Senior Staff Listing
CASE Executive Leadership Team:
Sue Cunningham
Sue Cunningham is president and CEO of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, which supports over 3,100 schools, colleges and universities worldwide in developing their alumni relations, communications, fundraising and marketing operations. As CASE president and CEO, Ms. 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.
Jane Chafer
Jane Chafer is Vice President of Membership, Marketing, and Communications at CASE. She joined the CASE team in November 2022.
She began her career in 1985 with a marketing sponsorship for ECC Limited, based in St Austell, U.K., and completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Studies at Bradford University, with a six-month internship in Milan. From there, she moved to Mars confectionery and BT, where she held various senior marketing and communication roles with responsibility for integrated customer-facing campaigns.
Joining the University of Sheffield, U.K., in 2004 as Director of Marketing, she rebranded the University and led a programme to embed customer service within the organisation, whilst increasing international students by 40% in just one year. Chafer also represented the university at five international conferences. Chafer joined Plymouth University, U.K., in September 2009, completing her MBA degree in 2010 at Ashridge with a dissertation on marketing services at Plymouth. She held the role of Director of External Relations until December 2013, and was responsible for stakeholder engagement, communications, development, alumni, and marketing Operations. In 2013, she was appointed a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Chafer joined the executive team at the University of Exeter, U.K., as its inaugural Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs in February 2014. During her nine years at Exeter, she grew and developed the concept of integrated advancement.
Chafer got her first taste of non-executive work on the Board of Sheffield City Trust. Now, her non-executive work is for Plymouth Argyle Football Club, a league one team in the U.K.
Brett Chambers
Brett Chambers serves as vice president of volunteer engagement and leadership. In this role, Brett oversees operations associated with CASE’s volunteer leadership, including the CASE board and three advisory commissions for alumni relations, communications and marketing, and philanthropy. He also oversees specialized communities of practice and special projects for the office of the president. In addition, Brett is the liaison with CASE’s eight districts in North America.
Brett initially joined the CASE staff in 1987, working in the divisions of conference services and public and external affairs before becoming director of educational initiatives. He left CASE to serve as manager of resource development and corporate relations at the National Association of Independent Schools for about two years before returning to CASE in 2001. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Indiana University.
Brian Flahaven
Brian Flahaven is vice president, strategic partnerships. He also directs CASE’s government relations activities and tracks federal and state legislative and regulatory issues of concern to CASE members, as well as overseeing CASE’s public college and university foundation programs.
Prior to joining CASE, Brian was the manager of government relations and public policy at the Council on Foundations. He also served as the first Public Policy and Philanthropy Fellow at the Council of Michigan Foundations and worked for former Illinois Lieutenant Governor Corinne Wood.
Brian received his bachelor’s degree in political science, economics and history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his Master of Public Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.
In 2016, Brian earned the designation of Certified Association Executive from the American Society of Association Executives. From 2011 to 2016, Brian served as an elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner representing the southeastern Capitol Hill neighborhood in Washington DC.
Teresa Flannery
Teresa (Terry) Flannery is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, she directs the divisions of Education; Membership, Marketing and Communications; Data, Research and Technology; and Strategic Partnerships. Terry is a strategic, innovative, and collaborative higher education leader with more than 35 years of experience in a wide range of functions, including advancement, admissions and enrollment management, and student affairs. She has worked at large, medium, and small institutions, both public and private.
One of the leading university marketing professionals in the world and recognized in 2018 as “International Brand Master,” Flannery has led some of the most successful brand campaigns in all of higher education. She is also a consultant, speaker, and author of How to Market A University: Building Value in a Competitive Environment, a new book published by the Johns Hopkins University Press in their series for higher education. In cooperation with several leading higher education marketing agencies, Flannery launched an asynchronous master course based on the book.
Before coming to CASE, Flannery held the chief marketing officer role at three institutions, as Interim Vice President for Marketing and Communication at Stony Brook University, as Vice President of Communication at American University, and as Assistant Vice President at the University of Maryland.
Flannery maintains an appointment as a Policy Fellow at American University’s Center for University Excellence. She has been a fellow in the Academy for Innovative Higher Education Leadership and served for a decade on the CASE Board of Trustees, including as Chair.
Flannery holds a BA in English (American Literature) and a Master’s and Ph.D. in Education (College Student Personnel), all from the University of Maryland.
Amanda Adolph Fore
Amanda Adolph Fore is Chief of Staff where she provides strategy and communications counsel to the President and CEO. She has been at CASE since 2018. Immediately prior to CASE, Amanda served as an organizational strategy consultant and executive coach to non-profit and higher education clients.
A longtime association and higher education leader, Amanda served as Senior Vice President for Marketing and Communications at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges; Director of Marketing for the American Council on Education; and in marketing and communications roles at two different schools and colleges at George Mason University. She began her career in student services at the University of California, in Berkeley and at the University of California Washington Center in DC.
Amanda has a master’s in public administration from George Mason University; a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and graduate certificates in marketing and in leadership coaching for organizational performance.
Cara Giacomini
Cara Giacomini is the vice president of data, research, and technology for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. In this role, she leads CASE Insights — a primary resource and service provider for data, benchmarking, analytics, and original research to the educational advancement community worldwide, launched by CASE in 2018.
Before starting at CASE, she spent 20 years at the University of Washington, most recently as the director of advancement analytics. In university advancement, 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. Prior to her work in advancement, she served as a senior research scientist in the information technology department, studying the adoption of educational technologies and the effectiveness of IT services. She received her PhD in English and Textual Studies from the University of Washington in 2003. She is passionate about putting data into action—empowering CASE’s members to utilize CASE Insights resources to answer their most pressing questions and address their evolving needs.
Rob Henry
Rob Henry is vice president, people, culture & talent 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/inclusion initiatives, research, and the CASE Library.
Formerly an active CASE volunteer speaker and adviser, Rob joined the CASE staff in 2006 as head of emerging constituencies, later adding the responsibility for online educational programs. He previously held advancement management positions at Yale University, the University of Connecticut Foundation and Michigan State University.
Rob is a graduate of Murray State University and has a master's degree from Eastern Michigan University. In 2006, he received the prestigious CASE Crystal Apple Award for Teaching Excellence.
Stephen Martin
Stephen Martin is the vice president of education programs for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). He spearheads the development and implementation of a forward-thinking education strategy that aligns with CASE’s ambitious strategic plan. Stephen has more than 30 years of experience in education and technology working with a wide range of organizations. Most recently, he spent 10 years directing member education and learning for The American Institute of Architects. Stephen is a graduate of Roanoke College, attended graduate school at George Mason University, and is currently pursuing an executive MBA.
Diane Young
Diane Young is chief financial officer at CASE. Appointed to the newly created position in June 2017, Young brings more than 20 year experience in multi-corporation financial and operations management to CASE.
Previously, Young served at designDATA Inc., a managed services and IT consulting organization, where she provided senior-level technical consulting for nonprofits and associations. Prior to this position, Young served as vice president of accounting and controller for the Global Business Travel Association, which has 6,000 members and offices in eight countries, and as director of finance and administration for the American Industrial Hygiene Association, which named her employee of the year in 2006. She also served as director of finance for Association Management Group, which provides management services to 18 nonprofit associations.
Among her recent accomplishments, Young led the development of a new investment policy; established legal corporate entities in several countries; led the conversion of 21 companies to a new accounting system; set up financial and banking systems in multiple currencies; and implemented an automated budget management system that provided a streamlined tool for staff to enter budgets and reforecast projections.