With over a decade at The Oaks Academy, we’ve driven philanthropic excellence through innovative strategies and leadership resulting in tripling annual support and several successful capital campaigns to fund growth, scaled impact, program improvement, capital acquisition and launch an endowment. More importantly, we’ve led with a relationships-first approach, emphasizing each supporter’s unique ability, interest and passions. The Oaks Academy’s generous supporter community has maintained nationally-leading retention and growth rates. Concurrently, as a faculty member at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, I facilitate the growth of fundraising professionals, helping them combine research-based best practices with the inherent and ever-changing situational dynamics in their own organizations and donor communities. I love both the art of philanthropy and the science of development, ensuring that organizations and people are equipped to make a lasting social impact.