• Development Careers

    Join our Development team and help #endcancer.

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The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is a leader in the fight against cancer, and our Development division plays an essential supporting role in many of the institution's achievements. By joining our experienced team, you can play a vital part in our progress toward ending cancer while securing broad support for patient care, research, education and prevention.

The scope of our efforts

Led by Darrow Zeidenstein, our senior vice president and chief Development officer, we're an award-winning, highly successful team of professional fundraisers who specialize in donor cultivation, board engagement, major gifts, planned gifts, annual giving, digital fundraising and special events, as well as support services such as prospect research, data management and analytics, proposal writing and related collateral, stewardship and reporting, faculty programs, gift processing, finance, professional Development and training.

What it's like to work with us

  • You'll have the opportunity to share your talents in relationship-based, high-caliber fundraising for one of the world's most respected organizations.

  • You'll be part of a widely experienced team, sharing a fulfilling mission and funding life-saving research.

  • We have comprehensive training and onboarding processes, and you'll work within a collaborative framework that provides the support you need to achieve your goals.

  • We offer both onsite and remote work options.

Our commitment to your talent

The most valuable asset of any organization is its people. Our talent management philosophy is built on recruiting, developing and engaging a talented and diverse team of experienced professionals.

  • We actively engage in professional networks serving as mentors, ambassadors and examples of the talent we seek to attract.

  • We're committed to helping you reach full potential by providing access to training, mentoring and other opportunities aimed toward achieving your professional and career growth goals.

  • We offer a culture of coaching which both welcomes and offers continuous feedback.

  • We seek to provide a psychologically safe and positive culture that celebrates camaraderie, commitment and connection to each other.

  • We have a strong commitment to inclusivity and invite you to learn more about our diversity programs and efforts.

Let's connect.

Feel free to search our current Development careers. Or simply fill out the form below and a Development team recruiter will be in contact with you.

Your privacy is important to us. Please review our privacy policy for more information on how we collect, use, and store your personal information.
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Get to know our Senior Leadership Team

  • Dr. Zeidenstein, senior vice president and chief Development officer, was recruited in July 2019 to lead development resources fundraising efforts following an extensive national search. Motivated by the loss of close family members to cancer, he came to MD Anderson to help make a difference for others who face the devastation wrought by the disease. A proven leader in his field, Dr. Zeidenstein earned the 2019 Byron Welch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Fundraising from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Houston Chapter. He channels more than 25 years of Development expertise as he drives MD Anderson's fundraising strategy and execution.

    Darrow Zeidenstein, Ph.D.

    SVP, Development and Chief Development Officer

  • Natalia (Nati) McWilliams, associate vice president for Individual Giving, leads the division's gift officers including teams for Principal Gifts, Major Gifts, Leadership Giving and Planned Giving. A certified fundraising executive, she has been a gift officer in Development since 2007. The former executive director worked with previous regional and transformational initiatives teams. She empowers gift officers to foster meaningful donor relationships and giving experiences in support of the promising institutional priorities catalyzed by development resources support.

    Nati McWilliams, CFRE

    AVP, Individual Giving

  • Adelina (Adi) Espat, associate vice president for Development Resources Engagement, oversees multiple teams essential to engaging donors and building engagement across the donor experience and at all giving levels. She previously led the Corporate and Community Alliances team, developing strategy for corporate fundraising campaigns and peer-to-peer programs, which under her leadership raised more than $20 million. She joined MD Anderson more than 17 years ago, working for a decade in Strategic Communications to promote cancer prevention initiatives.

    Adi Espat

    AVP, Development Resources Engagement

  • Mary Kathryn Cooper, associate vice president for Special Programs and Events, joined Development as a program coordinator in 1990. Today, her team annually coordinates more than 100 fundraising, cultivation, educational and donor-appreciation events nationwide and advises on nearly 100 third-party events each year. She was part of the leadership team that raised $50 million over 5 years for the George and Barbara Bush Endowment for Innovative Cancer Research. Among the signature events she oversees is A Conversation with a Living Legend, a series that has raised more than $46 million to date. Since 1995, she also has coordinated the Board of Visitors Annual Meeting.

    Mary Kathryn Cooper

    AVP, Special Programs and Events

  • Sushmita Gupta, executive director of Foundation and Corporate Relations, works with faculty and administrators across MD Anderson to connect MD Anderson's research programs to foundation and corporate donors. Her team aims to expand and strengthen Development's support of the faculty's basic, translational and clinical research activities and to increase grant funding for the institution. She joined Development in 2008 as a proposal writer.

