Your Leadership Roadmap—Not Someone Else’s Playbook
I partner with university advancement executives and leadership teams navigating the most complex leadership moments.
You're balancing the competing priorities of the president, your team, donors, and the board. You're strengthening alignment across your executive leadership team. You're building ownership in the middle managers responsible for turning strategy into action.
Whatever the challenge, you don’t need someone else’s playbook.
You need a trusted partner to help you shape a roadmap that reflects your leadership, your institution, and your goals.
My advisory services are grounded in real-world experience—from leading advancement teams and raising transformational gifts to advising leaders through organizational change and executive transitions.
You won't get templated advice or abstract frameworks. You'll get thoughtful guidance, practical strategies, and a trusted sounding board to help you navigate the moments that matter most.
“I have never encountered a leadership and fundraising consultant as effective as Shanna. The proof is in the pudding—we have met or exceeded all of our fundraising targets. I wouldn’t just highly recommend Hocking Leadership—I would shout it from the rooftops for any organization looking to elevate their fundraising game.”
– Amber Hacker, Chief of External Affairs and Chief Financial Officer, Interfaith America
Ways to Work Together
We meaningfully support the chief advancement executive in strengthening leadership at every level of the organization, so they can achieve the fundraising results their university is counting on.
Leadership means appreciating what is and pursuing what could be.
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Supporting chief advancement executives in navigating the decisions that matter most—both in the moment and over time.
You’ll have a trusted partner to help you:
Navigate institutional and team dynamics
Balance urgent demands with long-term strategic priorities
Clarify and communicate your vision
Lead effectively through transition, growth, and change
Strengthen team dynamics to enhance culture and fundraising outcomes
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Strengthening how executive teams work together to accelerate leadership, operational, and fundraising priorities.
You’ll have a trusted partner to help you:
Align around strengths, priorities, roles, and expectations
Strengthen how your team communicates, collaborates, decides, and follows through
Address the issues that are slowing the team down—directly
Make the case for your team with the president and institutional leadership
Refine organizational strategy and team structure—and guide how to communicate change with clarity and care
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Developing the middle manager level of advancement leaders in your organization to carry strategy and culture forward.
You’ll have a trusted partner to help you:
Strengthen clarity in middle managers’ role in advancing institutional priorities
Build ownership and accountability within their teams
Improve cross-functional communication and collaboration
Translate executive strategy into consistent execution
Prepare for expanded leadership responsibility over time
Through customized learning modules, individual and group coaching, and actionable leadership assessments, leaders leave each session ready to apply what they’ve learned immediately—while building long-term leadership capability across the organization.
Why Hocking Leadership
We believe leadership, fundraising, and organizational change move at the speed of trust. Relationships are not separate from the work—they are the work.
We believe leadership is defined by intention, not title. We help leaders at every level communicate clearly, navigate challenges directly, and create alignment around what matters most.
We believe compassionate directness strengthens teams. We help leaders have the conversations others avoid. This builds a culture where people take ownership of both results and relationships.
We believe progress deserves celebration. It happens in multiple truths: supporting and challenging, listening and leading, appreciating what’s working while striving for what’s possible.
“Shanna Hocking brought clarity, energy, and purpose to our executive team and advancement department during a time of transition in both our organization and our profession. Because of her own experience as a fundraiser, she understands the pressure and the promise of our work, and that makes every conversation more grounded and actionable. Our team leaves each session feeling more connected to each other and the mission, more focused on roles and goals, and more confident in how to lead forward—together.”
– Roberta Albert, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, Teachers College, Columbia University
What people are saying…
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“Shanna kept us organized, motivated and goal-oriented. Her fundraising coaching was the best that I have ever experienced. Shanna had a suggestion for every possible donor scenario that was completely on target. I felt like she was sitting next to me at the donor meetings when we talked about the campaign and philanthropy.”
