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• Faculty & Staff

Darrell Byers
Vice Chancellor
617.287.5323

"I know personally what a college degree means and how if can transform a life — it's powerful," says Darrell Byers, who brings nearly 25 years of experience in non-profit administration and higher education fundraising to his post as vice chancellor. The first person on both sides of his family to graduate from a four year college, Darrell spent nearly a decade as a corporate underwriter at WGBH. He then served as a major gifts officer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, director of corporate and foundation relations for the Georgetown University Medical School, and vice president at the Caritas Christi Healthcare system.  A former business owner, Darrell received his B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross.

Gina Cappello
Associate Vice Chancellor
617.287.5335   

In her two years at UMass Boston, Gina Cappello has seen the difference philanthropy makes in the lives of the university's students. "It's something to be proud of.  Raising money to give our students an opportunity to succeed beyond high school makes me love my job every day. Whether it’s scholarship aid or programmatic or capital funding, I know I’m making a difference.” Gina has worked in development for eighteen years. The former vice president for institutional advancement at Southern New Hampshire University, Gina joined UMass Boston in 2006 with the desire to return to her Boston roots and focus more on individual major gift giving. She oversees Major and Planned Giving, Prospect Research, and Finance, Resource Management, and Advancement Services, which include operations, finance, the processing of gifts and database management. Gina also has served in key development roles at Presentation of Mary Academy of Methuen, the Archdiocese of Boston Catholic Charities, Triangle Inc. of Malden, and the former New England Memorial Hospital. She is an active member of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and Women in Development. Gina holds a B.A. in journalism from Northeastern University and an M.S. in business education from Southern New Hampshire University.

Nan Cormier
Assistant Vice Chancellor
617.287.5326   

"I've been to the 'mountaintop' of American higher education, having studied and worked at Ivy League institutions, but believe that the public purposes of higher education are more remarkably served at institutions like UMass Boston," says Nan Cormier, who oversees advancement activities related to communications and marketing, the UMass Boston Fund, corporate and foundation relations, and stewardship.  She has worked in university fundraising and non-profit administration since 1985. In higher education, Nan has worked at Boston College, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Weston Jesuit School of Theology, an international theology center. Beyond higher education, she contributed to advancing the Boston Museum of Science and Primary Source, an organization devoted to educating K – 12 teachers about world cultures. Nan had the formative experience of teaching urban first graders in Jersey City, NJ, in 1983, and has been devoted to strengthening educational opportunity ever since. The daughter of a UMass Lowell (Lowell Tech) graduate, and a lifelong public community college educator, she received her A.B. in English from Smith College and a master’s degree in higher education administration from Boston College. An avid swimmer, Nan also volunteers for the Henri Nouwen Society.

Carolyn Flynn
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Planned Giving
617.287.5336

Carolyn believes in UMass Boston’s mission of providing access to an affordable, first rate public education.  More fundamentally, she thinks education is an integral to solving world problems by creating forums for intellectual and cultural discourse. A member of the Massachusetts Bar, Carolyn has worked in private practice in the area of trusts and estates for many years. In addition, she served as director of planned giving at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, where she advised alumni on estate planning issues relative to charitable giving and assisted with the management of the college’s planned giving assets. Carolyn received her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. She also holds an M.A. in public policy from the University of Chicago and studied comparative law and economics at Rijks Universiteit Leiden in the Netherlands.

Major Gifts

Gerald Tuckman
Senior Major Gifts Officer
617.287.5381

After years of community organizing for Boston Public Housing and with community-based development organizations throughout the Commonwealth, Jerry Tuckman became director of housing for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council in Boston. What followed was almost twenty years in commercial real estate management. Jerry took his commitment to non-profits to Tufts University as a director of development in the advancement field, where he ran an annual fund, organized a multi-million dollar fundraising campaign, and did major gifts work. Following his post at Tufts, he joined the University of Massachusetts system as senior major gifts officer at UMass Medical School in Worcester. Jerry joined UMass Boston in summer 2007 and is delighted to work at a place where “the students do not just want to succeed, they need to succeed . . . for themselves, their families, and their communities.” Jerry has an M.S.W. from Boston College and majored in history as an undergraduate at Hofstra University.

Joe DeMedeiros UMass Dartmouth '99
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni Relations
617.287.5339

Joe DeMedeiros, joined UMass Boston in the fall of 2007 but is no stranger to the University of Massachusetts. As director of alumni relations and acting co-director of the annual fund at UMass Dartmouth, his alma mater, he significantly increased awareness and participation by alumni, resulting in a surge in alumni giving. Joe, a first generation American, comes from a large Portuguese family and is excited that his work in alumni relations will "help students to have the same remarkable educational opportunities that I’ve been given." Active in the community, he served as a city councilor in his hometown of New Bedford for six years. He also was chief communications officer for the Bristol District Attorney’s Office as well as the budget and policy director for the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Joe majored in sociology/criminal justice, minored in Portuguese studies, and will receive his M.B.A. in 2008.

When Ellen Fleming joined the University Advancement staff in 2007, it was a professional homecoming. She had developed her fundraising expertise at the University of Massachusetts Foundation in the mid-1990s. At the Foundation, the private entity which manages the endowment for the five-campus University of Massachusetts system, she worked in stewardship and communications, managed fundraising operations for special events, and produced the university’s first Night at the Pops at Symphony Hall in 2001. Most recently, she worked in healthcare advancement as development officer at Caritas Norwood Hospital. “I love working at UMass Boston,” Ellen says, “when our donors see the difference they can make in realizing our students’ aspirations and our faculty’s dreams, it's deeply rewarding.” Ellen has a bachelor of arts degree, cum laude, in American civilization from Middlebury College. Active in the community, she has volunteered with the Posse Foundation and the John F. Kennedy Library, and is a member of Women in Development of Greater Boston.

Kelly Westerhouse remembers well the moment when she realized the power — and promise — of her work at UMass Boston.  While creating a video of scholarship recipients to share with alumni and friends at year-end, she recognized “the amazing tapestry of lives that the university influences.” The value of her contribution became clear to her when a donor who had viewed the video contacted Vice Chancellor Darrell Byers and said, “These are the types of people I want to support,” and subsequently made a gift of $25,000 to scholarships. Kelly’s passion for fundraising was cultivated through thirteen years at Harvard University, where she contributed to multiple advancement functions including the Harvard College and Graduate School Funds, development operations, stewardship, and events. She began her career at Continental Cablevision and holds an M.S. in communications management from Simmons College and a B.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College.

Paula Popeo was pleasantly surprised when she became reacquainted after many years with her alma mater, the University of Massachusetts, through her role as membership director for the launch of The University of Massachusetts Club in 2005. A graduate of UMass Amherst, she witnessed the emerging strength of the UMass system as its five universities become more collaborative under President Jack Wilson. “The UMass Club serves to connect and solidify the university’s alumni and educate the public about the system’s role in Massachusetts’ economic growth,” she says. Paula began her career in law, and has worked in public affairs and events management at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem State College, and for the Canadian government.  Paula holds a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.