Press Release

Washington, DC - American Rivers, the nation’s leading river conservation organization, today announced that it has hired a new Senior Vice President for Development.

Alma Jane Shepard, CFRE, is an accomplished fundraising professional with a career spanning over 25 years of success in a broad range of philanthropic activities. She will spearhead the effort to sustainably grow American Rivers’ resources, thus enabling the organization to realize its vision of healthy rivers empowering every human and natural community to thrive in the face of a changing climate.

“Our vision for healthy rivers supporting healthy communities is resonating strongly with the funding community,” said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers. “We are delighted to have such a talented professional as Alma Jane joining our team to build on this success and help position American Rivers for future growth.”

In her role as Senior Vice President of Development, Shepard will oversee a wide range of efforts including major gifts, special events, planned giving, annual giving campaigns, board stewardship, and fundraising team management.

Shepard commented on her new role at American Rivers, “I am thrilled to join an organization that has been a leader for over 35 years in protecting and restoring the nation’s rivers for the benefit of people, wildlife and nature.”

Coming to American Rivers as a consultant with Talisman Associates, Shepard’s prior position was with the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. As Senior Vice President for Institutional Advancement, despite the challenges caused by multiple hurricanes, she managed, developed and raised over $40 million for the capital campaign and over $20 million for operations.

Prior to that, she served as Director of Major Gifts and Director of Development for the Mid-Atlantic region at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

Shepard is a subject matter expert on fundraising, and is sought after as a public speaker and teacher at the university level. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Taylor University.

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American Rivers is the leading organization working to protect and restore the nation’s rivers and streams. Rivers connect us to each other, nature, and future generations. Since 1973, American Rivers has fought to preserve these connections, helping protect and restore more than 150,000 miles of rivers through advocacy efforts, on-the-ground projects, and the annual release of America’s Most Endangered Rivers®.

Headquartered in Washington, DC, American Rivers has offices across the country and more than 100,000 supporters, members, and volunteers nationwide. Visit www.americanrivers.org, www.facebook.com/americanrivers and www.twitter.com/americanrivers.