Ilene Stern, M.Ed., one of the Dallas-Forth Worth area’s preeminent advancement officers whose unique talents and outgoing personality made fund-raising an art form, passed away after a lengthy illness on June 11, 2009. Ilene’s 30+ year advancement career included numerous accomplishments, most recently at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas. She also provided major funding for critically-needed programs, services and curriculum at the University of Dallas in Irving, the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas, Southern Methodist University and the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida. Ilene eloquently and successfully staffed presidents and members of boards of directors as well as key leadership committees to achieve major fund-raising and programmatic objectives. An innovative leader, Stern recruited and trained multi-unit staffs to meet revenue goals in Annual, Capital, Alumni and Endowment giving initiatives, as well as Special Event fund-raising. In addition, she maintained a portfolio of major gift prospects. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Ilene grew up in the San Fernando Valley outside Los Angeles, California. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from California State University at Northridge, California, and earned her Masters degree in Secondary Education Administration at California Lutheran College in Thousand Oaks, California. She began her professional career as the Director, School Improvement Programs and an English teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. A loving wife and mother, Ilene is survived by her husband, Mike, their son, Jordan, her brother, Dr. Robert Shaw, D.D.S., and their mother, Rose Schwartz.
