For this week's episode of Alumless Takes, Ryan is joined by Ashley Watts, the Director of Annual Giving at Georgia State University, who shares insights from the busy end-of-year giving season. She discusses the lessons learned from video appeals, the importance of intentional messaging, and the role of data in enhancing fundraising strategies. Ashley emphasizes the need for collaboration and adding value to colleagues across campus, while also recommending resources for professional growth.

Alumni engagement strategies are evolving beyond events and programs toward something more profound: identity, psychology, and intentional journeys. In this episode of Alumless, Ryan and Chris are joined by Jay Le Roux Dillon, Ed.D., Chief Alumni Officer at the University of California, Berkeley, for a conversation on how institutions can design engagement experiences that reflect how alumni actually see themselves and choose to stay connected.

Jay shares the origins of his Alumni Identity work and explains how social science, data, and human behavior shape his approach to alumni engagement at Cal. The discussion explores what it means to align teams around journeys rather than standalone programs and the role data and metrics play in validating this work.

In the bonus segment, Jay reflects on lessons learned from innovation and the balance between tradition and experimentation. We explore the importance of the data layer in creating meaningful on-ramps to engagement, and where alumni engagement strategies are headed over the next five years.

This episode of Alumless is made possible by our season sponsors Protopia, AlumnIQ, and Givzey.

As 2025 comes to a close, Alumless is considering alumni engagement technology for 2026 and beyond. On our special holiday edition, Chris Marshall and Kim Infanti are joined by Max Leisten from Protopia, Renee Quinn of Givzey, and Steve Rittler of AlumnIQ to reflect on where ed tech for advancement stands today and where it is headed next.

The group explores how engagement teams are thinking about their tech stacks, why integration remains such a persistent challenge, and whether engagement data is finally influencing fundraising strategy in meaningful ways. They discuss the real-world impact of AI right now, the evolving role of engagement scores, and how institutions can balance personalization at scale with the human connection alumni expect from their alma mater.

Looking ahead to 2026, the conversation turns to changing alumni digital behaviors, the future of social media in advancement, and what it truly means to be a digital-first engagement organization. The episode wraps with a holiday edition of Friday Cheers, featuring technology-inspired recommendations to carry into the new year.

For two decades, Penn Traditions has been shaping the way students at the University of Pennsylvania learn about philanthropy and discover what it means to be part of a community that lasts long after graduation.

On this week's episode of Alumless, Ryan and Chris sat down with Elise Betz, Senior Executive Director for Alumni Relations, to look back at how the program began and how it grew into one of the most influential engagement engines in higher education.

Elise reflects on the early days of convincing campus leaders that student philanthropy mattered, the moment she knew the program had become part of Penn’s identity, and the innovations that have kept it relevant over 20 years. She shares how Penn Traditions now shapes everything from New Student Orientation to university-wide collaborations, and how alumni support continues to expand its impact.

In the bonus segment, the conversation turns to Penn’s recent fundraising campaign for its Cultural Resource Centers and what the future holds for student engagement at Penn.

You can check out the virtual fitness class Elise mentions in her Friday cheers here (passcode *%b2u+if).

Season 4 of Alumless is presented by Protopia, AlumnIQ, and Givzey.

In this week's episode of Alumless Takes, Ryan chats with Andrea Devine, Senior Director of Volunteer Engagement at the University of Virginia.They share reflections and advice on how to create meaningful alumni volunteer engagement. She also shares challenges and opportunities presented by the transition to a new CRM system at UVA. She emphasizes the need for data standardization and the importance of establishing policies for data entry to improve overall data management.

This episode is made possible by our season sponsors Protopia, AlumnIQ, and Givzey.

How do you hold the attention of alumni and donors in a world that never stops scrolling?

In this episode of Alumless, Ryan and Chris talk with Josh Harraman, Director of Constituent Experiences – Strategy at The Ohio State University, about what it means to build alumni engagement in the attention economy. Josh shares how his team studies audience behavior, experiments with content, and uses both data and emotion to keep the Ohio State community connected.

They explore what’s competing most for alumni attention today, how digital tools are reshaping engagement, and whether higher education is adapting fast enough to compete with global brands and influencers. Josh also reflects on the role of storytelling, volunteerism, and campus partnerships in creating meaningful moments that cut through the noise.

In the bonus segment, he talks about the platforms and content formats that hold alumni attention longest, how to define meaningful engagement when you have only seconds, and what advice he’d give advancement leaders trying to win the attention game.

This episode is made possible by our season sponsors Protopia, AlumnIQ, and Givzey.

In this episode, Ryan interviews Pat Fligge, the Director of Alumni Career Engagement at Temple University. They discuss the current hot topics in alumni career services, focusing on the impact of AI and the challenging job market. Pat emphasizes the importance of adapting to AI as a tool to augment career coaching and the need for expanded alumni career services to help graduates navigate the evolving job landscape. They also explore the role of alumni in providing experiential learning opportunities and the strategic approach of Temple University in supporting alumni engagement programs.

Can an interim advancement leader make lasting change, or are they just keeping the lights on?

In this episode of Alumless, Chris sits down with Dale Wright, Interim Vice Chancellor for Advancement and Senior Vice President of the University of Illinois Foundation. Dale shares how his early work in student and alumni engagement shaped his approach to leadership, and what it really takes to step into the top advancement role on an interim basis while still managing his ongoing responsibilities.

On the show, they unpack how to set priorities when time is limited, why credibility and internal relationships matter more than titles, and how the advancement and alumni engagement structure at Illinois operates. Dale also offers practical advice for anyone preparing to step into an interim leadership role.

In the bonus segment, he reflects on receiving the 2025 CASE Frank L. Ashmore Distinguished Service Award, what modern engagement should look like, and which traditional approaches may no longer serve the work.

FYI - Ryan had some technical difficulties during the livestream, so Chris went solo and took point for the first portion of this episode!

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

This episode is made possible by our season sponsors Protopia, AlumnIQ, and Givzey.