ASPEN LEADERSHIP GROUP - Key Persons
Alan Fletcher is an accomplished scholar, composer, and arts leader. He serves as President and CEO of the Aspen Music Festival and School. Alan previously served as Professor and Head of the School of Music at Carnegie Mellon University, and as Professor, Dean, and Provost of New England Conservatory.
Alan's leadership activities have included chairing the 1997 Salzburg Seminar Music for a New Millennium: The Classical Genre in Contemporary Society, which convened 70 distinguished musical leaders from around the world in Mozart's birthplace. He lectures nationally and internationally on music and its social importance. He has written for Gramophone magazine and has appeared in numerous publications including Sonus, The Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy, Symphony magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and many others. Alan's music includes more than 200 works in all traditional classical forms. His music is recorded on Albany and Exton Records and published by Boosey & Hawkes and Subito.
He is on the boards of the Aspen Institute, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and the International Festival for Contemporary Piano. He is on the advisory board of From the Top and is a member of the University of Chicago Music Visiting Committee. Alan has served on the boards of the Pittsburgh Opera and the Pittsburgh Symphony.
Alan earned a bachelor's degree at Princeton University, Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude. He earned a master's degree and doctorate at the Juilliard School as a Danforth graduate fellow, where he received the Irving Berlin Fellowship and the Alexandre Gretchaninoff Prize. Alan attended the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, and he has been a frequent fellow at the MacDowell Colony.
Ann McLaughlin Korologos served with distinction in diverse public sector and corporate roles over several decades. As Secretary of Labor in the Reagan Administration, Ann received the President's Citizen Medal. She also served the first Bush Administration as Chairman of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism. A renowned expert on nonprofit and corporate governance and the impact of demographics on labor issues and building a quality workforce, Ann previously served as Under Secretary of the Department of the Interior and as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury where she earned the department's highest honor, the Alexander Hamilton Award for distinguished leadership.
Ann served as President of the Federal City Council in Washington, DC, as Visiting Fellow at the Urban Institute, and as a member of the boards of directors of the Dana Foundation, the Women's Foreign Policy Group, and the Shakespeare Theatre Company. She was a trustee of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, Cristo Rey Network, and the Aspen Institute, and she was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Anderson Ranch Arts Center. Ann also served as Chairman of the Board of the Aspen Institute and of the RAND Corporation.
Ann earned a bachelor's degree from Marymount College and continued her studies at the University of London and the Wharton School. She received numerous honorary degrees.
Job Titles:
- Senior Search Consultant
- Senior Vice President
Combining her knowledge of the unique demands of organizational leadership with the principles of emotional intelligence, she works carefully and precisely with ALG clients and candidates to ensure placements that lead to long-term success. Anne fills the roles of partner, advisor, strategist, and guide throughout each step of the search process, working with organizations to clarify their priorities and values and deliver an ideal placement. She has managed a broad and diverse portfolio of close to 200 executive-level searches and placed leaders at the country's prominent medical foundations, scientific institutes, Ivy League and research universities, liberal arts colleges, symphony orchestras, ballet and opera companies, and art museums.
Prior to joining Aspen Leadership Group, Anne served as chief development officer of the San Francisco Symphony, where she held responsibilities of both the senior management role and leadership of the Symphony's contributed revenue division, while also working closely with the 80-member Board of Governors. During her tenure, she raised the principal gifts that supported milestone achievements such as the renowned SoundBox performance venue, the acclaimed 2014 European tour led by Michael Tilson Thomas, and the Symphony's long-awaited stage production of West Side Story.
Her leadership as Associate Vice President of Development and Campaign Director for San José State University's first-ever $200 million comprehensive campaign placed that university among the top tier of California State University institutions. SJSU exceeded its campaign goal by almost $10 million and a full year earlier than projected. Her career has spanned multiple sectors and levels of leadership, from community arts organizations and private consulting to corporate and foundation relations and major gifts at public and private universities.
Her leadership in fundraising has resulted in multiple CASE awards including the 2008 National Circle of Excellence Award. She enjoys coaching and mentoring candidates in their career trajectories and has led public seminars and webinars on career development. She serves on several governing boards in support of her passions for the visual and performing arts, as well as regional and national animal welfare efforts.
Anne holds a M.A. degree in Education from Boston University and a B.A. in French from the University of Kansas with studies at the Sorbonne University in Paris. She is fluent in French and Italian and taught English in Japan, where she became conversational in Japanese.
