Mission and Executive Leadership

Our Mission

Alumni Relations and Development (ARD) is dedicated to advancing the mission of the University as a premier research and teaching institution. Guided by the University’s strategic priorities, ARD nurtures lifelong, mutually beneficial relationships with alumni, parents, friends, and organizations that result in volunteer engagement and philanthropic support.

In our daily work, we maintain a commitment to strengthening partnerships across the University community and to providing service through communication, collaboration, and leadership in the field of development. In all things, we continue to support the goal of the founders: to create a university of “the highest order of excellence.”

Executive Leadership

David Lively (’26 P), Vice President

With 30 years of experience in higher education advancement, David Lively has directed successful development strategies across five comprehensive fundraising campaigns, including We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern, which raised $6.1 billion from 174,380 donors.

In 2024, Lively was named vice president for Northwestern University Alumni Relations and Development. In this role, he leads the department’s 280 staff members while also partnering with 100 advancement colleagues in Northwestern’s professional schools and serving as a member of President Michael Schill’s senior staff. Lively held several previous roles at Northwestern, most recently senior associate vice president overseeing principal gifts, regional and international major gifts, and gift planning.

Prior to joining Northwestern in 2012, Lively served as vice president of development at DePaul University. During his nine-year tenure at DePaul, Lively held several positions, including senior director of development at the Driehaus College of Business. Before moving to DePaul, he worked as director of annual giving and director of law development at the University of Denver. Lively previously worked at Northwestern in the late 1990s, serving as associate director of development at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law during the University’s prior campaign. He began his development career in 1994 at the University of Colorado Foundation, Inc. as the assistant phone-a-thon director in the office of annual giving.

Lively earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Southern Methodist University (SMU), a master’s degree in history from Colorado State University, an MBA from the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business, and a certificate from the Management Development Program (MDP) at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. In April 2017, he authored Managing Major Gift Fundraisers: A Contrarian’s Guide (published by CASE).

Natasha DiPrima ’92 MS, Senior Associate Vice President, Alumni Relations and Development

Natasha DiPrima is a senior associate vice president for Northwestern University’s Alumni Relations and Development (ARD) and a member of the ARD Executive Team. In her role as chief marketing and communications officer for ARD, she is responsible for communication strategies and marketing efforts that drive lifelong alumni engagement and meaningful philanthropic giving. She leads a team of communication professionals and works collaboratively with Northwestern leaders, gift officers, alumni relations officers, and colleagues across the University to inform, inspire, and express gratitude toward Northwestern alumni and friends. A highlight during her tenure was leading the branding and communications for We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern, the University’s $6.1 billion fundraising campaign.

DiPrima has extensive experience in marketing, communications, alumni engagement, and volunteer management. Prior to joining ARD in 2011 as senior director of marketing and communications, she oversaw alumni marketing and communications at the University of Notre Dame for four years. Previously, she was a marketing and communications executive at several financial services companies, including Harley-Davidson Financial Services, RBC Mortgage, Heller Financial, and Financial Relations Board.

DiPrima received a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.

Sarah Dunn, Chief of Staff and Executive Director, Executive Operations

Sarah Dunn has over 20 years of experience in the development industry, from experience as a frontline fundraiser, event and volunteer manager, and director of operations. Former Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development Bob McQuinn appointed Dunn as chief of staff in June 2015. As chief of staff, Dunn is the primary communications liaison for the vice president and worked alongside him to realize the “We Will” Campaign’s ambitious goals and raise $6.1 billion from 174,380 donors.

Prior to joining Northwestern, Dunn was hired as the inaugural director of advancement for the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), where she was tasked with transitioning the organization from a private operating foundation to a public charity. She solicited and closed major gifts, established planned and annual giving programs, and instituted a corporate underwriting program to bring luminaries such as then Senator Kamala Harris, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, and Senator Dianne Feinstein to speak at PPIC. The organization was formally recognized as a public charity due to the programs implemented during her tenure.

