Geoff Cochran | Annual Giving Officer | Email

Geoff Cochran is an Annual Giving Officer with The Rotary Foundation, with a special focus on Zones 26 and 27. He is a part of a team within The Foundation’s staff who apply giving trends, data analysis, and connections to empower Rotary leaders to acquire, retain and upgrade donors, fund more grants, and create a strong pipeline of philanthropic support for The Rotary Foundation.

Geoff comes to Rotary from a decades-long career in nonprofit administration and management.  He attended Loyola University Chicago from which he received a BA in History and subsequently followed that with an MS in Public Service Management from DePaul University.  He lives in Evanston, IL with his family and is an active member of his community. In recent years, he served on the Mental Health Board for the City of Evanston and the Board of Directors of PEER Services, a local treatment center.  He has worked in the nonprofit sector for 14 years, most recently as an Associate Officer with Club and District Support with Rotary International for over a year. Geoff is a staunch advocate of Rotary’s motto “Service Above Self.”

Districts: All districts in Zones 26 & 27

Direct Phone: 1 (847) 866-3195

Elizabeth Cruft-Anderson | Senior Major Gifts Officer | Email

Elizabeth is a staff member of the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International and currently serves as the Senior Major Gifts Officer for the Pacific Northwest, Northern California, Northern Nevada, portions of British Columbia, and Alaska. She is a Rotarian with the Lake Oswego Rotary Club located in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

She specializes in working one-on-one with Rotarians and non-Rotarians to help them strategize giving to the foundation and reach their philanthropic and financial goals through Rotary.

She also provides training and advice to Rotary Districts in the West on ways to develop major gifts and fundraising strategies.

She is a Certified Fund Raising professional and has professional certifications in managing capital campaigns, annual fund, and major gifts from the University of Indiana Lilly School of Philanthropy.

Prior to joining Rotary, she served as a Development Manager and Director of Corporate Relations for several social service and arts non-profits in the Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Districts: 5010, 5020, 5030, 5080, 5100, 5110, 5130 & 5190

Jon Teich | Major Gifts Officer | Email

Jon Teich joined the Rotary Foundation in January of 2022 and will serve as a Regional Major Gift Officer for the western portion of Zone 26.

Jon previously worked at William & Mary as the Assistant Athletic Director for Major Gifts, after starting his career in fundraising at High Point University. Teich started with William & Mary in January of 2020. His primary responsibilities included generating major gifts to annual scholarship support and capital projects. During his time at William & Mary, the athletic department achieved records for cash gifts and comments as well as number of donors in a fiscal year. Jon served as an athletics representative on the All In campaign, which raised $22.8 million in it’s first year.

Prior to his role at William & Mary, Jon was the Director of Athletic Development at High Point University. During his time at High Point, he secured 1.2 million in major gift commitments, increased Panther Club membership by 73%, and helped set a department for dollars raised in a fiscal year.

Jon received his undergraduate degree in Sports Communication from Bradley University and earned a Master’s in Sport Administration fromthe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Jon and his fiancé Aja live in San Diego, CA with their two dogs Romeo and Big E. Jon is a native of Bay City, Michigan.

Districts: 5000, 5320, 5340, 5330, 5495 & 5500

James Sewell | Major Gifts Officer | Email

James Sewell joined The Rotary Foundation in June of 2020 and will serve as a Regional Major Gift Officer for Zones 26 and 27.

James previously worked in a dual role as Assistant Athletics Director for Development and Director of Development for Athletics at the University of Nevada, Reno, after spending over a decade with Mountain West rival Fresno State.

Sewell began with the Bulldog Foundation in August of 2008, and most recently served as Associate Director of Development. His primary responsibilities included cultivating relationships throughout California’s Central Valley Region, generating major gifts to endowments and capital projects. James served as the fundraising lead for the Warmerdam Field renovation project, a transformational philanthropic effort applied to upgrades to the existing on-campus track & field facility. Additionally, James has functioned as director of student-athlete alumni relations, including oversight of all aspects of Club Red, Fresno State’s varsity letter-winner club, and management of a portfolio of approximately 50 professional athletes from Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, and all associated professional development leagues.

