The Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR) team is an integral part of the Tufts University Advancement Office. Organized as a central group that spans across four campuses, each school has a CFR liaison, allowing for collaborative and comprehensive engagement with internal and external partners. Find your CFR contact below:

Senior Director

Ippolita.Cantuti_Castelvetri@tufts.edu  /  617-627-5263

Ippolita has served as senior director of Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR) since 2016 after three years as associate director of CFR for the Tufts University School of Medicine. Prior to joining Tufts, Ippolita was associate director of preclinical research and development at NeuroPhage Pharmaceuticals, and assistant professor of Neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. She earned a M.S. in Biology from University of Rome/La Sapienza, and a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Tufts University. Ippolita has coauthored over 30 papers in peer-reviewed journals and books.

Boston Health Science Campus

Tufts Health Sciences Campus in the Chinatown neighborhood of downtown Boston. The campus consists of Tufts University School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, and the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

School of Medicine / Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Tracy.Schmidt@tufts.edu / 617-636-3533

Dr. Tracy E. Schmidt is Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for the Health Sciences at Tufts University. Dr. Schmidt focuses on leveraging her biomedical research training to foster relationships and securing private funding support from local, national and international partners in order to advance the institution's priorities and mission. Directing fundraising efforts for the biomedical campuses, including the Dental and Veterinary schools while providing direct support for the Medical School, Dr. Schmidt works across schools to engage more corporate support and raise the Tufts health science research profile. Prior to Tufts, she held the position of Associate Director of Corporation and Foundations at UMass Medical School as well as an innovation management and commercial development role in their Office of Technology Management. Dr. Schmidt has over 15 years of biomedical research experience in the higher education and medical space; she has performed sleep, cardiovascular, and viral research in human, mouse and cell culture systems at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, University of Illinois at Chicago and UMass Medical School. Dr. Schmidt received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from UMass Medical School and B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Northeastern University.

Lindsey.Perreault@tufts.edu 

Lindsey Perreault joined the Corporate and Foundation Relations team in 2021. Lindsey supports the Department of Public Health & Community Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Medical Education, and the Center for the Study of Drug Development within the School of Medicine. She also supports the Department of Community Health in the School of Arts and Sciences. Prior to joining Tufts, Lindsey was a Partnerships and Development Manager at Last Mile Health, where she secured funding for community health programs across Sub-Saharan Africa. Before Last Mile Health, she supported fundraising efforts at The Children’s Inn at NIH. Lindsey received her MPH from George Washington University and her B.S. in Health Science from Boston University.

Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging

Ippolita Cantuti-Castelvetri, PhD, Senior Director, provides support for the HNRCA and can answer any questions at Ippolita.Cantuti_Castelvetri@tufts.edu  /  617-627-5263

School of Dental Medicine

Maggie.norcrossdevin@tufts.edu /617 - 636 - 6696

Maggie Norcross Devin has worked in nonprofit fundraising for over twenty years, with expertise in prospect research, donor moves management, and stewardship. In her most recent position as the Director of Development and Advocacy at the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, she worked closely with the major gift team to develop cultivation strategies for donors, and developed partnerships with groups across Greater Boston to raise the profile of the organization amongst external stakeholders. She has worked on the capital campaigns of Berklee College of Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Maggie received a B.A. in Art History from American University and a M.S. in Arts Administration from Boston University.

Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

Steven.Jacobs@tufts.edu / 617 - 636 - 6876

Steve joined the Corporate and Foundation Relations team in April 2020 where he supports the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. In this role, he cultivates new and deepens existing relationships, helps align complex research projects to the goals of corporate organizations and charitable foundations, and assists in realizing the institutional objectives of the Friedman School. Prior to joining Tufts, Steve practiced law in the Boston office of Jackson Lewis and later as an independent consultant specialized in labor and employment. Steve received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from the Boston University School of Law.

Grafton Campus

The Grafton campus hosts the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, the only veterinary school in New England, and the Cumming Veterinary Medical Center, a group of seven academic teaching hospitals and clinics.

Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University

Please contact Tracy E. Schmidt, PhD, Director, regarding any questions or support - tracy.schmidt@tufts.edu (617)636-3533

Jamie Chase Galvin, Staff Assistant, 508-887-4332, Jamie.galvin@tufts.edu

Jamie Chase Galvin joined the CFR team in February 2024 and is based at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. Prior to joining Tufts, Jamie worked as an Advancement Associate for the Office of Institutional Advancement at the Saint Paul Diocesan Jr/Sr High School in Worcester, MA. Jamie has a background in higher education having worked previously at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA and Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, MA in various capacities including Graduate School of Education Program Scheduler and Academic Advisor. Jamie holds a Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from Lesley University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Providence College.

Medford Campus

The main University campus, located in Medford/Somerville, is part of a diverse community of over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students from over 60 different countries. Here, you will find the School of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life

School of Arts and Sciences / Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life

Susan.Lewis@tufts.edu / 617-627-4585

Susan joined CFR in May 2023 as Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for the School of Arts and Sciences. Prior to joining CFR, Susan spent 11 years in the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, working with faculty from across Tufts to secure funding for research and education efforts, most recently as Associate Director of Team Science and Interdisciplinary Research and, before that, as Associate Director of Research Development. In the distant past before Tufts, Susan ran a freelance business as an editor and grant writing consultant. Her doctoral and postdoctoral work addressed questions in the cellular and molecular neurobiology of neuronal phenotype, survival, and regeneration. She earned a B.A. in Biochemistry and a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Harvard University.

Brett.Hitchner@tufts.edu / 617-627-4572

Brett joined the Corporate and Foundation Relations team in 2017. He works with Tisch College, helping to identify and solicit foundation and corporate support for their programs, research and other projects. Prior to joining Tufts, Brett worked as a corporate attorney for a New York law firm, where much of his work involved investment and acquisition transactions. Brett has carried over much from this prior experience as now he works on behalf of Tufts and its faculty to help secure funding for their important projects and to navigate the complex multi-party relationships and transactions that this  involves. Brett has a BA in Political Science from Tufts and a JD from Hofstra University School of Law.

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy

Therese.Vienot@tufts.edu / 617-627-5973

Teri joined the CFR team in November 2015 supporting The Fletcher School and soliciting foundation and corporate support for the school’s programs, research, and other initiatives. Prior to joining Tufts, Teri worked at Lahey Health System and Beverly Hospital for seven years securing foundation, corporation, and government support for healthcare non-profits and initiatives throughout the system. She also worked in CFR at the environmental non-profits the Trust for Public Land and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Teri holds a BA in Cultural Anthropology from Dickinson College and an MS in Environmental Studies from Antioch New England. Prior to graduate school, she worked for Pathfinder International and spent 6 months in Turkey training the Asia/Near East regional staff on grant writing, project management, and performance reporting.

School of Engineering

jack.garvey@tufts.edu  

Jack joined the Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR) team in 2022 and supports the Tufts University School of Engineering. Prior to joining Tufts, Jack was the Director of Development at Boston Harbor Now, where he raised funds for public parks on Boston Harbor. He was previously the Advancement Associate at Solar Cookers International. He earned a Masters in Public Administration at the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy and a bachelor’s degree in public policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Administrative & Research Staff

Rebecca Bergman, Staff Assistant - rebecca.bergman@tufts.edu (508) 887-4304

Rebecca joined CFR in September 2022 as a part-time staff assistant supporting Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and transitioned to the Administrative Coordinator role in December 2023. Rebecca works out of the Grafton campus and provides operations, scheduling, budget, and stewardship support for the CFR team across all campuses. Prior to joining Tufts, Rebecca worked as an Administrative Assistant and Grant Coordinator for the Psychology Department at Clark University in Worcester, MA, and as a Technical Editor for an environmental and right-of-way consulting firm in Tucson, AZ. She has a background in biology and conservation and holds a MS in Forestry from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and BS in Plant Biology from the University of California, Davis.

Tod.McMahon@tufts.edu / 617-636-6794

Tod joined the CFR team in 2017 as a researcher supporting the development staff. Currently, Tod works as the Assistant Director of Corporate and Foundation Prospect Research and helps the CFR team preparing briefings and strategies for potential corporate and foundation donors. Tod also helps maintain the CFR database and prepares donor profiles. Previously, Tod worked as an archivist for the City of Newton, where he helped to catalogue and preserve archival material in the city’s historical collection. Before that, he spent over two decades as a corporate research librarian supporting the engineering, business development, and strategic planning departments with General Dynamics. Tod has a BA in English from the University of Connecticut, and an MLS from Simmons College School of Library and Information Science.