Skyward Leadership Panel: The Role of Donor Relations Professionals in Shaping FuturesTuesday, September 17 | 8:45 AM – 9:30 AMDeeDee Merritt | Bill Stanczykiewicz | Howard Milton
DeeDee Merritt, Managing Director, NCAA Leadership Development DeeDee Merritt serves as managing director of NCAA leadership development, a position she has held since September 2023. As the department lead, Merritt oversees the promotion, establishment, execution, evaluation and expansion of all NCAA leadership development initiatives and programs, playing a key role in fulfilling the missions of both the NCAA and the leadership development department. Merritt has been instrumental in asserting her group as a prominent national voice in the area of student-athlete development in intercollegiate athletics. In 2019, Merritt led the department through a comprehensive evaluation process that resulted in the creation of a program pipeline designed to educate and develop student-athletes and those who serve them at all levels of their professional career. During her tenure, Merritt has overseen the creation and execution of several new transformative programmatic offerings, including Lessons in Management, a curriculum delivered to an all-female cohort of first-time managers; Foundations of Fundraising, an immersive educational opportunity designed to provide women and minorities in-depth education in the field of fundraising; ARISE, a virtual mentoring program for HBCU student-athletes interested in careers in STEM; and Athletes Using Their Power (A4), a virtual program educating student-athletes on how to maximize their voices and platforms. Additionally, she led the creation of the NCAA Leadership Collective, a platform designed to promote inclusive hiring practices within college sports administration and coaching. In 2021, the work of leadership development was featured in Forbes magazine. In 2023, Merritt was named Nike Executive of the Year by Women Leaders in College Sports.
Serving as senior assistant dean for external relations, Bill Stanczykiewicz oversees communications and fundraising for the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy while directing The Fund Raising School. Bill also serves as a core faculty member, teaching graduate and bachelor’s level courses on philanthropy, fundraising, and leadership. Bill’s professional career spans the philanthropic, public, and private sectors. He served for 17 years as President & CEO of the Indiana Youth Institute, a statewide nonprofit devoted to healthy youth development and academic achievement. This opportunity followed his leadership position in the mayor’s office in Indianapolis, where he served as policy director for community renewal, designing and implementing The Front Porch Alliance. Additional public administration opportunities have included serving as a staff member on the United States Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families as well as serving as a board member on Indiana’s State Workforce Innovation Council and Indiana’s Education Roundtable. Bill’s 10-year media career included being honored as the “Indiana Sportscaster of the Year,” and his media skills have been utilized throughout his professional career appearances on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and ESPN as well as numerous state and national newspaper op-eds and radio and television interviews. Honors and awards have included being named a “Sagamore of the Wabash,” a top civic honor conveyed by the State of Indiana, as well as a “Next Generation Leader” by the Rockefeller Foundation.
Milton was selected to oversee Illinois Athletics Development in July 2016, He is charged with leading athletics development as the unit enters a critical period of aggressive growth. Milton oversees annual fund, which provides support for student-athlete scholarships, major gift giving, which supports capital projects and programmatic needs, and the Varsity I Association which provides lifelong engagement with former letterwinners and support staff. The National Association of Athletic Development Directors (NAADD) named Milton the 2019 National Fundraiser of the Year. Milton has helped set record-breaking fundraising numbers for the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics since 2016. This includes gift commitments of more than $42.4 million in FY18. Projects associated with this success include the largest gift ever secured for Illinois Athletics - a $20 million commitment from the Henry Dale and Betty Smith Family for the Henry Dale and Betty Smith Football Center. Another major capital gift was a $7 million commitment from the Demirjian Family for the Demirjian Park – a stadium complex for soccer practice and competition fields, and outdoor track and field facilities. Milton also helped to secure a $3 million lead gift from Susie Atkins to name the Susan and Clint Atkins Baseball Training Center. Another major gift was a $1 million pledge in support of the renovation and expansion of the Bielfeldt Athletics Administration Building – the hub of the DIA and where the Director of Athletics and key athletics administrators have their offices. Milton joined the Athletic Development staff in 2005 after spending his first four years at Illinois as Assistant Athletic Director for Event Management. While serving in this capacity, Howard served as the event management liaison to the Chicago Bears during the 2002 football season, as well as the Championship Director for the 2001 Big Ten Cross Country Championships, 2004 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships, 2005 Big Ten Baseball Tournament, and 2005 ITA/USTA Men’s National Indoor Tennis Championships. In a four-year period, Howard coordinated game-day operations for volleyball, softball, men’s basketball, men’s and women’s gymnastics, wrestling, baseball, and football. |
