To: Wellesley College Trustees, Faculty, Staff, and Alumnae
From: President Paula A. Johnson
Re: New Vice President for Development
Date: February 22, 2023
I am delighted to announce that Wellesley has selected Crystal Daugherty as the College’s vice president for development. Crystal will serve as our lead fundraiser, with responsibility for all development efforts for Wellesley College and the management of our centralized development operation. As a senior officer of the College, Crystal will be a strategic partner and contributor to developing and achieving institutional priorities.
Crystal is exceptionally well qualified to serve Wellesley in this critical position and brings both strategic and operational skills and experience. She holds a B.A. from Smith College and an M.B.A. from Simmons College, and she has more than 25 years of fundraising experience in both higher education and nonprofits. She began her development career leading fundraising in small social-advocacy organizations before moving into foundation relations at MIT, and then went on to Year Up, where she led major gifts, the annual fund, foundation relations, events, communications, volunteer management, and database management.
Most recently, Crystal has had increasingly responsible development roles at UMass Amherst, where she serves as the assistant vice chancellor for principal gifts and the director of the university’s next comprehensive campaign, which is currently in the quiet phase. In addition to her extensive development experience, Crystal brings a passionate commitment to women’s education and empowerment, conservation, and social justice.
“I come from a long line of strong women, but it wasn’t until my time at Smith College that I experienced the transformational power of a women’s college,” Crystal says. “I very much look forward to working with Wellesley alumnae, staff, and friends to provide generations of students a similarly transformational personal and academic experience.”
In her free time, you can find Crystal either skiing or hiking one of New Hampshire’s “4,000-footer” mountains. She lives on a small hobby farm with her wife, their two college-aged sons, three dogs, 10 chickens, and over 30,000 honey bees.
Wellesley selected Crystal after conducting a national search that yielded a pool of talented and qualified candidates. I’d like to thank the search committee members, who were instrumental in bringing Crystal to the College: Trustees Debora de Hoyos, Amy Batchelor, Chris Pasko, Laura Wood Cantopher, Anne Shen Chao, and Sandra Horbach, and Senior Leadership team members Andy Shennan, Piper Orton, Tara Murphy, and Carolyn Slaboden.
I’d also like to express my deep appreciation to Marisa Jaffe for her strong leadership and to the entire development team for their outstanding efforts during the interim period.
Crystal will begin her new role on April 24, 2023. Please join me in welcoming Crystal and her family to our community.
