Experienced, Chicago-based Professional to Lead Fundraising and Other Philanthropic Initiatives

WORCESTER, Mass., Dec. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Wake Up Narcolepsy, Inc., (WUN) today announced the appointment of Kathi Wagner as Chief Development Director. Ms. Wagner, of Chicago, brings to the role more than 20 years of fundraising, marketing, public affairs, and nonprofit management experience.  

"We are thrilled to welcome Kathi to the WUN staff," said Monica Gow, Executive Director and Co-founder. "With her extensive experience in both the nonprofit and health fields, she is ideally suited to lead the design and execution of our strategic fundraising and other philanthropic initiatives. As WUN continues to expand, these responsibilities take on added importance, and we are confident Kathi will play a vital role accelerating this growth."

Ms. Wagner's work will include grant writing, major-donor and planned-giving programs, direct-mail outreach, event support, and stewardship activities, as well as national volunteer leadership recruitment, and database and policy development. 

"Through Monica's steadfast, visionary leadership, Wake Up Narcolepsy has become the premier advocate for the 200,000 Americans living with narcolepsy," Kathi noted. "Now, as WUN expands into Canada, the need for our work will only grow. I am grateful and excited for the opportunity to advance the WUN mission at this decisive stage of its young history."

Most recently, Ms. Wagner established a 501(c)(3) public charity to support the 60 different forest preserves and five education centers of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County in northeastern Illinois. In this role, she secured over $2.5 million in cash and in-kind gifts during her four-year tenure.

Previously, she served as Executive Director of the Illinois Branch of the International Dyslexia Association, and as the Director of Development for both the American Brain Tumor Association and SOS Children's Villages Illinois.  

Ms. Wagner is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and obtained her Certified Fund Raising Executive Status in 1998. In her support of continuing professional education, she has served as a board member for the AFP Chicago Chapter, the West Suburban Philanthropic Network, and the Suburban Chicago Planned Giving Council. 

Created in 2008, Wake Up Narcolepsy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to speed narcolepsy diagnosis through greater awareness of this devastating, poorly understood sleep disorder, and generating much-needed funding for medical research to prevent and cure narcolepsy.

SOURCE WAKE UP NARCOLEPSY