The Staff

Alumni Relations

Elizabeth Bass (M.S.W.’03)

Elizabeth Bass (M.S.W.’03)

Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations

Phone: (804) 828-8192

Email: eebass@vcu.edu

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Elizabeth 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.

 
Paige Hazelgrove (B.S.’13)

Paige Hazelgrove (B.S.’13)

Director of Operations

Email: givenspe@vcu.edu

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Veda Bellamy 3/16

Veda Bellamy

Administrative and Program Assistant

Phone:(804) 828-7023

Email: vmbellam@vcu.edu

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Career and Personal Development

Latisha Taylor Smart

Latisha Taylor Smart

Senior Director, Alumni Career and Personal Development

Phone: (804) 828-3359

Email: smartlt@vcu.edu

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Latisha 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.

 
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Tiera Byrd (B.S.’12)

Assistant Director, Alumni Career and Personal Development

Phone:

Email: mcguiretj@vcu.edu

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Student 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

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Allison 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

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Sarah Ramkey

Sarah Ramkey

Assistant Director, Student and Alumni Programs

Phone: (804) 827-0986

Email: ramkeysm@vcu.edu

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Sarah Ramkey joined VCU Alumni in July 2018 as an assistant director for regional alumni engagement. She has a background in student affairs and development and, in July 2021, added student programs to her role. In her current position, she co-advises the student alumni organization, Students Today Alumni Tomorrow, works on the student-to-alumni transition and plans alumni events. She has a B.A. from Christopher Newport University and an M.Ed. from Old Dominion University.
 
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Kendra M. Robinson

Assistant Director, Regional Programs and Volunteer Engagement

Phone:(804) 827-0311

Email: robinsonkm10@vcu.edu

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Academic Engagement

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Ashley Jones

Director, Alumni Engagement - College of Humanities and Sciences

Phone:(804) 828-8191

Email: jonesa61@vcu.edu

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Inclusive Engagement and Philanthropy

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Amy Gray Beck, Ph.D. (Ph.D.’19)

Executive Director, Inclusive Engagement and Philanthropy

Phone:(804) 828-8191

Email: acbeck@vcu.edu

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A 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.

Photo of Briana Bouldin

Briana Bouldin

Program Specialist

Phone:(804) 828-8191

Email: bouldinb@vcu.edu

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Larry Powell (B.S.’85)

Director, Alumni Affinity Programs

Phone:(804) 828-8194

Email: wlpowell@vcu.edu

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Larry 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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Alexandra Clayton

AAAC Mentoring Coordinator

Phone:(804) 828-8194

Email: claytonan@vcu.edu

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Robert Chisley (B.S.’14; M.S.L.’19)

Director, Black and African American Initiatives

Phone:

Email: chisleyrl@vcu.edu

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Diane Stout Brown (B.S.W.’80)

Engagement Specialist

Phone:(804) 828-4513

Email: dstout@vcu.edu

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Joshua Leidy

Special Assistant for Alumni Engagement

Phone:(804) 828-8191

Email: leidyjw@vcu.edu

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DAR Signature Events

Ashley Burton

Ashley Burton

Executive Director, DAR Signature Events

Phone: (804) 828-7162

Email: aldburton@vcu.edu

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Ashley 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 Leavy 2017

Lauren Sformo Leavy (Cert.’19)

Associate Director, DAR Signature Events

Phone:(804) 628-2249

Email: leleavy@vcu.edu

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Lauren 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.

Allison Singer

Associate Director, DAR Signature Events

Phone:

Email: singerae@vcu.edu

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Photo of Jared Kline

Jared Kline

Event Specialist, DAR Signature Events

Phone:

Email: klinejc2@vcu.edu

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Photo of Savannah Hazelwood

Savannah Hazelwood

Event Coordinator, DAR Signature Events

Phone:

Email: hazelwoods@vcu.edu

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