LeaderNotes Winter 2024

The latest edition of LeaderNotes is available. This edition includes a Letter from the President, a Board Meeting Recap, and more.

Click here to read the full newsletter.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

As you may have heard, I plan to retire as USM Foundation’s president and CEO and vice chancellor for advancement on June 30, 2025. Over the course of more than 40 years in advancement, I’ve had the privilege of working within the University System of Maryland family for nearly all of it—spending 19 years at the Foundation, 12 years at the University of Maryland, College Park, and eight years at Towson University, my alma mater. Watching the growth of philanthropy and alumni engagement across the System—and being fortunate enough to contribute to that growth, even in a small way—has been an incredibly rewarding experience.

What has meant even more to me, however, is the people I’ve encountered along the way. The kindness and grace so many of you have shown me is something I’ll always cherish, and I remain in awe of your unwavering dedication to supporting the students and faculty we serve. 

With seven months of work still ahead, I’m eager to continue contributing to our mission. And rest assured, I will always stay connected to this wonderful USM/USM Foundation family as I begin my next chapter. I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the wonderful congratulatory messages I’ve received from staff, colleagues, and board members.

Within the Foundation, our staff is still hard at work. In October, the USM hosted its first ever Wills Week Conference, a five-day virtual conference that featured expert-led webinars during National Estate Planning Awareness Week. The conference covered estate planning basics, sticky conversations about wills, and LGBTQ will planning, among other topics. We were happy to have more than 1,000 registrants from alumni and staff from our USM institutions.

I would also like to mention that our FY24 annual report is ready to view. This year’s report features a letter from myself and Board Chair, Don Scheeler, as well as a letter from Chancellor Jay Perman. It also features an interview with Vice President and General Counsel Becca Salsbury and Chief Investment Officer Sharcus Steen, as well as our FY24 investment report. 

As always, please reach out to me with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Leonard R. Raley