The Staff
Alumni Relations

Elizabeth Bass (M.S.W.’03)
Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations
Phone: (804) 828-8192
Email: eebass@vcu.edu
View bioElizabeth Bass has worked in higher education and the nonprofit sector for 20 years, with an emphasis on volunteer training and management, community outreach and collegiate civic engagement. She graduated from the University of Virginia in 1999 with a bachelor’s in sociology and from VCU in 2003 with a master’s in social work.
As associate vice president for alumni relations, Elizabeth leads a team of alumni and student engagement professionals who work with alumni, students and campus partners across the university. She oversees all areas of alumni programming, supports the VCU Alumni Council and serves on the senior leadership team for the vice president for development and alumni relations.
Elizabeth served for seven years as executive director of the Virginia Mentoring Partnership, a statewide nonprofit organization that partners with schools, universities, corporations and nonprofit organizations to increase the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships and to promote effective youth mentoring across the commonwealth. She also held numerous roles, including executive director, at Madison House, the nonprofit student volunteer center at the University of Virginia from 2003-13, where she worked with students, alumni, and community and university partners and donors to fulfill its mission of leadership and service to the Charlottesville community.
She is a member of the 2015 Class of Leadership Metro Richmond, former board chair of the Grace Covenant Child Development Center and AMP! Metro Richmond boards, and currently serves in a leadership role in the family and community engagement efforts at Good Shepherd Episcopal School. Elizabeth lives in Midlothian with her husband, Will Cleland, and her son, Henry.

Veda Bellamy
Administrative and Program Assistant
Phone:(804) 828-7023
Email: vmbellam@vcu.edu
View bioCareer and Personal Development

Latisha Taylor Smart
Senior Director, Alumni Career and Personal Development
Phone: (804) 828-3359
Email: smartlt@vcu.edu
View bioLatisha Taylor Smart is the senior director of alumni career and personal development. A graduate of both Old Dominion University and George Mason University, she previously worked in VCU’s central career services unit. As a member of the VCU Alumni team, she provides alumni with meaningful opportunities to network, in-person and virtually, as she builds out a programming model that focuses on the industries in which our alumni work and not simply the academic areas in which they received a degree. She collaborates across the university in her efforts to engage alumni and strengthen their professional network.

Tiera Byrd (B.S.’12)
Assistant Director, Alumni Career and Personal Development
Phone:
Email: mcguiretj@vcu.edu
View bioStudent and Alumni Programs

Allison K. Toney, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’23)
Senior Director, Student and Alumni Engagement
Phone:(804) 827-0311
Email: aktoney@vcu.edu
View bioAllison Toney joined the VCU Alumni team in November 2016 and currently serves as the senior director of student and alumni engagement. She supports the programs and initiatives that engage students and soon-to-be alumni, the student alumni organization (Students Today Alumni Tomorrow), recent graduates and regional alumni. Prior to joining the alumni team, she worked within higher education and student affairs. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Clemson University and earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Policy and Justice from VCU.

Stefani Bonner (B.S.’15)
Assistant Director, Regional Alumni Engagement
Phone:(804) 828-7017
Email: bonnersj@vcu.edu
View bio
Sarah Ramkey
Assistant Director, Student and Alumni Programs
Phone: (804) 827-0986
Email: ramkeysm@vcu.edu
View bio
Kendra M. Robinson
Assistant Director, Regional Programs and Volunteer Engagement
Phone:(804) 827-0311
Email: robinsonkm10@vcu.edu
View bioAcademic Engagement

Ashley Jones
Director, Alumni Engagement - College of Humanities and Sciences
Phone:(804) 828-8191
Email: jonesa61@vcu.edu
View bioInclusive Engagement and Philanthropy

Amy Gray Beck, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’19)
Executive Director, Inclusive Engagement and Philanthropy
Phone:(804) 828-8191
Email: acbeck@vcu.edu
View bioA proud alumna and member of the VCU team since 2012, Amy has a B.A. from Virginia Tech, an M.Ed. from Clemson University and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from VCU.
Her primary focus is on alumni engagement strategy. She has experience in student affairs, strategic enrollment management, student advancement programs and alumni relations. She and her husband, Jeff (M.S.W.’11/SW), also a VCU alumnus, live in Hanover, Virginia, with their son, Sonny.

Larry Powell (B.S.’85)
Director, Alumni Affinity Programs
Phone:(804) 828-8194
Email: wlpowell@vcu.edu
View bioLarry Powell joined VCU Alumni in 1996. He manages VCU Alumni’s shared interest groups and select regional chapters, coordinates athletics-related alumni engagement, coordinates the African-American Alumni Council’s scholarship and mentoring programs and serves as VCU Alumni’s primary point of contact for diversity-related activities. He holds a bachelor's degree in mass communications/public relations from VCU.
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Robert Chisley (B.S.’14; M.S.L.’19)
Director, Black and African American Initiatives
Phone:
Email: chisleyrl@vcu.edu
View bio
Diane Stout Brown (B.S.W.’80)
Engagement Specialist
Phone:(804) 828-4513
Email: dstout@vcu.edu
View bio
Joshua Leidy
Special Assistant for Alumni Engagement
Phone:(804) 828-8191
Email: leidyjw@vcu.edu
View bioDAR Signature Events

Ashley Burton
Executive Director, DAR Signature Events
Phone: (804) 828-7162
Email: aldburton@vcu.edu
View bioAshley Burton joined VCU Alumni as the director of alumni reunion and recognition programs in August 2018. She is responsible for the strategy, growth and success of reunions on the MCV and Monroe Park campuses. She also ensures that alumni are appropriately recognized for their contributions, both personally and professionally, through meaningful award ceremonies and events.
Most recently, Burton spent six years at the VCU School of the Arts in Qatar, where she managed events, festivals, ceremonies, conferences and diplomatic and VIP protocol. Before Qatar, she worked at VCU Massey Cancer Center, where she led sponsorship, fundraising and marketing for the center’s largest fundraising event, The Massey Challenge.
She maintains a professional certification as Certified Special Event Professional through the International Live Events Association and is a licensed trainer by The Protocol School of Washington to teach intercultural etiquette and protocol.
Burton is a graduate of Longwood University and earned a certificate in event management from The George Washington University.

Lauren Sformo Leavy (Cert.’19)
Associate Director, DAR Signature Events
Phone:(804) 628-2249
Email: leleavy@vcu.edu
View bioLauren joined VCU Alumni in February 2017. In her current role as associate director, she coordinates the MCV Campus Reunion Weekend and various donor recognition celebrations.
Lauren received her Corporate Event Planning Certificate through the VCU Continuing and Professional Education in 2017 and her Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the VCU L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs in 2019.

Savannah Hazelwood
Event Coordinator, DAR Signature Events
Phone:
Email: hazelwoods@vcu.edu
View bio