CASE President and CEO Sue Cunningham has announced the creation of a new strategic partnerships division with Brian Flahaven serving as its interim vice president.

This division will enhance CASE’s focus on corporate relations, philanthropic engagement, government advocacy, and institutional partnerships.

“This new CASE division of strategic partnerships will coalesce several of our external engagement functions in one unit, thus creating opportunities and synergies to bring these important partners’ perspectives together strategically, particularly during this crucial time,” says Cunningham. “Brian’s leadership of this new division and his experience across government and charitable sectors will ensure the division builds on CASE’s past successes across all these functions.”

Flahaven has been with CASE since 2007. He previously served as the senior director for advocacy where he directed CASE’s government relations activities and tracked federal and state legislative and regulatory issues of concern to CASE members. He also oversaw CASE’s public college and university foundation programs.

Prior to joining CASE, he was the manager of government relations and public policy at the Council on Foundations. In 2016, Brian earned the designation of Certified Association Executive from the American Society of Association Executives.

As part of this transition, Marc Westenburg, director of CASE's Center for Community College Advancement, is now overseeing CASE’s services to college and university foundations in addition to his ongoing work with community colleges. 

Westenburg has been with CASE since 2016. He leads the development and delivery of CASE services and resources to community colleges by planning coordinating, and delivering 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. 

“Since joining CASE in August 2016, Marc has done exceptional work as director for the center for community college advancement,” says Brett Chambers, CASE's vice president of volunteer member engagement.  “He will bring this expertise, energy, and drive to serving our four-year college and university foundation members as well.”

This also brings the CASE Committee for College and University Foundations (formerly, the National Committee on Institutionally Related Foundations) into the volunteer member engagement division along with CASE’s other volunteer leadership groups.