The Office of Alumni Relations is being energized by two new leaders this summer.
Ryan Catherwood, a nationally known thought-leader in the field of alumni engagement, will put his skills to work for Longwood as assistant vice president for alumni relations in early July, taking over from Nancy Britton Shelton ’68, who led the office for 40 years.
Kendall L. Lee ’01, associate director of government relations at Virginia Commonwealth University, is the new president of the Alumni Board, succeeding Kathleen Early ’92.
Kendall Lee ’01 (left) and Ryan Catherwood
Catherwood’s passion for working with alumni stems from a love of bringing people together face-to-face—and a fascination with deploying cutting-edge digital strategies to make that happen. Prior to joining Longwood, he was director of engagement strategy in the office of alumni, parent engagement and annual
giving at the University of Virginia.
“I am excited to come to a university with such close bonds to its alumni. There truly is a unique camaraderie among members of the Longwood family,” said Catherwood. “Nancy has built a wonderful, vibrant alumni network. I’m looking forward to building on those efforts already in place with some new, forward looking ideas and really enhancing the family that exists.”
Lee, of Glen Allen, also plans to strengthen ties between alumni and the university.
“I plan to support alumni involvement through activities and events that create a sense of connectedness with the university,” said Lee, who previously was vice president. I also plan to promote diversity by increasing the involvement of minority and young alumni in the life and support of the university.”
The Alumni Board also has a new vice president and four new members; two members were recently reinstated. Taking over as vice president is Tammy Bird Jones ’81, of Glen Allen. New to the board are Byron W. Bracey ’81 of Severn, Md., Cydney Cherry Cavender ’75 of Portsmouth, Matthew L. Crawford ’06 of Chesapeake and Rebecca Ann Snyder ’05 of Dillwyn. Dale Baake ’07 of North Chesterfield and W. Hunter Edwards ’05 of Glen Allen were reinstated. Members serve four-year terms.