MEET OUR TEAM

Lois L. Lindauer
Chief Executive Officer

Lois L. Lindauer is the Founder and CEO of LOIS L. LINDAUER SEARCHES (LLLS), a retained executive search firm focused solely on securing senior level nonprofit executives and development professionals. Innovative and entrepreneurial, Ms. Lindauer has coupled her lifelong dedication to empowering women with superior operational skills that has enabled her to establish and be successful in several business and nonprofit ventures.

In 1965 Ms. Lindauer developed and founded Diet Workshop, a nationally franchised group weight control company that reflected her personal experience and appreciation for weight management challenges. Widely recognized as an innovator in weight loss, Diet Workshop was the first program to introduce behavior modification into its curriculum and to incorporate a focus on fitness. As President and CEO, Ms. Lindauer led a company of women on every level, from instructors to senior management to franchisees. The first woman in the United States to use the franchise system of distribution to grow her business, she created a unique program that enabled over 25,000 weekly clients, instructors and the 90 territorial franchisees throughout the United States to achieve their personal and professional goals. By 1991, when she sold Diet Workshop, the system was generating over $25 million in revenue.

Ms. Lindauer created LOIS L. LINDAUER SEARCHES in response to a need for development professionals in nonprofit organizations. Since its establishment in 1997, Ms. Lindauer, with a staff of 10 people, has a platinum list of repeat clients including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, University of Chicago, Harvard Law School, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Rochester, Colby College, and University of Pennsylvania, among many others. LOIS L. LINDAUER SEARCHES is one of the fastest growing executive search firms in Boston and the firm has been consistently featured in the Boston Business Journal’s "Book of Lists."

Her dedication to the development profession is exemplified by the creation and implementation of CDO Roundtables.  Two of these innovative meetings, co-facilitated by Susan S. Paresky, Senior Vice President at Dana-Farber Institute, were held in 2009.  Over two dozen CDOs from Boston’s largest institutions attended each of these meetings.  Attendees universally lauded the unique opportunity to exchange ideas and concerns with peers.

Also particular to LLLS is the publication of whitepapers on subjects of interest to development/advancement professionals. Titles of recent editions are “For the CDO – Staying Ahead in a Changing Economy” and “During Tough Times, Role of Planned Giving Gains Prominence.”

In response to a recruiting emphasis on diversity in 2000, Ms. Lindauer conceived of and founded Sisters in Development with the dual purpose of attracting women of color to the development profession and to provide a network for those already working as fundraisers.  Programming included inspirational speakers, as well as “how-to” sessions.  This successful endeavor, which grew to a roster of over 200 members, fostered professional growth for participants and was responsible for multiple pro bono placements and consultant referrals among the constituents.

Ms. Lindauer’s commitment to women includes her contribution to nonprofit boards. She is a founding board member of The Commonwealth Institute, an organization that assists women entrepreneurs, CEOs and senior corporate executives to grow their businesses. She is Past Chair of the Governance Committee and served on the Executive Committee and on the board of Women in Development in Boston for 8 years, a nonprofit professional association whose mission is to promote and support the advancement of women in the development profession.

As past President of The Boston Club, Boston’s largest organization of senior executive and professional women, Ms. Lindauer is particularly interested in increasing the representation of women on corporate and nonprofit boards. Ms. Lindauer founded the Nonprofit Board Resource Program, which to date has placed over 200 women on nonprofit boards. She is also a member of the Massachusetts Women’s Forum.

LOIS L. LINDAUER SEARCHES played a significant role in the Massachusetts Governor’s Appointments Project (MassGAP), a bi-partisan coalition of women’s groups whose purpose was to increase the number of women appointed by the new governor to senior-level cabinet positions, agency heads and selected authorities and commissions in the Commonwealth. Ms. Lindauer worked in partnership with MassGAP to manage the influx of resumes (over 500) to these high-level positions spanning all facets of Massachusetts government.

Ms. Lindauer’s devotion to service transcends her formal professional and personal connections to extending a helping hand to those who call her for business advice, career counseling, introductions and everything in between. 

An author and public speaker, Ms. Lindauer has written five books and numerous articles on diet and health and is a frequent speaker on executive search, recruitment and interviewing techniques at professional conferences.  Ms. Lindauer is a graduate of Brandeis University, Waltham, MA where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She resides in Boston, MA.

Lisa Abair
Search Director

Lisa Abair brings 15 years of Human Resources and recruitment experience including 5 years of success in development and advancement search to her position as Search Director for LOIS L. LINDAUER SEARCHES.

Starting her career as a Program Director at Family Continuity Programs, Inc., Ms. Abair performed all hiring duties, eventually leading to her promotion as Human Resources Manager representing 300 employees. From there, she was recruited as Manager of Human Resources for the Chancellor-Beacon Academies, where she was responsible for screening candidates “out,” not “in” – a skill she applies every day at LLLS.

Ms Abair then served as served as Director, Recruitment and Training for the American Heart Association, where she was responsible for the recruitment and training of all employees across six states.

When she was recruited by LLLS in 2006, Ms. Abair was ready to apply her considerable Human Resources skills on behalf of both client and candidate.  Ms. Abair enjoys each and every search “because the clients come to us for help in finding the perfect person, and we find them. At the end of every search, the client and candidate are both happy and excited – and that gives me a great sense of accomplishment.”

Ms. Abair has experience recruiting development professionals for all nonprofit sectors; her clients have included the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, University of Oregon, University of Rochester, Marino Center for Progressive Health, Pro Mujer, WGBH Boston, and the Wildlife Conservation Society/Bronx Zoo.

