With nearly 30 years of management and fundraising experience, Theresa Davis has a diverse background ranging from campaign management and major gifts, to corporate and foundation relations, annual giving, and alumni relations. She is currently associate vice president, University Advancement, at the University of Southern California (USC). She has oversight of USC’s regional offices located in Northern California and New York and leadership of a team of major, principal, and transformational gifts officers located in Los Angeles. Theresa has also held leadership of USC’s Corporate and Foundation Relations, Reunion Giving, and Parent Giving and Engagement teams. 

Prior to coming to USC, Theresa was the vice president of university advancement and CEO of the Tower Foundation at San Jose State University (SJSU). As chief advancement officer, for the founding campus of the California State University system, Theresa had oversight of development, alumni and community engagement, advancement and campaign operations, campus special events, and the Tower Foundation of SJSU. 

Additionally, Theresa was the assistant vice president of engagement and annual programs at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). There, she had responsibility for alumni relations, the Caltech Associates, and the Caltech Fund and Parents Program. The function of each of these areas is to advance public understanding, advocacy, and support for the institute by strategic engagement of its key constituencies. 

Davis has also served as the associate vice president of college and program development at Cal State Fullerton, with responsibility for the directors of development assigned to each of the campus' eight colleges and the athletics department. She has been the associate vice president of major and planned gifts at Children's Hospital Los Angeles; campaign director for the California Science Center; senior director of development for the UCLA College; director of development for the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management at UC, Riverside, and associate director of corporate relations and also director of the Alumni Fund at Caltech. 

Theresa has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Arizona State University and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.