Amy Eichhorst Tapped to Lead UMD's Alumni Association

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Sept. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Maryland has named Amy Eichhorst as the new executive director of the Alumni Association—a key role for leading the engagement of UMD's base of 340,000 alumni. Eichhorst joins UMD from the University of Illinois Alumni Association and will officially start at Maryland on Nov. 17, 2014.

"Amy is an incredible leader and brings 20 years of association management and outreach experience to the University of Maryland," says UMD Vice President for University Relations Peter Weiler. "We are extremely fortunate to have someone with Amy's experience and expertise joining our team."

Eichhorst's background includes providing strategic direction to organizations; implementing organizational and structural enhancements to drive change; and recruiting and managing volunteer boards.

"I'm excited to lead the Alumni Association as the University of Maryland begins its inaugural year in the Big Ten Conference," says Eichhorst. "Through innovative programming, meaningful volunteer opportunities and targeted communications, I'm eager for the Alumni Association to accelerate the engagement of alumni of all generations. Together with my colleagues and staff, I look forward to creating an integrated alumni relations strategy that will advance the goals of increased membership, participation and philanthropy."

Eichhorst previously worked for the University of Illinois Alumni Association, where she was hired to grow the university's grassroots political advocacy organization - the Illinois Connection Advocacy Network. In this role, Eichhorst's work focused on outreach to the university's 750,000 living alumni to provide them with concrete, meaningful ways to support the future of the university. Under Eichhorst's leadership, the Illinois Connection has grown from 500 members to more than 14,000 advocates, including alumni, donors, students, faculty, staff and friends.

Stemming from her success with the Illinois Connection, Eichhorst was also tasked with managing the UI Alumni Association's newly created Alumni Advocacy and Outreach Division. In that role, Eichhorst oversaw the strategy for campus/constituent board relations, regional and international alumni clubs, special interest and affiliate groups, political advocacy, student programming and athletics.

Prior to working at the University of Illinois, Eichhorst served in several roles at the National Association of Realtors, including manager of the housing opportunity program and commercial services, legislative and political representative, and government affairs director. Prior to that, she worked on several political campaigns.

Eichhorst received a Bachelor of Arts degree in government and law from Lafayette College.

About the University of Maryland 
The University of Maryland is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 37,000 students, 9,000 faculty and staff, and 250 academic programs. Its faculty includes three Nobel laureates, two Pulitzer Prize winners, 49 members of the national academies and scores of Fulbright scholars. The institution has a $1.8 billion operating budget, secures $500 million annually in external research funding and recently completed a $1 billion fundraising campaign.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130808/DC61542LOGO

SOURCE University of Maryland