Job Titles:
- Founder & CEO of in the Area Productions
Ben Reuler is the Founder & CEO of In the Area Productions where he supports other white people, especially white men, in progressing on their antiracism journey. Ben is a former Licensed Social Worker and executive director, deeply committed to building workplace cultures where employees from all backgrounds feel supported, and where harmful default systems are dismantled.
Birgit Smith Burton is a respected leader in the fundraising profession having raised over $500 million during her more than 25-year career with the United Negro College Fund and Georgia Institute of Technology. As the Executive Director of Foundation Relations at Georgia Tech, she has worked closely with some of the country's most prominent philanthropic private foundations including the Mellon Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, MacArthur Foundation, and Atlanta based Woodruff Foundation.
Birgit is a sought-after speaker on the topics of fundraising and diversity and has been recognized by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) as a "Faculty Star." Recently, she was selected by Georgia Tech to participate in the first cohort of Leading Women @ Tech which has identified the next community of leaders who will guide the institution in the 21st century. Birgit has authored numerous articles on diversity in the fundraising profession and co-authored the book The Philanthropic Covenant with Black America. She served on the Design Team for the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta's study of African American philanthropy in metropolitan Atlanta.
Birgit serves on the boards of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, which represents over 33,000 members around the world, the A.E. Lowe Grice Scholarship Fund, and Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless. She is the founding chair of the African American Development Officers (AADO) network which for 17 years has supported diversity in the fundraising profession by promoting professional development and facilitating interaction among its members.
Birgit earned a bachelor's degree in Media Communications from Medaille College in Buffalo, New York.
Camilla Smith is an active philanthropic leader in San Francisco and nationwide. She is Vice President and Trustee of the National Public Radio Foundation, Trustee of Teachers College Columbia University, and on the boards of the Leakey Foundation, the University of California Berkeley Library, San Francisco State University Foundation, San Francisco Conservatory, Music@Menlo, San Francisco Performances, KQED Public Radio, Science Friday, the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, and the Interfaith Center at the Presidio.
An accomplished writer and editor, she worked at G.P. Putnam's Sons publishers, Columbia University's Teacher's College Press, the New York City Board of Education, and the Japanese American Citizen's League.
Camilla received a certificate from the University of Grenoble, France. She earned a bachelor's degree at Brigham Young University and a master's degree at Columbia University.
Christina Chang, prior to her current position as a race and equity consultant based in Seattle, headed the Finance, Talent & Administration teams for University of Washington Advancement for 15 years, with responsibility for the stewardship of Advancement's people, finances, and space. To prepare for the 10-year $5B "Boundless" Campai gn, Christina and her team helped to build the organization from 348 FTE to 613 FTE.
At UW, Christina initiated a race-co nscious strategy for the Advancement Talent Management program that is today considered a best practice organization amongst peers. She has be en invited to speak about building and sustaining a diverse and inclusive work culture at universities and other nonprofit organizations across the country.
She has served on the faculty for the CASE Minority Advancement Institute, as chair of CASE's Conference on Diverse Philanthropy and Leadership, as chair of CASE's Strategic Talent Management Conference, and as a presenter at CASE Summit.
Christina has two decades of experience in higher education administration and is committed to transforming institutional culture and policy with a focus on diversity, inclusion, and equity. She is pleased to contribute to and expand upon ALG's work in this area, and she describes her decision to move into a consulting role as follows:
"So many in this country are forced to leave parts of themselves behind when they go out into the world, because of the color of their skin. I have come to this realization late, so I feel an urgency to do my part to dismantle systems that don't allow for every person to have a true sense of belonging. Be longing is a basic human desire and, I believe, a human right. Imagine a world where (as Dr. Brittany Cooper says), everyone has the "audacity to live their authentic truth." My life's work is to help build cultures and environments where every individual can live their authentic truth."
Christina graduated from Georgetown University and holds a master's degree in public administration from American University.
