Director of Gift Planning Services, University System of Maryland

An unabashed fan of all things planned giving, Ann Kolakowski, CAP®, CFRE joined the University System of Maryland as Director of Gift Planning Services in February 2022. She works with the 12 member campuses to provide expertise on planned gifts and create programs to build planned giving skills among the System's major gift fundraisers. Prior to her current position, Ann served in planned giving roles for the Humane Society of the United States, Towson University (her undergraduate alma mater), and The Johns Hopkins University (where she earned an MA in creative writing). The immediate past President of the National Capital Gift Planning Council, Ann has earned the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® credential from the American College of Financial Services and is a Certified Fund Raising Executive. She enjoys practicing guitar, walking her three dogs, and listening to podcasts — just not all at once.