Heather Bennett

Experience

• 

  University of Kentucky

  Aug 1999 - Dec 2006

  Adjunct Faculty

  Taught various English and Women's Studies courses, including First year Composition Sequence (ENG 101/102), Business Writing (ENG 203), Survey of American Literature II—Civil War to the Present (ENG 252), Intro to Women’s Writing (ENG 234); Feminist Spirituality (WS 200), (Re)Constructing American Motherhood (WS 200), Intro to Gender and Women’s Studies in the Humanities (WS 201).

• 

  Wordwright

  Jun 2002 - Jun 2012

  Freelance Writer/Editor

  Performed a variety of writing and editorial services for individual clients, including grant writing and reporting for multiple non-profit organizations, copyediting for the University Press of Kentucky, writing and editing marketing materials and annual reports for high-tech businesses, editing theses and dissertations for University of Kentucky graduate students and faculty, and editing fiction and essays for community writers. Major grant awards include Federal Department of Education grant of $408,808 for West Georgia Technical College (2009). Show less

• 

  Duke and Associates, LLC

  May 2003 - Mar 2006

  Account Executive

  Raised start-up capital for development-stage, high-tech Kentucky companies by selling stock to Angel investors (over $3.5 million raised, with a minimum $25K purchase). Managed all communication between clients’ engineering/technical staff and current and potential investors, including preparation of corporation annual reports. Created and delivered investment presentations to individuals and investment clubs. Designed marketing brochures and displays, and regularly updated Private Placement Memorandum. Performed all administrative and recordkeeping duties for company, including duties as Corporate Secretary of the Board of Directors of Celerity Automation, Inc. Show less

• 

  Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass

  Aug 2006 - Feb 2008

  Grant Writer/Development Associate

  Fully managed grant application process for mid-sized non-profit organization including research, writing, reporting, and tracking funding opportunities through Federal, State, and local governments, United Way, corporations, and foundations. Over $1.5 million raised, including a Federal mentoring grant of approximately $600K paid over three years, maintaining a success rate better than 70%. Organized and participated in multiple annual fundraising events such as Bowl For Kids’ Sake, the Arby’s Charity Golf Tour, Raising More Money events, and other community-based fundraisers. Performed individual donor cultivation and stewardship. Implemented Kintera Sphere CRM application to allow online donation and donor tracking. Issued press releases and created other written marketing/communications tools, including speech writing for 50th anniversary gala and other fundraising events. Show less

• 

  West Georgia Technical College

  Sept 2008 - Dec 2008

  Associate Faculty

  Courses taught: English (ENG 101), Composition & Rhetoric (ENG 191).

• 

  Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta

  Dec 2008 - Jan 2010

  Director of Grants Management

  Fully managed grant application process for large non-profit organization including researching, writing, reporting, and tracking funding opportunities through Federal, State, and local governments, United Way, corporations, and foundations. Over $1.4 million raised in first nine months with agency, maintaining a 65% success rate. Assisted in developing corporate partnerships for funding and volunteer recruitment and conducted funder site visits. Managed development department interns performing administrative and marketing tasks such as developing new press kit and partnership presentations. Worked with Executive Leadership Team to complete annual strategic planning and to produce 2010-2012 strategic plan. Worked with Closure Committee to analyze match closure data and recommend program policy and service delivery modifications to reduce premature closure rate. Performed communications and marketing writing and editing as requested, including web content, press releases, and scriptwriting for fundraising events. Supported all fundraising activities and events, including the Arby’s Charity Tour, Bowl For Kids’ Sake, and the Legacy Awards Gala. Show less

• 

  Everett Community College

  Jan 2010 - Sept 2020

  Promoted the success of students at the college with an emphasis on social justice and equity, particularly racial equity, by leading collaborative work to set strategic planning goals and establish measurement structures for learning outcomes and student retention and completion. Supported planning and assessment using institutional research data and analysis as well as campus and community engagement to elevate the voices of underrepresented populations in developing solutions to systemic problems that impact them. Aligned goals with Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) accreditation standards and lead accreditation reporting as the institutional Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO). Initiated, strategically designed, and implemented resource development systems and established procedures for securing external funding to support the college’s goals; established innovative partnerships with outside organizations and funding sources to develop joint projects to amplify collective impact; and engaged in grant development, writing, and reporting as needed. Directly supervised 6-10 staff members, with cross-functional leadership duties extending throughout the college. Responsible for division budget of $1.2 million, with an average of $6 million in new grant awards generated annually. Served as liaison to federal legislators and agencies, provided monthly Student Success updates to the Board of Trustees, and supported the president’s office with research and communication projects as requested.Committees/Projects: Achieving the Dream Leaders Team; Guided Pathways Steering Committee; Strategic Enrollment Management Council; Accreditation A-Team (Chair); Assessment Committee (Co-chair); Enrollment Conversion Analysis Task Force (Chair); NWCCU Student Success Academy 2019 (co-developer); event planning and coordination for annual Campus Data Summit and Community Engagement events; group planning facilitation using Compression Planning® tools. Show less Worked with the college president to restructure the organization to create an Institutional Effectiveness Division that included responsibility for college strategic planning and outcomes measurement, student success interventions and assessment, and accreditation reporting in addition to collaborative grant development with internal and external partners and standard Institutional Research functions. Managed the college relationship with College Spark Washington, Achieving the Dream, and the Aspen Institute, all of which recognized the college for excellence in terms of improving student success with an equity mindset. Worked with the college's Equity and Social Justice Division to develop assessment processes to measure progress related to the 5 Dimensions of Equity in addition to a focus on reducing equity gaps in student achievement data. Show less

  • Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness & Strategic Development

    Sept 2019 - Sept 2020

  • Executive Director, Institutional Effectiveness & Resource Development

    Aug 2012 - Sept 2019

  • Executive Director, Resource Development

    Jan 2010 - Aug 2012
• 

  Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

  Apr 2019 - now

  Provides leadership for the Mission Fulfillment and Sustainability (MFS) Fellowship in support of institutional continuous improvement and assessment of student learning, student achievement, and institutional effectiveness through an equity lens. Supports institutional innovations by managing the substantive change process. Ensures alignment of NWCCU's Standards, Policies, and practices with federal regulations and leads compliance work related to US Department of Education and Council for Higher Education Accreditation recognition. Show less Co-developed inaugural Student Success Academy held in fall 2019, including compilation of best practice knowledge base, design of pre-workshop data analysis assignment for participants, presentation at the opening workshop on collecting and meaningfully using disaggregated data to improve student success, and provision of ongoing support to workshop participants through the academic year to outcomes assessment and project follow-up planning. Co-developed the 2021 full-day pre-conference workshop on Assessment Practice and Process for Two-Year Colleges. Currently supporting NWCCU Fellowship program activities and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Intermediaries for Scale Grant efforts as needed. Show less

  • Vice President for Institutional Innovations and Compliance

    Sept 2023 - now

  • College Effectiveness Consultant

    Apr 2019 - Sept 2023