As a catalyst for advancing education worldwide, CASE experts inspire, challenge, and equip communities of professionals to act effectively and with integrity to champion the success of their institutions.
Interviews with CASE experts or additional information about the organization can be obtained by contacting Beth Mechum, Manager of Strategic Communications.
Meet the experts
Sue Cunningham
President & CEO
Areas of Expertise:
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Global Leadership
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Higher Education Development & Fundraising
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Change Management
As president and CEO of CASE, Sue Cunningham provides strategic and operational leadership for one of the largest associations of education-related institutions in the world with members in over 80 countries. Appointed in March 2015, Sue joined CASE from the University of Melbourne where, as vice-principal for advancement, she worked with the vice chancellor in leading a campaign to raise AUS$500 million and building the advancement team across the university. Prior to her work in Australia, Sue served as director of development for the University of Oxford where she led a development team in the execution of the largest fundraising campaign outside of the United States: the Oxford Thinking Campaign, with a goal of £1.25 billion. During this time, she was also responsible for the establishment of the University of Oxford's first China office, based in Hong Kong. She is currently working on a new book—Global Exchange: Dialogues to Advance Education—to be published by CASE in 2021.
Contact:
For media requests, please contact Beth Mechum, Manager of Strategic Communications.
Rob Henry
Vice President of Education
Areas of Expertise:
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
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Talent Management
Rob Henry is vice president of education at CASE where he is responsible for creating an overall global strategy for achieving CASE's vision and mission related to talent management and for guiding conference programming, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, research, and the CASE Library. Formerly an active CASE volunteer speaker and adviser, Rob joined the CASE staff in 2006 as executive director of emerging constituencies, later adding the responsibility for online educational programs. Also in 2006, he was awarded the CASE Crystal Apple Award for Teaching Excellence. He previously held advancement management positions at Yale University, the University of Connecticut Foundation and Michigan State University.
Contact:
For media requests, please contact Beth Mechum, Manager of Strategic Communications.
Rob Moore
Vice President of Marketing and Communications
Areas of Expertise:
- Higher Education Branding
- Higher Education Communications
- Enrollment Marketing
At CASE, Rob Moore is responsible for developing and implementing a marketing strategy to advance CASE's vision and mission on a global basis. He leads a strong team of CASE marketing communications specialists whose talents and skills bring that strategy to life. The team is responsible for developing relevant content, ensuring that it is expressed in a brand-consistent fashion, and delivering it to critical audiences worldwide—members, prospective members, conference attendees, senior administrators at academic institutions, education influencers, and sector media. The team is responsible for the CASE website and digital presence, social media outreach, Currents magazine, media relations, book publication, and bringing attention to CASE conferences and workshops.
Rob has more than 30 years of experience in nonprofit marketing. In his previous role as CEO of Lipman Hearne, he provided creative and consulting services to institutions throughout the nonprofit spectrum, including the University of Chicago, Brown University, Melbourne University, University of Miami, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Macalester College, Wesleyan University, Sidwell Friends School, Mayo Clinic, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Rob has a B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of California at Santa Cruz (Go Banana Slugs!), an M.A. in English from the University of Idaho, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
For media requests, please contact Beth Mechum, Manager of Strategic Communications.
Cara Giacomini
Chief Research and Data Officer
Areas of Expertise:
- Higher Education and Fundraising Data Analytics
Including using data to improve donor outcomes. - Higher Education Research and Surveying
- Analytics, Benchmarking, and Metrics
- Cultivating a Data Culture Through Fostering Collaboration
Integrating Data & Data Storytelling
Cara Giacomini is the chief research and data officer for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. In this role, she heads CASE’s AMAtlas initiative—a primary resource and service provider for data, benchmarking, analytics and original research to the educational advancement community Most recently, she was at the University of Washington where she was their director of analytics for its University Advancement department. There she was instrumental in building a strong data culture where she improved donor outcomes at all levels and pioneered efforts to build infrastructure and expertise in digital analytics.
Contact:
For media requests, please contact Beth Mechum, Manager of Strategic Communications.
Brian Flahaven
Vice President, Strategic Partnerships
Areas of Expertise:
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Charitable Giving
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Endowments
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Higher Education Advocacy
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College and University Foundations
Brian Flahaven is the vice president of strategic partnerships. He directs CASE's government relations activities and tracks federal and state legislative and regulatory issues of concern to CASE members.
Contact:
For media requests, please contact Beth Mechum, Manager of Strategic Communications.
