UW Foundation Announces New Senior VP for Development

Jill Higham -- a Wyoming native, University of Wyoming alumna and accomplished fundraiser and higher education leader -- has been hired as the new senior vice president for development at the UW Foundation after a national search. She began her new position June 5.

“I feel fortunate to be returning home to Wyoming,” Higham says. “In so many ways, UW feels part of my DNA. It’s going to be an honor partnering with those supporters and UW’s incredible leadership, faculty and staff as we enter a transformative era for the state and beyond.”

Since 2019, Higham has held the position of inaugural general counsel for the Colorado State University (CSU) Foundation. Her tenure at CSU also included various development roles in the colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Engineering and Natural Sciences.

In addition to her impact on higher education, Higham previously led development efforts for a national legal-and-policy-driven nonprofit, and she helped establish a new $200 million foundation focused on the economic empowerment of those who are aging.

Higham’s professional background includes owning her own practice, Higham Law, which served clients throughout Wyoming and Colorado, and working as an associate attorney at the Murdock Law Firm in Laramie.

Higham began her career in development at the UW College of Law in 2006. “UW provided my first opportunity to work in development,” Higham says.

“During the early days of my career, mentors, such as the late Jerry Parkinson, former dean of the College of Law, and John Stark, then serving as the UW Foundation’s senior vice president, modeled the integrity and trust essential for fostering authentic donor relationships,” Higham says. “They impressed upon me the importance of every gift and every supporter to UW. Those experiences revealed my professional calling and charted the course for my life.”

Higham was raised by a homemaker turned newspaper reporter and a railroader and coal miner turned author and entrepreneur. She grew up in Rawlins with a deep appreciation for the land, work ethic and values of Wyoming’s people.

“At times, my dad sprinkled Al Simpson quotes into his parenting advice,” Higham says. “And my mom encouraged me to go see the world in ways that she hadn’t, but the more I saw, the more it deepened my appreciation for my roots.”

Higham earned her bachelor’s degree in English and secondary education from UW and, out of college, she worked as an English teacher at Central High School in Cheyenne. She returned to UW in 2003 -- this time as a nontraditional student with her two young children in tow -- and went on to serve on the Wyoming Land and Water Law Review and earn her law degree.

In her role at the UW Foundation, Higham will lead a team of fundraisers and work closely with the leadership of the UW Foundation, UW administration, the Alumni Association and Wyoming Athletics.

Her responsibilities will include cultivating relationships with donors, alumni, corporations, charitable foundations and other stakeholders and fostering a culture of philanthropy across the UW community and the state.

Her professional experience extends to advising on contracts and gift agreements, human resources, board governance, policy drafting and review, tax law, corporate and nonprofit compliance, trust and estate gifts, grant administration and strategic communications.

Higham also has been an active board member of several nonprofits, including Laramie County Community College, Community Shares of Colorado, Crossroads Safehouse and Next50 Foundation. She also has contributed as a guest columnist and panelist on legal topics.

“Jill demonstrates a deep understanding of philanthropy and a commitment to the mission and values of UW and the UW Foundation,” says John Stark, president and CEO of the UW Foundation. “She will play a pivotal role in ensuring our ongoing success and future growth, and we are excited to welcome her back home to UW.”