In an email sent to the Brandeis community by university president Ron Liebowitz, it was announced that Hannah Peters—previously interim senior vice president of institutional advancement—would take the position of senior vice president of institutional advancement.
Liebowitz described Peters as “a knowledgeable, versatile and experienced advancement professional.” As the email also states, Peters was named vice president of development in 2019. In 2021, her position changed to interim senior vice president of institutional advancement. “I am delighted that she has agreed to remove the word interim from her title,” stated Liebowitz in the email.
Prior to her position as interim senior vice president of institutional advancement Peters worked at several positions in Harvard University, working first as “Harvard Business School’s director of corporate relations,” then later as “associate dean for external relations at the Harvard Graduate School of Design,” where she “reinvigorated the school’s external relations program and prepared the groundwork for an upcoming campaign.” Prior to her time at Harvard, “Peters served as director of corporate relations at the Stanford University School of Engineering and director of corporate and foundation relations at Tufts Medical Center. Additional nonprofit work included positions at the Asia Society and the Executive Council on Foreign Diplomats, both in New York.” These experiences allowed her to gain “a deep knowledge of fundraising best practices and a versatile skill set that draws on decades of proven success in individual giving and high-level major and principal gifts, corporate and foundation relations and donor stewardship.” Peters has “thirty years of increased responsibility in non-profit management, fundraising, corporate relations and donor relations,” and further “experience in higher education, international relations and healthcare.” Her professional goals include “positioning fundraising programs for long-term success” and “turning around or building fundraising teams;”
According to the email, Peters spent time “in various roles” at Harvard University for 20 years. As associate dean for development and external relations at Harvard Divinity school, the email claims, “she led the school’s first major comprehensive fundraising campaign in over a decade.”
Before her time at Harvard, Peters “held roles at the Stanford University School of Engineering, Tufts Medical Center, the Asia Society and the Executive Council on Foreign Diplomats.”
As senior vice president of institutional advancement, Peters will be overseeing “several departments.” The email includes some of these departments: Advancement, Alumni Relations, the Brandeis National Committee, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Institutional Advancement Communications and Donor Relations.
Liebowitz also praised Peters’ work at Brandeis, stating that “she has helped to grow commitments from Brandeis alumni and friends, improving upon both individual and high-level gifts, while building strong relationships with loyal Brandeis alumni and friends.” Liebowitz’s email claimed that “under her leadership, fiscal year 2022 was Brandeis’ best fundraising year in 14 years,” and that she has been “instrumental in laying the groundwork for [Brandeis’] upcoming comprehensive campaign.”
