RAISE Podcast

Suzanne Hilser-Wiles, President, partners with GG+A clients around the globe to help them elevate their fundraising by offering more than 25 years of experience in advancement, program building, and campaign planning and implementation. Throughout her career, she has helped design, rebuild, and reimagine programs by applying her experience with a wide range of advancement programs and institutions. Her extensive previous professional experience includes fundraising, alumni relations, communications, and marketing.

Suzanne joined GG+A in 2011 and was appointed to the firm’s executive committee in 2013. In 2016, she became the firm’s first woman president in its nearly 60-year history. In addition to her other responsibilities, she leads the firm’s Europe and UK practice.

She has worked closely with her clients through their individual challenges and opportunities, including ambitious campaigns, changes in leadership, crises, and restructuring.

Suzanne has partnered with GG+A clients across all of the firm’s sectors, providing strategic counsel to advancement teams and institutional leadership. This vast array of clients includes the Art Institute of Chicago; Carnegie Mellon University; Charlotte Country Day School; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Drexel University; Fuller Theological Seminary; IESE Business School; Indiana University; The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Pomona College; and Tate.

Prior to joining the firm, Suzanne served as Vice-Chancellor for Advancement at University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), overseeing fundraising, alumni relations and all marketing and communications for the university. She also served on an executive team advising the university’s chancellor on all major policy decisions and as the primary staff member for the Advancement Committee of the Board of Trustees. Suzanne joined UNCSA from CancerCare, a national healthcare nonprofit based in New York City, where she served as Director of External Affairs.

Before joining CancerCare, Suzanne served as Senior Development Officer for Corporate Annual Programs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she oversaw the Museum’s annual corporate fundraising program and staffed the Museum’s business committee. Previously, Suzanne served as Associate Director of Individual and Leadership Giving at the Museum of Modern Art. Suzanne began her career in institutional advancement with Pets are Wonderful Support in San Francisco, where she served as Director of Development.

Suzanne received her Bachelor of Arts degree in art history from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds a Master of Arts degree in arts administration from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. She has served as a board member of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City; as a class agent for the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, NY; and as a parent fundraiser for Summit School in Winston-Salem, NC and The Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, PA, among other volunteer positions.

Sergio M. Gonzalez joined Brown University as Senior Vice President for Advancement in 2017. He oversees all advancement areas across the institution, including development, alumni relations, corporate and foundation relations, international advancement, the Brown Sports Foundation, and the Brown Annual Fund. Before landing at Brown, Gonzalez served as Senior Vice President for University Advancement and External Affairs at the University of Miami from 2001-2017. He was the architect and leader of two successful fundraising campaigns that together raised more than $3 billion.

Prior to joining the University of Miami, Gonzalez served in multiple roles in Miami-Dade County government, including Chief of Staff for the Miami-Dade County Executive Mayor, Director of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, and Executive Director of the South Florida 1999 Super Bowl Host Committee. Gonzalez is chair of the Board of Trustees for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). He also chaired the CASE U.S./Canada Regional Council. Gonzalez also chaired an annual CASE conference for Latin American university presidents and advancement practitioners over a number of years, and speaks frequently on the advancement profession to diverse audiences in the US and abroad. Gonzalez has a long history of civic service both in Miami and since coming to Providence. He is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and has served on the Board of Directors of UnidosUS, the largest national Hispanic advocacy and civil rights organization.

Other past board service includes Belen Jesuit Prep School in Miami, the Orange Bowl, Breakthrough Miami, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. In Providence, Gonzalez served on the board of the Trinity Repertory Theater and currently serves on the board of the Wheeler School.

Prior to joining Carolina in 2023, Andreasen served as senior vice president for university advancement at the University of Oregon, overseeing all aspects of advancement including development; state, community and federal affairs; advancement operations; stewardship and public events and alumni relations. During his tenure, he consistently increased annual fundraising totals and secured some of the largest donations to any public flagship university.

Andreasen began his time at UO as the vice president for development, leading efforts to establish campaign priorities, setting a working goal of $1.2 billion and developing a communications plan for the public launch in collaboration with the president, executive leadership and deans. Over 12 years, he served as a member of the University of Oregon Foundation Board, the Alumni Association Board, the Portland Business Alliance Board and the Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce.

Prior to joining UO, Andreasen was at the University of Michigan for seven years — first as executive director and assistant dean for advancement for development and alumni relations and then as executive director and assistant dean for advancement at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. His more than 32 years of fundraising experience include roles in major gifts and campaign leadership at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the American Film Institute. He began his career as the director of the annual fund for the University of California, Irvine, where he also earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science.

Jeff Webb, U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1995, is President and CEO of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation. Prior to assuming this role, Jeff spent 15 years in the wealth management industry. In his most recent position as a Principal with Bessemer Trust, he led new client development efforts in a four-state region. Before joining Bessemer, he served in a similar capacity with J.P. Morgan. He previously served as a vice president of Business Development for a renewable fuel company and was the general manager of a group of luxury automotive franchises in Virginia.

