Stephanie Cook, a highly accomplished fundraising professional with significant experience in non-profit, cultural, and higher education sectors, has been named Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Pratt Institute. Cook brings to the role a track record of establishing successful fundraising campaigns, leading the management of complex teams, and securing gifts in support of higher education, conservation, and the arts. Her appointment begins on April 29, 2024.
A passionate practitioner of the arts and longtime professional fundraising executive, Cook comes to Pratt from the National Audubon Society, where she served as Vice President, Development. Cook honed her skills and developed a strong reputation for transforming a fundraising program at a more than 100-year-old non-governmental agency (NGO), along with the Chief Development Officer, to achieve the organization’s priorities. During her more than five years at the Audubon, she led robust fundraising teams and development operations efforts, helping to reshape how the organization secured philanthropic support through several team restructures. She expanded the pipeline of major gifts in support of numerous conservation priorities and led her team, and others, to significantly surpass ambitious fundraising goals. Cook also relaunched departmental functions to ensure efficient and effective operations, and established best practices in measuring fundraising success across the team. In her final two years, she helped shape Audubon’s current strategic plan and worked across the organization to create compelling success stories to inspire philanthropic investment.
Before joining Audubon, Cook was the executive director of advancement at Syracuse University, leading the New York Regional Office and serving as the university’s lead fundraiser in New York City and its surrounding communities. She was responsible for managing a comprehensive fundraising strategy and building relationships with and securing philanthropic support from alumni, parents, and friends to ensure the future of Syracuse University. In a similar role, Stephanie previously worked at Villanova University and, along with campus partners, expanded the pipeline of major gift prospects. She was also instrumental in the expansion of Villanova University’s regional advancement efforts in Boston; Chicago; Washington, DC; and on the west coast.
Earlier in her career, Cook served as the director of individual giving for the arts at Columbia University, as a development officer for major gifts at the Wildlife Conservation Society, and supported fundraising efforts on behalf of the Central Park Conservancy.
“We are so excited to welcome Stephanie Cook to Pratt Institute as our new Vice President for Institutional Advancement,” said Pratt President Frances Bronet. “Stephanie’s deep experience and collaborative style will be crucial as she fosters relationships across campus and beyond to lead an ambitious campaign and support the needs of Pratt’s capital projects, student scholarships, faculty-led initiatives, and the priorities that will emerge from a new strategic plan.”
As Vice President for Institutional Advancement, Cook will be responsible for raising funds to support initiatives that underscore Pratt’s mission and values, and philanthropic acceleration that leverages Pratt’s position as a community of art, design, architectural and thought leaders committed to creating a more just and sustainable world. She will focus on partnering with trustees, donors, alumni, philanthropic visionaries, administrative and academic leaders, staff, parents, and volunteers to increase engagement and transformational gifts that align with the priorities of the Institute.
“I am beyond excited to join Pratt as its next Vice President for Institutional Advancement,” Cook said. “My own background as a performer turned fundraiser will inspire me to work tirelessly to advance and support current and future students pursuing degrees in art, design, the liberal arts, and more. I will bring my passion for supporting education as well as my own professional drive to succeed with me to the job every day.”
In addition to Cook’s professional experience, she is a graduate from the University of Kentucky, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Cook also received a Master of Science, Fundraising and Nonprofit Management from Columbia University.