»Jessica Berger - Executive Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer
Jessica Berger serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer at Chapman University, where she oversees all fundraising and development, alumni relations, and the university’s $500 million Inspire comprehensive campaign, among other duties.
Jessica joined Chapman from California State University, San Marcos (CSUSM), where she was Vice President of University Advancement and Executive Director of the Foundation. In her role, she led a talented team of professionals in the advancement division collectively focused on building a culture of philanthropy and developing meaningful relationships campus-wide and across the nation. She partnered closely with university leadership, board directors, donors, and community members to achieve record-breaking philanthropic results, including securing the university’s first eight-figure gifts totaling $20 million and preparing the launch of CSUSM’s largest-ever comprehensive campaign totaling $200 million. She also served as Chair of the Vice Presidents for University Advancement Council for the California State University system.
Jessica came to CSUSM from Harvey Mudd College where she served as Assistant Vice President for Development and oversaw all development-related activity in the Office of College Advancement. She launched new initiatives to strengthen donor stewardship, worked to enhance HMC’s visibility and fundraising efforts, and collaborated across the college and the community to implement successful giving campaigns, contributing to the success of HMC’s $175 million comprehensive campaign.
Prior to HMC, Jessica oversaw the annual giving program at Polytechnic School and managed alumni, parent and trustee volunteer fundraising activity, and donor-related events during a $93M comprehensive campaign. Jessica’s earlier experience includes fundraising for a non-profit orphanage foundation in Kenya, and social work-related activity for the U.S. House of Representatives and a residential treatment center.
Jessica is a first-generation college graduate and as a native of Ohio, received a B.A. in Psychology from Wittenberg University and a M.S.W. from Cleveland State University. Jessica enjoys volunteering for several non-profits, mentoring and coaching student-athletes, scuba diving with her husband, and spending time outdoors with her dogs.