Brittany Sandefur named Executive Director of the Chatham Education Foundation
The Chatham Education Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Brittany Sandefur as the foundation’s new Executive Director. In this role, Brittany will oversee the strategic, operational, and fundraising responsibilities for CEF’s programs and the execution of its mission to engage our community as public school advocates and to raise funds and resources to support innovation and education excellence in Chatham County Schools.
Brittany received her BA and MSW from the University of Michigan and is a long-time resident of North Carolina who is raising her two school-aged children in Chatham County. Mary Lou Huisking, Chatham Education Foundation Board Chair, said, “With her extensive experience working with nonprofits, passion for public schools and having served as a PTA President, Brittany has developed an understanding of our unique needs and sees the potential within Chatham County to build resources and support on behalf of our children and families.”
Most recently, Brittany was Director of Major Gifts for the Jackson Laboratory, a global nonprofit biomedical research laboratory, where she built a brand new major gifts program. Prior to her work at the Jackson Laboratory, Brittany was UNC Pembroke’s Assistant Vice Chancellor for Advancement. Here she chaired a statewide steering committee on fundraising technology that resulted in a $5 million proposal to the legislature for technology resources, saving UNCP and other universities hundreds of thousands of dollars in data management costs. In her roles at both UNC Pembroke and the Jackson Laboratory, Brittany raised nearly $4 million as a frontline fundraiser from individuals, corporations, and foundations.
Brittany has also worked as a Development Services Coordinator at the Medical Foundation of North Carolina (now UNC Health Foundation) where she was responsible for donor management and fundraising analytics for the UNC School of Medicine and UNC Hospitals.
“I am thrilled to be the new Executive Director of the Chatham Education Foundation,” Brittany said. “I have been a passionate advocate for our public schools since moving to Chatham from Robeson County four years ago and putting my own children in school here. I am a social worker by training and a professional fundraiser by trade. My goal is to raise as many resources as possible for the brilliant students, teachers, and staff of our public schools while also supporting impactful programs like Chatham Reads and AVID.”
When she’s not fundraising, Brittany likes to watch college football, professional baseball, and long-distance cycling races like the Tour de France. Brittany, herself, is a non-competitive powerlifter who recently reached her goal of deadlifting 300+ pounds.