VCU ALUMNI - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Alumni Engagement Officer, School of Business and College of Engineering
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, DAR Signature Events
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Affinity Programs
Job Titles:
- Director, Affinity Programs
Job Titles:
- Director
- Executive Director, DAR Signature Events
Ashley Burton joined VCU Alumni as the director of alumni reunion and recognition programs in August 2018. She is responsible for the strategy, growth and success of reunions on the MCV and Monroe Park campuses. She also ensures that alumni are appropriately recognized for their contributions, both personally and professionally, through meaningful award ceremonies and events.
Most recently, Burton spent six years at the VCU School of the Arts in Qatar, where she managed events, festivals, ceremonies, conferences and diplomatic and VIP protocol. Before Qatar, she worked at VCU Massey Cancer Center, where she led sponsorship, fundraising and marketing for the center's largest fundraising event, The Massey Challenge.
She maintains a professional certification as Certified Special Event Professional through the International Live Events Association and is a licensed trainer by The Protocol School of Washington to teach intercultural etiquette and protocol.
Burton is a graduate of Longwood University and earned a certificate in event management from The George Washington University.
Job Titles:
- Director, Alumni Engagement - College of Humanities and Sciences
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist, Affinity Programs
Job Titles:
- Alumni Engagement Officer, School of Education, School of Social Work and Wilder School
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations
Elizabeth Bass has worked in higher education and the nonprofit sector for 20 years, with an emphasis on volunteer training and management, community outreach and collegiate civic engagement. She graduated from the University of Virginia in 1999 with a bachelor's in sociology and from VCU in 2003 with a master's in social work.
As associate vice president for alumni relations, Elizabeth leads a team of alumni and student engagement professionals who work with alumni, students and campus partners across the university. She oversees all areas of alumni programming, supports the VCU Alumni Council and serves on the senior leadership team for the vice president for development and alumni relations.
Elizabeth served for seven years as executive director of the Virginia Mentoring Partnership, a statewide nonprofit organization that partners with schools, universities, corporations and nonprofit organizations to increase the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships and to promote effective youth mentoring across the commonwealth. She also held numerous roles, including executive director, at Madison House, the nonprofit student volunteer center at the University of Virginia from 2003-13, where she worked with students, alumni, and community and university partners and donors to fulfill its mission of leadership and service to the Charlottesville community.
She is a member of the 2015 Class of Leadership Metro Richmond, former board chair of the Grace Covenant Child Development Center and AMP! Metro Richmond boards, and currently serves in a leadership role in the family and community engagement efforts at Good Shepherd Episcopal School. Elizabeth lives in Midlothian with her husband, Will Cleland, and her son, Henry.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director, DAR Signature Events
Job Titles:
- Director, Affinity Programs
Job Titles:
- Alumni Engagement Officer, College of Health Professions and School of Dentistry
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director, Regional Alumni Engagement
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, Regional Programs and Volunteer Engagement
Job Titles:
- Senior Director
- Senior Director, Alumni Career and Personal Development
Latisha Taylor Smart is the senior director of alumni career and personal development. A graduate of both Old Dominion University and George Mason University, she previously worked in VCU's central career services unit. As a member of the VCU Alumni team, she provides alumni with meaningful opportunities to network, in-person and virtually, as she builds out a programming model that focuses on the industries in which our alumni work and not simply the academic areas in which they received a degree. She collaborates across the university in her efforts to engage alumni and strengthen their professional network.
Job Titles:
- Director, DAR Signature Events
Lauren joined VCU Alumni in February 2017. In her current role as associate director, she coordinates the MCV Campus Reunion Weekend and various donor recognition celebrations.
Lauren received her Corporate Event Planning Certificate through the VCU Continuing and Professional Education in 2017 and her Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the VCU L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs in 2019.
Job Titles:
- Director, Affinity Programs
Job Titles:
- Director, Alumni and Student Engagement
Sarah Ramkey joined VCU Alumni in July 2018 as an assistant director for regional alumni engagement. She has a background in student affairs and development and, in July 2021, added student programs to her role. In her current position, she co-advises the student alumni organization, Students Today Alumni Tomorrow, works on the student-to-alumni transition and plans alumni events. She has a B.A. from Christopher Newport University and an M.Ed. from Old Dominion University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Event Coordinator, DAR Signature Events
Job Titles:
- Director, Affinity Programs
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director, Alumni Career and Personal Development
Job Titles:
- Administrative and Program Assistant