Clare began her development career at the New England Wildflower Society, the leading organization researching, protecting and cultivating native plants, spearheading their first capital campaign for an education center. She continued her capital campaign work at the Commonwealth School in Boston, before becoming Executive Director of the Newton Schools Foundation, the largest public school foundation in Massachusetts. She created the Massachusetts Educational Foundation Association, bringing together all education foundations in the Commonwealth, and was instrumental in assisting in the formation of the National School Foundation Association. She led the New England Office for the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, expanding the inner-city program to gateway cities in MA, CT and RI. Clare was Vice President for Advancement at Newbury College, a Senior Consultant for Graham-Pelton and a frequent presenter at the AFP MA conferences. Clare is the 2005 Community Cornerstone Award Winner for Educational Fundraising from Women in Development of Greater Boston. She has served on that board, as well as the CASE D1 Board and Cabinet. An honors graduate of Wellesley College in Medieval-Renaissance Studies, Clare has twice led her reunions. For more than 28 years she led the Wellesley College Shakespeare Society Alumnae Association.
Colleen Flynn brings more than 13 years of communications experience in the nonprofit and private sectors. She currently serves as a Senior Internal Communications Manager at Liberty Mutual Insurance in Boston. She previously served as the Senior Director of Public Affairs at City Year Boston, an education nonprofit and national service organization working in urban public schools. Colleen led the site's strategic communications, including media relations, government and community outreach, and digital communications. She also supported events and philanthropic stewardship for City Year's largest site, working to build diversity, equity, and inclusion into City Year's internal and external relations.
Prior to City Year, Colleen was the Media Relations Manager for public media station WGBH, the largest content provider for PBS and an NPR affiliate. She previously held roles at SHIFT Communications, a tech PR agency, and LIFT, a social services nonprofit, where she led the organization's rebranding campaign as well as its first digital marketing efforts.
Colleen holds a Bachelor's degree with dual majors in English and Spanish from Providence College and a Master's degree in public relations from Boston University. She is a Boston chapter leader for ComNet, a national network of foundation and nonprofit communications professionals, and she is a social media volunteer with AFP Massachusetts. She lives in Boston with her spouse and enjoys spending time outdoors in New England, in national parks, and abroad.
Curt Simic is widely recognized as a national leader in fundraising for higher education, management of foundations, and foundation-institution relationships. Curt is President Emeritus of the Indiana University Foundation, where he served as President for two decades. Curt has more than forty years of experience in the areas of development, alumni engagement, and external relations at public and private institutions.
The recipient of many awards and honors, Curt is a presenter and author on development topics and has been an advisor and consultant to numerous colleges, universities, and non-profit organizations. He has authored book chapters and articles about the relationship between foundations and their educational institutions, the fundraising responsibilities of foundation and of institutional governing board members, faculty relations, and funding mechanisms for foundations.
Curt earned a bachelor's degree at Indiana University. Curt's volunteer leadership service includes the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges and the Council for Advancment and Support of Education. He is a member of the boards of the Finish Line Youth Foundation, the Indiana University Art Museum, the Indiana State Museum, and the Indiana Golf Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Nazareth College As Vice President
Darrell Bell joined Nazareth College as Vice President for Advancement in May 2021, following more than 20 years of advancement experience with public and private institutions of higher education. Prior to joining Nazareth, Darrell served as Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Roberts Wesleyan College and Northeastern Seminary and held advancement roles at several highly regarded research universities, including University of Rochester, Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh. His breadth of experience spans across various areas of advancement but his expertise is geared towards annual giving, front line fundraising, diversity initiatives, capital campaigns and management.
As Vice President, Darrell provides overall leadership for the College development and alumni affairs programs. He oversees six departments, numerous volunteers and 20 professional and support staff in Advancement. He works with and through others to plan and implement strategies and tactical approaches to fundraising and external relations encompassing the areas of annual giving, major and planned gifts, corporate, government and foundation relations, programming, communications, parent relations and alumni relations. Darrell is responsible for strategic and operational advancement planning for both yearly and extended multi-year development initiatives, including comprehensive, capital and endowment campaigns, related special projects and events. He interfaces with and supports the Board of Trustees, especially its advancement committee, and volunteers. Darrell also interfaces with the college's senior faculty and staff and assists with development of the strategic plan. He is a member of the President's Cabinet and participates in key decisions with college leadership.
Darrell volunteers his time and talents to local organizations including The Charles Finney School. Darrell also serves on the CASE District 2 Cabinet as well. In 2018 Darrell was awarded the RBJ 40 under 40 and then recognized again as a 2020 Rochester Chamber of Commerce Ignite Award Finalist. He holds an associate's degree from California University of Pennsylvania in Criminal Justice, a B.A. in Administration of Justice from University of Pittsburgh a Masters of Strategic Leadership from Roberts Wesleyan College and recently graduated from the Leadership Rochester program in 2021. He resides in Macedon, NY with his dog Lacy.