Early in her career, Dunn also served in development roles at the University of Michigan, Chicago Botanic Garden, and the Friends of the Parks in Chicago. She earned a bachelor’s degree in horticultural science from Colorado State University and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala.

Darnell Hines Jr., Associate Dean for Alumni Relations and Development, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law

As the associate dean of alumni relations and development, Darnell Hines is responsible for major and annual gifts, alumni relations, and donor relations and stewardship at Northwestern Pritzker Law. In his role, he is primarily tasked with developing strategies for mobilizing private philanthropic support from alumni, faculty, and staff, while nurturing the relationships between the Law School and its alumni and donors.

Hines has nearly 20 years of alumni relations and development experience. Prior to joining Northwestern Pritzker Law in 2015, he was the director of stewardship for the University of Alberta in Canada. Previously, he was the executive director of donor services at Wake Forest University and the director of donor relations and reunions at Michael E. Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University.

Alan Krensky, Executive for Development, Northwestern Medicine, Vice Dean for Development and Alumni Relations, Feinberg School of Medicine

Dr. Alan Krensky is currently the executive for development for Northwestern Medicine and vice dean for Development and Alumni Relations of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He attended the University of Pennsylvania for undergraduate and medical school and went on to Boston Children’s Hospital to serve a residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in nephrology. He also completed a fellowship in immunology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

After a year on the Harvard faculty, Dr. Krensky moved to Stanford for 23 years, where he served as associate dean for children’s health, associate chair for research (pediatrics), and the Shelagh Galligan Professor of Pediatrics.

During his time at Stanford, Dr. Krensky helped to raise more than $500 million for the Children’s Health Initiative, which he authored and directed. He moved to the National Institutes of Health in 2007, where he served as deputy director and was responsible for the Roadmap for Medical Research as well as the inaugural director of the Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives. He joined Northwestern in 2012 to help develop the fundraising campaign for Northwestern Medicine and Feinberg.

Dr. Krensky has published more than 280 scientific papers and chapters and holds 12 patents. He has been recognized with research awards from the American Heart Association, American Society of Nephrology, National Kidney Foundation, American Society of Transplantation, American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, Society for Pediatric Research, American Academy of Pediatrics, March of Dimes, and Burroughs Wellcome. He received a MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health and is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and Association of American Physicians. He served as president of the Society of Pediatric Research and secretary-treasurer of the American Society of Nephrology.

Jamie Muller ’98, Associate Vice President, Schools and Programs

Jamie Muller serves as the associate vice president for schools and programs. A member of the ARD senior leadership team, Jamie works with academic and unit leaders to set and realize fundraising goals. She also leads fundraising teams for the six Northwestern schools that confer undergraduate degrees, as well as the Block Museum of Art, interdisciplinary research centers, University Libraries, the School of Professional Studies, and programs in financial aid, parent giving and student affairs, as well as corporate and foundation fundraising programs.

An alumna of the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, Jamie worked for several years as an Emmy-winning broadcast journalist before returning to the University. She joined ARD in 2009 as an associate director for Leadership Giving in the New York regional office, and was promoted to senior associate director for major gifts in 2012. Since 2013, Jamie has served as the director of development for Medill, the senior director of development for Parent Giving and Student Affairs, executive director for Schools and Programs, and most recently as assistant vice president for Schools and Programs.

Greg Outwater ’95, Associate Vice President, Major Gifts

Greg Outwater has served for over 16 years in Alumni Relations and Development (ARD) at Northwestern University, most recently as Associate Vice President, Development. In this role, Outwater drives Northwestern’s central major gift fundraising and strategy, managing a combined team of 30. As a leader, he thrives on building strong teams and supporting professional growth and success at ARD. Outwater was the number one-ranked major gift producer over the entirety of Northwestern University’s $6 billion campaign, We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern.

A former opera singer, Outwater previously held managerial positions at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and IMG Artists. He is an active volunteer, currently serving on the board of directors of Greenwood Gardens in Short Hills, NJ, and as a member of the Development Committee of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Outwater holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and completed Graduate Studies in Opera as a Rotary Scholar at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst (The Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts) in Frankfurt, Germany. He earned a Certificate in Staff Leadership: Leading Change, from the Kellogg School of Management.

