VCU Alumni

Stout-Brown, who holds a B.S. in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University, has been with University Alumni Relations for almost 25 years.

Responsibilities have included: student programs, alumni engagement, membership and marketing, volunteer development and coordination, and special events development and implementation.

Stout-Brown began her career at VCU as an assistant director for student/alumni engagement. She was promoted to associate director, served as interim director of Alumni Relations and was named executive director of the VCU Alumni Association. Stout-Brown assumes the role of senior director of VCU Alumni Relations with the reorganization of the department.

Before her VCU career, she worked with nonprofit organizations including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and American Cancer Society with responsibilities in fundraising, special events and program services.

A member of the VCU team since 2012, Beck has a B.A. from Virginia Tech, an M.Ed. from Clemson University and currently is in the Educational Leadership Ph.D. program at VCU with a research interest in women and philanthropy.

Her primary focus is on alumni engagement strategy and she works closely with the affiliated academic alumni chapters. Previous responsibilities include young alumni and student engagement. She has experience in student affairs, strategic enrollment management, and advancement.

Larry Powell has served as an assistant director in the VCU Alumni Relations office since 1996. He assists in facilitating VCU Alumni’s outreach and engagement initiatives through the development of geographic chapters and shared interest groups, coordinates reunion weekend programs and works closely with the African-American Alumni Council, Latino Alumni Council and Riding Rams shared-interest groups. Powell also served on the VCU Staff Senate for three years and chaired the communications committee. Before joining the staff at VCU, Powell worked for the Council of Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) as the secretary to the board of trustees. At CASE, he provided support to the committee on opportunity and equity, coordinated the CASE forum for minority institutional advancement officers and the Virginia Carter Smith Newcomers Scholarship program. Powell graduated with a B.S. in humanities and sciences from VCU in 1985.

Lauren joined VCU Alumni as a project coordinator for outreach and engagement in February 2017 and became senior coordinator of alumni engagement events in August 2017. In her current role, she coordinates signature events for VCU Alumni, including the MCV Campus Reunion and recognition programs.

Before coming to Richmond, Lauren worked in the event planning field for five years in Rochester, New York. She received her B.A. in Communications Studies and Digital Media Arts from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, and is currently pursuing her Corporate Event Planning Certificate through the VCU Office of Continuing and Professional Education.

Joy Heaton is a CPA who earned a bachelor's degree (double major) in accounting and mathematics. She worked in the banking, insurance, and software development industries for many years before returning to graduate school to earn a master's and doctorate in theology. In 2009 she was diagnosed as being in the final stage of blood cancer and was successfully treated at VCU's Massey Cancer Center, where she recovered fully. In 2012 she and her husband founded a small, nonprofit corporation, Just Compassion, which provides free medical and dental care via mobile units to underserved children in pockets of poverty throughout Virginia and West Virginia. While her husband manages the nonprofit during the week, she does public speaking/fundraising on the weekends. Heaton joined DAR staff in 2017 as a grateful patient/staff accountant. She loves giving back to the university that literally saved her life!