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Senior Director of Development

Dell Children's Foundation

Meredith's commitment to healthcare philanthropy is unmatched. Her compassion for the journey of patients and families is met daily with her passion to work alongside physician leaders and the philanthropic community to create transformational, purpose-driven, and mission-aligned gifts that advance Dell Children's.

Meredith began her career in healthcare philanthropy 10 years ago as a development coordinator. In her first year on the development team she spearheaded Operation Miracle, a program that immerses potential donors in the clinical side of the hospital for a full day and remains robust today. Operation Miracle was and is a game changer when it comes to principal gift cultivation, and the building of the program was no easy task from HIPPA form approvals to figuring out the best way to engage supporters in clinical work in order to achieve impact. Meredith worked through the details to create a meaningful program that we credit with millions of dollars in philanthropic gifts. Since the inception of Operation Miracle Meredith has trained four junior colleagues to produce the program and create those same results.

From there Meredith quickly into a major gift role and then into her current role as senior director of development and service line lead for three of Dell Children's focused programs: cardiovascular, fetal care, and the expanding NICU program.

Service line fundraising has become Meredith's super power.  She builds trusted relationships with physician leaders seeking excellence for their programs. They know they power of philanthropy, and Meredith creates a team culture with our clinician partners when it comes to working with external supporters of their work. This culture leads to collaboration within the hospital and inspiration for our donors that get to witness the passion of those who care for children and families firsthand.

It takes a great deal of interpersonal skill to marry all sides of a truly visionary gift, and Meredith has those skills and more. Her leadership on the Dell Children's Foundation team has grown right along with her major and principal gift goals, and she truly enjoys mentoring colleagues and clinical partners. Meredith embraces the power of philanthropy and lives our mission to its fullest, to care for all children, every single day.

For my first job out of college, I was hired by a luxury handbag designer in New York City as an account executive managing Neiman Marcus and various retailers throughout the United States and Canada. During this chapter, one of my best friends was working at Dell Children’s Foundation in Austin, Texas. She called me one day and said, “I know it's not fashion, but I think you will love it, and we have an opening”. I flew to Austin, took a seat in the lobby of Dell Children’s Hospital, and fell instantly in love with its purpose. This year, I will celebrate my fifth role and 10 years of service supporting Dell Children’s.

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” - Mark 12:31. Healthcare is rooted in a selfless mission to take care of people who need help, and I am honored to support that mission in any way that I can. I love people, building capacity in people, and creating genuine relationships created to serve a greater good with no expectation of personal gain. Working daily to empower people to help each other is a core value that drives my service to cultivate financial investment in healthcare.

Securing the first Endowed Chair and Distinguished Chair in my hospital's history has been the most extraordinary moment in my professional career. Many years of preparation, study, and determination resulted in a $7 million investment in pediatric healthcare that will care for children in need, in perpetuity. The incredible donors who selflessly gave this gift gave it so that children who they will never meet can have a better chance at life. Just to be a part of this experience in any way has been transformative and life changing.

Uplifting others in service and emotional strength, and raising up the unseen. The unwavering example of love Jesus gives us is my daily inspiration to be an example of love to others.

Philanthropic support of healthcare has been paramount in establishing common practice medical advantages we all utilize every single day. Your work is fundamentally critical to securing the next cure, the next innovation, and countless generations of lives. Every day you seek attention to the opportunities to better the care of humans, you change lives whether you can see it or not. Keep going!

Fun Fact

My family is the most fun part of my life and my best moments are getting to be with my almost-two-year-old son, Mac, and my extraordinary husband, Aaron! I have a big extended family with cousins, aunts and uncles who are all instrumental in my life. My favorite job I have ever had is being a mom!

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