Janelle K. Weatherford serves as the senior director of the Office of Foundation Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Janelle oversees the University's top foundation prospects in collaboration with her team of four foundation relations professionals, campus leaders, and colleagues in the colleges and units. Prior to joining the Office of Foundation Relations in 2007, Janelle was Associate Director of the European Union Center where she managed and wrote grants; coordinated the development of courses, research projects, conferences, and workshops; and, managed the Center’s staff. Prior to beginning her professional career at Illinois, Janelle worked for almost ten years as an instructional designer and project manager in the field of computer-assisted training and education. She began her academic career as an Adjunct Lecturer of Russian at California State University, Fresno. Originally from California, she earned a B.A. in Russian from California State University Fresno (1987), an M.A. in Russian Language and Literature from the University of Arizona (1990), and completed coursework towards a Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1995).