating a philanthropic culture that fosters meaningful relationships with university stakeholders.

Responsible for oversight of a comprehensive donor stewardship program designed to cultivate and engage donors and prospects at all levels along the giving continuum. Responsibilities included the planning, execution, and documentation of all stewardship activities.

Formed and implemented marketing and communications strategies that raised the visibility of Illinois State University, with a particular focus on donors. Developed communications that demonstrate how philanthropy impacts the lives of beneficiaries at the University to inspire external support and strengthen relationships with donors and donor prospects. Served as primary point-of-contact for donor and development communication for print, web, and video writing projects from inception through delivery. Assisted in developing vision, strategy, and goals for donor events, including preparing event plans, budgets, and printed materials, and coordinating with event vendors and facilities personnel.

Oversaw day-to-day donor and development communications across multiple platforms. Evaluated, tracked, and measured results of communications activities across the department; drove cross-division collaboration among department communications to ensure content is aligned. Planned and executed premier events and courtesies to thank and engage donors.

“Necessity is the mother of invention.” In October of 2012, I got serious about paying off over $10,000 in student loan debt. Already employed at the Children’s Discovery Museum and as a contract interpreter, I sought a new side hustle to bring in extra cash. In December 2012, I turned my passion for art into a money-maker by selling custom paintings and refinishing furniture for clients in the Bloomington-Normal area. In March 2014, I met my goal of eliminating all non-mortgage debt and now enjoy painting as a hobby.

As Director of Children's Ministries, I managed an annual budget; planned, executed, and oversaw the church's annual week-long Vacation Bible School for 270+ children and 150+ volunteers; supervised 34 weekly volunteers; and reported progress to a ministry advisory team of seven.

Western Avenue Community Center opened in 1926 in response to growing social needs in the Bloomington community. Western Avenue Community Center now offers translation, interpretation and outreach social services to Bloomington-Normal’s Hispanic community, in addition to a variety of youth camps, senior activities, and counseling support groups. My job as a contract Spanish interpreter evolved from my volunteer work at Western Avenue Community Center during college. I have a passion for supporting Latinos living in McLean County, so I jumped at the chance to increase my exposure to the issues local Latinos face. In my position as an interpreter I:Interpreted in Spanish for the McLean County Health Department, OSF Health Care System and the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (May 2009 - July 2011). Interpreted for the McLean County Circuit Court in the minor and major traffic, misdemeanor, felony and child support departments (May 2009 - September 2015). Provided clients with appropriate referrals to local social service agencies.

The Event Experience Company offers full service event production including tents, tables, linens, chairs, glassware, and more. In this role I was responsible for event sales and drove my personal sales to $14,000+ per month.

The Children’s Discovery Museum is a $4.5 million, 34,000 sq. ft. Museum in Uptown Normal with over 50 staff. The Museum operates under the Town of Normal Parks and Recreation Department and is funded through Town of Normal subsidies, grants and both corporate and private donations.Operations & Finances:Reconciled daily deposits using Town of Normal’s RecTrac program. Deposited cash daily and made change for front desk as needed. Wrote technical manuals to formalize the process of booking Museum birthday parties. Reserved over 200 Museum birthday parties by phone, email, and in person per year. Managed annual marketing and fundraising budgets with specific annual revenue expectations. Fundraising & Event Planning:Planned and executed annual fundraising events (Ladies Luncheon & Style Show, Doctors in Concert, Plaza Palooza) and community events (Donor Appreciation Event, El Dia de los Muertos, World Wide Day of Play). Booked “Museum On the Go” marketing events based on targeted geographic areas and marketing goals. Coordinated raffles and silent and live auctions from applying for raffle licenses to managing cash out of auctions at Museum fundraisers. Recorded and managed ticket sales, donations, and donors using RecTrac, Abila, and Excel. Solicited item donations, in-kind sponsorships and cash sponsorships from individuals and local and national corporations. Leadership & Project Management:Managed as many as 79 volunteers and 18 staff per event. Wrote detailed task-based timelines for work division. Oversaw all aspects of event planning including audio-visual needs, staffing and volunteer coordination, and facility set-up and tear-down. Coordinated event planning efforts of the Museum Guild and other planning teams through regular meetings and assigned tasks. Assigned work to 1-2 Special Events interns per semester. Evaluated interns’ progress and communicated performance outcomes to college advisers.

