Going Beyond Leadership Training
Our Mission
We are a community of leaders who transform leaders, and we do it like no one else. We’re on a mission to help leaders discover who they are and who they want to be in the future. We support Advancement leaders at a critical point on their leadership journey through the power of time and community.
Our year-long immersive experience helps leaders connect, reflect, educate, and collaborate alongside each other.
Our alumni community turns a year-long experience into a lifelong journey.
Our Values
Community-Guided
Titles don’t matter at ALL. Connecting, learning, and growing with is more important than learning from.
Curious
We are always asking the critical question of “why” and being curious about the answer.
Experience-Driven
Leadership is a journey and “learn by doing” is at our core. Yes, we ask why, but then we go explore the how.
Higher-education Advancement faces emerging people-related challenges: recruiting, training, and developing talent to become the next generation of leaders.
Yet most leadership development opportunities rarely address the central issue—becoming a transformational leader is a personal journey that takes time and practice.
We show up every day to make space for leaders: space to reflect, practice, and connect.
Our Team
Alex Lawrence
Executive Director
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Alex Lawrence is the Executive Director for the Advancement Leadership Lab (ALL). Alex is no stranger to the leadership lab as she developed the pilot curriculum in 2018 and is thrilled to be back in this capacity as the organization expands its impact across the Advancement industry.
Alex’s professional passions have always been rooted in people-focused work, with her career start in human resources consulting. Alex focused on leadership development, mergers and acquisitions, and recruitment strategy in fortune 500, start-up, and non-profit environments throughout North Carolina, Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin, Arizona, England, Germany, and Tanzania. This global experience led her to higher education Advancement, where she has led organizational and people operations in multiple chief of staff roles over the last decade. After being in an advisory role for the lab over the last few years, transitioning to this work full time as its own 501c3 has been an exciting opportunity to build the foundation for ALL’s long-term success and sustainability.
Alex has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Services and Counseling Psychology from Elon University and a Master of Arts degree in Higher Education Administration from The Ohio State University. She lives in Columbus, OH with her husband, Danny, and puppy son, Larry.
Jill Cowan
Program Director & COO
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Jill Cowan is the Program Director and COO for Advancement Leadership Lab. She focuses on day-to-day business operations, communications, alumni strategy and programming, board support, and data analysis & reporting. Jill began her career in Higher Education at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she managed the strategy and operations of the MBA academic advising program. After five years, Jill relocated back east, which landed her at the University of Virginia in the role of Assistant Director of Student Life and Program Manager for the Master of Science in Commerce program. In this role, she managed onboarding, orientation, and the student experience. Jill has BA and MA degrees in psychology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and graduated with her MBA from The Ohio State University in 2024.
Our Board
Tonya Cornileus
Senior Vice President, Learning & Talent Solutions Walt Disney Company
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Tonya Cornileus is the vice president, development, inclusion and wellness at ESPN where she serves as an integral member of the Human Resources senior leadership team and regularly acts as an advisor to senior management at ESPN. Dr. Cornileus is responsible for learning and organization development, talent management, diversity & inclusion, and wellness. Dr. Cornileus joined ESPN in November of 2009.
Prior to joining ESPN, Dr. Cornileus served as director, executive development & organizational effectiveness for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. from 2004 to 2009 and vice president, training & organizational development for Aegis Communications Group, Inc. from 1998 to 2004. She began her career as an educator in various school systems from 1985 to 1996.
Dr. Cornileus is involved with several professional and civic organizations. She serves on the Women in Sports and Events (WISE) National Board of Directors, the boards for the T. Howard Foundation, the University of Florida Foundation (Chair for Talent Management and Diversity & Inclusion Committees) and Empower Her Network. Dr. Cornileus is a past board member and officer for the University of Georgia College of Education Board of Visitors and for the Urban League of Greater Hartford.
Dr. Cornileus has been recognized as one of CableFax’s Most Influential Minorities in Cable every year since 2012. They also named her Mentor of the Year in December 2021. She was included on Diversity Journal’s 2021 Women Worth Watching in Leadership, Savoy Magazine’s 2019 Most Influential Women in Corporate America and Pivot Magazine’s 2019 Pivotal Women. She was honored with the 2019 Career Achievement Award by the New England Chapter of Women in Cable and Telecommunications and with the University of Georgia College of Education Distinguished Alumni Award for Professional Achievement in 2014. She was profiled in the fall 2020 edition of the Chief Talent Development Officer Magazine, the March 2013 edition of CLO Magazine and was also named one of the National Diversity Council’s 2012 Most Powerful and Influential Women Leaders in Connecticut.
