113: Stephen Rodriguez, Brandeis University

About Stephen:Stephen is currently the Associate Vice President for Development at Brandeis University where he leads major and principal gifts, leadership annual giving, planned giving, and direct marketing. He is playing an integral role in shaping the direction of a future campaign to support the aspirations and goals of the Brandeis community.Stephen previously served as the Senior Director of Development, Major Gifts, at Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences where he oversaw a team of 15 gifts officers and the direct marketing team, raising over $40 million annually through major gifts, planned gifts, and innovative strategies to build the pipeline.Prior to Harvard, Stephen was the Director of Annual Giving at Phillips Academy, overseeing Andover’s work with engaging alumni in support of the Academy’s priorities. During Stephen’s time at the Academy he revamped the volunteer management structure, launched a loyalty giving recognition society, leveraged two Giving Days that resulted in almost $3 million raised for scholarships from over 7,000 gifts, and positioned the Annual Giving team to be successful gift officers, engaging alumni and volunteers in thoughtful and direct conversations about their impact on campus.Prior to Andover, Stephen was the Director of Annual Leadership Giving at MIT where he developed the structure of leadership giving at the Institute, which lead to a record number of leadership giving society members and formed effective partnerships with colleagues across the Institute. Stephen was also the Director of Annual Fund Leadership Gifts at Boston University where he similarly was charged with enhancing leadership level support across the University.Stephen began his fundraising career at Berklee College of Music where he served in a variety of roles from coordinator to Director of the Berklee Fund and Alumni Affairs while the college launched its first ever comprehensive campaign.Stephen, originally from Oregon, is a graduate of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and completed studies towards a masters degree in jazz studies from New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He is 9 days away from finishing his MBA at Syracuse University. A keen interest of Stephen is the intersections of philanthropy, blockchain, and innovation, exploring the ways more missions can be impact by philanthropic support. Stephen lives in Reading with his wife, 7-year old son Aidan, and 18-month old daughter Ella, along with Dexter the cat.