The Office of Outreach Development has been restructured to provide greater support to Continuing Education, Distance Education, Cooperative Extension and Public Broadcasting. Newly appointed director William Speakman and his central staff Brian McCullough and Rob Butler and the Public Broadcasting staff of Susan Powell, Joy VincentKillian, Ashear Barr, Sam Komlenic and Bill Hiergeistare combining their expertise and working to identify funding for a variety of Penn State outreach programs.
This new configuration gives us both the resources and flexibility to be effective fundraisers for the broad range of Outreach and Cooperative Extension programs, as well as agents for change in the way we approach the topic of funding in this competitive philanthropic environment, Speakman said. It is our hope that our office may be full partners in the process of developing and funding programs which will expand Penn States role as a fully engaged University.
As director, Speakman is responsible for all fund-raising for Outreach and Cooperative Extension (O&CE). He is focusing on developing funds for outreach programs from private sources, such as individuals, businesses and foundations. In addition, his unit assists O&CE program planners, managers and staff members in the creation and implementation of strategies for gaining private funding for program support.
Before assuming his current position, Speakman was interim general manager at Penn State Public Broadcasting. Previously, he was director of marketing and development at Penn State Public Broadcasting. While there, WPSX-TV received the 1998 Development Award. During his four-year tenure, the annual viewer/underwriter support for Penn State Public Broadcasting increased by 57 percent.
Speakman previously worked in the State College area as vice president of SnavelyVidmar and Associates. He also was associate executive director for marketing and development for Youth Education in the Arts (YEA!), based in Bergenfield, N.J. He earned his bachelors degree from Slippery Rock University and has participated in the nonprofit management graduate program at The New School in New York, N.Y.
New members of the Outreach Development staff are Powell, Vincent-Killian, McCullough and Butler.
Powell is associate director of Public Broadcasting special gifts. WPSX-TV is moving to a digital format in 2002, and Powell is heading the effort to raise $5 million for new equipment and construction of a new transmission tower. A Penn State advertising alumna originally from Pittsburgh, Pa., she got her start at Penn State as the telemarketing director of Lion Line. She implemented and managed the program from its inception in 1983. She also was assistant director of the Office of Annual Giving and most recently served as associate director of University Development.
VincentKillian is serving as associate director for Public Broadcasting membership. In this role, she is responsible for assisting in the development and operation of fund-raising programs. She previously was the project coordinator and then membership coordinator of the Fresno Art Museum in Fresno, Calif. Most recently, she was membership manager for PBS Membership Award winners, Valley Public Television in Fresno. VincentKillian earned her bachelors degree in liberal studies from California State University, Fresno.
McCullough is assistant director of development for Outreach and Cooperative Extension. He is responsible for securing corporate and foundation funding for the outreach units. His responsibilities include determining a potential programs fundability, consulting faculty and staff about potential funding sources and establishing and maintaining relationships with donors. He previously was the outreach development assistant for Shavers Creek Environmental Center and a consultant to Penn States Goddard Professor of Forestry and Environmental Resource Conservation.
Before coming to Penn State, McCullough was a partner at a legal practice based in Doylestown and Warminster, Pa. He earned his masters degree in wildlife and fisheries science from Penn State, his law degree from Temple University School of Law and his bachelors degree from Princeton University.
Butler is an outreach development assistant. His responsibilities include research, cultivation and solicitation of foundations and corporations. He is seeking support for children, youth and families initiatives within Cooperative Extension and outreach programs produced by WPSX-TV. He previously was a utilization coordinator for the Emmy Award-winning childrens news program Whats in the News, produced by WPSX-TV. In addition to his work at O&CE, he teaches TV/radio administration for the College of Communications. Butler earned his bachelors degree in English from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.