National Aquarium Names Chief Philanthropy Officer, Individual Giving Officers

The National Aquarium is pleased to announce the promotion of Scott Douglas Melton to senior vice president/chief philanthropy officer (SVP/CPO) following his service as acting SVP/CPO since April 2016. In addition, the organization has announced the addition of two new individual giving officers, Meg Mackin Amundson and Molly Dolan.

"Scott has already played a significant role in developing a culture of philanthropy at the National Aquarium," said National Aquarium Chief Executive Officer John Racanelli. "Since stepping up as acting chief philanthropy officer in April 2016, he has built an outstanding team and met ambitious goals. Just as importantly, he is committed to our vision to change the way humanity cares for our ocean planet."

Melton joined the Aquarium in January 2015 as vice president of individual giving. As the organization's SVP/CPO, Melton will continue to provide strategic leadership, planning and oversight for all fundraising, donor recruitment and membership efforts. He will lead the Aquarium's Philanthropy department, aiming to reach ambitious targets for the nonprofit's growth and further the organization's mission. In conjunction with the CEO, Board leadership and outside counsel, Melton oversees the creation of bold implementation plans for future campaigns, partnerships and major fundraising initiatives.

Melton brings a wide range of experience implementing successful fundraising campaigns for higher education and national nonprofits. He serves the nonprofit community through his board service to the Direct Marketing Association, Nonprofit Federation and Winthrop University Alumni Executive Board.

Prior to his time with the National Aquarium, Melton worked as senior director of individual giving for the NAACP, where he was responsible for growing the Association's individual giving programs from 35,000 to over 180,000 active individual donors.

Serving as individual giving officers under Melton in the Aquarium's Philanthropy department, Amundson and Dolan are responsible for directing activities that support annual operation funding and achieve major donor contribution and special project goals. In addition to acquiring new major donors, they will also cultivate relationships with existing partners.

"The addition of Meg and Molly to the Philanthropy team strengthens our ability to serve the National Aquarium's donors, which is essential to expanding the National Aquarium's mission-based work," said Melton. "Their respective experiences within high-level fundraising make them valuable assets to our team."

Amundson joins the Aquarium from Johns Hopkins University, where she served as associate director of development of the Berman Institute of Bioethics, working strategically to expand the base of prospective major donors, both individuals and foundations. She has experience soliciting and securing gifts at the six-figure level.

Prior to her role at Johns Hopkins University, Amundson served as assistant director of annual giving for Goucher College. She was responsible for an annual revenue of $1.2 million dollars associated with the Goucher Society, the college's leadership donor program. Before Amundson's transition to the nonprofit field, she built a successful, seven-year career in corporate business development sales.

Dolan comes to the Aquarium with more than 10 years in the fundraising field. Over the past five years, she worked as a senior development officer at Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute and Heart and Vascular Institute. In these roles, Dolan built major donor relationships with patients, foundations and community groups, securing more than $8.5 million for the Fund for Johns Hopkins Medicine over her tenure.

Prior to working for Johns Hopkins, Dolan served as a corporate relations manager at Chicago Cares, where she developed key corporate partnerships, and secured five- and six-figure sponsorships for Chicago's leading volunteer service organization. Dolan currently sits on the board of directors of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Maryland Chapter, and is a Silver Medal recipient of the Congressional Award for young Americans from the United States Congress.