Office of Advancement

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Office of Advancement (OA) is dedicated to creating meaningful connections to advance the mission of the School. OA strategically fosters lifelong relationships with alums, parents, friends, and organizations to strengthen engagement and philanthropy.

We facilitate pathways to investment in SAIC through philanthropic councils, donor events, alumni relations, volunteer opportunities, and strategic communications.

Contact Us

Office of Advancement

116 S. Michigan Ave., 5th floor, 
Chicago, IL 60603

Phone: 312.499.4190

Executive Director, Development & Alumni Engagement

Reneé Finnell rfinnell@saic.edu

Director, Development

Mary DeYoe mdeyoe@saic.edu

Associate Director, Development—Parent and Family Philanthropy

Lauren Suitors lsuitors@saic.edu

Associate Director, Development

Elliott Free efree@saic.edu

Associate Director, Alumni Engagement

Lily Zenger lzenger@saic.edu

Assistant Director, Annual Giving & Alumni Engagement

Grace Anderson ganderson4@saic.edu

Director, Corporate, Foundation, & Government Relations

Anne Volz avolz@saic.edu

Assistant Director, Corporate, Foundation, & Government Relations

Roberto Robaina rrobaina@saic.edu

Director, Donor Relations, Advancement Communications, & Events

Christine Grodecki cgrodecki@saic.edu

Associate Director, Donor Relations & Advancement Communications

Matthew Reddin mreddin@saic.edu

Assistant Director, Donor Relations & Events

Trisha Fischer tfischer@saic.edu

Assistant Director, Donor Relations & Advancement Communications

Eliza Wizner ewizner@saic.edu

Executive Director, Strategic Information & Prospect Development

John McBride jmcbride@saic.edu

Associate Director, Strategic Information

Alex Marianyi amarianyi@saic.edu

Assistant Director, Research & Prospect Management

Nyandeng Juag njuag@saic.edu

Development Coordinator, Advancement Operations

Catherine Crain ccrain@saic.edu