Ann E. Kaplan
Senior Director, VSE
Areas of Expertise:
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U.S. Charitable Giving Data and Trends
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U.S. Charitable Giving Standards and Guidelines
Ann Kaplan is senior director of the Voluntary Support of Education (VSE) survey at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. In this role, she oversees the national online survey which includes survey administration, working with respondents of the survey, cleaning and analyzing the data, data validation, and more. Ann has been the director of the VSE since 2002 when it was administered by the Council for Aid to Education. She also helped develop Data Miner, the longitudinal and comparative metrics on-line reporting solution that is available to CASE members.
Contact:
For media requests, please contact Beth Mechum, Manager of Strategic Communications.
Marc Westenburg
Director, Center for Community College Advancement
Areas of Expertise:
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Community College Alumni Relations
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Community College Fundraising
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Community College Foundations
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Community College Marketing
Marc Westenburg is the director of the center for community college advancement for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. In this role, he leads the development and delivery of CASE services and resources to community colleges. Marc plans, coordinates, and delivers training and resources on all aspects of advancement – alumni relations, fundraising, communications, marketing, grant development and related fields – with a focus on meeting the unique advancement needs of community colleges and their foundations. He also oversees CASE's public college and university foundation programs.
Contact:
For media requests, please contact Beth Mechum, Manager of Strategic Communications.
Ann Snyder
Director, Independent and International Schools
Areas of Expertise:
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Independent School Marketing & Communications
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Independent School External Affairs and Community Relations
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Independent School Enrollment Management
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Independent School Fundraising
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International Recruitment and Marketing
Ann Snyder joined CASE in 2020 to direct CASE’s efforts in the schools sector. Having served as Director of External Affairs and Enrollment at a day/boarding school with a significant international population, Ann is intimately aware of the unique challenges faced by schools globally.
Ann directs and oversees all areas of independent and international school outreach and programming, with the goal of differentiating independent schools from their higher education counterparts and providing resources and training that can help schools exceed their goals in an increasingly complex landscape.
Prior to CASE, Ann served as a senior leader at Stuart Hall School in Staunton, Virginia, overseeing marketing, communications, enrollment, community relations, and fundraising.
Contact:
For media requests, please contact Beth Mechum, Manager of Strategic Communications.
Angélica Careaga
Director, CASE Latin America
Areas of Expertise:
- International Alumni Engagement
- Marketing & Communications on a Shoestring Budget
- Cross-cultural Coalition & Alliance Building
- Private-public Partnership Development
Emphasis on under-resourced areas
As Director of CASE Latin-America, Angélica Careaga works with schools, colleges and universities across the region to build capacity and strengthen their alumni relations, communications, fundraising, marketing, communications, and other external relations programs. Before joining CASE, she worked in the Mexico City office of the University of New Mexico where she advised and assisted in promotions and overall marketing strategies, serving as the liaison between UNM and Mexican universities and government agencies as well as other universities and government agencies in Latin America.
Contact:
For media requests, please contact Beth Mechum, Manager of Strategic Communications.
Heather Hamilton
Executive Director, CASE Asia-Pacific
Areas of Expertise:
- Cross-cultural Community Development
- Stakeholder & Volunteer Management
Focus on Stakeholder Lifecycle Development - Industry Sponsorship & Partnerships
- Strategic Planning & Crisis Management
- Talent Management & Remote Leadership
As executive director of CASE Asia-Pacific, Heather Hamilton oversees the development and delivery of CASE training and professional development programs and services that support alumni relations, advancement services, communications, fundraising, and marketing professionals who work at educational institutions in the region that encompasses countries from New Zealand to the Middle East. Before joining CASE, Heather worked at several organizations in the private, non-profit and higher education sector across the world, most recently as the executive director of advancement and community relations at Brisbane Grammar School in the Australian state of Queensland. She is a passionate proponent of the integrated advancement model, which recognizes and relies upon the collective work of all advancement professionals to ensure education is valued, treasured and accessible.
Contact:
For media requests, please contact Heather or Kai Yi Ong, Head of Marketing & Communications for CASE Asia-Pacific.
Bruce Bernstein
Executive Director of Global Engagement, CASE Europe
Areas of Expertise:
- High Net Worth & Major Gift Fundraising
- Alumni Relations
- Volunteer Management
Emphasis on Senior Leadership, International Cohorts, and Cross-cultural Teams - Cultural Literacy in the Advancement Profession
Bruce Bernstein has been the leader of CASE Europe since 2018. He previously worked at CASE Europe from 2002 to 2008 as the director of business development. He has also worked as a fundraiser for the University of Chicago Development Office, with the Aga Khan University in London and the Tate Museum. Bruce has been involved all parts of the student experience from student recruitment, to the student experience, to graduation, through to alumni relations under relations. His role in alumni relations included critically working with boards, clubs, special interest groups, and developing internships and career opportunities.
Contact:
For media requests, please contact Imogen Ashfield, Marketing & Communications Manager, CASE Europe.