Erica Marks
NEW PALTZ – The State University of New York at New Paltz announces the appointment of Erica Marks as the College’s new vice president for development and alumni relations after a competitive national search. She will assume her new role on November 1.
Marks brings to New Paltz 28 years of fundraising experience, primarily in the arts, at a variety of nonprofit organizations, including two private universities. She is currently the interim vice president of development and alumni relations at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) in Brooklyn, N.Y., the nation’s second-oldest private school of engineering, applied sciences, technology and research. At NYU-Poly, Marks provides strategic leadership to a team of development and alumni relations professionals in the areas of major giving, corporate and foundation relations, alumni relations, donor relations and stewardship. She strategically manages the highest level donor prospects and collaborates regularly with the president, provost, trustees, faculty, and staff at both NYU and NYU-Poly.
Since 2010, she has been instrumental in the successful turn-around of NYU-Poly’s fundraising efforts, growing private giving from $4 million to $7 million in three years. She rebuilt an alumni relations organization after years of low engagement. Alumni participation rose from 6% in FY10 to 9% in FY12. She also crafted a short-term comprehensive campaign. She has led the successful integration of Polytechnic’s development and alumni relations staff and alumni and donor data bases with those at New York University to support the pending transformation of Polytechnic into the new NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering (effective January 2014). She has worked closely with the Board of Trustees and two NYU-Poly presidents to set goals and priorities, coaching leadership to effectively cultivate and solicit major donors. Marks has led the major gifts team to identify a robust donor pipeline that grew from fewer than 50 to more than 1,000 prospects and $7 million in gifts and pledges.
As the vice president for development and alumni relations at SUNY New Paltz, Marks will report to the president and serve on the College’s senior leadership team. She will lead all fund-raising activities, including campaigns, annual giving, corporate and foundation giving, and planned gifts. She will also oversee alumni relations, development services, special events, and the SUNY New Paltz Foundation business office, and serve as executive director of the SUNY New Paltz Foundation.
She will have broad authority to shape and build a stronger development program in the annual fund, individual giving, and in corporate and foundation fundraising. She will manage the directors and central development office and work closely with the president, Foundation Board directors, deans, faculty and others to expand alumni engagement and increase philanthropic giving to the College, two major goals of the College’s new strategic plan. She will also carry a portfolio of leadership and principal gift prospects.
“The alumni and extended community of SUNY New Paltz can be proud of the College’s many achievements,” said Erica Marks. “It is truly an honor to join the leadership team at this point in the school’s history to help New Paltz realize its full potential. I look forward to building a sustainable development and alumni relations program that provides numerous engagement opportunities for all constituents and results in the deep level support needed to propel New Paltz into the future.”
“Erica Marks’ diversity of experiences in fund-raising for the arts and for science and technology is a perfect fit for New Paltz and our future,” said SUNY New Paltz President Donald Christian. “I am excited to have such an accomplished, personable, and dedicated professional joining our senior leadership team and taking the helm to build a different profile of philanthropic and alumni-relations successes at New Paltz. Her work will help us better connect private fund-raising with building the margin of excellence our students deserve, through the kinds of programs that characterize a top-tier public university.”
Prior to working at NYU-Poly, Marks was director of development and external affairs at The Boys’ Club of New York. In a 17-month period, she raised $2.2 million in new gifts, including nine six-figure gifts. She has also been the associate director of development at the New York City Opera (2007-2008) and associate director of Merce Cunningham Dance Company (2005-2006).
From 1998 to 2005, Marks served as director of development at the School of the Arts at Columbia University in New York, N.Y. While there she transformed a dormant school-based fundraising program into a vibrant and productive operation while simultaneously participating in university-wide fundraising activities and maintaining a portfolio of 200 active prospects capable of gifts ranging from $250,000 to $100 million. She designed the strategy for a $50 million capital campaign for the School; created naming opportunities and identified prospects to support creation of a new facility for the School that included theatres, a gallery, classrooms and studio space. She is credited with helping to change the school’s culture by involving donors in key activities, such as MFA exhibition sponsorships. She grew the number of endowments by 14, including two new endowed professorships.
From 1993 to 1998, she was manager of major gifts (1993-1994) and director of development (1994-1998) at The Actors Fund, a national, nonprofit human services organization founded in 1882 that serves over 13,000 performing arts and entertainment professionals across the country. She elevated fundraising and visibility to a then all-time high, raising $6.3 million in 1997. She developed and led a $10 million special campaign and raised $2 million in the first year.
From 1991 to 1993, she was associate director of development at Arena Stage, a national center for the production, presentation, development and study of American theater. Early in her fund-raising career she was associate director of development at the American Field Service, a non-profit international exchange organization for students and adults that operates in more than 50 countries, and organizes and supports intercultural learning experiences.
Marks earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Maharishi University of Management, in Fairfield, Iowa, and a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from New York University. She has Certificat D’Etudes Suprieures de la Langue Franaise from La Sorbonne, in Paris, France. She grew up in Athens, Ohio, where her father was a professor at Ohio University.
She is married to artist Dan George and has one step daughter and granddaughter.