– Shari Pochapin, Campaign Co-Chair and President Emerita, Sutton Place Synagogue
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“When you’re serving in a VP role, it’s really important to have outside counsel, particularly from someone like Shanna who is working across the industry with different VPs and with different organizations. It’s been so helpful to talk things through with her and know that she’s going to be honest with me and present different viewpoints about how to solve a potential issue. Working with Shanna has increased my confidence in my abilities as a VP. I think she’s exceptional.”
– Carol Packard, Vice President, Development and Alumni Relations, Lehigh University
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“Working with Shanna as a leadership coach gave me the confidence to lead authentically while navigating a highly complex work environment. I am now better positioned to advocate for my team and myself, lead high stakes conversations internally and externally, and communicate clearly and compassionately. I highly recommend her services to any C-suite leaders looking to achieve their personal and professional goals.”
– Jessica L. Miley, Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer, Children's Hospital Orange County Foundation
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“I have a thousand important items on my plate at work, and coaching was an opportunity to step back to consider how to do this work more effectively. Shanna offered specific suggestions on what to say and how to manage challenging workplace scenarios that I could immediately apply to real-life cases. Shanna’s insights on leading people allowed me to more deliberately make choices that strengthen my team.”
-Vice President, Enrollment, Liberal Arts College
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“What Shanna does is a gift and a craft. More than just a skilled facilitator, Shanna uniquely understands leadership and advancement. She engaged the full team in our discussions and inspired each team member to step into their leadership. I can already see the value of what she created for our team in how my team members work following the retreat.”
Vice Dean of Development and Alumni Relations, Penn Nursing
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“Shanna listened closely to the goals I had in mind and developed an interactive presentation that engaged the entire team to think deeply about how they can lead from where they are and have an impact on our organization. She also led a workshop with the managers to define our values and outline how we will measure success in the coming year. I am grateful to Shanna for helping our team build a strong foundation for fundraising success.”
– M. Roe Fellows, Vice President, Development, New York University
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“Shanna is my one-stop shop for mentoring, coaching, team development, thoughtful strategic advice, and encouragement. She’s well-versed in fundraising and understands the nuanced environments, challenges, and opportunities facing us because she’s been in similar situations herself. We’ve had a successful fundraising year and much of what we’ve been able to accomplish correlates to the support provided to us by Shanna.”
– Heather Culp, Chief Philanthropy Officer, University of Maryland Medicine Philanthropy
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“I have never encountered a fundraising consultant as effective as Shanna. The proof is in the pudding—we have met or exceeded all of our fundraising targets. Shanna brings high-level strategic insights to every conversation, plus practical on-the-ground solutions. I wouldn’t just highly recommend Hocking Leadership—I would shout it from the rooftops for any organization looking to elevate their fundraising game.”
– Amber Hacker, Chief of External Affairs and Chief Financial Officer, Interfaith America
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“Shanna’s expert facilitation, as well as understanding of the unique nature of a business school, created an open, engaged, and collaborative dialogue for our leadership team retreat. Her ability to synthesize different perspectives and offer feedback in real time is an asset. She also made it a point to learn each participant’s name and position in the organization, which led to a personal touch in the discussions.”
– Manoj Malhotra, PhD., Dean, College of Business, Lehigh University
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“Shanna was a delight to work with for UMB's Fifth Annual Women's History Month Symposium! Shanna offered the audience helpful career advice and clear strategies on relevant topics including self-confidence, leadership, and work-life balance. Shanna's passion and inspiration for women's empowerment was definitely a highlight of our daylong event!”
– Paulette Harris-Gross, Program Manager, Office of the President, University of Maryland, Baltimore
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“Shanna is dedicated to helping women lead their workforce and feel empowered to show up each day with confidence. She helped me develop my own leadership style and create an environment where my team wants to succeed. She is always on your side—cheering from the stands—but she also pushes you to rise above the noise and push through challenges that can hold us back from accomplishing the end goal. I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to work with her.”
– Sarah Bernstein Solomon, Chief Development Officer, Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