Jeff spent five years in Naval Special Warfare. He served as a SEAL Platoon Commander as well as a Task Unit Assistant at SEAL Team Eight. He deployed twice aboard EISENHOWER in those roles and operated in Europe and the Middle East. He served as an Assistant SEAL Platoon Commander at SEAL Team Four, where he deployed to Latin America.

Jeff co-founded Run to Honor, a nonprofit dedicated to perpetuating the memory of Naval Academy alumni lost in combat or training operations. He was an elected trustee of the Naval Academy Alumni Association (2011-17) and served on the Naval Academy Superintendent’s Memorial Oversight Committee (2010-22). He also served as a director of Students Run Philly Style, a nonprofit that trains and mentors high-risk high school youth through the completion of endurance running events.

Jeff earned a B.S. in Ocean Engineering from the Naval Academy, where he was captain of the cycling team. He later earned an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia. He is married to Shannon Revell Webb, a 2004 Naval Academy graduate and a former EOD Officer. They have four children, all named in honor of Naval Academy graduates. The Webb family resides in Annapolis.

Mark Delos Reyes Davis is Vice Chancellor for University Relations at UC Santa Cruz and President of the UC Santa Cruz Foundation. He leads the university’s external engagement efforts overseeing raising philanthropic support, strengthening relationships with university stakeholders, and promoting the good work of the campus.

Davis has spent more than two decades in higher education administration with responsibility for driving a wide range of initiatives. He previously served as senior adviser to two university presidents and has overseen alumni relations, international relations, executive communications, and campaign planning. Prior to joining UC Santa Cruz in 2020, he served as the associate vice president for university advancement and campaign director at Carnegie Mellon University and held senior roles at Rice University.

About Alex: Alex Lawrence is the Executive Director for the Advancement Leadership Lab (ALL). Alex is no stranger to the leadership lab as she developed the pilot curriculum in 2018 and is thrilled to be back in this capacity as the organization expands its impact across the Advancement industry.

Alex’s professional passions have always been rooted in people-focused work, with her career start in human resources consulting. Alex focused on leadership development, mergers and acquisitions, and recruitment strategy in Fortune 500, start-up, and non-profit environments throughout North Carolina, Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin, Arizona, England, Germany, and Tanzania. This global experience led her to higher education Advancement, where she has led organizational and people operations in multiple chief of staff roles over the last decade. After being in an advisory role for the lab over the last few years, transitioning to this work full time as its own 501c3 has been an exciting opportunity to build the foundation for ALL’s long-term success and sustainability.

Alex has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Services and Counseling Psychology from Elon University and a Master of Arts degree in Higher Education Administration from The Ohio State University. She lives in Columbus, OH with her husband, Danny, and puppy son, Larry.

About Michael: A graduate of the University of California, San Diego, Mike Eicher began his career in higher education at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he rose from associate director of development in the School of Medicine to deputy director and director, and from there to vice provost for medical science development, then assistant and associate vice chancellor. Under his leadership as vice chancellor, Campaign UCLA, a 10-year effort completed in 2005, raised $3.05 billion.

Prior to joining Ohio State, Mike served for six years as senior vice president for external affairs and development at Johns Hopkins University, where he led the Johns Hopkins: Knowledge for the World Campaign. That effort focused on student aid and faculty support, construction of clinical buildings at the medical campus and important renovation projects. It closed in 2008 with commitments of more than $3.7 billion.

Mike returned to a public university because he believes in its noble mission and great power. He joined Ohio State in fall 2012 as senior vice president for Advancement and president of The Ohio State University Foundation. Building on his goal to inspire people to choose Ohio State – for their education, medical care, research support, entertainment and more – he has set out to share the university’s most compelling stories, engage more than half a million alumni, and expand private philanthropy to support Ohio State’s core priorities.

Under Mike’s direction, Ohio State streamlined and integrated its communications and marketing, alumni relations and fundraising teams. He led the But for Ohio State Campaign, which raised over $3 billion from more than 750,000 donors and became the university’s most successful fundraising effort ever. Mike built upon that momentum and, along with his team, planned and launched Time and Change: The Ohio State Campaign in fall 2019. While its financial goal is the largest in Ohio State’s history — $4.5 billion focused on student success; discovery; and healthy, vibrant communities — what truly sets this campaign apart from all others is its goal to engage 1 million supporters, which is unprecedented in higher education.

Mike is focused on organizational growth, health, and wellness, which led to Advancement’s establishment of a chief diversity officer position and the Advancement Inclusion Council. Both serve as resources by providing personal and professional development opportunities for staff.

Mike’s commitment to putting people first has been instrumental in the transformation of Advancement during his tenure. He lives in Columbus with his wife, Inez, and travels frequently. They have two grown children: Brandon Eicher (Kate) and Christine Peterson (Shane). They also have three young granddaughters who they love to spend time with.

