Contact Us

Leadership

Name / Title	Phone	Email
Paula Besson Executive Director of Advancement	217.244.4081	besson@illinois.edu
Korrine Kuhn Office Manager	217.333.3839	korrine@illinois.edu
Heather Vazquez Interim Associate Dean for Advancement	217.333.2517	hfv@illinois.edu

Major Gift Officer Leadership

Name / Title	Region	Phone	Email
Jonathan Hill Senior Director of Advancement	Primary: Chicagoland; Secondary regions: Champaign-Urbana, GA, MS, AL, KY, TN, OH, and WV	217.265.6567	jonahill@illinois.edu

Major Gift Officers

Name / Title	Region	Phone	Email
Caroline Backlund Assistant Director of Advancement	Primary: Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH; Secondary regions: IN, New England (CT, MA, NH, ME, VT)	217.265.0343	cgaffrig@illinois.edu
Dori Botts Director of Advancement	Primary: Chicagoland; Secondary regions: AZ, UT, NM, IA, WI (other countries)	217.244.4218	suddarth@illinois.edu
Laura Child Director of Advancement	Primary: Southern California (Santa Barbara and south to San Diego); Secondary regions: Eastern WA, ID, NV	217.244.6566	llchild@illinois.edu
Tim Cochrane Senior Director of Advancement, Major and Corporate Gifts	Primary: TX (Houston-Pasadena, TX, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, and Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK) and Greater DC; Secondary regions: MD, VA, DE, SC, and NC; Peoria, IL, and Quad Cities (Western I-80 corridor)	217.333.1149	tcochran@illinois.edu
Todd Hollister Director of Advancement	Primary: Chicagoland; Secondary regions: WI (Kenosha, Milwaukee, Racine) and MN, NY, NJ, PA	217.333.5169	toddh@illinois.edu
Erin Smith Huynh Director of Advancement	Primary: Northern California; Secondary regions: Southern IL, CO, MO, MT, SD, ND, WY, NE, OK, LA, and AR	217.244.5202	ehuynh@illinois.edu
Kendra Wolf Associate Director of Advancement	Primary: Pacific Northwest (Seattle-Tacoma, WA, and Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA); Secondary regions: Gulf Coast of FL, OR, Western, WA, HI, AK, and Central IL	217.300.7297	kjwolf@illinois.edu
Jana Zollinger Director of Advancement	Primary: Northern California; Secondary regions: East Coast of FL (including Orlando) and MI	217.333.5221	jmzollin@illinois.edu

Don't see your region listed? With over 90,000 alumni and friends, Grainger Engineering's advancement team supports relationships across the country. Contact Heather Vazquez, Interim Associate Dean for Advancement, with questions or to learn more about how you can have an impact on the college.

Leadership Annual Giving

Name / Title	Phone	Email
Alison Krumwiede Assistant Director, Leadership Annual Giving	217.333.6846	aandreae@illinois.edu

Constituent Engagement

Name / Title	Phone	Email
Alexa Ashenhurst Assistant Director of Alumni & Donor Engagement	217.300.7752	alexaa@illinois.edu
Megan Bainter Assistant Director of Stewardship & Donor Relations	217.333.7385	mbainter@illinois.edu
Kale Brinkoetter Assistant Director of Stewardship & Donor Relations	217.244.8917	brinkoe2@illinois.edu
Jerilyn Hutson Director of Alumni & Donor Engagement	217.300.2656	jhutson@illinois.edu
Maddie Kuhn Assistant Director of Stewardship & Donor Relations	217.333.6098	mrkuhn@illinois.edu
Haruka Neiswender Director of Stewardship & Donor Relations	217.300.5950	neiswend@illinois.edu
Samantha Stokowski Assistant Director of Advancement Data	217.300.6006	terstri2@illinois.edu
Sydney Trover Office Support Associate	217.300.9954	strover2@illinois.edu
Kate Worster Associate Director of Marketing Communications	217.265.5467	kworster@illinois.edu

Corporate Relations

Name / Title	Phone	Email
Tim Cochrane Senior Director of Advancement, Major and Corporate Gifts	217.333.1149	tcochran@illinois.edu
Kent Studer Senior Director of Corporate Relations	217.300.4671	kstuder@illinois.edu
Melissa Belcher Director for Corporate Relations	217.244.5956	stierwlt@illinois.edu