Shane’s bio
Shane Dunn (he/him), a first-generation college graduate of Cornell University and Boston College, is currently a Boston-based advancement and external relations professional with 17 years of experience working and volunteering across a variety of nonprofit organizations.
After graduating from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in Communication and Inequality Studies, Shane became an “accidental advancement professional” at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University where he worked in the alumnae relations and annual giving office. He then oversaw the expansion and diversification of the alumni Shared Interest Groups program at Tufts University and then launched a series of new initiatives focused on connecting graduate business school students and alumni at MIT Sloan School of Management. He became an active member of the CASE District 1 community as a executive committee member during two annual conferences and also presented with Chris Marshall on the topic of integrated advancement organizations.
Shane then pivoted to following his passion for educational equity and social justice by working at two high-performing K-12 charter public school organizations, Excel Academy Charter Schools and Uncommon Schools. While at Excel Academy, Shane served on the senior leadership team and led a successful fundraising campaign that led to the expansion of the organization from one school to four schools. Shane drove the fundraising, communications, and political engagement strategy needed to raise capital to build a new high school building in East Boston, Massachusetts, which now houses one of the top 25 public high schools in all of Massachusetts. While at Uncommon Schools, Shane served as Chief of Staff to the Chief Advancement Officer where he focused on increasing collaboration and impact across multiple externally-facing functions and also led capital fundraising campaigns for the network’s Boston and Rochester school regions.
Shane returned to higher education as Senior Director of Development and Alumni Relations at Brandeis International Business School in Waltham, MA. While serving on the Dean’s leadership team and also reporting to the Vice President of Institutional Advancement, he oversaw the school’s 25th anniversary reunion weekend, carried a portfolio of 130+ major gifts prospects, increased engagement and communications with an international alumni base of over 4,000 throughout the pandemic, and successfully secured two seven-figure major gifts in support of school- and university-wide priorities. Most recently, Shane was Chief Advancement Officer of Rosie’s Place, a Boston-based nonprofit founded in 1974 as the first women’s shelter in America that provides sanctuary and services to poor and homeless women, where he oversaw a team of 17 and led all fundraising, communications, volunteer services, and public policy efforts for the organization.
As a passionate social justice advocate, Shane is proud to serve as President of GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), one of the nation’s most effective nonprofit legal organizations that has paved the way to secure and advance the rights for LGBTQ+ Americans for over 45 years. Over the past 17 years, he has also served in a number of leadership roles as an alumni volunteer with Cornell, including President of the Cornell Club of Boston and his alumni class council, a lifetime member of the Cornell University Council, founder of the Cornell Alumni Advisory Board, and Vice President of Recognition for the College of Agriculture of Life Sciences (CALS) Alumni Association. He is a 2024 recipient of the Cornell CALS Alumni Association Young Alumni Achievement Award. Active in several civic and political organizations, he has served on the City of Boston SPARK Council for young professionals, was a Fellow with Education Pioneers, was a founding co-chair of the Board of Trustees for Ellis Early Learning Center in Boston, and is actively reviving his local neighborhood association.
In addition to his degree from Cornell, Shane earned his master’s degree in higher education administration from Boston College – he has a deep commitment to and love for higher education! He lives with his wife and two children in Boston (yet remains a New York Yankees fan!)
Contact Shane Dunn directly.