COS Welcomes Associate Director of Development

The UCF College of Sciences welcomed Jacey Poppell, ’05, ’07, as its new Associate Director of Development. In her position, Poppell will focus on development and fundraising, working closely with the college’s Director of Development, Ray Allen. Poppell hopes to identify and accelerate the priorities and needs within the college in an effort to connect them with passionate donors to further advance the student, faculty and staff experience.

“The College of Sciences is so unique in that its programs span both the physical and social sciences,” she says. “The students, alumni, friends and faculty of the college make such a large impact in not only our university but our community, our nation and the world.”

Originally from Dunedin, Florida, Poppell earned her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with focuses in mass communication, sociology and public administration. She also holds a master’s degree in mass communication from the UCF Nicholson School of Communication.

She’s been working in the fields of donor relations and alumni engagement at UCF since 2011, and has been an adjunct faculty member with the NSC since 2007.

After graduating from UCF, she worked for Junior Achievement of Central Florida, a nonprofit dedicated to delivering programing that fosters work-readiness and financial literacy skills to K-12 students, where she oversaw the service-learning partnership between UCF and JA.

“As much as I loved working for Junior Achievement, I knew I eventually wanted to get back to my alma mater,” Poppell explains.

With a desire to return to UCF, Poppell accepted a position in donor relations, marketing and communications at the UCF Foundation, working closely with donors of the university and recognizing them through events and publications. In 2012, she joined the UCF Alumni Association, where she was part of regional outreach and engagement.

In June 2016, Poppell joined the advancement team in the UCF College of Sciences, where she hopes to advance the college and its departments, school and areas in meaningful ways.

“UCF has given me so much and I’m incredibly proud to be an alumna of not only this institution, but of the College of Sciences,” she says. “My hope is that the work I do in fundraising will positively impact the lives of our students, alumni, friends and faculty, and will provide endless opportunities for them to succeed.”