Bret Silver Elected to the Board of Directors
Ann Arbor, MI, July 25, 2023 – The Joyce Ivy Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to broadening the college aspirations of talented female high school students from the Midwest, today announced the election of Bret Silver, of New York City, to its Board of Directors.
“As we expand our programs and prepare exceptional young women from the Midwest to excel at colleges all over the country, Bret Silver’s expertise will be vital in ensuring we can support our Scholars,” said Valerie Brader, Chair of the Joyce Ivy Foundation Board of Directors. “His marvelous combination of knowledge of higher education and deep fundraising expertise is particularly valuable to us.”
Bret Silver is a seasoned chief advancement and external relations officer with 30 years of experience at New York City’s leading non-profit organizations in the areas of higher education, social/human services, and arts and culture. He specializes in creating strategic, longitudinal fundraising plans for both start-up organizations and legacy institutions who seek turnarounds, and has successfully directed major capital campaigns of up to $400 million.
Bret currently serves as the Vice President for University Advancement at Drew University. His previous roles include Vice President and Chief Development Officer, Barnard College, Columbia University, Chief External Relations Officer, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Chief Strategy and External Relations Officer at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
In addition, Bret has served as an advisor to the YMCA of Greater New York, Global Citizen’s Year, the New York Festival of Song, and Westbeth Artists Housing. He is a member of the Foundation Board of SUNY Sullivan in Loch Sheldrake, NY. Bret is a magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Colgate University, and resides with his family in Manhattan and Goshen, NY.
“I am pleased to be joining the Board of the Joyce Ivy Foundation at this moment when support for access to the nation’s finest colleges and universities needs smart and sustained intervention,” Bret said. “On a personal level, I am looking forward to combining my abiding belief in women’s education with my family’s roots in the American midwest.”
With the addition of Mr. Silver, the Joyce Ivy Foundation Board of Directors totals thirteen members: Erich Bagen of San Francisco, California; Fred Blanck of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Valerie Brader of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Erica Cameron of Westlake, Ohio; Allyson Carpenter, JIF ‘12 of Washington, DC; Audrey DiMarzo of Ann Arbor, Michigan; S. Caroline Kerr of Hanover, New Hampshire; Greg Lewis of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Mike Pritula of New York, New York; Jasmyn Samaroo, JIF ’08, of Grosse Pointe, Michigan; Emily Taylor of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Tiffany Taylor of Clinton Township, Michigan; and directors emeriti Carrie Booher of New Orleans, Louisiana; Mary Jo Dawson of Bloomfield Village, Michigan; Anne Hiller of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Stephen Miller of Boise, Idaho; Elisa Ostafin of Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Clint Wallace of Columbia, South Carolina.
