»Tracy Mendoza, Vice President of Development and Constituent Engagement

Starting October 26, Tracy will serve as the Vice President of Development and Constituent Engagement at Chapman University, where she will lead a team of roughly 25 development professionals across major and principal gifts, annual giving, alumni engagement, parent and family engagement, corporate and foundation relations, prospect development, and legacy planning. As campaign director, she will lead Inspire campaign for Chapman University to a successful close, while helping build the infrastructure and strategy to sustain philanthropic growth well beyond it.

With more than 25 years of experience in advancement, Tracy will join Chapman from USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, where she has spent nearly a decade as Associate Dean of Development and External Relations, serving as the school's chief advancement officer and a senior advisor to the dean. In that role, she has led development, alumni relations, industry engagement, research development, and board relations for the school. As part of Annenberg’s advancement leadership team, she helped lead fundraising efforts during USC’s historic $6 billion campaign, contributing to the school’s success in exceeding its $150 million goal. Following that campaign, she increased the school's annual fundraising by nearly 40%, generating $108 million in philanthropic support over the most recent five years.

Before that role, Tracy held earlier leadership positions at USC Annenberg, including Executive Director of Development and Director of Development for USC's Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy. Her earlier career includes development roles at Portland State University and California State University, Long Beach.

Tracy holds an MBA from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and both an MA and BA in English from California State University, Long Beach.

A Southern California native, Tracy shares a love of travel and the outdoors with her wife.