Deborah Breen served from 2012 - 2022 as the Inaugural President and CEO of Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation (AVHF) before relocating to the Inner Banks in North Carolina and starting her own private consulting practice, Sound Choice Consulting. Prior to AVHF, Deborah built and led a team at Northern Dutchess Hospital Foundation (NDHF) in Rhinebeck, New York, from 1999 - 2012, serving as that organization's CEO and Chief Development Officer. In her new private consulting practice, she will continue to serve as a mentor, moderator, and educator, providing consulting services for executives, board members and employees of nonprofit organizations.
At both AVHF and NDHF, Deborah built and managed comprehensive development programs, which included work with grateful patients and physicians, annual giving programs, special events, major gifts, planned giving and grants. In addition, Deborah was also tasked with launching unprecedented capital campaigns at both organizations - a $10 million campaign at NDHF and a $60 million campaign at AVHF - and successfully concluded both, bringing her small, grassroots, community fundraising efforts over the $100 million mark. As CEO for both organizations, Deborah was also responsible for overall operations, which included board management, strategic planning, staffing, budgeting, financial reporting, benchmarking, compliance, marketing and community relations, as well as service as a member on both organizations' executive teams.
Deborah holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the State University of New York, Plattsburgh, and has blended her unique background and understanding of accounting principles and standards with her foundation roles. These skills have served her well and she has been frequently tapped to lead discussions and educate colleagues and boards on reading financial statements, IRS compliance surrounding tax deductibility and acknowledgment of gifts and pledges, 990 reporting standards, budgeting and developing metrics that lead to a deeper understanding of how to interpret data and set strategic and meaningful goals that support the overall mission of the organization.
Deborah has dedicated over two decades of her career to working with small, independent hospitals under 100 beds. She has also sought out ways to give back to the communities where she has worked, serving in a variety of volunteer roles in other nonprofit organizations that are meaningful to her, including organizations that focus on children, animals, performing arts, conservation and economic development. She has also been an active Rotarian for over 20 years.
Deborah prides herself on developing meaningful relationships that build trust and inspire engagement. Deborah resides on the Inner Banks in North Carolina with her husband, Mark, a retired New York State Trooper, their Chihuahua Caos and their Pomeranian, Sophie. They have two grown children, Olivia, a News Producer who lives in Savannah, Georgia, and Chloe, an Actor, who lives in Los Angeles, California.
Job Titles:
- Senior Search Consultant
- Senior Vice President
Don Michael Randel has devoted his venerable career to the performing arts, higher education, and philanthropy. Don is President Emeritus of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and President Emeritus of the University of Chicago. He is the editor of The Harvard Dictionary of Music, The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music, and The Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians. He has served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Musicological Society.
After serving on the faculty of Syracuse University, Don joined the music faculty of Cornell University, where he remained for more than three decades, ascending from Department Chair to Vice Provost, to Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and, ultimately, to Provost.
He is a member of the board of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Carnegie Hall, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and CNA Financial. He has also served on the boards of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Argonne National Laboratory, and Rockefeller University.
Ed Groves brings 20 years of experience in educational advancement to his role as Associate, based in the Washington, D.C. region. Beginning his advancement career at Butler University, he served in a wide range of roles across the university. As a member of the Advancement team, he led engagement strategy development and program delivery in support of alumni relations, capital campaigns and university milestone celebrations, as well as donor cultivation and stewardship.
After Butler, he began his nearly decade-long tenure at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). As a member of the senior leadership team, he partnered with hundred s of volunteers to create and deliver professional development and networking opportunities for practitioners across the disciplines of the field. In addition to his work with CASE's educational programs, he served as staff liaison to eight regionally organized districts and three discipline-focused commissions. During his time in this role, he joined his colleagues and senior volunteers in leading an organization-wide volunteer leadership restructuring, the first in CASE's forty-year history.
Ed is driven by a passion for creating educational opportunities and supporting the work of social service, arts, and cultural organizations. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Journalism and received an M.B.A. from Butler University.
Job Titles:
- Director, Research and Operations
In collaboration with the search management team, he supports the planning process for outreach to members of ALG's Philanthropy Career Network, as well as the broader fundraising community. Eli originally joined the team in 2017 as a Research and Operations Associate, and is an AIRS-certified Diversity and Inclusion Recruiter.
