What was your role while at Development Guild?
I started at Development Guild as an assistant to Kieran McTague, a few months after I graduated from college. It was the best! I worked closely with Kieran on fundraising projects for a couple of years, and then became a Consultant and started doing more search work with Tracy Marshall.
Development Guild DDI alum Elizabeth Kaplan with her fiancé, Andrew.
What did you take away from your time here that has served you well in your career?
The number one lesson I learned at Development Guild was the importance of maintaining strong relationships, and building them with those around you. From my internal relationships with colleagues, to the networks that I built as an executive search consultant, the relationships are everything! I also have Development Guild to thank for teaching me how to have a client-facing (and now, donor-facing) orientation. At the heart of it, it means great customer service. And that has served me really well in my profession during these years after DG.
What have you been up to since leaving?
After leaving Development Guild, I took a job as a special projects manager for Vanessa Kirsch, the Founder & CEO of New Profit. I am still at New Profit, and now work in Investor Relations. I really love getting the chance to work closely with our investors, whether it be through organizing events, connecting them with great social entrepreneurs from our portfolio, or getting the chance to talk to them about their vision for their personal philanthropy.
I also used to live right in Brookline, near the DG offices, and I’ve since moved into Downtown Boston, and live with my fiancé, Andrew! We are getting married next summer in Seattle, my hometown.
What is your fondest memory from your time at Development Guild?
My favorite thing about my time at Development Guild was getting to work with the most awesome colleagues – the “cohort” of us that started at DG when we were right out of college are still good friends, and we get together about once a month for dinner. I also still lean very heavily on my mentors from DG, Tracy Marshall and Katharine Kaplan.