Barbara Coury

Vice-Chair

 Barbara Coury
Vice-Chair

Barb Coury is currently the Vice Chancellor for Development and the Foundation President of the North Carolina School of Science and Math (NCSSM) Foundation, where she leads the team responsible for increasing and diversifying philanthropic revenue in support of the school. NCSSM is one of the 17 constituency schools that make up the UNC System. Under Barb’s leadership, the foundation has demonstrated a 360% increase over a 5 year baseline, raising more than $80 million over the last three years. Barb works closely with board members, faculty, and the senior leadership of the UNC system as well as state legislators.

Barb was formerly the National Director of Foundation and Federated Giving and Special Event revenue for the American Red Cross. She was responsible for leading +100 field-based fundraisers across the U.S. with a revenue line of $250 million annually. Prior to this position, she was the Chief Development Officer for the American Red Cross of Indiana for five years where she managed a team of 12 fundraising professionals and 5 executive directors. The Indiana region of the Red Cross finished in the top 3 regions for philanthropic revenue-to-goal for the last 4 years of the 5 years she managed fundraising. During her tenure at the Red Cross, she was the recipient of the President’s Award for unprecedented revenue growth, which is the highest honor bestowed by the American Red Cross. Prior to joining the Red Cross, she served as Vice President of Development for the Community Health Network Foundation for 4.5 years, the Director of Development at St. Richard’s Episcopal School for 5 years, and the Director of Development for Purdue University for 6 years. Barb earned an executive MA in nonprofit management and philanthropic studies from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IU, where she currently serves as a member of the board. In 2016, Barb was named the Outstanding Fundraising Professional for Indiana by the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Indiana (AFP – I) and later named the Outstanding Fundraising Professional by AFP International in 2017. That same year she was also the recipient of NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) Trailblazer of the year for the state of Indiana. Barb is currently a member of the inaugural class of the first professional doctorate offered in philanthropic leadership (PhilD) through the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IU. This is the first degree of its kind offered anywhere in the world.