Scott Rabenold was appointed Senior Vice President for university advancement at the University of Southern California in February of 2023. In this capacity, he leads the university’s comprehensive efforts to build relationships with its philanthropic communities, including alumni, friends, corporations and foundations, and to secure resources to ensure the university’s global leadership in higher education.

As the leader of the Advancement Division, Rabenold works closely with the deans and advancement professionals across every USC school and unit to advance the university’s strategic priorities and raise financial support for students, faculty and research, health care, the arts, athletics, community programs and many other initiatives. The USC Alumni Association, which builds programs to engage more than 463,000 USC alumni worldwide, is also a major focus of the Advancement Division.

An accomplished development leader with a history of building high-performing teams, Rabenold comes to USC from the University of Texas at Austin, where he served as vice president for development since 2016. During his tenure, the university launched the $6 billion “What Starts Here” campaign.

Previously, he served as vice chancellor for development and alumni affairs and in other leadership roles at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Earlier in his career, he worked at Wake Forest University and the University of Memphis.

A native of Iowa, he holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa and an MBA from Drake University. He and his wife, Sarah, reside in Pasadena with their four children, Spencer, Sam, Senait and Suri.

Fritz Schroeder became Senior Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations in October 2012 and has served Johns Hopkins for more than 23 years in a series of senior management roles.

He provides leadership and oversight for all fundraising and alumni efforts of the university and Johns Hopkins Medicine, and serves as the institution’s chief fundraising officer. He was responsible for planning and executing the recently concluded Rising to the Challenge campaign, which received more than $6 billion in commitments.

Schroeder joined Johns Hopkins in 1996 as Director of Annual Giving and became Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations in 2000. During this time he had responsibility for alumni outreach and for annual giving programs, serving as the Executive Director of the Alumni Association.

In 2004, Schroeder became Associate Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, with a promotion to Senior Associate Vice President in 2006. He shared responsibility with deans and directors for the university’s decentralized fundraising operations in the schools and other units; provided leadership for centralized development support offices; and took the lead on strategic planning, budget planning and oversight, trustee stewardship, prospect strategy development, and general organizational issues.

Schroeder joined Johns Hopkins from the University of Maryland at College Park, where he had served since 1989 in a number of roles, including Director of Annual Giving from 1993 to 1996.

He is a frequent speaker and conference leader, serves as a trustee of CASE, and is the author of the 2000 book Annual Giving: A Practical Approach as well as several other fundraising chapters. In addition, he is currently leading an effort to develop a more consistent advancement curriculum through the work of a task force established by CASE in the fall of 2017.

Schroeder is a 1989 graduate of James Madison University. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland at College Park in 1994.

Rhea Turteltaub is the UCLA Vice Chancellor, External Affairs. She oversees one of the nation's leading advancement organizations, a diverse and integrated department comprised of Alumni Affairs, Development, Advancement Services, Government & Community Relations, Employee & Organizational Engagement, as well as the UCLA Alumni Association, and the UCLA Foundation.

Over the course of 7.5 years, Rhea led the $5.49 billion Centennial Campaign for UCLA. The Campaign concluded in December, 2019 – in the midst of UCLA’s 100th anniversary celebration. During the initiative, nearly 220,000 donors from all 50 states and 98 additional countries contributed more than 574,000 gifts, helping to shepherd another century of groundbreaking achievements in teaching, research, and service. She is now in the preparatory phase for UCLA’s next campaign.

Prior to her arrival at UCLA in 1994, Rhea held leadership roles at Otis College of Art and Design and The University of Chicago, as well as campaign positions at the University of California, Berkeley, and her alma mater, Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where she served on the Board of Trustees for twelve years.

Barry Benson, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement, is the senior fundraiser and responsible for managing frontline advancement efforts for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Serving on the Chancellor’s Executive Leadership Council, Vice Chancellor Benson, who also holds a Senior Vice President title at the University of Illinois Foundation, leads a team of approximately 275 advancement professionals both centrally and within over 20 colleges/units.

Benson is an experienced advancement professional who relocated with his wife and three daughters (two of whom attend UIUC while the youngest is a senior in high school) to Urbana-Champaign from the University of Arizona in March 2017. In Tucson, AZ, he served for nearly a decade in escalating capacities culminating in the role of Senior Vice President for Development where he was responsible for successfully achieving a $1.5 billion campaign goal two years ahead of schedule and while overseeing all central campaign activities, marketing and communications, planned giving and regional development for the University of Arizona Foundation. Benson also has extensive experience leading successful college-based advancement programs in business and engineering. Vice Chancellor Benson is active in the advancement industry participating in various leadership capacities and speaking engagements. In addition to his higher education experience, Benson also is an active civil servant having served on various nonprofit community boards.

A finance graduate and former collegiate baseball letterman from the University of Northern Colorado (Greeley, CO), Benson also holds a Master of Business Administration from Colorado State University (Ft. Collins, CO) and is a former Certified Financial Planner practitioner who values spending time with family and friends while also enjoying the outdoors golfing, skiing, and doing yardwork (yes, it’s true).