Hope O’Reilly, whose career in fundraising and philanthropy spans some 30 years, has been appointed as Senior Vice President for University Development and Alumni Relations by NYU’s 17th president, Linda G. Mills.
“We were searching for someone who truly understood our story, our trajectory, and our ambitions," said President Mills. "Hope delivered on those fronts and more: She is a dynamic fundraising leader who can rally alumni and donors as well as our internal teams, who brings a strong record of developing campaigns and fundraising success, and who understands New York's philanthropic world but also the global landscape.”
As the University’s chief fundraiser and head of alumni relations, she will be a part of President Mills’ leadership team.
“Embarking on this journey to connect with NYU's extensive global alumni network, a community that spans more than 650,000 brilliant minds across the world, is not just an honor but a venture filled with infinite possibilities," said O’Reilly. “By fostering deeper connections with our alumni and donors, we form new paths of discovery, understanding, and success and also set the stage for collaborative innovations that will undoubtedly echo into the future.”
Prior to joining NYU, O’Reilly worked at the Brooklyn Museum since 2016; she was a member of the Director’s cabinet there, and she and her team substantially expanded the size of the Board, doubled museum membership, and raised hundreds of millions of dollars. At NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts from 2011 to 2016, her work was highly regarded and she cultivated relationships that remain today. Among many accomplishments during her IFA tenure, she managed a $50 million student fellowship campaign (part of NYU's Momentum Campaign), doubled philanthropic giving, established the IFA's planned giving society, and increased alumni giving to the highest participation rate of any NYU school at the time.
She was previously director of development and communications at the Bogliasco Foundation, starting in 2006, and served as chief operating officer for a year in 2010. Prior to that, O’Reilly served in development positions at the American Craft Council, the Juilliard School, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Born in New York and raised in Sarasota, Florida, Hope O’Reilly received her BA and MA in art history from the University of South Florida and is ABD towards her PhD in art history from the CUNY Graduate Center. She lives with her family in Brooklyn.
“Few roles are more important to advancing NYU’s extraordinary academic trajectory than that of NYU’s chief fundraiser,” said Mills. “Hope's leadership, alongside the work of all of our UDAR colleagues, is indispensable in transforming our boldest ideas for NYU into reality."
