Faculty
Conference Chair
Ivan Adames
As the chief development officer, Ivan Adames is responsible for the fundraising and advancement services units at DePaul University, the largest Catholic university in the US.
He was previously the Executive Director of Schools & Programs at Northwestern University where he oversaw multiple schools & program development teams. Ivan also served as the director of development for international programs at Johns Hopkins University. A former Fulbright Scholar (Germany) and CASE Fellow, he has held professional positions at varied education institutions including the Ohio State University, Imperial College London, and the University of Massachusetts Foundation. Adames is a past board member and current advisor of the Science of Philanthropy Initiative at the University of Chicago. He has been an active volunteer for the Council for the Advancement & Support of Education (CASE), having served on the CASE Commission on Philanthropy, district leadership boards, and on multiple conference faculty. Ivan was a recent contributor and chapter author for the book Advancing Higher Education: New Strategies for Fundraising, Philanthropy, and Engagement (2019)
Faculty
Damon Cates
Most recently, Damon Cates worked as senior vice president for advancement at Loyola Chicago. Prior to that he spent more than six years as UChicago's senior associate vice president and campaign director in the Office of Alumni Relations and Development.
He has spent time in development roles at the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford, and before that he served an additional six years at UChicago assisting the medical center as well as the Booth and Law Schools with ARD work. In addition to his Booth degree, Cates has his bachelor's degree from Millikin University and his doctorate with a concentration in philanthropy from the University of Pennsylvania.
Leslie Hutchens
Leslie Hutchens is currently the director of development at Flint Hill School in Oakton, Virginia. With 25 years of experience, she has been fortunate to be a part of a broad range of institutions, from JK-12 day and boarding schools to universities. These experiences have helped her find that at their core, all development offices have more similarities than differences.
In her current role, she participated in Flint Hill’s first capital campaign in nearly 20 years. This experience was a reminder of the great work development offices can do to build a strong community. In her daily roles with the school, she oversees annual giving, leadership giving, stewardship, and alumni relations.
Before joining Flint Hill, she was director of annual giving and parent programs at The Madeira School in McLean, Virginia. In that role, she oversaw a $1.8M annual giving program, parent engagement and development operations. Madeira launched a $65M million capital campaign during her time there, and she was responsible for keeping the annual giving program a priority for the Madeira community.
Prior to Madeira, Hutchens was the director of annual funds and major gifts at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., where she grew the annual giving program to a record level in dollars raised as well as both alumni and parent participation.
She was previously the director of annual giving at the University of Richmond, where she managed both the annual giving program and the Spider Athletic Fund. From 1996-1998 she ran the annual fund program at the Haverford School, a PK-12 boys school in Haverford, Pennsylvania. She began her development career in the Alumnae Affairs Office at Hollins College.
Hutchens is a frequent speaker with CASE, a recipient of the CASE Crystal Apple for Excellence in Teaching, and the author of a chapter in “Philanthropy in Independent Schools” (NAIS, 2009).
Elizabeth Keppel
Elizabeth Keppel is the director of annual giving & digital strategy at Johns Hopkins University, where she oversees the institution's graduate and undergraduate giving strategies. Prior to joining the Hopkins team in April 2020, Elizabeth served in several roles at the University of Florida, most recently as the director of annual giving and strategic initiatives. In that role, she led a comprehensive, university-wide leadership annual giving program which also served as the organization's talent pipeline for major gift fundraisers.
At the outset of her fundraising career, she worked as an assistant director in the Office of Lifetime Philanthropic Engagement & Annual Giving at her alma mater, the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Elizabeth has a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Education in Higher Education Administration from William & Mary.
Guest Speaker
Dan C. Peterson
Dan Peterson joined the University of Washington in 2016 and serves as vice president for development for university advancement and president of the UW Foundation. He has served in senior leadership roles for four leading public research universities, including as Vice Chancellor/CAO at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Dan is focused on fostering a best-in-class fully integrated advancement organization at UW, in close partnership with college and unit leaders, with a mission of enhancing the impact UW has throughout the world. His 30-year career in the field includes 21 years at Washington State University, where he served as Campaign Director, the Director of Gift Planning, Associate Athletic Director, Regional Giving Director, and the Director of Athletic Development. Dan’s tenure also includes UW Medicine Advancement and Oregon State University Foundation.
Dan was raised in Federal Way, WA, is a 1982 graduate of WSU and earned his law degree from Seattle University in 1985. He is a member of the Washington State Bar Association.