Member Spotlight: Dr. Daniel (Plummer) Koehn, D.M.A

This month, the AFP Greater Madison Chapter is thrilled to highlight one of our seasoned members, Dr. Daniel Koehn, D.M.A. Daniel has been a member of the Chapter for more than 10 years! During his time with the AFP Greater Madison Chapter, Daniel has served on the Board of Directors, chaired National Philanthropy Day, and led our members as Chapter President. Daniel is a friend to many within the Chapter, but we are excited to share more about what he’s been up to lately. 

In Daniel’s day job, he works for the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an Alumni Relations Director for Student Affairs Advancement. Student Affairs is made up of more than 500 people, across 16 campus departments, dedicated to helping UW–Madison students succeed in and out of the classroom. This success centers on celebrating diversity and creating a welcoming and safe community where all students can grow. 

The work of the Student Affairs department is wide-ranging. Currently, Daniel’s team is fundraising for projects such as suicide prevention, supporting to Wisconsin Union, survivor empowerment, food insecurity, and more! 

One project Daniel is working closely on now is the André De Shields Fund for the Wisconsin Union Theater. The André De Shields Fund encourages creativity, imagination, and academic excellence by creating an inclusive campus through artistic expression. The goal is to raise $1M with this project and gifts will go towards artistic projects created, performed, designed, or produced by undergraduate students at UW-Madison who are historically underrepresented.  

In addition to Daniel’s current projects, he also mentioned a past project that he is proud of: “One project I am most proud of is raising money for the Black Arts Matter (BAM) Festival, which took place in March 2022. The BAM Festival is an interdisciplinary arts festival dedicated to building community around Black artistry. This year’s festival celebrated contemporary Black art with a three-day national poetry slam, discussions, and performances in music, theater, dance, and more. A few years ago, the budget of the BAM Festival was a mere $2,000. In 2022, I raised over $105,000 in grant money to support the expansion of the BAM Festival. Not only did working for the BAM Festival fulfill one of our professional missions, it fulfilled one of my personal missions.” 

When Daniel was asked about what keeps him engaged with AFP, he was clear that the people are key. “What I enjoy most about being an AFP member is the relationships that I have built,” said Daniel. “A number of the members and colleagues have become close friends. Whenever I have good news to share or if I’m stuck, they are always there.”

If you would like to nominate someone to be featured in an upcoming Member Spotlight, you can submit here!