Karyn Reif, Senior Associate Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Karyn Reif is a member of ARD’s senior management team overseeing the division’s strategies and programs for human, financial, and technology resources. Reif joined Alumni Relations and Development in 2012 as associate vice president and chief operating officer. In this role, one of her primary charges was to build and oversee the department’s talent management program during the University’s multibillion-dollar fundraising campaign. Since 2015, Reif has also overseen the participation programs, providing strategic leadership for the reunion and annual giving teams. In 2017, she was promoted to the role of senior associate vice president and chief operating officer.

Reif has more than 30 years of experience in alumni relations and development as a frontline fundraiser, manager of frontline staff, and leader of administrative services and operations. Prior to joining Northwestern, Reif served as associate vice president of philanthropy for Rush University Medical Center, where she was an integral member of the leadership team during Rush’s successful fundraising campaign that ended in 2012. Before that, Reif was director of development at Rush, managing a team of development officers during the medical center’s previous campaign.

Earlier in her development career, Reif worked at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and also for the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago. Reif earned her bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College and master’s degree from the University of Chicago.

David Sack ’94, Associate Dean for Alumni Relations and Development, Kellogg School of Management

David Sack became the associate dean of Alumni Relations and Development at the Kellogg School of Management in November 2022. He joined Kellogg as a senior managing director in May 2020 and was responsible for developing and implementing fundraising plans for Kellogg’s strategic priorities.

Prior to joining Kellogg, David was vice president of philanthropy at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH). Before his 18 years with NMH, he served as a director at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, overseeing annual corporate fundraising. Earlier in his career, he spent two years as executive director of the Jazz Institute of Chicago.

David holds an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA in art history, criticism, and conservation from Northwestern.

Jason Smith, Associate Vice President, Strategic Initiatives

Jason Smith serves as a member of ARD’s executive leadership team with a focus on developing cross-University fundraising strategies and driving philanthropic support for institutional priorities. Smith leads several core fundraising teams at ARD, including Principal Gifts and International Development, Gift Planning, Foundation Relations, and Corporate Engagement. Smith also plays a lead role in the planning of Northwestern’s comprehensive campaign efforts.

Throughout his career, Smith has been a successful leader in higher education fundraising at several major universities. Prior to joining Northwestern, he served as associate vice president of alumni relations and development at the University of Chicago, where he oversaw regional advancement, individual giving, and principal gifts. Smith played a key role in two strategic initiative fundraising campaigns at UChicago, a $150 million effort to fund 30 new endowed professorships and the launch of the Chicago Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression.

Smith has also held senior leadership roles in development at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Denver. He has a bachelor of science degree from Skidmore College.

Lindsay Vahl Dean, Executive Director of the Northwestern Alumni Association, Assistant Vice President of Alumni Engagement

Lindsay Vahl Dean was named assistant vice president of alumni engagement and executive director of the Northwestern Alumni Association in July 2024, after having served as interim executive director for nine months. Vahl Dean is responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction of the alumni association, which represents more than 260,000 alumni worldwide. She also serves as an ex-officio member of the NAA Board of Directors.

Vahl Dean joined Northwestern in March 2023 as senior director, strategic initiatives and alumni engagement, leading the NAA’s Alumni Communities team. Previously, she spent more than a decade with the Illinois State University Alumni Association, serving in alumni engagement leadership roles of progressive responsibility. Vahl Dean earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science and completed significant coursework toward a PhD in higher education administration at Illinois State. She began her professional career at her alma mater as an undergraduate admissions counselor.

Vahl Dean has been actively involved for many years in the progression of the alumni relations profession as well as the development of its future leaders. She was co-chair of the 2024 CASE District V Conference and served on the CASE District V Conference Planning Committee for eight years. She has been a member of the CASE District V Cabinet since 2022.