Sue Cunningham is president and CEO of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, which supports more than 3,600 schools, colleges, and universities worldwide in their fundraising, marketing, communications, and alumni relations operations. Appointed in 2015, Cunningham immediately launched the development of a new CASE Strategic Plan: Reimagining CASE 2017–2021. The plan includes four focus areas—member engagement, talent management, thought leadership, and global impact. In 2018, CASE acquired the Voluntary Support of Education survey and its 60 years of fundraising data and created AMAtlas, a global resource for advancement related metrics, benchmarks, and analytics. CASE has engaged in reviews of the curriculum across all advancement disciplines and an update of CASE’s management and reporting standards and guidelines, which operate as the industry-leading set of standards.

Prior to CASE, Cunningham served as vice principal for advancement at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Earlier, she was director of development for the University of Oxford, where she led a development team in the execution of the largest fundraising campaign outside of the United States. She previously served as director of development at Christ Church, Oxford, and as director of external relations at St. Andrews University. Cunningham holds a bachelor’s degree in performing arts from Middlesex University and a master’s degree from the University of Oxford.

Richard Ekman has served as president of CIC since 2000. During this time, he has overseen the growth of CIC membership by more than 50 percent. He previously served as vice president for programs of Atlantic Philanthropies and as secretary and senior program officer of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Earlier, he was at the National Endowment for the Humanities, successively as director of the Division of Education Programs and the Division of Research Programs; vice president and dean of Hiram College; and assistant to the provost at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. He serves as a member of many boards, including those that provide guidance to the Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the American Academic Leadership Institute.

David Finegold has been president of Chatham University since 2016. Since joining Chatham, he has overseen the successful transition to a fully co-educational institution, which more than tripled the size of the first-year cohort. Finegold completed Chatham’s largest-ever capital campaign, surpassing its $100 million goal, and led the development of new degree programs in data analytics and immersive media, among others, and key strategic partnerships with Fallingwater and the Low-Cost Models Consortium.

With more than 30 years of experience, Finegold has authored or co-authored seven books and monographs, including BioIndustry Ethics (2005), Corporate Boards: New Strategies for Adding Value at the Top (2001), and Are Skills the Answer? (2001). His work has focused on new economic models for creating value, such as B Corporations, public-private partnerships, venture philanthropy, and social investing. He has advised the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the governments of Australia, Canada, Singapore, India, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Finegold also served as an Atlantic Fellow and policy advisor to the Leitch Review of Skills, Her Majesty’s Treasury, London. He graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social studies from Harvard University in 1985 and was a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, where he earned a DPhil in politics in 1992.

H. Hiter Harris III has served with distinction on the board of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges (VFIC) since 2004, a role that reflects his deep personal connections to private higher education. He co-founded Harris Williams in 1991 as a national investment banking firm focusing on mergers and acquisitions. Since then, he and his partners have led Harris Williams to become one of the largest and most influential merger and acquisition firms in the country with approximately 330 employees, eight offices in the U.S. and Europe, and ten industry groups. Harris was directly involved in the creation and advancement of several of VFIC’s signature programs: the Ethics Bowl, Career 15, and the newly formed Women’s Leadership Summit. He established the endowed H. Hiter Harris III Rising Star Award to recognize VFIC faculty members who are rising stars in their profession and reflect a strong, clear, and abiding commitment to excellence in classroom teaching.

His other current and former board positions include service to Hampden-Sydney College, University of Richmond, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Foundation, Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Historical Society, Spider Management Investment Committee, St. Catherine’s School, First Presbyterian Church Diaconate, and Church Schools of the Diocese of Virginia. Harris also currently serves, or has served, on the boards of NewMarket Corporation, Nexgrid LLC, and the Virginia Resources Authority. Harris earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics from Hampden-Sydney College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Harold V. Hartley III is senior vice president of CIC, where he has lead responsibility for the Presidents Institute and other CIC initiatives for college presidents, including the Presidents Governance Academy and the Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission program. Hartley also provides leadership for CIC’s data and research activities and oversees CIC’s Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE). Before joining CIC in 2005, he served for a decade with the United Methodist General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Hartley is co-author of Rethinking College Student Retention (2014).