The Illinois Chamber Music Festival was founded in 2002 with the purpose of providing superior chamber music instruction to high school and college students. The Illinois Chamber Music Festival hosts world class performers who share their talents with the Bloomington-Normal community during a 12-week summer concert series.My role as the Development Coordinator for the Illinois Chamber Music Festival developed through a connection to the Festival’s Executive Director, Lisa Nelson. I saw a need for increased promotion of the festival and presented my ideas to Festival organizers, who then created the Development Coordinator position in which I: Actively promoted the eighth annual Illinois Chamber Music Festival through prioritized mailings and social media outlets. Negotiated an ad exchange with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and arranged a final reception for over 50 guests. Fund-raised over $1300 within one week through solicited program ad sales. Created a strategic 12-month public relations plan for the 2010-2011 Festival season. Planned a fall faculty concert to benefit the Chamber Music Camp Scholarship Fund. Handled all promotion and logistics for the fundraiser.

After graduating from college, I wanted to gain experience in event planning despite a lack of formal training. I approached Shari Buckellew, former Manager of the Children’s Discovery Museum, with the idea of interning on a fundraiser. As Special Events intern at the Museum, I:Coordinated venue information for the third annual fundraiser, “Doctors in Concert.” Represented the Children’s Discovery Museum at planning committee meetings. Executed on-site set up and planned a reception for 150 guests featuring donated desserts from 5 local businesses. Raised just under $3000 through grab bag and ticket sales.

La Casa, Inc. is a domestic violence shelter that offers a variety of programs and assistance to victims of abuse. Such services include: emergency shelter, individual and group counseling and advocacy, legal services, GED and ESL educational opportunities, transitional housing assistance and satellite programs throughout Dona Ana County, NM. With 45 beds and around-the-clock staffing, La Casa strives to prevent future abuse by educating and empowering both its clients and the local community. After graduating college, I joined AmeriCorps and entered the role of Education Specialist. In this position I:Formulated a 4-quarter series of bilingual parenting curriculum for the court mandated Batterer’s Intervention Program. Collaborated with the Dona Ana Community College to establish a new system of registering shelter clients in their Adult Basic Education program. Supported the development of a mentor-ship program through a Rotaract kick-off event. Taught ESL, GED and Art classes to over 25 shelter clients.

Educational and Organizational Leadership 199 is a 10-week course required of students assuming the position of Resident Advisor or Multicultural Advocate within the University Housing’s Residential Life Program. This course explores the intersection of identities within the individual and how such identities impact a living community. Facilitators guide dialogue that supports self discovery and community awareness.I enjoyed taking this course so much during my training to become a Resident Advisor that I applied to facilitate it the following year. As a facilitator of EOL 199, I: Created weekly lesson plans that sought to challenge students’ perceptions of themselves and others and increase their awareness of diversity on the U of I campus. Taught 15 future Resident Advisors and Multicultural Advocates how to identify and apply university standards of inclusiveness in their day-to-day operations. Facilitated successful and clarifying communication between individuals in both small and large groups.

The Department of Residential Life is part of University Housing at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Residential Life staff members strive to promote inclusive communities and accessibility for students with disabilities, and provide academic and emotional support to the over 6,500 students living in University Housing. Resident Advisors must be in good academic and conduct standing at all times, attend a 10-week Paraprofessional Dialogue Course and complete a series of orientation and staff development trainings. Paying for college by myself led me to become a Resident Advisor. What began as a way to get free room and board evolved into a great professional experience in which I: Supervised 68 residents of Busey-Evans Hall, an all-women Undergraduate residence, and developed and maintained a detailed database of student information using Excel. Mediated interpersonal conflicts and wrote incident reports following emergency situations that arose while on call. Worked independently and with other RA’s to plan and promote more than 25 campus-wide educational and social events.

The Spurlock Museum is an educational institution with over 45,000 artifacts in its collection. Dedicated to studying and preserving cultural objects, the Spurlock Museum houses five feature galleries divided by geographic areas. A sixth gallery, the Campbell Gallery spotlights a variety of changing exhibits, which inform tours, programs and special events. Although my very first job on U of I campus was part of the work-study program, it proved to be a great creative outlet. As Assistant to the Collections Department, I: Contributed to the installation of the following Campbell Gallery exhibits through sewing and cleaning projects: Sept. 2005, "Visions of the Unseen: Picturing Balinese Ceremony and Myth"; Sept. 2006, "Where Animals Dance"; March 2007, "Why Knot?". Sewed covers for over 75 artifacts using patterns of my own design.