Lyndsie A. Whitehead, Ph.D.

Lyndsie A. Whitehead, Ph.D. (she/her), Consultant, brings a strategic and solutions-oriented approach to her consulting work, with a proven ability to develop and implement tailored strategies that advance fundraising operations, elevate donor relationships, and foster inclusive organizational cultures. She currently serves as the Associate Director of Philanthropy, Pipeline Giving at Rice University, where she applies her expertise in donor engagement, philanthropic strategy, and inclusive fundraising to strengthen and grow the institution’s mid-level giving program.

Previously, Lyndsie was the Assistant Director of Foundation Relations at Baylor College of Medicine, where she managed the institution’s most complex foundation donors, leading proposal development, design, and reporting processes. With a strong background in grants management, she supported extramural research administration during her tenure at the National Institutes of Health. Earlier in her career, she served as Senior Associate for Major Gifts at UNICEF-USA, where she collaborated with major gift officers to design outreach strategies and develop donor proposals through targeted prospect research.

In addition to her professional roles, Lyndsie was a recipient of the Fulbright-Nehru Research Grant to India, where her dissertation research explored international student enrollment and the psychosocial and academic factors that foster a sense of belonging for diverse student populations. She was also awarded the Presidential Service Award for developing technical assistance and training programs for faculty at Adama University in Ethiopia.

Lyndsie holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership and Public Policy from Howard University, a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.