Outside of work, he spends his time outdoors in all of New England's seasons. Eli lives in the Hartford, Connecticut region and graduated from Thomas Edison State University with a B.A. in History.
Emily Liao Master brings more than 20 years' experience in executive management, marketing, communications, operations, revenue growth, and strategic and program planning for for-profit, nonprofit and governmental organizations to her role as an Associate with Aspen Leadership Group.
Emily seeks to disrupt the status quo by helping people and organizations to see, think, and act differently-with attention to excellence, equity, and access. Emily began her career with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where she worked for 15 years in the marketing, artistic planning and audience development departments, working closely with Music Director Riccardo Muti (2010-2016). She later served as Chief of Staff at one of the largest global executive search and leadership advisory firms, leading a range of strategic and operational initiatives. Emily was most recently the Executive Director of the Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority, which she led during the renovation of the Davidson Center as well as the completion of the new Shelby White and Leon Levy Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center (in 2022) and the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel (in 2023) by achieving a $150 million campaign goal. For more than a decade, Emily has served as a philanthropic consultant to a number of private foundations as well as public funders across the United States.
After 8 years in Juilliard's Pre-College Division (piano, viola and organ), Emily completed pre-med studies and received her AB in Music cum laude, and certificate in musical performance from Princeton University and her MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. She has also completed executive education at the Guanghua School of Management (Peking University, China), IPADE Business School (Universidad Panamericana, Mexico), and the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice in arts and culture strategy. Emily is on the boards of the Princeton Club of Chicago, Picosa and Equity Arc, and a member of Women of Color in the Arts, Women of Color in Philanthropy, the Chicago chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and a volunteer with Arts and Business Council of Chicago. She also serves as co-chair of the Chicago Western suburbs Alumni Schools Committee, a Princeton University Mentoring Program (PUMP) mentor, and a Princeton Internships in Civic Service mentor and interviewer. She has also served as a mentor for Northwestern's M.S. in Management Science program.
serves as Search Director for Aspen Leadership Group, leading and managing executive searches in philanthropy for higher education, healthcare, and the entire nonprofit sector. Eric has a particular focus on building teams that report to the organization's senior advancement leaders, including searches for positions such as associate/assistant vice president, senior director of development, director, and major gift officer, all roles that Eric has successfully served in.
Eric is a seasoned higher education development professional with 30 years of distinguished experience. Eric recently served as a Senior Development Officer at Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences. Earlier in his career, he was a development officer at Cornell University for over 16 years, including serving as Director of Development for the College of Veterinary Medicine and Director of Leadership Gifts for the entire university.
Additionally, he served Ithaca College for 9 years. As Associate Vice President of Individual Giving, he led a team comprising Major and Leadership Gifts, Family Giving, and Planned Giving. He revitalized the college's leadership annual giving program, reversing declining membership while setting new membership records as Director of the President's Associates giving society. As Senior Director of Prospect Development and Leadership Gifts, Eric set up the college's first formal prospect pipeline process and a new individual giving program that exceeded its dollar goals.
Eric has a strong commitment to public service, having served as Alderman and Acting Mayor for the City of Ithaca. He is a co-founder of the award-winning Latino Civic Association of Tompkins County. He was recognized in 2022 by the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency for his "pivotal role in shaping the Agency's community development work, including...construction of over 1,000 affordable housing units during his term." He is actively involved in Ithaca's historic preservation, earning awards for some of the homes he and his partners have preserved and renovated. He is also a Trustee for Ithaca's Sciencenter, a nationally recognized hands-on science museum. Since 2014 Eric has been invited annually as a guest lecturer for Cornell University's Nancy E. and Peter C. Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering "Science Policy Boot Camp" graduate seminar. Eric employs a case study approach to illustrate, per Professor Chris Schaffer, "an excellent example of how scientific ideas and analysis can influence the formulation of public policy. Eric presents this case extraordinarily well, with deep student engagement."
Eric earned a B.A. in History at Cornell, where he is an active alum and has served on the University Council. He lives in downtown Ithaca with his wife, Neha, a professor of economics at Binghamton University, and their deceptively innocent-looking black Lab rescue mix, Ezra.
Eric Rosario serves as Search Director for Aspen Leadership Group, leading and managing executive searches in philanthropy for higher education, healthcare, and the entire nonprofit sector. Eric has a particular focus on building teams that report to the organization's senior advancement leaders, including searches for positions such as associate/assistant vice president, senior director of development, director, and major gift officer, all roles that Eric has successfully served in.
