Universitywide development and communications staff

Campbell joined the College of Engineering in 2018 as leader of the fundraising program, coordinating major gift and annual fund strategies. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Averett University and a master’s from the University of Virginia.

During his lengthy career in higher education administration, Campbell served in similar roles at the North Carolina State University, the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Pennsylvania, the Nevada System of Higher Education, Iowa State University and the University of Virginia.

Campbell was a member of the Virginia State Board of Social Services from 1994 to 2001. He also served as a member of the 1^st Tactical Fighter Wing of the United States Air Force from 1980 to 1986, participating in contingency operations in Egypt, Panama, Germany and Honduras.

Cara Clark, a Raleigh native, holds a B.F.A. in dance and choreography from VCU and has worked as donor relations coordinator at the Carolina Ballet in Raleigh. She also holds an M.F.A. in film and video production from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has worked as a multimedia specialist at Georgetown University Library's Gelardin New Media Center and as editor and videographer for the American Dance Festival’s video blog.

Dr. T. Greg Prince joined Virginia Commonwealth University’s College of Health Professions on September 19, 2016. Prince has 21 years of professional experience in university development and advancement. Prior to VCU, Prince led the university advancement effort at Salisbury University, a small public regional institution on Maryland’s eastern shore.  During his career, Prince has had a track record of initiating new development programs and donor/stewardship initiatives; as well as forming volunteer groups. He will be serving as the Senior Director of Development for the School and will work closely with the Dean on the School’s top priorities, as well as with the School’s individual department heads.

At SU, Prince created a Women’s Circle focused on philanthropy and mentorship; formed a sales force by adding major gifts officer positions; established an Advancement Services Department; initiated several stewardship efforts, including an annual scholarship luncheon; created a planned giving recognition society and developed a high-end annual fund-level society. He also oversaw the installation of a customer management system which has improved the University’s website. Prince played a role in a multi-million-dollar gift of real estate and a citywide fiber optic cable project, among other major gifts.  His work prior to Salisbury focused on academic medicine development at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and at East Carolina University's Medical & Health Sciences Foundation.  In December 2015, he graduated with his Ed.D. in educational leadership from East Carolina University.

Beth Ayers joined the Department of Health Administration in 2010 and serves at the director of alumni relations. Prior to her current role, she served for five years in a similar capacity in the dean’s office of the College of Health Professions. In her current position, she works with the 2200-plus alumni of the department’s three programs, directs all alumni functions, manages alumni communication and marketing and is involved with donor gifts, stewardship, development and fundraising efforts. Ayers manages all reunions, attends health care-related national conferences and works closely with the Alumni Advisory Council. Beth holds a B.S. in business from Belmont University in Nashville and an M.S. from VCU’s School of Education.

Millar has several years of demonstrated success in alumni relations, fundraising and marketing as well as working with the local Richmond community and board management in the private and public sector. She holds an undergraduate degree from Randolph-Macon College and an M.B.A. from VCU. Her most successful development experience to date includes the establishment of an institutional advancement office with a 50-year constituent base that had never been cultivated for the Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing. This included implementing effective processes and procedures, defining and implementing a strategy for annual giving, creating an alumni council and planning and executing a 50th anniversary. Millar also served as the executive director of a small nonprofit in the Richmond area that supports a local childhood cancer foundation. She has been asked to serve on several boards, speak at national conferences and has received various awards and honors, including Richmondmom.com’s April 2011, “Rockstar.”

Constant serves as the senior director of development for the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences and has been at VCU since 2012. She is a certified fund raising executive by CFRE International and holds a certificate in fundraising and development from the University of Richmond. Constant leads the College of Humanities and Sciences team that is responsible for fundraising and alumni engagement, including the capital campaign, major gifts, annual giving, stewardship, alumni relations and strategic planning. She earned her B.S. in history from Lander University in 2002 and was a member of Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society. She has held various development roles since 2006.

Chnoic Adams Clarke has served as the Development and Alumni Relations manager for the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences since May 2014. She is responsible for direct mail, annual giving, development and alumni relations' online presence within the college and its departments and major gifts. Prior to joining the College of Humanities and Sciences, she was assistant director of development for the VCU School of Pharmacy for nine years. She earned her B.S. in merchandising management from Virginia Tech in 2004 and her post-baccalaureate graduate certificate in nonprofit management from VCU in 2014.

