Paula K. Parrish, CFRE
Director of Development
Amon Carter Museum
    Paula Parrish has more than 20 years in fundraising, publications, education and communication. She is a veteran of many successful Capital and Marketing Campaigns and created numerous publications that continue after her. A native of Fort Worth, she is a seasoned globe-trekker, having escorted 17 tours of Europe.
    She began her career as a high school journalism and English teacher. Right out of college, she earned many awards for her scholastic publications and became recognized as a respected journalism speaker on the annual summer circuit. She took her students to press junkets all over the United States and many chose print and broadcast careers.
    After raising the bar in student publications and designing and publishing untold numbers of collateral pieces, the president of the College Preparatory where she worked asked her to become the Development Director and implement a fundraising and public relations strategy. She also had oversight over Alumni, Community and Media Relations.
    She helped raise millions for that academy and built several new wings and buildings. She joined the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and annually raised 50% of the general operating budget. She chaired the Texas Commission on the Arts Grants Panel for two years and helped the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra earn its reputation as the backbone of performing arts in “Cowtown.”
    Moving to Kennesaw, Georgia in 2001, Paula took over as the Development Director for Devereux Georgia, a branch of the nation’s largest, nonprofit behavioral healthcare system. Devereux Georgia serves at-risk and abused youth. She directed the Campaign for Devereux Children and exceeded the $14 million goal in two years. She immediately implemented another $12 million Endowment Campaign as well as Planned Giving initiatives. Once more, she oversaw fundraising, collateral publications, volunteers, community and media relations and assisted in moving the local Advisory Board to a new level.
    She is an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and earned her Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credentials in 2004. While in Georgia, she served with the Cobb Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Association of Development Professionals (GADP) and was on the Executive Board of the 10-Star Atlanta Metropolitan AFP Chapter. She was also active with Marietta Kiwanis. Her undergraduate degree is in Communication from the University of Texas @ Arlington, and she earned more than 36 hours of post-graduate Master’s work at Texas Christian University (TCU), University of North Texas (UNT) and the American Council for International Study (ACIS) in Sussex, England.
    Today, she serves as the Director of Development for the American Art collections at the Amon Carter Museum in her hometown. She and her husband of 30 years, Larry, have two children: Michael and Jennifer, who lives in London with her husband, Ben Cole.

    You have a job in development. Now what do you do? Understanding what is expected of you and the role you play in the organization is critical to your success. Learning where to begin, how to develop a fundraising plan, how to determine who your donors and prospects are, how to create a cultivation plan, implement an annual fund or campaign and not go crazy are functions of Development 101.