Floyd Akins brings more than 25 years of experience in advancement to his work with Aspen Leadership Group. He currently serves as Vice President for Advancement at The University of Toledo. He has experience in executive search, diversity in philanthropy, advancement career counseling, and consulting, as well as major and principal gifts, advancement organizational structures, and corporate and foundation engagement.
Previously Floyd was an Associate Vice President at Michigan State University where he managed the constituent fundraising staff. As Assistant Vice Chancellor for Development for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In this role, he provided leadership and managerial support for UT's Regional Major Gift Officers and Corporate and Foundation Engagement Team. He also helped develop the framework for and oversaw the creation of UT's principal gifts program. He has been a strong advocate for diversity in advancement and higher education at all levels throughout his professional career and was the Co-Chair of UT's Council for Diversity and Interculturalism.
Floyd has raised numerous multi-million-dollar gifts and managed staff in several billion-dollar campaigns. Before joining UT, he served as The Ohio State University's Senior Associate Vice President for University Development and Vice President of the OSU Foundation and previously was Assistant Vice President for Principal Gifts at the University of Iowa Foundation. Other positions include Executive Director of Development in the Henry B. Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa and Director of the Capital Campaign at Grinnell College. In addition to his fundraising positions, he held numerous positions at both Grinnell College and the University of Iowa that included admissions, public relations, and multicultural affairs.
He has been an active speaker for CASE since 1998 and has chaired several conferences on major gift fundraising in both the US and Canada. He lives in both Toledo and Columbus, OH and received his bachelor's degree from Eastern Illinois University and his master's degree from the University of Iowa in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Job Titles:
- Top Executive Recruiting Firm for Fifth Consecutive Year ( 2023 )
Aspen Leadership Group (ALG) is pleased to announce that it has been selected by Forbes as one of America's Best Recruiting Firms for 2023. This is the fifth consecutive year that ALG has been recognized by Forbes as one of…
Job Titles:
- Senior Administrator
- Administration
- Associate With
offers strategic thought partnership and coaching to executives in the arts as an Associate with Aspen Leadership Group. Byrne has worked in arts administration for over 40 years. He began his professional career as a music librarian with "The President's Own" United States Marine Band in Washington, DC. Over the next 27 years with the Marine Band, he was swiftly promoted and given increasing responsibility, culminating in his role as the organization's senior administrator.
Administration was not Byrne's primary objective. His life's goal was to be a professional tuba player and he pursued every opportunity to perform with the Marine Band and other ensembles. Longtime studies with Arnold Jacobs, legendary tubist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, redefined his standards of artistic excellence.
Over time Byrne realized that while he could excel as a performer, his greatest contribution was in administration. He said, "Administration was not my first choice, but it was my last choice, and my best choice." Following 27 highly successful years with the Marine Band, he was recruited to be General Manager of the Kansas City Symphony. Eighteen months later the symphony board appointed him Executive Director, a role he held until retirement in 2019.
During 19 years with the Kansas City Symphony, he helped transform the KCS to one of the most efficient, responsive, and successful organizations of its kind. All metrics - sales, fundraising, and operational outcomes - grew dramatically. He led the organization through a music director search, the successful transition to a new concert hall, built a great staff, and broadened the range of programming and community relevance. He takes greatest pride in the transformed organizational culture, one where there is mutual trust and respect among musicians, staff, and board. His contributions to the Kansas City community led to him being named Nonprofit Professional of the Year by Nonprofit Connect and to receive the Pirouette Award from the Kansas City Ballet. Upon his retirement, the Kansas City Symphony board named the principal tuba chair in his honor in perpetuity.
Still a musician at heart, Byrne considers himself a lifelong student of classical music and conductors. Music and its effect on audiences provides him energy to be an effective and insightful administrative leader. He and his wife have been married over 40 years, have four grown children and one amazing grandson. They live in Overland Park, KS, a suburb of Kansas City.
Frank Byrne offers strategic thought partnership and coaching to executives in the arts as an Associate with Aspen Leadership Group. Byrne has worked in arts administration for over 40 years. He began his professional career as a music librarian with "The President's Own" United States Marine Band in Washington, DC. Over the next 27 years with the Marine Band, he was swiftly promoted and given increasing responsibility, culminating in his role as the organization's senior administrator.
