Howard Heevner joined the University of California, Berkeley in 2019 as the Executive Director of Annual Programs. In his current role he oversees Annual Giving, Pipeline Development and Parents & Family Philanthropy. Heevner was previously the Assistant Vice Chancellor of University Relations at UC Santa Cruz since 2011. In that role, he oversaw annual giving, alumni engagement, special events, regional major gifts and advancement services. He also served as the Foundation Treasurer on the UC Santa Cruz Board of Trustees and was the Executive Director of the UC Santa Cruz Alumni Association.
In his 25 years of higher education advancement experience, Howard has held a variety of roles. Prior to joining UC Santa Cruz, he was Director of Development, Annual Giving, at Penn State University; Director of Annual and Special Giving at DePaul University; Associate Director of Annual Giving at University of Michigan; and Assistant Director of Annual Giving at the University of Iowa. As a consultant, Howard facilitates meetings of Annual Giving professionals from across the U.S. and Canada to review the performance of their Annual Giving programs. In the past, he has worked as a consultant with University of Colorado, University of Michigan, University of New Hampshire and William & Mary.
Howard earned his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Iowa, his Masters of Education in Higher Education Administration from Penn State and a Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University.
Industry Leadership and volunteer activities include: Board of Directors, Council for Advancement & Support of Education (CASE), District VII, regional and national CASE conference speaker in areas of alumni relations and annual giving.
Community leadership and volunteer activities include: Board of Trustees, Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History; Development Committee Member and volunteer, Second Harvest Food Bank, Watsonville, CA; and Board of Trustees, Homeless Garden Project, Santa Cruz, CA.
Howard, his wife and daughter reside in and are active community members in Oakland, California. They are passionate about improving their community and the lives of others. Howard is a strong advocate for issues of hunger and food insecurity.
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