On this week’s Alumless, Chris and Ryan welcome Jeff Williams, Assistant Vice President for People and Engagement at the University of Maryland, for a conversation focused on the internal dynamics of advancement work. With a role that blends talent development, team culture, and stakeholder engagement, Jeff offers a unique perspective on how investing in people directly influences external engagement success. The conversation explores Jeff’s first year in the role and strategies for building a high-performing culture. Jeff also discusses how internal partnerships and professional development can help advancement shops retain top talent and create more integrated approaches to alumni and donor engagement. Subscribe to Alumless for the extended podcast conversation, including our 30-minute bonus segment with Jeff, and special thanks to Protopia for sponsoring this episode. Visit protopia.co/alumless for more details about the technology that helped LSE and Northwestern win CASE awards in 2024.

In this episode of Alumless, hosts Ryan and Chris are joined by Sean Devendorf, Executive Director of Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving at Tufts University, for a conversation on aligning alumni engagement and annual giving teams to drive more efficient and effective advancement outcomes. Sean shares his experience leading this integration at Tufts, reflecting on the early challenges, lessons learned, and the tangible benefits of uniting two traditionally siloed areas under a common strategy. The conversation explores how restructuring, goal-setting, and shared metrics have helped his team work more collaboratively. This episode offers insights for advancement leaders looking to build a more integrated model and reimagine how engagement and philanthropy can work hand in hand. Subscribe to the Alumless podcast for the extended bonus segment with Sean, and special thanks to AlumniQ for sponsoring this episode. Visit alumniq.com.

In this episode of Alumless, Ryan and Chris are joined by Gina Yazzolino, Assistant Vice President for Constituent Engagement at the University of Portland, for a conversation about how engagement strategy is evolving to include more than just alumni. Gina shares insights from her work building a constituent engagement team that casts a broader net.

Our conversation explores how Gina and her team are working to align engagement with fundraising and integrate engagement into a unified advancement model. Gina also discusses the challenges of cultural change, the role of strategic communications, and how institutions can bridge long-standing gaps between engagement and development work.

Subscribe to Alumless for the extended podcast conversation, and thanks to Protopia for sponsoring this episode. Visit protopia.co/alumless for more details about their unique technology that helps alumni teams scale volunteerism.