Yale University Taps Lindauer to Lead Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Development
July 21, 2026 – Lindauer has been retained by Yale University to lead in its search for a vice president for alumni affairs and development. The search is being led by Lindauer CEO Deb Taft, executive vice president Faith Montgomery and senior consultant Andrew Machado.
Yale University seeks an accomplished, visionary, and collaborative leader. Reporting directly to president Maurie McInnis and serving as a member of the president’s cabinet and vice presidents council, the vice president will lead one of the most respected advancement organizations in higher education while helping shape the future direction of one of the world’s preeminent universities.
This is an extraordinary opportunity to build upon remarkable success while helping define Yale’s next era of engagement, philanthropy, and institutional impact. Yale recently completed a historic $7 billion campaign that exceeded all goals and subgoals, reflecting the extraordinary commitment of its alumni, donors, volunteers, and friends. Looking ahead, the University seeks a leader who can sustain this momentum while positioning Yale to capitalize on emerging opportunities and navigate an increasingly complex higher education landscape.
The vice president will steward one of the most passionate, accomplished, and influential alumni communities in the world. Yale seeks a leader who understands that alumni engagement and philanthropy are mutually reinforcing expressions of lifelong connection to the institution. The next Vice President will strengthen relationships across generations of alumni while creating new opportunities for engagement, service, advocacy, volunteer leadership, and philanthropic investment.
Yale University is a private Ivy League research university located in New Haven, CT. Founded in 1701, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the United States and is recognized for its undergraduate college, graduate and professional schools, and extensive research enterprise. Yale enrolls more than 15,000 students across 15 schools and offers programs spanning the arts and humanities, social sciences, engineering, medicine, law, business, and the sciences.
Related: Lindauer Recruits CEO for Penn State Alumni Association
Lindauer serves higher and secondary education, hospitals, academic research centers, think tanks, research facilities, and foundations, as well as advocacy, public service, social justice and other mission-driven non-profits. The firm has led searches for The Aspen Institute, Auburn University, Franklin & Marshall College, Brown University, Bryn Mawr College, Princeton University, MIT Sloan, Dickinson College, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Columbia University, University of Illinois, Room to Read and Educate Girls, among others.
Proven Search Consultants
Ms. Taft leads Lindauer with over 25 years of executive and senior-level experience across the non-profit sector, from education to healthcare/academic medicine to the youth service and voluntary sectors. Her expertise includes governance, strategic planning, fundraising, program and staff management, strategic marketing, analytics, and constituent engagement, as well as talent recruitment, retention, and development.
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Ms. Montgomery co-leads Lindauer’s higher education and K-12 practice areas and leads executive searches and talent management for client partners across a broad spectrum of education, healthcare, arts, social justice, and policy arenas. Prior to joining Lindauer in 2014, she held senior leadership positions across the non-profit sector. Ms. Montgomery currently serves on the national board of the African American Development Officer’s Network, the Boston Chapter Board of Jack and Jill, and is a member of Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy, and The Giving Institute. Her background spans higher education, academic medicine, youth services, public media, and museums.
Mr. Machado brings to Lindauer over 10 years of frontline fundraising and philanthropic consulting experience. He joined Lindauer after several years at the University of Chicago Law School where he managed a donor portfolio primarily in the New York region, raising more than $3.4 million. His clients included American University, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, Barack Obama Foundation, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Cornell University, Duke University Health System, Kings College London, Pennsylvania State University, Philadelphia Museum of Art, University of Queensland, Smithsonian Institution, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Yale University.
Related: Lindauer Places Chief Development Officer for Children’s Hospital of Orange County
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
