Executive Directors & Foundations Pre-Conference Workshop
Arrive a bit early to maximize your time in Baltimore. The following Pre-Conference program is specifically designed for you and is led by community college advancement professionals from across the country. Separate registration is required and includes all sessions in your pre-conference as well as breakfast and early registration for Conference for Community College Advancement.
Executive Directors and Foundations
Frustrated by a lack of clarity about the role of the board in relation to your college’s and your foundation’s mission? Tired of the 80/20 rule describing your board? Ever wonder, "Do we have the right board to achieve our audacious goals?" or “How can our board be more engaged in our annual fundraising or capital campaign?” Come explore how you can define the relationship with and the responsibilities of your board and increase board engagement at all levels. Led by the Dutchess Community College Foundation and Community College of Aurora Foundation, participants will dig into topics like Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), board roles and responsibilities, strategic planning, board engagement and self-assessment, and practical, hands-on activities to expand your board’s fundraising capacity. NOTICE: this is not a passive session! Come ready to reflect, reimagine, plan next steps, and unleash the potential of your board.
Schedule:
8:00 AM – 8:30 AM Registration and Breakfast
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM Workshop Part 1
10:15 AM – 11:30 AM Workshop Part 2
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Lunch on your own
1:00 PM CCCA Opening Plenary
Speakers
Diana Pollard
Diana Pollard has been a member of the DCC Foundation team for 19 years and now leads its efforts. Pollard has been involved in fundraising in some fashion since 1990. She has risen through the ranks at the Foundation starting as the Coordinator of Annual Fund and Special Events, then promoted to the Assistant Director, then the Executive Director and is now the Associate Vice President of Institutional advancement and Executive Director. She has helped take the DCC Foundation’s net assets from $3.7M in 2005 to more than $17 M in 2024. Diana is a former member of SUNY’s Council for University Advancement Board of Directors and has been a leading member for SUNY’s Community College Chief Advancement Officers group, co-chairing programing for its annual retreat for the past 12 years. She has presented at several conferences for SUNY, AFP, CASE DII and CASE Community College Conference. Under her leadership, the DCC Foundation received the 2019 CASE Educational Fundraising Excellence Award. In 2020 she received the AFP Outstanding Fundraising Professional Award. Her academic credentials consist of a CFRM from the University of Indiana’s Lilly School of Philanthropy and an MBA in marketing.
John Wolfkill
John Wolfkill is Executive Director of the Community College of Aurora (CCA) Foundation. He has served in this role since 2016. CCA Foundation provides over $700,000 in scholarships to students each year. More importantly, within two years of receiving their first scholarship, 84% of students complete a credential, transfer to a four-year university or are still enrolled at CCA. During its quiet phase, CCAF has secured $16.6 million toward its $18 million campaign for the Center for STEM, Power Mechanics and Applied Technologies.
Since completing his Master’s degree at the University of Southern California, he has led community development efforts at Watts Labor Community Action Committee and P.F. Bresee Foundation in Los Angeles and served in executive leadership roles at Tulsa Community Foundation and KIPP Tulsa, a public charter school network.
John is the chair for Leadership Aurora Board of Directors. He has been co-chair for Education Day for numerous years and serves on the planning committee for Emerging Leaders. He is a Rotarian and serves as a small group leader for highschoolers. Outside of work and volunteering, you will find John enjoying the Colorado life with his wife and two sons mountain biking, skiing, hiking or sitting by a camp fire.