166: Ann Spira, University of California, San Diego

As Vice Chancellor for Advancement and the Executive Vice President of the UC San Diego Foundation, Ann Spira holds the overall managerial responsibility for all university fundraising campaigns and transformational initiatives. In addition, Ann provides the strategy and facilitation of the top-tier volunteer leadership for the Campaign for UC San Diego, which successfully concluded at $3 billion.Ann joined UC San Diego after a 30-year career in the performing arts, most recently as Deputy General Director of San Diego Opera. A natural innovator of marketing and development programs, Ann helped propel San Diego Opera into an internationally recognized company, hailed for both artistic and fiscal excellence. Responsible for leading the revenue team and board development units, she created a $100M long-range strategic plan and led the ongoing recruitment and leadership of the 60-member Board of Directors, one of the most highly contributing and respected Boards in the region.