Leadership
Sheila Baldwin is president and chief executive officer of the University of Iowa Center for Advancement, where she leads the organization’s mission to advance the University of Iowa through engagement and philanthropy.
Before assuming the role on May 4, 2026, Sheila held a series of progressive leadership roles at the UI Center for Advancement, including chief fundraiser for University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital, vice president for health sciences development, and, most recently, senior vice president for development. In that role, she oversaw fundraising efforts spanning health care, athletics, academic units, and the performing arts campus.
Sheila was a founding member of the modern-era University of Iowa Dance Marathon as a student and was later the first inductee into the UI Dance Marathon Hall of Fame.
Sheila earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the UI Henry B. Tippie College of Business. She and her husband, Brad, have two children, Sasha and Kira.
As vice president for Legal, Diane is responsible for overseeing general legal work and providing legal guidance and solutions to support the organization's mission of advancing the University of Iowa through engagement and philanthropy. Diane joined the organization in 2012. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska Kearney and a Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. She served as a law clerk for the Hon. Laura D. Stith, former judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri, and immediately prior to joining the UI Center for Advancement was the contracts manager, clinical trials office, at Oregon Health & Science University. She is a member of the bar in Iowa, Missouri, and Oregon.
As vice president for Alumni and Donor Engagement, Colin leads a team dedicated to supporting the University of Iowa through thoughtful and innovative engagement and programming—overseeing alumni engagement, annual giving, communication and marketing, events, and stewardship efforts.
Before joining the UI Center for Advancement in 2022, Colin held positions at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago, and most recently, was senior vice president at the fundraising management consulting firm Grenzebach Glier and Associates. He earned his bachelor's degree in communication and media studies from the University of Iowa, master's degrees in adult and distance education from the University of Phoenix and public policy and administration from Iowa State University, and a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.
Marty Nevshemal joined the UI Center for Advancement as chief operating officer in September 2025. A proud Hawkeye with bachelor's and master's degrees from the UI Henry B. Tippie College of Business, Marty brings more than two decades of executive leadership experience in finance, operations, and strategic transformation across corporate, nonprofit, and public sectors.
In his role, Marty oversees finance, information technology, and facilities management, guiding operational and financial strategy for the organization. His career includes senior leadership positions at MRIGlobal (CFO), Sporting Kansas City (CFO), and Sprint Corporation (Business Unit CFO), as well as distinguished service as a U.S. Marine Corps officer. Marty has earned professional recognition including Marine Corps Intelligence Officer of the Year, in 1996, and was twice recognized as Kansas City Business Journal's “CFO of the Yearâ€. Marty's experience extends to board leadership roles including three terms on the board of the National World War I Museum & Memorial. While on the NWWIMM board, he served as Board Chair as well as committee chair of the Finance & Audit and the Collections & Education committees.
As vice president for talent management, Laura oversees strategies, products, and services that help the UI Center for Advancement attract, retain, develop, and reward highly skilled professionals who are committed to its mission and culture. She possesses domestic and international human resources experience in the fields of utilities, aerospace, and education. Prior to joining the center in 2023, Laura was the senior vice president of talent strategy for ACT. She received a bachelor's degree in organizational communications from University of Northern Iowa and a master's degree in organizational leadership from St. Ambrose University.
Lynette Marshall is president emerita of the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. During her tenure from 2006–2026, the UICA experienced record performance and growth and Lynette became a national leader in creating a campus culture of philanthropy.
Upon her arrival at Iowa, Lynette quickly helped shape what would become a nationally recognized approach to student philanthropy and engagement. What began as a single initiative evolved under her leadership into a comprehensive ecosystem that includes a student organization focused on advancement, a competitive fellowship program, an academic certificate in fundraising and philanthropy, and a robust summer internship pipeline—creating meaningful pathways for students to engage in and contribute to the future of the profession.
In the wake of the historic 2008 flood that caused nearly $800 million in campus damage, Lynette played a central role in leading fundraising efforts to restore facilities and reimagine the university’s arts campus, which sustained significant losses. Through the Arts & Minds campaign, she helped secure critical support for new performing and visual arts facilities, including spaces for the UI School of Music and Hancher Auditorium, ensuring the arts remained a vital and visible part of the university's identity.
In 2013, Lynette and then-UI president Sally Mason announced the For Iowa. Forever More. campaign. Under her leadership, the comprehensive fundraising campaign raised more than $1.975 billion—surpassing its goal by $275 million—and transformed the university's capacity to serve students, patients, and the state. Campaign gifts supported new facilities for University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital and the UI Stanley Museum of Art, advanced interdisciplinary research through initiatives such as the Iowa Neuroscience Institute and the Pappajohn Biomedical Institute, and expanded resources for students, faculty, and programs across campus.
In 2017, Lynette was charged with uniting the UI Alumni Association and the UI Foundation into a single organization—now the University of Iowa Center for Advancement—creating a more integrated advancement model that aligns philanthropy, alumni outreach and engagement.
In 2023, Lynette and UI President Barbara Wilson announced the most ambitious fundraising and alumni engagement campaign in Iowa's history: Together, Hawkeyes, which aims to connect with more than 300,000 alumni and friends through 3 million points of contact and raise $3 billion for the university's future.
With more than four decades of experience in higher education advancement, Lynette is widely respected as a leader, mentor, and speaker. Her contributions to the field have been recognized by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education with two of its highest honors: the CASE Commonfund Award and the Frank L. Ashmore Award for Service to CASE and the Advancement Profession.
Lynette came to Iowa after 25 years in fundraising at her alma mater, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural science and a master's in educational policy studies. Lynette grew up on a fifth-generation family farm near Peoria, Illinois. She and her husband, Jeffery Ford, have two adult children, Michael and Katharine.
