ISM is thrilled to welcome two new full-time Consultants to our Advancement Team.
Phil Higginson, IAP-L, joins ISM as a full-time development and fundraising Consultant on July 1. A nationally recognized independent school development leader, Phil brings tremendous experience in annual giving, major gifts, capital campaigns, and endowment.
Phil most recently served at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, North Carolina. In over 20 years with this school, starting as the Director of Development and transitioning to the Associate Head of School for Philanthropy, he helped establish 75 new endowments equating to nearly $14M raised in outright and deferred gifts. He started his career in 1987 at Washington International School, Washington, DC. Since then, in his 36 years of independent school advancement work, he has served four additional schools.
At St. Albans School in Washington, DC, he collaborated on a $15 million capital campaign. At Norwood School, Maryland, he headed development programs that included another $15 million capital campaign. He has also served at Sandy Springs Friends School and Landon School, both in Maryland.
Phil is not new to ISM, having served as an Adjunct Consultant for more than a decade, including as a founding faculty member for ISM’s Advancement Academy. He teaches workshops related to the alignment of advancement objectives, institutional strategic planning, management of major gifts programs, roles and responsibilities of the Development and Advancement Committee, and effective use of advancement data. He holds Leader Certification through ISM’s International Advancement Program (IAP−L).
Phil has presented at more than 30 local and national conferences for CASE, NAIS, NCAIS, AISGW, and NCPG. He served as Chair of the 38th annual CASE/NAIS national conference and has served on three planning committees for this event. He served as a member of the CASE District III Board. Phil chaired the CASE/NAIS conference in 2008 and is a member of the CASE Laureates.
Phil earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Richmond, Virginia.
Casey Bell, IAP-L, first joined ISM as an adjunct faculty member for Advancement Academy, Summer Institute, and school-year workshops in 2019. She becomes a full-time Admission and Enrollment Management Consultant on July 1.
Casey most recently served as the Director of Enrollment Management at All Saints’ Episcopal School, Fort Worth, Texas. Prior, she served as the Director of Admission and Enrollment Management at Spartanburg Day School, South Carolina.
Her areas of expertise and passion include:
- building admission programs that attract and retain a diverse, multinational student population;
- directing mission-supporting annual fund and major gifts fundraising programs; and
- creating mission-aligned marketing and communications strategies that help admission and development efforts.
From 2005 through 2018, Casey filled several roles at Linfield Christian School, California. She served as the Chief Advancement Officer from 2016 to 2018, supervising a staff of nine and overseeing domestic and international admission, college counseling, development, and marketing. She provided cross-functional leadership for enrollment, scheduling, testing, and student services. Additionally, she oversaw parent and student ambassador programs, and served on the Financial Aid Committee. From 2014 to 2016, she was the school's Director of Admissions and, from 2005 through 2014, the Director of College Counseling.
Casey is a member of the Western Association for College Admission Counseling (WACAC), the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), and the North American Coalition for Christian Admissions Professionals (NAACAP). She holds Leader Certification through ISM’s International Advancement Program (IAP−L).
Casey graduated from Azusa Pacific University, California, with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies. Casey pursued master’s coursework in both business and learning design, and in technology. She completed her Ed.D. in Organizational Change and Leadership at the University of Southern California. Her doctoral research centered on independent school students and school-related stress. Specifically, she focused on the knowledge and motivation of stakeholders and organizational structures that impact a school’s ability to achieve its goals. Casey’s concentration is on implementing change initiatives.
