Heather Palmer - Associate Athletic Director/Development - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Heather Palmer

Title:
Associate Athletic Director/Development
Email:
Phone:
545-4290

Heather Palmer was named Associate Athletic Director for Development on July 17, 2017. Palmer, a 2002 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, come to UMass with 15 years of experience in collegiate athletics.

“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to return to my alma mater and play a leadership role in an athletics program that was integral in my own personal and professional development,” Palmer said. “It is an exciting time to be in Amherst, and I look forward to working with the UMass community as we support and celebrate the success of our student-athletes.”

Most recently, Palmer worked nearby in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the College of the Holy Cross from 2012-17. She initially served as the Associate Director of the Holy Cross Fund for Annual Athletics Fundraising before she received a promotion to Director of the Crusader Athletics Fund in 2014. During her five year stint, she increased funds raised for athletics by 200 percent and raised a record $2 million in 2017.

“We are thrilled to add Heather to our Minutemen Club staff,” Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development Dave Biancamano said. “She has a proven track record of fundraising success and a passion for generating resources to support athletic programs and student-athletes. Heather will be a key cog within the department, and make an immediate impact that will positively affect our alumni and fans.”

While at Holy Cross, Palmer designed and implemented an acknowledgement and stewardship strategy for all gifts to athletics and created the Crusader Athletics Fund Executive Committee. She also started the Purple Pride Challenge; a three-day giving campaign that increased donors to the college and promoted student-athlete philanthropy.

A long-time resident of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Palmer served as Director of Athletic Alumni Relations and Stewardship at Harvard University from 2009-12. In this role, she designed and applied the department’s overall stewardship and fundraising strategy for major gifts, capital projects and annual fund appeal, with the result of a 16 percent increase to the annual fundraising total.

Palmer's tenure at Harvard also included five years spent as a member of the Crimson athletic communications staff as an assistant director. From 2006-11, she served as primary contact and liaison between media members, student-athletes and coaches for 14 of Harvard’s 41 varsity sports, including four nationally-ranked programs. She came to Harvard from the University of Pennsylvania, where Palmer was a member of the Quakers’ athletic communications team for three years.

The University of Massachusetts alumna graduated cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism in 2002. She was a member of the women’s track and field program at UMass during her undergraduate studies. Palmer earned a masters of liberal arts in extension studies degree with a concentration in management and operations at Harvard in 2011.

Updated: July 25, 2018