May 3, 2024 – Following a national search, Lindauer has assisted in the recruitment of Laura Heilenday as associate vice president and chief engagement officer of Duke University. Senior vice president and managing director Jill Lasman and senior consultant Raegan Harvey led the assignment. Ms. Heilenday’s appointment follows a national search led by Lindauer and an advisory committee that included Duke senior leaders, trustees, Duke alumni executive committee members, alumni engagement and development staff, and students.
“Laura brings a great set of professional skills, perspectives, and a proven track record of motivating high-performing teams,” said Dave Kennedy, Duke’s vice president for alumni engagement and development. “But as much as anything, Laura is someone who lives, breathes, and loves Duke. We’re excited about the impact she can make as we deliver new and innovative ways to engage Duke alumni at the moments that matter most to them.”
Ms. Heilenday currently serves as vice president of paid media & digital marketing at Choice Hotels International. In this role, she is responsible for enterprise paid marketing, paid media, field marketing, and search engine optimization for the 22 brands in the Choice Hotels portfolio. During her tenure, the company posted record revenues, launched campaigns with new media partners such as Amazon Ads and collegiate sports partner Learfield, and relaunched enterprise organic social media. Ms. Heilenday also served as the company’s marketing lead for the integration of Radisson Americas and is on the Choice Hotels diversity advisory council and Snapchat for travel executive council. Prior to joining Choice Hotels International in 2021, she held various progressively senior brand marketing and management positions with Procter and Gamble, Mars Inc., and Marriott International.
“I am thrilled to join the alumni engagement and development team and represent 200,000 global alumni as the inaugural chief engagement officer,” said Ms. Heilenday. “Duke has been such an important part of my personal and professional life for over two decades, and I am truly honored to have the opportunity to serve the institution.”
Duke University was created in 1924 by James Buchanan Duke as a memorial to his father, Washington Duke. Located in Durham, NC, it has a total undergraduate enrollment of 6,640. Undergraduates have access to four academic schools including Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, and the Sanford School of Public Policy. Graduate students can enroll in nine graduate and professional schools, including Duke Law School, Fuqua School of Business, and the School of Medicine.
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Lindauer serves higher and secondary education, hospitals, academic research centers, think tanks, research facilities, and foundations, as well as advocacy, public service, social justice and other mission-driven non-profits. The firm has led searches for the Boston YMCA, Center for Applied Special Technology, Healthy Minds Innovations/Center for Healthy Minds, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Cockrell School of Engineering, among others.
Lindauer Places VP for Inclusive Excellence in Philanthropy for University of Cincinnati Foundation
Lindauer has helped the University of Cincinnati Foundation (UCF) find its inaugural vice president for inclusive excellence in philanthropy. Tammy Bennett was recently hired for the role after serving as chief equity and inclusion officer at national law firm Dinsmore & Shohl. “Tammy has dedicated her professional journey to advancing inclusivity within workplaces,” said Peter Landgren, president. “With a background as an employment attorney and diversity specialist, complemented by her academic exploration of social identities and organizational transformation, she possesses a distinctive skill-set to craft pragmatic and enduring DEIB strategies.”
Deb Taft, chief executive officer, leads Lindauer with over 25 years of executive and senior-level experience across the non-profit sector, from education to healthcare/academic medicine to the youth service and voluntary sectors. Her expertise includes governance, strategic planning, fundraising, program and staff management, strategic marketing, analytics, and constituent engagement, as well as talent recruitment, retention, and development.
Among the most senior members of the firm and equity partner, Ms. Lasman has placed senior leaders and their teams in many major education, healthcare and science, arts and culture, advocacy, and mission-driven institutions since joining the firm in 1998. She has conducted advancement leadership searches for such clients as Princeton University, University of Texas at Austin, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Chicago Law School, and Emory University. Ms. Lasman has also been instrumental in placing multiple high-level candidates in Ivy League and elite colleges, including Cornell University, Columbia University, Harvard University, Georgetown University, and the College of William & Mary, to name a few. In addition, Ms. Lasman has placed individuals for such diverse organizations as American Technion Society, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ms. Harvey brings to Lindauer more than 10 years of experience in non-profit organizations. Her leadership and organizational experience in higher education, athletics, and healthcare includes prospect research, donor relations, alumni engagement, fundraising, strategic planning, and internal and external relations. Prior to joining Lindauer, Ms. Harvey was associate director of athletics, internal operations and chief of staff for Washington State University Athletics.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor; Lily Fauver, Senior Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media