Dr. Cornileus’ philanthropic endeavors focus primarily on promoting access to education. In 2019, she established the Tonya Harris Cornileus CJC Diversity in Communications Endowed Scholarship Fund at the University of Florida and is a major donor to the Criterion’s Club Gwendolyn Pinkney Harris Scholarship in honor of her deceased mother. Dr. Cornileus mentors college students through the University of Georgia’s alumni mentor program and young professionals across various companies and industries. She has mentored high school students through the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education’s New Beginnings program, and actively supports several other community service organizations.
Dr. Cornileus is a lifelong learner. She earned her Ph.D. and M.Ed. in Human Resources and Organizational Development from the University of Georgia and her bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Florida. Dr. Cornileus received the Senior Certified Professional designation by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM-SCP) and the Professional Coaching certification by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC CPC). She is passionate about helping individuals and teams realize their full potential and regularly spends her time speaking, writing and reading on topics of personal and professional development.
Michael C. Eicher
Senior Vice President for Advancement, The Ohio State University
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A graduate of the University of California, San Diego, Mike Eicher began his career in higher education at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he rose from associate director of development in the School of Medicine to deputy director and director, and from there to vice provost for medical science development, then assistant and associate vice chancellor. Under his leadership as vice chancellor, Campaign UCLA, a 10-year effort completed in 2005, raised $3.05 billion.
Prior to joining Ohio State, Mike served for six years as senior vice president for external affairs and development at Johns Hopkins University, where he led the Johns Hopkins: Knowledge for the World Campaign. That effort focused on student aid and faculty support, construction of clinical buildings at the medical campus and important renovation projects. It closed in 2008 with commitments of more than $3.7 billion.
Mike returned to a public university because he believes in its noble mission and great power. He joined Ohio State in fall 2012 as senior vice president for Advancement and president of The Ohio State University Foundation. Building on his goal to inspire people to choose Ohio State – for their education, medical care, research support, entertainment and more – he has set out to share the university’s most compelling stories, engage more than half a million alumni, and expand private philanthropy to support Ohio State’s core priorities.
Under Mike’s direction, Ohio State streamlined and integrated its communications and marketing, alumni relations and fundraising teams. He led the But for Ohio State Campaign, which raised over $3 billion from more than 750,000 donors and became the university’s most successful fundraising effort ever. Mike built upon that momentum and, along with his team, planned and launched Time and Change: The Ohio State Campaign in fall 2019. While its financial goal is the largest in Ohio State’s history — $4.5 billion focused on student success; discovery; and healthy, vibrant communities — what truly sets this campaign apart from all others is its goal to engage 1 million supporters, which is unprecedented in higher education.
Mike is focused on organizational growth, health, and wellness, which led to Advancement’s establishment of a chief diversity officer position and the Advancement Inclusion Council. Both serve as resources by providing personal and professional development opportunities for staff.
Mike’s commitment to putting people first has been instrumental in the transformation of Advancement during his tenure. He lives in Columbus with his wife, Inez, and travels frequently. They have two grown children: Brandon Eicher (Kate) and Christine Peterson (Shane). They also have three young granddaughters who they love to spend time with.
Ted Mitchell
President, American Council on Education
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Ted Mitchell has served as president of the American Council on Education (ACE), the major coordinating body for the nation’s colleges and universities since September 2017. Mitchell and his team work closely with Congress, the executive branch, and the private sector to develop policies and innovative practices that serve our country’s postsecondary learners.
Mitchell’s leadership of ACE and the entire higher education community is informed by a career committed to increasing access to high-quality education and improving outcomes for all students. Mitchell served in the Obama administration as U.S. under secretary of education from 2014 to 2017 and was responsible for all postsecondary education policies, such as initiatives focused on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, minority serving institutions, and federal student aid. Mitchell and his team at the Department of Education (ED) reinstated Pell Grants for incarcerated adults, created the College Scorecard, and restored millions of dollars to students who were defrauded by their institutions. Before joining ED, Mitchell served in a variety of higher education leadership roles, including as president of Occidental College (1999–2005); vice chancellor and dean at the University of California, Los Angeles; professor and department chair at Dartmouth College; and a member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees.
