BVU Advancement Adds Professionals With Strong University Ties
Newest Beavers offer a mix of strengths, BVU knowledge, and connections in helping to build up Beaver Nation.
Buena Vista University has announced the hiring of professionals with lengthy ties to BVU. Robin Wissink is serving as Executive Director of Development. Sarah Johnson has been named Director of Alumni Engagement. Tim Gallagher is in a new role as Director of Development and Alumni Communications, and Seth Shatto serves as Director of Development.
“We are thrilled that Robin, Sarah, Tim, and Seth have joined the team in Advancement as it represents a wonderful progression for staff members who have experience in how BVU changes lives,” says Joan Canty, Vice President for University Advancement. “The relationships they all have built with our alumni and friends will only grow stronger in their new roles.”
Wissink comes to BVU from Des Moines University where she served as Associate Director of Development. Previously, she served in BVU Advancement for 18 years, starting as Assistant Director of Annual Campaigns before becoming Director of Special Gifts.
“I am excited to be ‘coming home’ to BVU and to renew relationships with alumni and friends I knew well in the past while forging new friendships,” Wissink says. “I look forward to leading a team of fundraisers who are passionate about BVU, its mission, and in helping our donors visualize how they can support BVU in a way that’s meaningful for them.”
Johnson’s connection to BVU originates with her husband, Dr. Brandon Johnson, a 2004 BVU graduate who serves as Vice President for Enrollment & Marketing.
“I came to know BVU through Brandon and his family members and have seen the impact it has had on our family, and on the lives of so many of our friends,” says Johnson, who has extensive experience as an Event Coordinator and an Assistant Director of Athletics. “I’m extremely excited to build upon our strengths in that larger community we love to call ‘Beaver Nation’ through formal events, get-togethers, networking opportunities, and so much more.”
Gallagher graduated from BVU in 1990. He served as Associate Editor at The Storm Lake Times from 1990 to 1997. He roamed throughout Siouxland as a columnist for the Sioux City Journal for nearly two decades before returning to Storm Lake and BVU.
“Throughout my newspaper career, our family remained closely connected to Buena Vista University. My wife, Jill (Gunderson) ’94, is a BVU graduate, as are three of our children,” he says. “The dedication among professors, coaches, and staff that Jill and I experienced as students remained just as strong as the next generation in our family grew as BVU students.”
Shatto, who comes to BVU after working in Student Services at Iowa State University, is a 2015 BVU graduate who wrestled for the Beavers. He earned his master’s degree at BVU while working for the University in 2019. “I’m having a great time connecting with alumni and friends across Iowa and the U.S.,” he says. “It’s exciting as we keep building BVU in many ways.”
With their additions, these Beavers join a major gifts team directed by Canty that also includes BVU alumni in Associate Vice President of University Advancement Matt Astleford ’02 and Director of Development Brandy (Zumbach) Meisheid ’14. The team is poised to continue its work with dedicated benefactors in future efforts that will aid BVU’s growing enrollment through scholarship awards, academic and co-curricular initiatives, and exciting upgrades in facilities, specifically in the areas of residence halls and athletics.