James received his undergraduate in Business Management from Adelphi University while also a four-year letter-winner on the track & field and cross country teams, and earned a Master’s in Coaching and Athletics Administration from Concordia University, Irvine. James is married to wife Lauren, and the couple have two sons, Walter and Calvin. James is a native of Melville, New York and is based regionally out of Fresno, CA.

Districts: 5150, 5160, 5170, 5180, 5220, 5230, 5240, 5280 & 5300

Eric Thompson | Major Gifts Officer | Email

Eric joined the Rotary Foundation philanthropy team in September 2018 as the new major gifts officer for Zone’s 26/27. A native Coloradan and Westerner, he is very happy to be working with Western Rotarians achieve their charitable ambitions. Eric is your major gifts liaison, based at Rotary Foundation in Evanston, but he travels regularly to districts and clubs in Zone 26/27. For Eric, Rotarians’ leadership in the drive to eradicate polio is one of the most inspiring stories in modern philanthropy, particularly since he had seen first-hand the impact of polio on members of his family.

Eric comes to RI with twenty years of comprehensive fundraising experience, primarily in higher education.  In all his previous roles he partnered with alumni, volunteers, and senior leadership in developing vibrant relationships with individual philanthropists, corporations and foundations, and other organizational partners in executing comprehensive capital campaigns. These campaigns were on behalf of Illinois Institute of Technology (College of Architecture and College of Engineering), Purdue University/Calumet, University of Colorado Foundation, and Ragdale Foundation.

Eric holds an MBA from the University of Illinois/Chicago in marketing, entrepreneurship, and human resource management; an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and a BFA from the University of Colorado/Boulder. Eric has also conceptualized, designed and led many subject matter presentations for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Engineering Development Forum (EDF), the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and the Center for Nonprofit Success. He also served as a subject matter expert/question formulator on the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) testing committee and held the CFRE certification 2006-2013.

Districts: 5390, 5400, 5420, 5440, 5450, 5470, 5520 and 5730

Katherine Buggenhagen | Planned Giving Officer | Email

When she joined The Rotary Foundation in March 2020, Katherine brought a diverse body of knowledge and experience. Through the course of her career, she helped establish and operate major and planned giving programs in nationally-renowned organizations in the culture, conservation, and human services. At Rotary, she will use her experience to help Rotarians develop their personal Rotary Legacy with life income and estate gifts. Her territory covers the Rocky Mountain and Plains States to the Great Lakes (Zones 26E, 27E, 28E, 29 and 31).

Outside of philanthropy, Katherine’s interests turn to creative work and visual art. She earned her bachelor’s summa cum laude at the University of Oregon and her Masters in Arts Administration at Columbia College Chicago.Continuing her passion for the arts she works in fiber as a weaver and recently added clay to her materials list.

Districts: 5390, 5400, 5420, 5440, 5450, 5470 & 5520

Erin Groble | Planned Giving Officer | Email

Erin began working at The Rotary Foundation in 2013 and joined the Planned Giving team in 2018. In her current role, she is responsible for cultivating and administering life income and estate gifts in Zones 26W and 27W. Erin’s previous Rotary experience includes managing donor communications as the Donor Engagement Specialist and working with district leaders as an Annual Giving Officer.

Prior to joining Rotary, Erin worked in the immigration field as a legal assistant. Erin has traveled extensively in Latin America, including volunteering in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala and studying in Puebla, Mexico. In her free time, Erin enjoys exploring Chicago on her bike, listening to live music, and visiting her family in Minnesota.

Erin is a Certified Fund Raising Executive who holds a bachelor’s in International Studies from Loyola University Chicago and a certificate in Fundraising Management from Indiana University’s Lily Family School of Philanthropy. In 2014-15 she was selected to participate in the Development Leadership Consortium as an Annual Fellow. She is also a Paul Harris Fellow +1.

Districts: 5000, 5020, 5030, 5080, 5100, 5110, 5130, 5150, 5160, 5170, 5180, 5190, 5220, 5230, 5240, 5280, 5300, 5320, 5330, 5340, 5495 & 5500