Mitchell has also been a leader in K–12 education. He served as chief executive officer of the NewSchools Venture Fund—a venture philanthropy that invests in K–12 innovation to support low-income students, schools, and communities—and as president of the California State Board of Education. Throughout his career, Mitchell has worked to create an educational system that serves the goals of excellence, equity, and social justice.
Mitchell is a current board member of Coursera, Khan Academy, Occidental College, TIAA, Education Quality Outcomes Standards Board, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and Credential Engine.
Mitchell received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as his PhD, from Stanford University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Jonelle Bradshaw de Hernandez
Executive Director of Foundation Relations, University of Texas at Austin
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Jonelle Bradshaw de Hernandez is the Executive Director of Foundation Relations and researcher assistant professor at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Bradshaw de Hernandez works closely with advancement and academic leadership to prioritize and execute fundraising programs and initiatives that attract significant foundation support. Dr. Bradshaw de Hernandez’ couples her development work with her research interests that include the intersection of science and technological innovations, risk perceptions, fundraising and job security in building a transformational U.S. workforce focused on social good.
Previously, she served as Senior Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at Stony Brook University and St. John’s University in New York. She graduated from Cornell University, College of Human Ecology, with a Bachelor of Science in Human Service Studies (renamed Policy Analysis and Management) concentrating in Social Policy and Community Development. She received her Master of Arts in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University, Teachers College, an Advanced Certificate in Instructional Leadership at St. John’s University, and her Doctorate from Stony Brook University, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences in Technology, Policy and Innovation. Her family includes her loving husband, a magnificent 11-year-old son and a fur baby named Mando!
David Palmer
Vice President, Advancement, University of Toronto
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Since 2007, David has served as Vice President, Advancement for the University of Toronto, Canada’s largest research‐intensive university, with 88,000 students on three campuses, 21,000 faculty and staff, and 562,000 alumni in more than 180 countries. David has led the planning and execution of the University’s ambitious Boundless Campaign, publicly launched in November 2011 with an original goal of $2 billion, which was increased in December 2016 to $2.4 billion. Boundless is the largest campaign in Canadian university history—an ambitious and necessary undertaking to help prepare the next generation of global citizens and to address today’s defining global challenges.
From 1999 to 2007, David served as President of the Royal Ontario Museum Board of Governors (originally the ROM Foundation) where he led Renaissance ROM—a transformational campaign that re‐defined the Museum’s financial resource base, its public brand, and its position as a major international cultural destination. Recognizing the Museum’s mandate that encompasses both world civilizations and natural history, he made a priority of reaching out to Canada’s Japanese, South Asian, Chinese, Ukrainian, Italian, Greek and other communities locally and nationally. The Renaissance ROM Campaign, unique in Canada for its inclusiveness, generated an enormous sense of pride and engagement among these diverse communities, exemplified by a landmark gift from Michael Lee‐Chin to name the Museum’s new building.
David Palmer is a Senior Fellow of Massey College, an executive committee member of the National Council of Foundation Executives, and a director of the Earth Rangers Foundation. He earned his Master of Fine Arts in musicology from Princeton University and began his career as a Lecturer in the Faculty of Music at The University of Western Ontario, his undergraduate alma mater. After his first foray into development and marketing at Orchestra London, David would return to Western to lead a ground‐breaking campaign for the University of Western Ontario’s School of Business Administration. These efforts resulted in it being renamed the Richard Ivey School of Business, ushering in a new era in professional‐faculty fundraising in Canada.
In recognition of his strategic and principled approach, and for helping redefine the fundraising potential for several charitable sectors in Canada, David was recognized in 2011 with the Outstanding Fundraising Professional Award by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. In 2016 he was recognized with the Outstanding Achievement Award by the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education.
Jasmine Payne
Assistant Dean, Development, University of California, Berkeley
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Jasmine Payne serves as the Assistant Vice Chancellor and Chief Development Officer for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals where she leads strategic development efforts to advance the hospital's mission and pediatric care across the enterprise. With nearly 20 years of fundraising experience, she has worked with major benefactors to develop and launch high-impact research initiatives, academic programs, and capital projects. Prior to joining UCSF, she led the advancement program for UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering, which secured $900M as part of the university’s ambitious $7.3B Light the Way campaign. Previously, she held leadership roles at UCLA, where she directed the Women & Philanthropy program and served as a key gift officer in the College of Letters and Sciences and Major Gifts programs. She graduated from Scripps College and completed Ph.D. coursework in English at UC Riverside, where she co-edited the book Global Migration, Social Change, and Cultural Transformation.