Tyler Conrad is event and communications manager in the College of Humanities and Sciences. He plans, coordinates, publicizes and documents events for the College to increase its scholarship profile and to enhance our reputation with internal and external audiences. Conrad has worked in event management and event coordinating at Virginia Commonwealth University since 2011. In addition to his work, Conrad is a student in the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture, where he studies creative advertising. Conrad lives in Richmond with his wife, Danielle, and their two cats. 

Caitlin Hanbury (M.A.'12/A) was named the assistant director of community affairs for the College of Humanities and Sciences in July 2018. She earned a B.A. in art history and English language and literature from the University of Virginia in 2005 and an M.A. in art history with a concentration in museum studies from VCU in 2012. She handles reputation management and stakeholder strategic messaging with a focus on alumni, donors, prospects and larger community for the College of Humanities and Sciences. She previously served as the stewardship manager for the college and, before VCU, served as a development associate for the Maymont Foundation and as a programs and exhibitions manager for the Hermitage Museum & Gardens. 

Norkus is a graduate of VCU School of the Arts, earning a master’s in art history with a concentration in museum studies. Norkus also held internships at VCU’s Anderson Gallery and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. A native of Raleigh, Norkus developed an early appreciation for the arts through volunteer opportunities at the North Carolina Museum of Art and local non-profits, Artspace and Arts Together. She received her bachelor’s degree in art history from Denison University in Granville, Ohio.

Adcock oversees Massey's Community Advisory Board and Massey Alliance Board. Her role is to facilitate strategic engagement of board members through education, communication and participation and ensure they are equipped to be effective fundraisers, friend raisers and advocates for Massey. She has a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Canisius College. She most recently served as director of development for Norfolk Collegiate School in Hampton Roads and has previously served as director of development for Junior Achievement of Western New York and the National Kidney Foundation serving upstate N.Y. She has been with Massey since August 2015.

Julie Dillon oversees board relations, communications, fundraising-related public relations, peer-to-peer fundraising and event-based fundraising for Massey Cancer Center. Her background includes marketing, public relations and event planning at a small nonprofit, fundraising with the American Cancer Society and directing cause marketing programs for a large corporation. She serves on the board of directors for the National Association of Cancer Center Development Officers (NACCDO). Dillon is passionate about using effective communications and engagement strategies to impact giving and to empower donors and board members to serve as effective advocates.

Margaret Ann Bollmeier provides strategic leadership aimed at strengthening MCV Foundation’s philanthropic efforts and relationships in the community and at Virginia Commonwealth University. A seasoned advancement professional with more than 25 years of experience, including 14 years as a foundation chief executive, Bollmeier has held leadership positions at Cornell University, the University of Virginia, University of Washington, Humanities Washington, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Providence Medical Center Foundation. She received her B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and her J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law.

Thomas joined VCU in 2005 as vice president for the College of Engineering Foundation before joining the MCV Foundation staff in 2009 as senior executive director of development. He was promoted to vice president and chief development officer of the MCV Foundation in December 2015. Thomas has more than 32 years of fundraising experience and has served in leadership positions in national organizations, including CASE and the ABA Section for Institutional Advancement. During his career, Thomas has worked for Hampden-Sydney College, the University of Richmond, Stetson University College of Law and Vanderbilt University. He earned his M.B.A. from the University of Richmond and his B.A. in economics from Hampden-Sydney College. As vice president and chief development officer for the MCV Foundation, Thomas works with donors to secure principal, major and planned gifts for the benefit of the MCV Campus, including five health sciences schools, Massey Cancer Center, VCU Hospitals and other centers and programs.

Alex Henley joined the MCV Foundation as director of marketing communications in January 2016. She has more than 15 years of marketing and communications experience in both the nonprofit and private sectors. Most recently, Henley was social media and publications manager at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, marketing the Commonwealth of Virginia as a premier location for businesses. Her previous experience includes serving as marketing communications manager at ITT Corp. and other communications roles at Fortune 500 companies Microsoft Corp. and Wachovia Securities. A long-time Richmond transplant from the northeast, she began her career at a local private equity firm. Henley has a bachelor’s degree in business/economics from Wheaton College. 

Eric Peters first came to VCU to work on the MCV Campus in 2011 as a public relations specialist in University Relations. For nearly five years he managed media relations and news content for the health sciences schools and spent time as public relations manager for the VCU Center for Clinical and Translational Research. He returned in 2017 to the MCV Campus after working in the federal government for nearly two years. Peters holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from VCU, a master’s degree in corporate and professional communication from Radford University, a Master of Public Administration degree with a concentration in nonprofit management from VCU, and accreditation in public relations from the Public Relations Society of America. He lives in Richmond with his wife, Ramona.

