After an extensive national search, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) announces the appointment of Monica Mackey, recently of Stanford University, to the position of Chief Philanthropy Officer. Ms. Mackey will succeed Christopher R. Reaske, PhD., who led the museum’s development department through a period of unprecedented fundraising achievements, including the quiet phase of PEM’s $650 million advancement campaign.
Ms. Mackey is a highly experienced executive most recently of Stanford University, where she led major fundraising efforts for the School of Law and the School of Engineering, for which she spearheaded a $400 million capital campaign. With PEM’s global connections becoming even more important in the future, Ms. Mackey also has valuable experience cultivating international donors, predominantly from Hong Kong and China, and was herself raised in Tokyo.
Ms. Mackey also possesses a strong background in Boston-area philanthropy. She served as the first Chief Development Officer at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and directed development programs at Boston Lyric Opera and Wellesley College, of which she is an alumnus. Ms. Mackey also holds an MBA from Babson College. She will begin her tenure with the museum on May 14, 2012.
“We are very grateful to Chris for his exceptional service and contributions to the museum over the past several years. Under his leadership, we have realized remarkable fundraising goals. As we wish him farewell, we look forward to welcoming Monica to our executive staff, and working with her to further advance PEM’s future,” said Dan. L. Monroe, the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Executive Director and CEO of PEM.
Dr. Reaske has served as PEM’s chief philanthropy officer since 2007. A key figure in New England fundraising, Dr. Reaske was Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at Boston University from 1995 through 2005. He has also held senior development positions at Yale University and is the author of various college textbooks and non-fiction works. He will retire later this spring to focus on writing projects and spend time with his family.