SUNY CAO Retreat Schedule
Thursday, January 9, 2025
| Time | Activity/Description |
|---|---|
| 10:00am to 10:15am Welcome | Mark Pastorella, associate vice president, development, Monroe Community College Foundation, and Co-Chair, 2025 SUNY Chief Advancement Officers Conference AND Jenna Bichler, executive director, Erie Community College Foundation and Co-Chair, 2025 SUNY Chief Advancement Officers Conference Welcome to the 14th annual SUNY Community College Chief Advancement Officers Conference! We continue to foster relationships and professional development as we collectively seek to advance the mission of our respective community colleges! The 2025 Chief Advancement Officers conference is open to all development professionals in any function or aspect of fundraising, alumni relations, scholarship management, board management, stewardship and more. We seek to explore new ideas, highlight extraordinary support provided by SUNY, strengthen our inclusion efforts in alumni engagement and learn how we can use scholarships effectively to impact the decision of students to enroll. |
| 10:15am to 11:00am SUNY Update | Nisha Atre, Executive Director, SUNY Impact Foundation AND Marianne Hassan, chief of staff, Provost Office, SUNY Founded in 2016, the SUNY Impact Foundation was established to facilitate partnerships between the philanthropic community and the SUNY system. The Foundation enables private support of high-impact student focused programs. The Office of the Provost is a multi-faceted unit with broad and diverse responsibilities ranging from the development of policy and academic program review to data collection, implementation of technology and more. Importantly, at its foundation, is a clearly defined focus on enhancing the academic profile and reputation of the State University. |
| 11:00am to 12:00pm Key Session 1 | David Belsky, Founder and CEO, Good Rebellion Good Rebellion is a full-service agency that solves communications challenges through strategy and design. By bridging perception and prose, Good Rebellion delivers a messaging machine that ensures you stand out from the crowd, without sacrificing what you stand for. They work with purpose-driven organizations in fields like education, non-profit, philanthropy, health care, politics, and government. Learn more about Public Relations, Strategic Planning and Marketing/Content development in this session led by Good Rebellion. |
| 12:00pm to 1:30pm Lunch and Presentation | Jennifer Vincent, Account Executive, Blackbaud Higher Education Solutions and Immediate Past President, Apra Carolinas As presenting sponsor and a valued resource, Blackbaud Higher Education Solutions has distinguished itself as a forward-thinking corporate partner and in this “working lunch” session, Jennifer Vincent will focus on two areas: Tips, Tricks and Timesavers in Blackbaud products along with a review of the latest fundraising trends and tips seen by Blackbaud partners nationwide! |
| 1:30pm to 2:00pm | Networking and Technology break |
| 2:00pm to 3:15pm Keynote Presentation | G. James Lemoine, Ph.D. - Stories and Servants: A Brief Introduction to Servant Leadership One of the most consistent outcomes of research on why people leave their jobs (and why people aren’t engaged if they stay) is that leadership plays a far larger role than most people realize. Dr. James Lemoine, a frequently published leadership researcher, uses humor and vivid stories from American history to describe one of the most effective approaches – servant leadership – including what it means and how it can realistically be put into practice in simple, daily ways. Join us for this interactive presentation, during which you’ll receive new leadership tips and ideas that you can implement in just a few minutes a day. |
| 3:15pm to 3:30 pm | Networking and Technology break |
| 3:30pm to 4:15pm Key Session 2 | My Three-Year Sabbatical: Lessons Learned. Steven G. Frederick, Vice President, Advancement, Clinton Community College After nearly two decades in the advancement field at a public community college, I took a three-year sabbatical to serve as Vice President for Advancement at Paul Smith’s College, a small private four-year college in the Adirondacks. The experience revealed notable contrasts in philanthropic culture and operational strategy between public and private institutions. In this session, we will explore key insights into these differences, discussing how fundraising approaches can vary significantly. |
4:15pm to 5:00pm | Artificial Intelligence, Higher Education and how it can help you! Jill Vogel, M.Ed., Senior Philanthropy Advisor and Director of Development Innovation, Empire State University |
| 5:30pm to 6:30pm | Cocktail Reception |
| 6:30pm | Dinner and Familiar Feud! |
Friday, January 10, 2025
| Time | Activity/Description |
|---|---|
| 8:30am to 9:30am | Breakfast Roundtables Join colleagues and friends for breakfast and open discussion on topics that will include board management, fundraising trends, alumni giving and artificial intelligence. |
| 9:30am to 10:30am Key Session 4 | What is the SUNY Institute for Local News (SUNY ILN)? Todd Franko, Editor and Development Leader, SUNY Institute for Local News This presentation will offer a look at the mission of the SUNY ILN as well as the decline in local news services around the state. Local news and its historic strength have changed due to the digital economy expansion in the last 20 years. If we are to have local news to support our mission, we need new ways to create it. With SUNY ILN, community colleges can serve to support local news needs -empowering students to write about events that otherwise go unnoticed and unwatched. |
| 10:30am to Noon SUNY Community College Advancement Panel | Moderated by Bob Duckworth, fundraising solutions consultant, Npact Solutions, an esteemed panel will foster a discussion on the most pressing challenges facing their advancement offices and solutions that deliver success. Your questions and challenges will be discussed in this interactive session designed to foster open discussion and identify solutions. |