As of March 1, the new Director of Development was immediately immersed into four weeks of orientation and a slew of preparatory meetings. With spring break to catch her breath and gather her bearings, Betsy Stephenson immediately hit the ground running.
Originally from Kansas, Stephenson’s new position includes soliciting financial support for the school and heading the senior administration team along with the development staff. This is similar to her previous position at Los Angeles Childrens Hospital, where she was the assistant Vice President and oversaw the Foundation of Giving and communications staff.
“It’s such worthwhile work,” she said on her old position, “but tough to deal with sometimes. It could be daunting.”
Although Marlborough and the hospital present very different environments, Stephenson said there are definitely similarities in her work.
“Its reputation preceded itself,” Stephenson said, reflecting on the word spread by her former colleagues. “Coming here was a wonderful opportunity to continue working with highly motivated doers and thinkers.”
With such a quick introduction to the school before being appointed, Stephenson said she is appreciative to her colleagues for helping her adjust quickly.
“Everyone has been very generous with their time,” she said.
However, despite the smooth transition came the need to quickly jump into her role, especially with the task of finishing the Leadership in Learning Campaign, of which she says the group is currently in a “strategic planning mode,” deciding what steps to take in order to move the project along further.
Last year, 33 percent of alumnae contributed to the project. Stephenson hopes to expand this area even further.
“One area we really hope to grow is alumnae giving,” she said, emphasizing her intentions of further delve into the task. “It’s really exciting to get creative,” she said.
Prior to her work at Childrens Hospital, Stephenson committed 25 years of work to athletics. The played volleyball and basketball and ran track in high school before attending UCLA to play volleyball.
Forever a UCLA sports fan, Stephenson admitted to her changing attitude towards the USC Trojans.
“I’m not there yet, but I’m coming around.”
