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Part 2 of my conversation with Andy Shaindlin is dedicated to engagement metrics. We discuss how digital communications has impacted the work of alumni relations over the last 20 years and how teams are working to keep up with new technology while collecting data on stakeholder activation. A big thanks to Andy Shaindlin for chatting with me!

On the show this week, an advancement pro that needs little introduction, Andy Shaindlin. Andy is a Senior Consultant with Grenzebach Glier and Associates. A specialist in alumni engagement that includes tenures at Brown, Michigan, Cal Tech, and Carnegie Mellon, along with a recent stint at Switchboard (our presenting sponsor), Andy has been a thought leader in the space for more than a decade. This is part one in a two-part interview with Andy. We talk about an array of topics from network platforms to the future of alumni associations. In Part 2, we’ll dig into engagement metrics.

This week's episode features Joe Baker, Chief Advancement Officer at Calvert Hall College High School. Joe brings to the podcast a great career story working for his high school alma mater, an all-boys, private catholic school in Baltimore. He's worked at Calvert Hall for the for more than 30 years first as a math teacher, then as assistant principal, and now as the advancement team lead. AL listeners will enjoy hearing from Joe. This addition of Advancement Legends has tips and advice for all small advancement shops.

What's it like leading a small advancement team at an overseas independent school? How does it compare to higher ed? This week's guest on the AL podcast is fully equipped to answer these questions and many more. Listeners will enjoy hearing from Emily Robin, the Director of Advancement at the American School in Paris. Prior to realizing a life's dream in moving to France, Emily worked for advancement teams both at Bryn Mawr College and the University of Pennsylvania.

On the AL podcast hot seat this week is Reshunda Mahone, Virginia State University VP of Advancement. Roshunda brings to her role at VSU a great career story with advancement experience that data back to her college days. Hear more about her career journey and how her roles in advancement operations, annual giving, and development, both in centralized and decentralized offices has prepared her for her leadership role at Virginia State. Ryan and Reshunda talk about her passion for advancement and fundraising and her work helping Virginia State and other Historically Black Colleges and Universities develop strategies for the future.

What are the challenges facing engagement pros building programs at graduate professional schools? How do they differ from those facing others in central advancement offices? In this week's episode of Advancement Legends, part of the "small shops" series, host Ryan Catherwood interviews Joe Volin, Director of Alumni Engagement at the Chicago Kent College of Law. Hear more about Joe's career story including his Ed.D. research on alumni engagement metrics.

In this episode of the AL podcast, host Ryan Catherwood and Almabase Co-Founder, Kalyan Varma chat about the future of engagement and the challenges facing small advancement teams. In this second episode in the "small shops" series, we focus on conversations and solutions for teams with around 10 staff members. Kalyan shares his pathway from college in his native India to ed tech in San Fran with a stop on Wall Street in NYC via Goldman Sachs.

What's it like working for an Australian university in the United States? What's the landscape like for advancement pros in the Asia-Pacific region when it comes to engagement and building campaigns? This episode of Advancement Legends features Gina Wheatcroft, Senior Advancement Advisor for the University of Queensland North America Foundation. With over two decades of alumni engagement experience including 16 years leading the team at her alma mater, the University of Alberta, Gina is one of the best in the business.

What's a Global Networks unit? It's a unique and forward-thinking advancement alignment that merges together alumni engagement, annual giving, career services and corporate/industry relations under one senior leader. And it's the future! Or at least that's what Brandon Buzbee and the Advancement team at the University of Denver are thinking. In this week's episode hear Brandon and Ryan's discussion about this alignment and the challenges bringing all the pieces together.

How do we know when our university networks are active and improving? What's the future of alumni network platforms? This week's episode of the AL podcast features Mara Zepeda, Co-Founder of Switchboard. Mara has a great career story and Ryan and Mara continue the conversation that began on Linkedin regarding the value of alumni network platforms and the challenges associated with their integration within engagement programs. Have a listen!

