GIA Member Spotlight

Celeste Greenlee
Development Director, Neurosciences
KU Endowment

We caught up with Celeste Greenlee to discover more about her, what she’s up to, and what we can learn from her.

Briefly describe your current role.
I am a major gift officer primarily supporting Neurosciences at the University of Kansas Medical Center. This includes all neurological specialties, neurosurgery, and three centers of excellence: the KU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Center, and the NORD Rare Disease Center.

Briefly describe your career journey and what led you to institutional advancement in academic medicine.
Most of my nonprofit career has been centered around educational institutions. The focus of building meaningful relationships to further philanthropic support has been crucial in my career. Being a part of an environment of healing, discovery, and education coming together to impact individuals and society at large is inspiring. I am a University of Kansas alumna, and the opportunity to support the groundbreaking research being done at the Academic Medical Center is inspiring. Institutional advancement that supports academic medicine means that I can build relationships not only with alumni, but also the community at large who will benefit from research and clinical breakthroughs.

What achievement in your current job are you proud of?
Partnering with my KU Endowment colleagues to facilitate meaningful philanthropy from KU Alumni across the university. Connecting donor passion with the vision of physician scientists to accelerate discoveries in diagnosis and treatment within the neurosciences.

What innovation or trend in the field inspires or motivates you?
Harnessing the power of AI to advance research and clinical care is exciting. It has the potential to complement the work of physicians, researchers, and clinical staff to provide earlier diagnosis and advancing new treatments for neurological diseases.

We have recently launched a Grateful Giving initiative in partnership with The University of Kansas Health System to further connect those impacted by illnesses, diseases, and various disorders to the educational programs, research, clinical trials, and clinical care through philanthropic giving.

What is the best career advice you were given and how have you used it?
Find an organization and mission you are passionate about and then focus on building relationships. Understand the culture of the organization in relation to your working style and personal goals. Once these are aligned, success will follow.

What advice do you have for other institutional advancement professionals in academic medicine?
Build strong relationships with the Deans, Directors, Department Chairs, and other institutional leaders as part of your philanthropic team. They can be instrumental in identifying and cultivating donors. These individuals provide valuable insight into their current work and future needs to further define philanthropic goals.

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