Kevin J. Foyle, UTHealth Vice President, to Lead Board of Largest Community of Charitable Fundraisers in the World

(Arlington, Va.) Kevin J. Foyle, MBA, CFRE, will serve in 2021 as the chair of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Global, the largest organization of charitable fundraisers in the world. Foyle will succeed Martha Schumacher, CFRE, ACFRE, MinstF, who served as chair for 2019 and 2020 and will now serve as immediate past chair.

Foyle and the rest of the 2021 AFP Board of Directors were recently approved by a vote of AFP members. He is the vice president of development and public affairs for The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), where he oversees all aspects of UTHealth’s development program including principal, planned, major and annual gifts, corporate and foundation relations and administrative and information services. He has nearly 25 years of development experience in the Houston community and has previously served in numerous volunteer leadership positions for AFP Global.

Before coming to UTHealth, he served as the associate vice president for development at Rice University, raising nearly $1.1 billion and managing a team of 70. For more than thirteen years, he also managed the major and annual giving programs during the university’s $500 million comprehensive campaign. Previously, he served as associate director of development for The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center within their $351 million campaign. Prior to that, Foyle was the director of institutional advancement at Texas Chiropractic College, where he oversaw fundraising, alumni and public relations.

“Now more than ever, I am reminded of the importance of my longstanding affiliation and connection with AFP and the fundraising profession,” said Foyle. “This is both a moment of crisis but also compassion, and communities need the professionalism, ethics and inspiration of fundraising professionals who can partner with communities—with donors, volunteers, business and others—to serve and help our neighbors and enhance the quality of life for all. Through AFP, I and more than 28,000 fundraisers and charities have access to high-quality educational opportunities, ethical standards and best practices that make our fundraising more effective and efficient to benefit all society. As we diversify our volunteer leadership and donor populations, our networks will strengthen and broaden in ways that will make our impact collectively stronger in changing the world.”

First Black Woman to Serve as Chair-Elect

Succeeding Foyle as chair-elect will be Birgit Burton, the first Black woman to serve as chair-elect of AFP on the association’s most diverse board ever. Burton is the executive director of foundation relations at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Recently she has led her team in raising $309 million towards the Institute’s most successful $1.8 billion capital campaign. She was selected to participate in the first cohort of Leading Women@Tech, which identified the next community of leaders who will guide the institution in the 21st century.

"I am honored and thrilled to serve as chair-elect and ultimately chair of the AFP Global board,” said Burton. “I stand proudly on the shoulders of all those who came before me and worked hard to make AFP the valued and respected association that it is today.  The late Charles Stephens was the first African American chair of the AFP Global board and my mentor. Early in my career he urged me to stay in the field and assured me that I had much to offer, and I would never regret that decision. I wish Charles were here for me to share my deep gratitude. He was a tremendous role model for me, and I only hope that I may serve as a positive example to those who will look up to me in the same way.”

Burton is a member of the board of Hosea Helps, is an advisor for the Aspen Leadership Group, and the founding chair of the African American Development Officers Network, which for 18 years has supported diversity in the fundraising profession by promoting professional development and facilitating interaction among its members. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Media Communications from Medaille College in Buffalo, New York.

2021 Board of Directors

The officers for 2021 will include:

• Kevin J. Foyle, MBA, CFRE: Chair
• Birgit Burton: Chair-Elect
• Martha Schumacher, CFRE, ACFRE, MInstF: Immediate Past Chair
• Jeremy Wells, CFRE, MA: Treasurer
• Roger Ali, MBA, CFRE: Secretary

At-Large Directors include:

• Marco Antonio Corona: Vice Chair, Membership Engagement
• Bret Heinrich, CFRE: Vice Chair, Professional Development     
• Adrienne Longenecker, CFRE: Vice Chair, External Relations   

The board is also composed of the following At-Large Members:

• Nick Kulik, CFRE
• Adrienne Taylor, MBA, CFRE
• Lori Hunter Overmyer, CFRE
• Pati Greenwood, MBA, CFRE
• Cherian Koshy, CFRE
• Nivisha Mehta
• Ken Miller, CFRE
• Tycely Williams, CFRE
• Leah Eustace, ACFRE
• Pamela Perkins Dwyer
• Michelle Edgerton, MA

In addition, the following are ex-officio members of the AFP Association Board with a vote:

• Ken Mayhew: Chair, AFP Canada Board    
• Harry Lynch, CFRE: Chair, AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – U.S. Board
• Susan Storey, CFRE: Chair, AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada Board
• Gustavo Flores Alvarez: AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Mexico Representative

AFP President and CEO Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA also serves as an ex-officio member of the board without a vote.

“Kevin leads an incredible group of leaders for the fundraising community into 2021, and I’m so energized to be working with all of them,” said Geiger. “This is such an extraordinary time to be a leader—with so many challenges, yes, but also so many opportunities to demonstrate how we can best serve the fundraising profession, as well as communities around the world. One example is the work we’ve done recently of re-examining how we choose our volunteer leaders and focusing on the ideas of diversity and inclusion. People of color represent half of our board this year, and this incredible mix of experience, expertise, and different perspectives will only strengthen our work in advancing ethical and effective fundraising and demonstrate to the public why fundraising is such a vital aspect of society.”