Most Diverse AFP Board To-Date to be Led by Kevin J. Foyle, UTHealth Houston Executive

(Arlington, Va.) Kevin J. Foyle, MBA, CFRE, senior vice president of development and public affairs for UTHealth Houston, will lead the most diverse board ever of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the largest organization of charitable fundraisers in the world. 

Foyle, who will be serving as chair for a second year in 2022, 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 30 years of development experience both domestically and internationally and has previously served in numerous volunteer leadership positions for AFP Global.

“I’m so proud to be leading a board that brings such an incredible breadth and diversity of experiences, knowledge and perspectives,” said Foyle. “As the fundraising and philanthropy community continues to have conversations around inclusion, diversity, equity and access (IDEA), AFP has proactively worked to create a board that represents different voices. As a result, we are better equipped and prepared to address these key issues—for the good of our profession, our donors and the people we serve.”

More than half of AFP Global’s board is represented by fundraisers of color, mirroring the diversity of the AFP staff as well. “We prioritize all kinds of diversity, both visual and non-visual,” added Foyle. “Having a board and staff that are representative of what we want to see in the profession is a small but important step.”

In 2022, Foyle will lead a board that, along with working to increase diversity and equity within the profession, will help the fundraising community continue to grow and flourish even as it has had to adapt to changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to a growing number of education and research programs, the association will also be holding its in-person international conference, AFP ICON, for the first time in three years in Las Vegas, May 2 – 4, 2022.

“This is one of the most unique moments that the fundraising profession and the world has faced—coming out of a pandemic as we all seek to adjust to a new normal while working toward a more equitable philanthropic sector and society,” said Foyle. “Charities have been on the front lines, not only providing direct pandemic relief services, but continuing to provide programs—whatever the cause—that add to the quality of life in our communities. We will have to take the best of what worked during the pandemic—virtual meetings and events—and integrate them into our traditional way of fundraising. I think fundraisers will find the AFP community an indispensable resource as we work together to evolve our best practices to better face the challenges of today, and our new board will be leading the way.”

2022 Board of Directors

The executive committee of the board is composed of:

• Chair: Kevin J. Foyle, MBA, CFRE, Senior Vice President for Development and Public Affairs and Chief Development Officer, UTHealth Houston, Houston, Texas (AFP Greater Houston Chapter)
• Chair-Elect: Birgit Smith Burton, Executive Director of Foundation Relations, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Ga. (AFP Greater Atlanta Chapter)
• Immediate Past Chair: Martha Schumacher, CFRE, ACFRE, MInstF, President, Hazen Consulting and the Hazen Institute for Leadership Training (HILT), Washington, D.C. (AFP Washington, DC Metro Area Chapter)
• Treasurer: Lori Hunter Overmyer, CFRE, MBA, Vice President, Goettler Associates, Columbus, Ohio (AFP Central Ohio Chapter)
• Secretary: Roger Ali, MBA, C. Dir., CFRE, Nonprofit Leader and Management Consultant, Hamilton, Ontario (AFP Ontario, Golden Horseshoe Chapter)

Vice-Chairs of the Board, who serve as At-Large Directors, include:

• Vice Chair, Membership Engagement: Marco Corona, Chief Development Officer, International African American Museum, Charleston, S.C. (AFP South Carolina, Lowcountry Chapter)
• Vice Chair, Professional Development: Bret Heinrich, CFRE, President and CEO, Wings of Hope, Chesterfield, Mo. (AFP St. Louis Chapter)
• Vice Chair, External Relations: Adrienne Longenecker, CFRE, Executive Director, Colorado River Alliance, Austin, Texas (AFP Greater Austin Chapter)

Other At-Large Directors for the Board include: 

• Pamela Perkins Dwyer, Major Gifts Officer, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Simi Valley, Calif. (AFP California, Santa Barbara/Ventura Counties Chapter)
• Michelle Edgerton, MA: Founder and Managing Principal, The Edgerton Group, Cottage Grove, Minn. (AFP Minnesota Chapter)
• Leah Eustace, ACFRE, President, Blue Canoe Philanthropy, Ottawa, Ontario (AFP Ottawa Chapter)
• Cherian Koshy, CFRE, Vice President of Business Development, Slingshot Consultants, Waukee, Iowa (AFP Central Iowa Chapter)
• Jonathan Meagher-Zayas, MSW, MPA, CFRE, Director of Agency Advancement, Villa of Hope, Rochester, N.Y. (AFP New York, Genesee Valley Chapter)
• Nivisha Mehta, Chief Development Officer, RAFT - Resource Area for Teaching, San Jose, Calif. (AFP California, Silicon Valley Chapter)
• Ken Miller, CFRE, President, Denali FSP Fundraising Consultants, Anchorage, Alaska (AFP Alaska Chapter)
• Adrienne Taylor, MBA, CFRE, Sr. Director of Development, Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Cincinnati, Ohio (AFP Cincinnati Chapter)
• Juliana Weissbein, CFRE, Associate Director, Development Operations, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Round Rock, Texas (AFP New York City Chapter)
• Tycely Williams, CFRE, Chief Development Officer, Bipartisan Policy Center, Washington, D.C., (AFP Washington, D.C. Metro Area Chapter)

In addition, the 2022 Representative to the Chapter President’s Council, who serves on the AFP Global Board, is Perihan Abou El Ela, Senior External Relations Manager, Misr El Kheir Foundation MEK, Cairo Egypt (AFP Egypt & MENA Chapter).

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

• Chair, AFP Canada Board: Ken Mayhew, President & CEO, William Osler Health System Foundation, Brampton, Ontario (AFP Greater Toronto Chapter)
• Chair, AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – U.S. Board: Harry Lynch, CFRE, CEO, Sanky Communications, New York, N.Y. (AFP New York City Chapter)
• Chair, AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada Board: Jane Potentier, Associate Vice-President, Alumni and Development, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia (AFP British Columbia, Vancouver Island Chapter)
• AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Mexico Representative: Carlos Leonardo Madrid Varela, Board Member, Mexican Center for Philanthropy; Member, Advisory Technical Committee, Mexican Non Profit Law; Ciudad DE Mexico, Mexico, (AFP Mexico, Centro-Sur Chapter)

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

“That AFP has emerged from the pandemic in its strongest financial position in over a decade is a testament to Kevin and the board’s leadership this year, and our board for 2022 will only continue that momentum as we look to enhance the value of AFP membership and provide new programs and services that will advance the profession forward,” said Geiger. “We are going to offer new educational programming covering every conceivable aspect of fundraising, and our ability to serve members will only increase as we work on a new association management system set to launch by 2023. Led by the board, we will also continue our intentional and pro-active work of integrating the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity and access into everything we do with our ultimate goal of ensuring that every fundraiser—regardless of characteristic or background—has the same opportunities to find success in our great profession.”

Since 1960, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has been the standard-bearer for professionalism in fundraising. The association works to advance effective and ethical philanthropy by providing advocacy, research, education, mentoring, collaboration and technology opportunities for the world’s largest network of professional fundraisers. AFP’s 26,000 members in more than 235 chapters raise over $100 billion annually for a wide variety of charitable organizations and causes across the globe. For more information, go to www.afpglobal.org.