In 2010, Amy joined the major gifts team in the School of Medicine after having served in VCU’s corporate and foundation relations office for six years. Prior to VCU, Amy held development roles at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College and the College of William and Mary. A native Virginian, Amy earned a B.S. in psychology from James Madison University, an M.Ed. from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University and a Ph.D. in higher education from the College of William and Mary.

Erin Lucero loves telling the stories of the medical school’s alumni, donors, faculty and students. In more than 15 years as director of development communications, she has produced a variety of collateral pieces that support philanthropic and alumni relations priorities. She has launched three print periodicals, including the school’s 12th & Marshall alumni magazine as well as an email newsletter for the school’s alumni. Before joining the medical school in 2001, Erin worked for 10 years in what is now the public affairs office on the MCV Campus, coordinating with local, regional and national news crews on stories out of the hospital, cancer center and five health science schools. A graduate of Radford University, she is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Group on Institutional Advancement.

Meyer joined VCU in 2015 with a strong background in public service, fundraising, grant writing and public relations. For the previous five years, she served as chief development officer at the American Civil War Museum in Richmond during their $8 million campaign. She worked as an associate director of corporate and foundation relations for the College of William and Mary. Prior to her tenure at William and Mary, she served for seven years at Old Dominion University, working as a grant writer and then as a major gifts officer in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. Meyer has a master's in public administration and a bachelor of science in communications, both from ODU.

Bryan Heinitz joined the School of Medicine department of psychiatry as assistant to the director of development in 2019. A Richmond native, Heinitz has a bachelor’s degree from Christopher Newport University in arts administration. He came to VCU from St. Joseph’s Villa, a local nonprofit that serves children and their families with various mental health diagnoses. Outside of work, you can find him walking the Capital Trail on a sunny day, visiting one of Richmond’s many breweries or traveling to new cities far and wide.

Jodi T. Smith has served as Senior Development Officer and Director of Constituent Relations for the School of Medicine since 2009. She leads Reunion Weekend programming and reunion class giving campaigns. Jodi also serves as a major gift officer and supervises the Associate Director of Donor Stewardship and Reunions position. From 1999-2005, she was the Director of Annual Giving for the medical school. A native of Richmond, she received her B.A. from Randolph-Macon College in 1994.

A native of Richmond, Carmichael holds a B.A. from Dickinson College, where he majored in English and Spanish, and an M.A. in Spanish literature from the Universidad de Málaga in Spain. After working for several local nonprofits, he joined the School of Medicine in 2014 and works as director of annual giving.

Laura Renaud is a Baltimore native who relocated to Richmond to join the DAR team at VCU in May 2019. Laura graduated from Davidson College with a B.S. in psychology and is currently pursuing her master's degree in communication at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to VCU, Laura worked at Johns Hopkins for six years in various development capacities on both the university and medicine teams, most recently as a gift officer in the department of neurology.

Kathie Spraggins joined the VCU Health team in November of 2015 and has a B.S. in communications education from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. After 13 years in special events at the Smithsonian Institution’s Office of Special Events and National Air and Space Museum, she came to Richmond with her husband and daughter and has been here for 20 years. She previously held positions in marketing at Markel Corporation and most recently as an instructional assistant with Henrico County Public Schools. As a development assistant, Spraggins provides administrative support to the senior development officer and other members of the development team.

Vaughan has been a member of the School of Medicine development office since 2000. She served as the special events coordinator for many years until the economy declined and fewer events were hosted. Vaughan now serves as development coordinator for the associate dean, assistant dean, major gift officers and development directors, processing travel, purchasing, local donor/student events, gift processing and daily office operations.

Priscilla Cash Wiggin joined the VCU School of Medicine’s major giving team in 2015.  Priscilla works with alumni in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and West.

Prior to her major gifts officer role, Priscilla served as Assistant Director of Leadership Annual Giving at VCU Massey Cancer Center.  Priscilla also served in sales and sales management roles for the pharmaceutical and device-manufacturing companies of Hydro-Photon and Sanofi-Aventis, covering domestic territories in the Northeast as well as in Canada and Mexico.  Priscilla’s fundraising career began in San Francisco with the Pacific Crest Outward Bound School, having been a field-based alpine mountaineering and rock climbing instructor for the organization for four years. 