Prior to joining JAX, Leet was vice chancellor for university advancement at University of California, Irvine (UCI) leading all advancement programs, including the UCI Medical Center and Chao Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the university's community and government relations programs. Under his leadership, UCI became the youngest university to complete a $1 billion fundraising campaign. He also secured UCI's then largest gift ever of $40 million to establish the Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing.
Leet also held leadership positions at the Arizona State University (ASU) Foundation, where he managed the development staff for a then-planned $1.3 billion campaign. He also collaborated on fundraising projects such as the ASU Biodesign Institute and helped with ASU's rebranding initiative and implementation of an innovative prospect management program, which garnered national awards from the Council for Advancement & Support of Education (CASE). Prior to ASU, he held several frontline major gift officer and management positions at Creighton University, a private research university. While directing Creighton's inaugural principal gifts program, the university secured its largest ever gift of $50 million. Leet's passion for fundraising began as an undergraduate student, when he helped his alma mater's annual giving program establish its first phonathon, using all volunteer student callers.
Leet received his bachelor's degree in agricultural journalism from Kansas State University and his master's degree in nonprofit management at Arizona State University. He has served on the board of directors for the Orange County (CA) Business Council and one*n*ten, a nonprofit serving homeless LGBTQ+ youth in Phoenix, and the board of overseers for the Bushnell Performing Arts Center in Hartford, CT. Leet resides in Phoenix, Arizona with his husband, a woodwinds professor in the School of Music, Dance and Theater at Arizona State University's Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.
Job Titles:
- CEO of the American Medical Association
James L. Madara M.D. is CEO of the American Medical Association. The AMA is the largest physicians organization and has as its mission: "to promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health". Jim began his career as a physician-scientist after receiving clinical and research training at Harvard Medical School and its affiliated hospitals. He has served in academic leadership posts at several institutions: Professor and Director of the Harvard Digestive Diseases Center, Timmie Professor and Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Emory, Thompson Distinguished Service Professor and Dean of the Division of Biological Science and Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago, and CEO of the University of Chicago Hospitals. He is currently Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine.
Jim has served on the boards of the National Opinion Research Center, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and Research!America. He has been recognized with several awards including: the prestigious MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health, the Astra Zeneca International Prize for Distinguished Research in Digestive Diseases, the Horace W. Davenport Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Physiological Society, the Lifetime Achievement Mentoring Award from the American Gastroenterological Association, and honorary degrees from Juniata College and Harvard University.
Jim sits on the Roundtable of the Institute of Medicine (of the National Academy) and has been named by Modern Healthcare both as one of "The Nation's 50 Most Influential Physician Executives" and one of "The Nation's 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare."
Job Titles:
- Director for Search Management and Search Consultant
Jeff's involvement with the nonprofit sector began during his tenure at Cornell University's Office of Information Technologies, where he was responsible for the design of programs that integrated data across the university's diverse, distributed technical infrastructure. He is a member of the Cornell University Trustees Glee Club Advisory Council and has served on the Ithaca Town Agricultural Committee.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Vice President for Institute Advancement
Joe Medina most recently served as Assistant Vice President for Institute Advancement and co-acting chief development officer for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a period which resulted in a 100% increase in overall commitments in one year and an annual fund that had the best single year in the Institute's history. The Rensselaer Institute Advancement team was recognized in 2015 with CASE educational fundraising awards for overall performance and overall improvement for 2012, 2013 and 2014 results. Previous to Rensselaer, Joe was Assistant Vice President of Advancement Services at Colby College.
Joe earned a BA from Colgate University in Mathematics. He has served on the board of the New England Development Research Association (NEDRA) and is a co-founder of both the National and New England Users Groups for the Millennium fundraising system.
Throughout his career, Joel has been active in professional associations, serving as an award-winning faculty member for CASE. He has served on volunteer boards and practice groups within PRSA, AAU, and APLU. Joel is a PRSA-certified crisis communications manager. He has also been involved in social justice leadership development programs in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Senior Vice President
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- Research and Operations Associate
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- Vice President for Search Management
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- Founding Partner
- Senior Consultant
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- Administrative Specialist
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- Founding Senior Consultant
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- Senior Consultant and Vice President for Stewardship and Strategic Partnerships
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- ALG Associate Providing Strategic Thought Partnership to Fundraising Leaders. Former Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Development at Harvard University
Job Titles:
- Founding Senior Associate