Emma Crossen serves as the Director of Major Gifts, and has the lucky job of connecting with alumni and donors around the world to increase philanthropic support of VLGS. Her career in fundraising spans higher education, politics, and religion, from east coast to west. She was previously the development director at Indiana State University in her hometown of Terre Haute; deputy director of Courage Campaign in Los Angeles, California; development director for Women of the ELCA in Chicago, Illinois; and executive director of the Outdoor Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she also earned her Master of Divinity degree at Harvard Divinity School.

With family roots in Kansas, Emma graduated from Bethany College, and soon after lived in Hyderabad, India, to work at the Henry Martyn Institute for Interfaith Education and Conflict Resolution. Emma is currently based in Terre Haute, Indiana, where you’ll often find her hanging out at the playground with her kiddos (Harriet and Virginia), planning her next trip to Vermont, and organizing efforts related to justice reform.