David Routh
Board Chair and Managing Director, New Republic Partners
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David Routh is a managing director at New Republic Partners where he serves as a member of the firm’s executive committee and as a member of the board of directors. He works with senior leadership to evaluate strategic acquisitions and grow the firm’s network of clients and team talent. He also advises clients on philanthropic planning and gift strategies. David brings decades of experience in advising high-net-worth families, endowments and foundations.
David retired in 2022 as the vice chancellor for development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While there, he led the nationally acclaimed, record-breaking “Campaign for Carolina,” which raised over $5 billion for the university. He also served as the chief executive officer of the UNC – Chapel Hill Foundation — the university’s central foundation — and as a board member of the Chapel Hill Investment Fund, the university’s $5 billion endowment.
Over the prior 25 years, David held a variety of roles at U.S. Trust in New York as well as North Carolina Trust and Bank of America. He led the high-net-worth/ultra-high-net-worth team serving individual, family office and not-for-profit clients in North Carolina and the Southeast region. He had oversight of the national institutional relationship teams serving endowment and foundation clients, and was a managing director of the charitable services group based in New York serving large colleges, universities and community foundations.
David has always been active in not-for-profit board leadership. He currently serves on the boards of the Eshelman Institute for Innovation, the Morehead-Cain Scholarship Fund and the Angelman Syndrome Foundation. He chairs the board of the Advancement Leadership Lab, a leadership development program for select large public universities.
David received his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and religious studies, with Phi Beta Kappa honors, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Teresa Sullivan
Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Michigan State University
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Teresa A. Sullivan served as the University of Virginia’s eighth president. From 2010 to 2018 she led the University through a period of transformational change. Among her many accomplishments, she addressed the generational turnover of UVA’s faculty, preparing the University for its third century of teaching and scholarship; completed a $3 billion capital campaign; established a Strategic Investment Fund to provide significant support for scholarships, research, academic initiatives and health care services without using tuition dollars; restored the Rotunda, the centerpiece of the University, and launched UVA’s bicentennial commemoration. She created the President’s Commission on Slavery and the University, which recommended the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers, and the President’s Commission on the University in the Age of Segregation. The University’s rank for federal R&D dollars rose from 75th nationally to 51st during this time. The expansion of the University’s global aspirations was recognized with the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization, and the University won the US Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Award for its sustainability accomplishments. With these achievements, President Sullivan provided strong leadership for UVA during eight years of pivotal change for American higher education.
Prior to assuming the presidency, she served as Provost and Executive Vice President at the University of Michigan, Executive Vice Chancellor of the University of Texas System, and Vice President and Graduate Dean at the University of Texas-Austin. A noted demographer, she earned her PhD. at the University of Chicago and her BA at Michigan State University. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Rhea Turteltaub
Vice Chancellor for External Affairs, University of California, Los Angeles
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Rhea Turteltaub is the UCLA Vice Chancellor, External Affairs. Appointed in March 2008, she oversees one of the nation's leading advancement organizations, a diverse and integrated department of over 600 staff comprised of Development, Alumni Affairs, Government & Community Relations, Advancement Services, the UCLA Alumni Association, and the UCLA Foundation.
Rhea led The Centennial Campaign for UCLA – which surpassed its $4.2 billion goal 18 months ahead of schedule. The campaign launched publicly in May, 2014 and concluded in December, 2019, right in the midst of UCLA’s 100th anniversary commemoration. During the initiative, nearly 220,000 donors from all 50 states and 98 additional countries contributed more than 574,000 gifts, advancing causes across campus, in communities throughout Southern California, across the nation and around the world. The Centennial Campaign raised a total of $5.49 billion for UCLA, helping to shepherd another century of groundbreaking achievements in teaching, research, and service.
Prior to her arrival at UCLA in 1994, Rhea held leadership roles at Otis College of Art and Design and The University of Chicago, as well as campaign positions at the University of California, Berkeley, and her alma mater, Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where she currently serves on the Board of Trustees.
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