Sandra “Sandy” Yates is a fundraising professional with more than twenty-five years of experience, most of which was gained in higher education.

Yates entered the development profession at Wesley College as alumni relations secretary. There she learned the intricacies of database, phone-a-thon and reunion management before joining The Nature Conservancy Delaware Chapter. At The Nature Conservancy, Yates was responsible for membership renewal, new member welcome, restricted budget management and participated in her first capital campaign. The Arthritis Foundation offered Yates her first management experience in fundraising. During that tenure, she was introduced to events management, planned giving, and volunteer management.

Yates honed her individual solicitation and stewardship skills at Swarthmore College. She has built and supervised teams from leadership roles at Lincoln University, the ITC, Spelman College, and Morehouse College where she currently supervises Advancement Services and Prospect Research during their historic $500 million Capital Campaign.

Yates has received honors from Ft. Sill Army Base for exemplary performance to the Department of Logistics; Dover Air Force Base, for commitment to the community; The NAACP for long-term dedication. She has also served as a Diversity Mentor for the Atlanta Chapter of the AFP.  Yates is a founding member of F3 “Fabulous Female Fundraisers.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Wesley College in Dover Delaware and is honorably discharged for United State Air Force. She is married to the Rev. James A. Platt. They are the proud parents of 6 sons and four grandchildren.