Cynthia Colbert Riley is the Vice President of institutional advancement.  As the head of advancement, Riley will lead the University’s fundraising and alumni relations efforts.  Cynthia has more than 24 years of experience in institutional leadership in healthcare, higher education and public broadcasting institutions.

Most recently, Riley served as the interim executive director and vice president for development at The Methodist Hospital Foundation in Houston. There, she led fundraising efforts for The Methodist Hospital System, including organizing the hospital’s first strategic fundraising campaign and supporting the planning and development of its ongoing capital campaign. Riley also worked as the senior director of development at University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Baylor College of Medicine.

Additionally, Riley has experience in fundraising at St. Thomas. She served for five years as the capital campaign coordinator during the University’s first modern capital campaign in the 1990s.

Riley is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and has previously served on the Greater Houston Chapter Board of Directors. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and earned a Master of Liberal Arts degree from UST in 1995.