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Chief Development Officer

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COOP Careers

Chief Development Officer

COOP Careers

Hybrid New York, NY; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA
Apply Now Leadership Profile

COOP Careers is a national nonprofit dedicated to closing the gap between college graduation and meaningful career success for first-generation and low-income graduates.

Founded in 2014, COOP provides intensive, career-focused training, professional networks, and employer connections that help talented graduates overcome underemployment and launch careers in fields including technology, digital marketing, financial services, and data analytics. Today, the organization has supported more than 10,000 alumni across New York, the Bay Area, Chicago, and Los Angeles while cultivating partnerships with employers such as Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, TikTok, Barclays, and leading advertising agencies.

COOP now enters one of the most significant moments in its history. Building on a decade of proven impact, the organization is transforming its flagship fellowship into a portfolio of AI-resilient, Pell-eligible certificate programs delivered in partnership with accredited universities. This ambitious strategy positions COOP to dramatically expand its national reach and serve 100,000 low-income graduates by 2035, creating new pathways to economic mobility for generations of students.

The Opportunity

The Chief Development Officer will play a defining leadership role in this next chapter of growth.

Reporting directly to Founder and CEO Kalani Leifer, the CDO will lead COOP’s entire fundraising enterprise while serving as the CEO’s closest strategic partner in philanthropy. This leader will develop and execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy designed to build a diversified revenue portfolio exceeding $12 million annually, deepen relationships with existing philanthropic partners, and expand support from major donors, foundations, government agencies, and institutional partners. At the same time, the CDO will strengthen development operations, oversee forecasting and reporting, guide Board engagement, and build the systems and infrastructure needed to support long-term growth.

Beyond fundraising, this is an opportunity to shape the future of an organization with national aspirations and measurable social impact. The successful candidate will join the executive leadership team during a period of transformation, helping position COOP for unprecedented scale while ensuring that its mission remains at the center of every strategic decision.

For a leader who combines fundraising expertise with operational discipline, collaborative leadership, and a passion for expanding economic opportunity, this role offers the chance to help redefine how higher education and workforce development intersect to create lasting upward mobility.

Compensation for this position is $225,000-$275,000 inclusive of base salary and potential variable compensation.

COOP Careers

The Lindauer Team Leading This Search

Contact Us Directly

Bob Giannino

Bob Giannino

Senior Vice President
Taylor Beard

Taylor Beard

Senior Consultant
Dianne Cullinane

Dianne Cullinane

Senior Search Administrator and Executive Assistant

    Apply Now

    To apply for this position, complete this form and upload your resume. Your information will be kept confidential.








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        By admin|2026-09-23T21:27:40-04:00May 29, 2026|Comments Off on Chief Development Officer

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        Bob Giannino has had a transformative impact at the highest levels of nonprofit leadership by identifying opportunities for impact, making bold plans, and bringing people together to find common cause for the common good. A touchstone of Bob’s leadership is his conviction that the success of an organization lies in its people—a credo he has embodied and realized by building strong, inclusive teams and nurturing ecosystems where both individuals and institutions can thrive.

        At Lindauer, Bob leverages his extensive executive experience to help organizations identify, cultivate, and retain exceptional talent. His thoughtful approach ensures that leaders are positioned to drive sustainable change and long-term impact.

        Expertise

        With more than two decades of experience across diverse sectors, Bob brings a strategic approach to talent development, honed through years in top executive roles and rooted in the understanding that people are the key to organizational success. At Lindauer, Bob draws on his deep knowledge of how strong talent acquisition, culture-building, and mentorship fuel institutional growth. His expertise includes building diverse and inclusive teams, aligning talent strategies with organizational missions, and scaling organizational impact through strategic growth.

        For Bob, executive search is akin to completing a complex puzzle, where the right candidate represents a crucial piece that helps bring the full picture into focus. Bob thrives on the challenge of understanding the unique needs and dynamics of each organization, then strategically matching them with candidates who can seamlessly integrate and make a lasting impact. His ability to focus on both the immediate requirements of a role as well as the critical factors for long-term organizational success sets him apart in the search process.

