Yvonne Dowdy Miller, CFRE, has served as a Development Professional since 1988.  Miller started her non-profit career working for two social service organizations, where she served for over six years.  In 1995 she started working for the University of Missouri-Kansas City as a Lead Development Professional for the School of Law and School of Medicine. Joining JDRF in 1999, Miller served as Executive Director of the Kansas City Chapter before being promoted to Regional Director and finally National Director of Corporate Development. In her 13 years there, she raised over $28 million dollars with an annual growth rate of 15.4%. She also led the Chapter to receive the highest honor bestowed by JDRF; “Chapter of the Year” was awarded to the talented staff and volunteers of the Kansas City Chapter.

In April 2012 Miller accepted the position of Executive Director of Advancement at the University of Missouri – School of Medicine. As a supervisor of four Development Professionals, she is responsible for a fundraising budget of $10 million. Miller also created several diverse fundraising programs and led a small capital campaign to begin Synergy’s first developmental program – Synergy Girl’s Home.