40 Under Forty 2024: Theona Scola, directs WPI donor strategy
Photo | Erika Sidor
Theona Scola
Photo | Jaime Flores
The 40 Under Forty winners and alumni who visited the Polar Park baseball stadium were (from left) Lora Dumas (Class of 2024), Theona Scola (Class of 2024), Stacey Luster (Class of 2000), Tim Whittredge (Class of 2024)James Kalogeropoulos (Class of 2024), and Che Anderson (Class of 2018).
- Title Director of donor strategy and stewardship
- Company Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Residence West Boylston
- Birthplace Oahu, Hawaii
- Colleges Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Salem State University
More Information
Scola is a distinguished WPI staff member and an inspiring role model in the Worcester community.
As director of donor strategy and stewardship at WPI, she works closely with academic leaders and other university partners to strategize outreach efforts for donors and support philanthropic efforts. Scola served as chair of WPI’s inaugural Staff Council, where she developed the constitution and bylaws, implemented a multi-year strategic plan, and increased staff representation on working groups. She was on the planning committee for the inaugural women’s leadership program, and designed and facilitated a half-day course about communication. In recognition of her work, she was nominated for the WPI Board of Trustees’ Outstanding Staff Award this year. Her contributions to Worcester do not stop at WPI, as she serves on two committees with the United Way's Women’s Initiative in Worcester to empower females. Using her strength to seek opportunity, she established the Leadership Worcester Alumni Scholarship Fund to provide support to members of the incoming Leadership Worcester class. The committee has raised and awarded more than $9,000 to offset tuition for 12 participants.
For a year, would you rather give up your cell phone or favorite food? I hate to admit this, but I rely on my phone too much, so I could live if you took away my favorite food.
What piece of advice guides you? “Everything is figureoutable.” You can craft a solution for any problem, slow down to ask a friend, and take some time to think through all angles.
What is the best book you ever read? There are so many great takeaways in Marie Forleos’s “Everything is Figureoutable” or anything written by Brene Brown.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments