Kin Lazzaro Brings 15 Years of Fundraising Expertise to NYMC’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations
Ms. Lazzaro hopes to continue her longstanding success as a major gifts officer in higher education at the College.
A fundraising professional with more than 15 years of experience, Kin Lazzaro joined New York Medical College (NYMC) as major gifts officer in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. Ms. Lazzaro has made a career out of working in higher education and fostering relationships with the communities of each institution to raise crucial funding and looks to do the same great work at NYMC.
What drives your interest in working in fundraising? Was there something that initially influenced you to become involved in fundraising?
I fell into fundraising by chance as an event manager, working in the advancement office of a private pre-K through12 school. I thought I would be planning events like the homecoming dance, but instead was put in charge of working with parents to coordinate the annual gala and benefit auction. Before I became a fundraiser, I worked in events, theater and sales. I have been able to put all of the skills I acquired at those jobs to good use in fundraising.
What do you find most rewarding about your line of work?
I find my line of work to be very rewarding. I enjoy getting to know different kinds of people and my work allows me to help people, directly and indirectly. Often when people find out what I do, they say “I could never ask for money.” I do not think of it that way. My work helps to further the mission and vision of an institution. For me, fundraising is just a means to a very valuable end.
What are you looking forward to the most about working at NYMC?
This has been a very welcoming and professional community and I enjoy working with my team led by Bess Chazhur [M.S., chief development officer and executive director of alumni relations]. Most of my career has been in higher education and I look forward to learning more about healthcare, meeting new people and trying new things.
What is one thing that you would like your NYMC colleagues to know about you or the way you work?
I believe fundraising is a community-wide effort. Any success on my part starts with learning as much as I can about NYMC. I will be reaching out to many of my colleagues to meet and learn about their work and how it benefits people. I will also meet with donors to build and maintain quality relationships on behalf of the College. Ultimately, I will work to match donors and their passions with our needs. I look forward to getting to know the NYMC community.
When you are not working, what are some of your personal interests or hobbies?
When I am not working, I enjoy cooking, painting, hiking and reading. During the peak of the pandemic, I started a new hobby of going to the library and checking out a bunch of new movies that I never had the opportunity to see in the theater; so many good movies, so little time.