    Sushmita Gupta

    Executive Director, Foundation and Corporate Relations

  • The executive director of Development Operations has overall responsibility for Budget Administration, Finance, Gift Operations, Business Solutions and Support Services. As a Development leader, this role manages a multimillion-dollar budget, human resources administration, processing/distribution of gift revenue throughout the institution and automation of divisional processes.

    Vacant

    Executive Director, Development Services

  • Iska Wire, director, Office of the Chief Development Officer, joined the division in 2020. Iska serves as the Chief of Staff and leads the Talent Management team. A native Houstonian and sixth-generation Texan with nearly 20 years of professional fundraising experience, she most recently served as senior director of Talent Management and Organizational Development and director of Development for Rice University's Development and Alumni Relations Division. Prior to her time at Rice, she held fundraising positions at both the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council and the University of Houston.

    Iska G. Wire, CFRE

    Director, Office of the CDO

  • Gokul Murugesan, executive director of Campaign Decision Science and Analytics, joined the division in 2021. In this role, Gokul is building an end-to-end analytics solution to provide business insights, improve decision-making and provide empirical assessment of performance at the institutional, divisional and team levels with respect to constituent engagement and Development. He has more than 10 years of experience with advanced analytics, AI/machine learning, data management/governance and more than seven years of strategic leadership, product management and agile methodology experience.

    Gokul Murugesan

    Executive Director, Campaign Decision Science and Analytics

  • Anita Ellison, program director of Development, has worked in health care Development since 1998. Along with decades-long support of the vice president for Development — from portfolio management to assistance with prospect strategies and engagement with executive leaders and faculty — she serves as liaison to the MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors. In this role, she staffs board officers and the Membership and Development committees. Before joining MD Anderson, she managed the top executive offices for several companies.

    Anita Ellison

    Program Director, SVP/CDO Office & BOV Relations

Hear from members of our Development team

  • I have been at MD Anderson for 15 years and have loved the challenges that have taken me from an Assistant Development Specialist to a Director. I love working across the division and partnering with fellow colleagues to accomplish goals. The mission of MD Anderson drives us all to do our best!

    Lenae Fowler, Director, Development

  • The entire division is connected to the mission to end cancer. It affects each one of us and we want a world without this terrible disease. Everyone is extremely helpful and friendly. We want the team to succeed. I love working with others to achieve their development resources goals. The happiest people are the ones that give back!

    Hunter Reynolds-Smith, Assistant Director, Development Resources

  • We are a large, well-resourced team of talented specialists focused on a singular goal. There is a real focus on collaboration here. Nothing feels better than serving the top cancer center in the world as we work to make cancer history.

    Chris Kasavich, Senior Director, Development Resources

  • The best part of my role in the Development division is serving alongside compassionate leaders and great people. I also appreciate the flexibility from managers and team. I love that the Development division encourages open communication with leadership.

    Tabitha Wilson, Senior Administrative Assistant

  • Because of our resources, mission and history, there are great opportunities to experience a rich and fulfilling career path here. There are constant education opportunities in my selected specialty, as well as support for leadership and external education. It doesn't get much better than to have a noble mission and know that your team is all pushing towards it with you.

    Richard Bennett, Senior Director, Trusts, Estates and Gift Planning

  • Our work really matters. It is an honor and a privilege to work alongside so many amazing people, making such real impact in the lives of others. I find it to be the perfect blend of entrepreneurial, well-resourced, cutting-edge, driven, caring and collaborative. In every aspect and role of my life, working at MD Anderson has transformed me.

    Karim Kafray, MHA, CFRE - Executive Gift Officer

  • I have the privilege to work at MD Anderson Cancer Center. I most appreciate the mission and our patients. I enjoy working with my colleagues and having the support of my leaders in my desire to learn more to grow in this innovative and caring environment.

    Amy Kell, Senior Associate Director

  • I am so proud to be a part of this mission and a member of a team of talented, creative and fun individuals who support each other and enjoy each other's company. I love learning and a very fulfilling part of my job is the knowledge I gain every day about the amazing science that happens here.

    Cindy Tumiel, Associate Director, Development

  • The mission of MD Anderson is second-to-none. People let us into their lives when they are often at their most vulnerable and it is a true privilege to walk with them on their journey. We get to wake up every day and help #endcancer. Different viewpoints are heard and appreciated. It is an honor to work here.

    Gina O'Neill, Director, Development Resources

  • I came to MD Anderson as a major gift officer and have grown my career specializing in planned giving. MD Anderson provided the resources for me to get this specialized training. I now have more tools in my toolbox as I meet with donors to help them meet and oftentimes exceed their development resources goals.

    Shelley Robson, Senior Director, Trusts, Estates and Gift Planning