Touro University Nevada Names Dena Sue Potestio as New Vice President for Advancement

May 3, 2021

Touro University Nevada named Dena Sue Potestio as the new Vice President for Advancement, where she will spearhead numerous objectives to raise the university’s profile inside and outside the state of Nevada.

“I’m honored to embed myself at a university like Touro University Nevada, an institution on the move with a mission set on health and human flourishing,” she said.

With decades of experience in philanthropy, higher education advancement, finance and accounting, investments, and state legislative affairs, Potestio was previously the vice president for university advancement at Emporia State University (ESU) in Kansas, where she also served as the president of ESU’s $100 million-dollar private foundation.

She also served as the executive director of university development at Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU-Pueblo), where she likewise served in a dual role as president of CSU-Pueblo’s $30 million-dollar private foundation. Potestio began her career at Arthur Andersen in Chicago.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dena as Touro University Nevada’s Vice President for Advancement,” said Shelley Berkley, CEO and Senior Provost. “Dena brings a vast wealth of knowledge and experience in university advancement and fundraising. Under her stewardship, I am confident that Touro will continue to broaden its development and fundraising efforts throughout the community and across the country.”

Before joining Touro, Potestio founded a boutique adaptive leadership and philanthropic consulting firm named to honor her parents, with Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York as one of her most important professional relations. Union is affiliated with Columbia University and is an academic partner with the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Melody Crickman, who worked as the Director of Marketing and Public Relations before serving as the university’s Interim Vice President for Advancement since July, is now the Associate Vice President of Communications and Government Affairs.

“It’s a dream to find myself at Touro University Nevada, whose values I fully embrace—social justice, intellectual pursuit, and service to humanity,” Potestio said. “I’m eager to work with CEO and Senior Provost Shelley Berkley to raise funds for the university and to serve our students, faculty, and teammates as well as the citizens of Nevada.”