        Experience

        Before joining Lindauer, Bob served as President & CEO of United Way of Massachusetts Bay, one of Greater Boston’s leading civic institutions, where his strategic leadership helped create greater opportunity, access, and equity across 140 communities in Eastern Massachusetts.

        Prior to United Way, Bob served as the CEO of uAspire, the nation’s leading nonprofit focused on helping young people and families navigate an affordable path to a postsecondary degree. Over 15 years, Bob oversaw the transformation of uAspire from a small, local organization serving 1,000 young people in Boston into a national, award-winning enterprise reaching more than 25 states and 300,000 students each year. In addition to its direct service programming, uAspire’s policy and systems change efforts will lead to dramatically improved financial access to a college degree and economic opportunity for millions of young people.

        From 2015-2020, Bob served as a member of the Management Faculty at the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, a national leader in equipping the nation’s social impact leaders to boldly advance their organizations and missions, creating a more equitable future for all.

        Throughout his career, Bob has been recognized by numerous local and national organizations for his contributions to and leadership within the nonprofit sector. In 2022, Bob was named an LGBTQ Trailblazer by the Boston Business Journal for his longstanding commitments to Greater Boston’s LGBTQIA community and, in 2024, he was honored by Get Konnected! as a DEI Champion and Ally. In addition, Bob was awarded the prestigious Barr Fellowship for his “outstanding contribution to the Boston community and potential to drive positive change for years to come.”

        In 2025, Bob became Chair of the Board of Directors of Idealist.org.

        Education

        Bob holds an AB in Government from Harvard University and an Executive Education Certificate in Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management from Harvard Business School.

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        Taylor Beard brings to Lindauer and its clients several years of philanthropic consulting and project management experience in the non-profit sector.

        Prior to joining Lindauer, Taylor was the Assistant Director of Leadership Annual Giving at the University of Chicago Law School where she managed the school’s reunion volunteer committees to foster a culture of engagement and philanthropy and increase annual support from alumni and friends. Taylor also spent several years at Grenzebach Glier and Associates (GG+A), a premier nonprofit philanthropic consulting firm, where she held multiple roles. As Senior Project Manager, Taylor partnered with the firm’s senior leaders to develop and execute client training projects, along with managing the firm’s internal professional development program. She managed upwards of 15 client projects at any given time, ranging in sectors from arts and culture, academic medicine and healthcare, higher education, independent schools, to advocacy.

        Throughout her career, Taylor has partnered with a range of clients including American University, Carnegie-Mellon University, Chicago Urban League, Colgate University, Da Vinci Science Center, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Englewood Health Foundation, Folger Shakespeare Library, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Germantown Friends School, Instituto Technologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Macalester College, Milwaukee Art Museum, Louisiana State University Athletics, National Cathedral School, Oregon Health and Science University Foundation, Pennsylvania State University Athletics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Minnesota Foundation, University of New Mexico Foundation, University of the Arctic, Trinity College, and Upper Canada College.

        Taylor serves as Co-Chair of the Young Professional Board at Deborah’s Place, a nonprofit that provides housing and supportive services to women experiencing homelessness in Chicago.

        Taylor holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from The Ohio State University.

        As Senior Search Administrator and Executive Assistant, Dianne Cullinane acts as the liaison between Lindauer clients, candidates and consultants. She provides high-level strategic coordination and detailed administrative, client service and communications support to facilitate each search, balancing an array of clients and assignments.

        Dianne brings over 35 years-experience as an Executive Administrative Assistant, with a decade of those years spent in higher education fundraising. Dianne began her time at Simmons in the President’s Office, working with the Board of Trustees, Corporators and President’s Council. She learned all aspects of fundraising as the Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Advancement at Simmons College while earning her Bachelor’s degree. She also served as Associate Director of Institutional Programs and Special Events in her tenure at Simmons, handling all the strategy, planning and implementation of all institutional events. Known for her high level of organization and relationship-building, she facilitated cross-campus collaboration, helped build external visibility for the university’s brand, and identified opportunities for new events and expanded audience engagement. Before Simmons, Dianne worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts supporting the Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations, at Choate Hall & Stewart in the corporate legal arena, and in the Human Resources office of The Ritz-Carlton Boston.

        Dianne holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts.

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