​Mary Hawkins is president of Bellevue University, where she earlier served as provost and vice president for enrollment and outreach. Since her arrival in 1995, Bellevue University has changed dramatically in enrollment, geographic reach, scope of programs and services, and in the strong national and international partnerships it is developing.

In addition, Hawkins provided the leadership necessary to transform two organizations—the Nebraska Independent College Foundation and the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Nebraska—that were experiencing declines in membership and effectiveness. Recognizing that neither organization was sustainable on its own, Hawkins led an effort to merge the missions of the two organizations and launch in 2018 a new state association for Nebraska, the Council of Independent Nebraska Colleges Foundation (CINCF). The new CINCF represents the first time in Nebraska history that all 13 of the state’s independent institutions belong to a single organization. Hawkins provided not only the vision and dedication to create CINCF, but also key resources from her institution to support the fledgling organization with new communications materials, a website, and other key professional services. She also met with donors to encourage growth of the CINCF scholarships fund and participated in public events, such as the check presentation with UPS.

Hawkins holds a bachelor’s degree in business and public administration from the University of Arizona, a master’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of California-Davis, and a PhD in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

​Emma Jones is the chief brand officer of CREDO Higher Ed, where she serves on Credo’s executive leadership team and manages Credo’s marketing, business development, publishing, and client impact efforts. Jones’s career began at Elon University and the London, U.K.-based Foundation for International Education. She earned her bachelor’s degree in literature and mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and her master’s degree in liberal studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

​John Kahle is managing director of strategic sales for the Institutional Financial Services business at TIAA and leads the Multiple Employer Plan team that partners with state associations and consultants to deliver improved retirement outcomes for association members. Earlier, Kahle led the west central segment of TIAA Institutional Financial Services. Kahle earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California. He holds FINRA Series 7, 24, 63, and 66 registrations.

​Eva Lee is senior director of TIAA’s Multiple Employer Plan Relations. She helps clients in the nonprofit, education, government, and health care market segments define their MEP strategy and narrative. She also manages the team responsible for the onboarding, development, distribution, and maintenance of MEPs while collaborating with TIAA’s service delivery team and outside third-party administrators and consultants. Lee has 17 years of experience in the financial industry and has been with TIAA since 2002. She earned a BS from the College of New Rochelle and holds FINRA Series 6, 63, and 26 registrations.

Eduardo Martinez is president of the UPS Foundation, which leads the global citizenship programs and initiatives for UPS. Martinez is responsible for the operations and management of its global community investments, employee engagement, and corporate relations programs that invest in more than 4,300 organizations and communities across 170 countries. He also serves as the UPS chief diversity and inclusion officer with responsibilities for the advancement of diversity and inclusion programs that empower more than 440,000 UPS employees worldwide, including UPS suppliers, customers, and communities. Previously, Martinez served as corporate legal counsel in the UPS Legal Department, where his practice included intellectual property, information technology matters, commercial transactions, and civil litigation. Earlier, he held senior management positions at UPS in the areas of corporate finance and accounting, risk management, and acquisitions.

Martinez serves on numerous boards of directors and leadership advisory councils for the United Nations, civil society organizations, and the World Economic Forum. He is a frequent speaker and advocate for the importance and value of public-private sector partnerships to help drive humanitarian action, global sustainability, social and gender equality, and the advancement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

​Abdul M. Omari is a program coordinator of MPCF’s scholarship program for Black men and founder of AMO Enterprise, which helps people better connect in individual and team settings. He teaches leadership courses for undergraduate students and focuses, through his research, on the perceptions of mentoring and the role of cultural intelligence within mentoring relationships. Omari holds a bachelor’s degree in global studies, a master’s degree in public policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and a PhD in comparative and international development education, all from the University of Minnesota.

​Jamil Stamschror-Lott is a program coordinator of MPCF’s scholarship program for Black men. He is a licensed social worker who practices therapy within Creative Kuponya, through which he provides services to public schools and social justice agencies. Stamschror-Lott seeks to motivate students to see a better version of themselves.