Priscilla holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Public Relations from Radford University and a nursing degree from the Johns Hopkins University.  Priscilla also completed a certificate program in fund raising from the Indiana University Lily Family School of Philanthropy and serves on the nursing advisory board of the Madison School of Healthcare/Ashworth College.

Wyatt joined VCU's Corporate & Foundation Relations Office in 2014 on a graduate fellowship through the Wilder School, where much of his research focused on post-secondary education. Prior to VCU, Wren attended the University of Virginia, graduating with a degree in international relations. He brings a variety of skills and experiences to the School of Medicine, drawing on previous roles as an English teacher overseas, an attorney liaison for a large Richmond law firm and a variety of defense and electrical engineering sales roles.

Anna E. von Gehr joined VCUarts in January 2019 as executive director for development and strategic initiatives.  In this newly created position, von Gehr works concomitantly with the dean of VCUarts in managing philanthropic efforts for the school while developing innovative models for advancement centered on collaborations with the schools of Arts, Medicine, and Business and the College of Engineering.  

Before joining VCUarts, she was chief officer for advancement and external affairs for the Florida State University Cultural Center and The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art.  Under her leadership she reorganized the development operation, doubling fundraising results and completing a $100 million campaign.

A veteran of museum and arts administration, von Gehr has served in several leadership roles, including director of university arts development at the University of Virginia, Washington and Lee University, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Oakland Museum of California.  

She was a Regent Scholar at the University of California Santa Cruz and majored in history. She earned a master's in museum studies with an emphasis in nonprofit management and development from San Francisco State University.

Kerr joined the VCUarts development team in August 2012, where she serves as director of events and sponsorships. She previously worked for VCU's Office of the President as manager of the Scott House. She earned her M.F.A. in ceramics from James Madison University.

Johnston is proud to have been a part of the VCU Department of Music since 1988. She is an alumna of VCU Music with a bachelor of music education degree. She also serves as music director/organist at Pine Street Baptist Church, where she has served since 1972. Johnston serves the Department of Music as the fiscal administrator as well as human resources liaison. One of her many responsibilities in the department is to maintain relationships with VCU Music alumni and donors. 

Silitch leads the communications strategy at VCUarts. She has 14 years of communications and management experience in an academic setting, with expertise in strategic planning, external affairs, print and web communications. Prior to joining VCU, she worked at Williams College, where she was the college's creative director. She also served as the communications and external affairs director at the Williams College Museum of Art. She has a graduate certificate in business administration from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (2013), an M.F.A. in painting from SUNY Stony Brook (2001) and a B.A. from Mary Washington College (1995), where she double majored in sociology (concentration anthropology) and fine art. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and the American Marketing Association.

Toalson joined VCU School of Business as director of development in 2014. She has lengthy experience in a higher education fundraising environment and has had significant involvement in all aspects of institutional advancement programs. Toalson takes a leadership role for development activities at the School of Business and represents all departments, centers and institutes. Her work includes volunteer management, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of prospects and donors as well as deferred giving programs. She plans and participates in corporate, foundation and individual giving and actively seeks to expand constituent groups who will invest in School of Business initiatives. Her previous experience includes associate regional director of major gifts at Virginia Tech, director of development at John Tyler Community College and assistant director of leadership annual giving/special gifts at Radford University. She earned an M.S. in corporate and professional communications and a B.S. in media studies/minor in public relations from Radford University.

Payton graduated from the Robertson School of Media and Culture at VCU in 1983 and has been an employee since 1990. She was an assistant director in the VCU Alumni activities office from 1990-1995. From 2000 until 2012, she served as executive director of the MCV Alumni Association before being recruited to become the development director for leadership annual giving for the School of Dentistry. She serves as the director of development for major gifts for the School of Dentistry.

Cristina Cruz serves as the assistant director of development communications and special events at the VCU School of Dentistry. She manages the school's donor relations efforts, including alumni engagement and stewardship events, and coordinates alumni and donor communications. She has worked in development at the School of Dentistry since 2010 and has a background in public relations and event management. Cruz is a 2006 graduate of James Madison University with a B.A. in public relations and Spanish.

