The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has announced the promotion of Stephanie Viola to Managing Director of ASME Philanthropy and her nomination to serve as Executive Director of the ASME Foundation. She has been Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for the Foundation since 2019. In her new role, Viola will lead ASME’s team of development professionals in a consolidated fundraising effort for philanthropic programs across ASME and the ASME Foundation. She will continue to work closely with Anand Sethupathy, ASME’s Managing Director of Programs and Strategy, including initiatives in global development, workforce development, K-12 STEM, and engineering education and scholarships.
“In a relatively short amount of time, Stephanie has made a tremendous impact on behalf of ASME. Her leadership and strategic insights have helped us to expand existing relationships and develop many new relationships with business leaders and foundations to help advance our mission,” says Tom Costabile, ASME’s Executive Director/CEO and member of the ASME Foundation Board of Directors. “I’d also like to acknowledge and thank Kathleen Lobb for her important contributions to ASME and wish her the best in her next chapter.”
Since joining ASME, Viola has been instrumental in launching an ambitious capital campaign, emphasizing objectives to increase equity in engineering and build a more sustainable future for everyone. She has also helped establish a campaign cabinet with leaders from industry, academia, and government, including executives from HP, SpaceX, Stevens Institute of Technology, and ComEd. Viola helped launch ASME’s community college and HBCU pilot programs, building a network of engaged stakeholders and donors from beyond the traditional engineering community, including industry leaders from TCS, Accenture, and other organizations who share ASME’s objective to grow a more equitable and innovative technical workforce.
“This is a pivotal moment for ASME Philanthropy, an opportunity to continue our progress toward empowering next generation engineers to build a more equitable and sustainable future,” says Viola. “I’m grateful to my predecessor for her extraordinary work establishing the philanthropy department and launching the Campaign for Next Generation Engineers, and I’m thrilled to expand our donor network and impact across the engineering and technology communities.”
Viola has more than 20 years of experience in development and nonprofit management, with an impressive track record of securing corporate, foundation, and individual gifts to meet ambitious philanthropic goals. Before joining ASME, she helped plan fundraising strategy, led campaigns, planned giving programs, events and communications for the AIChE Foundation, first as Manager of Individual Giving and later as Development Director. In 1997, she founded Riot Group, a critically acclaimed, multi-award winning not-for-profit experimental theater company in New York, and served as co-artistic director and performer. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology and theater from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York.
Source: ASME International
