Faculty
Meet Your Co-Chairs
Nina Cohen Bohn
Nina Cohen Bohn has 17 years' experience in higher education fundraising, following a 15 year career in advertising sales and marketing in television, custom magazine publishing and professional sports teams. She began her career in fundraising in 2001, at MIT's Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, MA, which led to a move overseas in 2005 with her young family to lead the major gifts team at the London Business School. In 2013, LBS launched their first ever comprehensive campaign to raise £100m, and Nina became their Deputy Director of Advancement leading the principal gifts fundraising in London and Asia Pacific, managing the twenty person global campaign committee and prioritising the collaboration of school-wide initiatives which involve and enhance Advancement's priorities. By September 2015 the team had achieved 90% of their goal, and closed the campaign in Spring 2016 with £125 million raised for a new building, research and scholarships. Nina's extraordinary success with principal gifts as well as her institution wide approach to donor engagement were key to this success.
Throughout 2016-2018 Nina has led strategic fundraising programs and organisational structural changes at two major organisations; The Royal College of Art, and the City Literary Institute. She has also consulted on best practises for fundraising teams including training of front line and board members for a variety of cultural and educational organisations, and has lectured on the MA in Philanthropic Studies for the University of Kent.
Kary Kelly
Dr Kary Kelly is the incoming Director of Development at the British Museum and former Director of Development at The Courtauld Institute of Art, where she led the fundraising, membership and alumni relations programmes. Kary has held strategic fundraising positions at the Royal College of Art, the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford. Her career in higher education fundraising and alumni relations started at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Kary holds a B.A., M.St., and D.Phil from the University of Oxford.
Speakers
Lorna Somers
An accomplished and successful fundraiser, Lorna spent the past 35 years at McMaster University where she has been engaged in securing some of the largest charitable gifts in Canadian history. She led two university-wide, comprehensive campaigns, both with a focus on volunteer and academic participation. She has also structured and led targeted campaigns for McMaster's Museum of Art and Faculty of Health Sciences, the University's Student Centre, and secured support for numerous endowments establishing scholarships, bursaries, chairs, and professorships. An accomplished and successful fundraiser, Lorna spent the past 35 years at McMaster University where she has been engaged in securing some of the largest charitable gifts in Canadian history. She led two university-wide, comprehensive campaigns, both with a focus on volunteer and academic participation. She has also structured and led targeted campaigns for McMaster's Museum of Art and Faculty of Health Sciences, the University's Student Centre, and secured support for numerous endowments establishing scholarships, bursaries, chairs, and professorships.
An internationally recognized teacher and facilitator in the fields of Higher Education and Institutional Advancement, Lorna has shared her expertise with educational, cultural and charitable organizations around the world. She is the recipient of numerous international awards for excellence in teaching and leadership, and is a sought-after speaker and coach on business, social and dining etiquette, frequently working with students to improve their confidence and knowledge as they launch their careers.
Lorna's volunteer leadership has been extensive and global with a three-decade commitment to the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE), the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP). Her contributions have included various volunteer roles as national and regional chair, conference chair, Board Trustee, Director, special advisor, and CASE Laureate.