Jenifer Andrasko is the President and CEO of the University of Virginia Alumni Association. In this interview with host Ryan Catherwood, Jenifer shares her unique career story that includes experience flying jets for the United States Navy and leadership development consulting at Bain & CO. Her pathway to this incredibly important engagement role is unusual, and so to are many of the challenges she faces steering the Alumni Association at U.Va. forward in support of a brand new university president.

On the first episode of Season 2, listen to Ryan's conversation with Justin Ware, President and Co-Founder of Groundwork Digital. Justin has made quite a name for himself over the last few years a specialist in giving days. And as a leader in digital fundraising, Justin has worked on best practice strategies for digital ambassadors, philanthropic storytelling, and how to create engaging fundraising experiences from soup to nuts.

On this episode of Advancement Legends, hear Ryan's interview with Charles Hardy, Higher Education Client Partner for Linkedin Learning Solutions. Charles was on the ground level when it came to Linkedin’s efforts to engage the higher education sector. He has a fascinating career story too that begins while attending Durham University in the UK. After graduating, Charles really was able to ride a wave that lead to a great opportunity to reimagine corporate recruiting in the digital space. During the interview, Charles shares how he landed a job at Linkedin, and what it’s been like trying to build tools that empower alumni engagement and career services pros in higher education.

On the show this week, hear Ryan's interview with Chris Vlahos, Senior Consultant in Alumni Relations at Marts and Lundy. Chris is a thought leader in higher education advancement. His work both as a consultant and on behalf of alumni associations at the University of Arizona and The Ohio State University, his alma mater, provide Chris with a great perspective listeners will enjoy.

On the show this week, host Ryan Catherwood chats with Colleen Fitzpatrick, VP of Advancement at Middlebury College in Vermont. Colleen shares her career story going from student affairs to development, first at U.VA. and then Duke. Hear about Middlebury’s recent controversy when students protested during a speaking event featuring a well-known conservative thought leader, and then the resulting challenges Colleen has been working through while communicating with donors. Colleen also shares her thoughts on fundraising campaigns and some of her plans for the next one at Middlebury.

On this episode, host Ryan Catherwood shares his interview with Christine Fairchild, Director of Alumni Relations at the University of Oxford. Christine has a fascinating career story. They discuss Christine's long tenure at Harvard including as Executive Director of External Relations at the Harvard Business School, and what it was like taking over the top advancement position for the school coming from a background in alumni relations. Christine shares some of her vision for engagement at Oxford, one of the world’s great universities.

On the show this week listen to Ryan's interview with Beng Hwee Chua, Executive Director, Global Engagement for CASE Asia-Pacific. Headquartered in Singapore, Beng Hwee spoke about her work bringing together university advancement leaders from countries like Vietnam, China, Australia, New Zealand, and now the Middle East. She shared about the challenges of addressing the vast program needs from such a diverse group of stakeholders.

In this episode of Advancement Legends, host Ryan Catherwood sits down with Jim Langley, President of Langley Innovations. Jim’s career began in university communications and speech writing before moving into fundraising and development. He lead advancement programs through hugely successful campaigns at Georgia Tech, UC San Diego, and Georgetown University. Jim shares his thoughts on advancement strategies and developing communications with donors that get results.

On this episode, host Ryan Catherwood sits down with Tom Gutenberger, Vice President of Advancement at the University of Richmond -- Ryan's beloved alma mater. Go SPIDERS. Tom shares more about his decision to merge the alumni relations and career services units -- a pioneering move in advancement. He shares the changes that happen when a new President comes to town, and the dynamics around donor conversations when something controversial happens. At UR, the decision was made to cut men’s soccer and track and field in order to build a men’s lacrosse program -- an emotional charged decision at the UR.

Tracy Playle is the CEO and Founder of Pickle Jar Communications, Inc. and Utterly Content. She's one of the leading voices on the planet when it comes to content marketing, social media, and storytelling in higher education. A frequent speaker at conferences both in Europe and the U.S., Tracy’s approach to helping universities develop their voice and tone across digital platforms is truly visionary. She’s got a great career story too that includes an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for helping her clients in the U.K.