From 2012 to 2015, Kardos served as director of development for major gifts at the VCU School of Dentistry, where he secured more than $3.5 million in total donations dedicated to scholarship and professorship endowments. In 2004, Kardos had been charged with reframing the school’s development and alumni program and completing the capital campaign begun in 1999. Prior to joining the School of Dentistry, Kardos served as executive director of development for the VCU School of Nursing, director of development for Benedictine High School and the first full-time annual giving director at James Madison University. He is a Nina Abady Award recipient (2004), the highest award given by the Virginia Association of Fundraising Executives for lifetime career excellence.

Burkett joined the School of Education in August 2014 after spending two years at University of Richmond as communications manager for the Office of Alumni and Career Services. A graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, Burkett focuses her efforts on supporting the mission and initiatives of the school by developing and implementing a comprehensive communications strategy consistent and integrated with VCU strategic goals and brand requirements. She also manages the communications team and provides communications council to school leadership. She has more than 10 years of experience in communications and public relations, including at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Edelman Public Relations and Chandler Chicco companies.

Correa joined the development team in March of 2015. He has 14 years of experience in development and nonprofit management. Prior to joining VCU, he served as chief executive officer of Project 375 (formerly The Brandon Marshall Foundation) based in Chicago. He also served as an associate consultant for Campbell & Co., a fundraising consulting firm based in Chicago, where he worked with many arts and higher education clients throughout the U.S. Prior to his time in Chicago, Louie spent nearly a decade in Indianapolis in development roles with The Children's Museum of Indianapolis and The TKE Foundation. He has authored articles in Advancing Philanthropy and chapters in Giving USA. He has a master's degree from the Lilly School of Philanthropy at Indiana University (2010) and bachelor's degrees in rhetoric and English from the University of Illinois (2002).

Sorensen previously served as development coordinator for VCUarts. After receiving her B.S. in sociology from James Madison University in 2010, she interned for the summer with the VCU donor relations team. Following her experience at the VCU Foundation, she became the administrative assistant to the dean of external affairs at the VCU School of Business from August 2010-January 2013. She is a native of Richmond.

Katharine re-joined the VCU Development Team as Gift Stewardship and Special Events Coordinator at the School of Pharmacy.  Katharine is a 2015 VCUarts alumna from the Department of Sculpture.  She previously served as a Development Coordinator at VCUarts before a stint in the Development office at the Science Museum of Richmond. 

Mary Riddick joined the School of Social Work team after three years in working with VCU's annual giving team. Aside from assisting the dean with direct marketing efforts, Mary will be connecting with social work alumni, emeriti faculty, community partners, and friends to the school to engage them with future initiatives that will shape the next 100 years of service to the community. Riddick earned a B.A. from Virginia Tech, an M.P.A. from Old Dominion University, and is currently working on her doctor of educational leadership in VCU's School of Education.

Anthony Muscatello is an Ohio native, graduating from Youngstown State University (B.S.B.A '08, M.S.Ed '10). He joined VCU via Drexel University where he served students, faculty and staff in Recreational Athletics. Anthony has been with VCU Recreational Sports since May 2012. During his time, he's worked with operations and special events overseeing the Cary Street Gym and the MCV Recreation and Aquatics Center. Most recently, Anthony has moved to a marketing, outreach, and development role within Rec Sports. His focus is the development of membership, programs, community engagement, and corporate partnerships. Anthony will also provide focus on VCU alumni involvement through membership and special events. 

Burke is executive director of the VCU Foundation. He joined VCU in 1986 as the external relations officer for the School of Dentistry. At the School of Dentistry, Burke was responsible for fundraising activities and concluded his 13-year tenure as assistant dean for development and continuing education. In 2000, he was named executive director of the VCU Foundation. As director, he oversees day-to-day operations, investments and development activities. During his 30 years at VCU, he has been involved in all three of the university’s capital campaigns, which have raised more than $800 million in support of university priorities.

Antonia F.D. Vassar graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2005 with a B.A. in music. She became interested in fundraising and philanthropy after working in the VCU Libraries Development Office as a student. She enjoys seeing VCU Libraries donors engaged and active in the larger VCU and Richmond communities.

Dahl joined VCU in 1998 as director of special projects for the newly conceived VCU Life Sciences -- primarily focused on developing outreach programs. In 2006, with the formation of a site development plan for the VCU Rice Rivers Center, she became director of development for VCU Life Sciences. Prior to moving to Richmond, she lived in England, her native country, working in the financial sector. She earned her B.A. from Wellesley College, Tripos Part III from Cambridge University, U.K., in mathematics and her M.A. from the University of Virginia in international relations.