She is a graduate of Boston College with a degree in Psychology.

Megan Abbett
Search Director

Megan Abbett always knew she would work in nonprofit, volunteering as early as high school for a number of charitable organizations. But when the opportunity came to apply her twenty years of development experience to the role of Search Director at LOIS L. LINDAUER SEARCHES, she was pleasantly surprised at the similarity to fundraising. Like development, “the whole goal is to help,” Ms. Abbett explains.  “You accomplish that goal – find the right person – and the whole institution is strengthened. ”

One of the first institutions Ms. Abbett strengthened was Simmons College in Boston, MA. As Director of Annual Giving, she learned that “Annual Giving is a great way to get a thorough grounding in development and gain a great deal of understanding about the institution you serve.” From Simmons she returned to her alma mater, Boston College, as Leadership Gifts Officer.

Ms. Abbett then explored a different type of fundraising for Facing History and Ourselves, an organization that helps educators “link the past to moral choices today.” There, as Major Gifts Officer, she created and managed a pipeline tracking system for a $25-million multi-year campaign. That success led Ms. Abbett back to Simmons College as Senior Director, Communications and Donor Relations.

What she likes best about her current role at LLLS is “the personal outreach and working for a cause greater than myself.” Searches include MIT Sloan School, Michigan State University, and Dartmouth College.

Ms. Abbett holds a BA in English from Boston College and a Master of Arts in Public Relations and Business Communication from Emerson College.

Mary Ann Botelho
Search Consultant/Director of Marketing

A search consultant with LOIS L. LINDAUER SEARCHES since 2002, Mary Ann Botelho has two decades of experience working with not-for-profit organizations. Ms. Botelho began her career in public relations, helping charitable institutions strengthen their media relations, publications, and community relations efforts. Her diverse accomplishments include an award-winning media relations program to educate the public about chronic mental illness, publicizing the launch of the Handel & Haydn's Society's first CD and first performance at New York's Lincoln Center, and the development of a multi-cultural public information campaign encouraging the use of mammography screenings.

With experience in the array of nonprofit settings -- healthcare, higher education, arts, and social service -- Ms. Botelho brings to LLLS a unique understanding of the market and operational challenges facing today's charitable organization. Her development search clients have included Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project, The DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Worcester Art Museum, Clark Art Institute, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Ms. Botelho has a bachelor's in Psychology from Boston University's College of Liberal Arts and master's in Public Relations from BU's School of Public Communications.

Maureen Huminik
Vice President/Search Director

Before joining the LLLS team in 2005, Maureen Huminik built a distinguished career in the area of annual giving, serving in key positions at Brigham and Women’s and Newton-Wellesley hospitals, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and the AIDS Action Committee, all in the Boston area.

Maureen is a key member of the firm’s higher education practice and directs all searches for the renowned Washington University in St. Louis, where she has filled 14.   Maureen has also conducted searches for McGill University, the University of Chicago, Temple University, Wheaton College in Massachusetts, and Harvard University Law School.

In the healthcare sector, Maureen has placed development professionals at Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Children’s Hospital Trust Boston, Franciscan Children’s Hospital, and Tufts Medical Center.  She has also secured talented fundraisers for five positions at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

A graduate of the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, Maureen is active in Women in Development and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. 

Her current searches include the Archdiocese of Boston and the National Brain Tumor Society.

Jill Lasman
Senior Vice President

As Senior Vice President of LOIS L. LINDAUER SEARCHES, Jill Lasman specializes in recruiting mid to executive level development professionals for the nonprofit sector. A known and well-respected national development search executive, she has completed over 125 searches for leading educational and healthcare institutions and social service agencies.

In the area of advancement leadership, she has conducted successful national searches for the position of Associate Dean of the Booth Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago, the Vice President of University Advancement for the University of New Haven, and Associate Vice President of Medical Center Development for the University of Rochester Medical Center. 
Specializing in building teams, Ms. Lasman has served as team leader and primary recruiter for the 29 searches LLLS has performed for the University of Rochester including the positions of Associate Vice President of Advancement Services and Associate Vice President of Capital and Special Projects. 

She also led the recruiting efforts at Carnegie Mellon University, filling 30 positions over the course of three years.  Jill Lasman also leads advancement recruitment efforts for American University in Washington, DC, and Wake Forest Baptist University Medical Center. Successful client partnerships in 2010 include: National Public Radio, Boston University, Harvard Kennedy School, University of Chicago Booth School of Business (NY), Vail Valley Medical Center and Davenport University.  Currently, Ms. Lasman is conducting searches for senior executives at Harvard Law School, University of Delaware, Harvard Graduate School of Design and Vail Valley Medical Center.

Prior to joining LLLS in 1998, Ms. Lasman worked in both nonprofit and for-profit organizations in the areas of recruitment, training and database administration. She is a cum laude graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles.

Zena Lum
Search Director

Zena Lum brings a wealth of education and cultural development experience to LOIS L. LINDAUER SEARCHES.  Ms. Lum has served higher education and environmental clients such as Harvard Law School and the Trustees of the Reservation. 

Ms. Lum started her nonprofit career at the New England Aquarium assisting the Director of Development. Over the course of the next six years, she was promoted a number of times, and was eventually recruited by Boston’s Museum of Science.  Other positions followed with Jumpstart, a national early education organization, and WGBH, Boston’s public broadcasting affiliate and a national producer of programs for both PBS and NPR. Before joining LLLS, she served as Director of Institutional Advancement for the Boston Public Schools.

Ms. Lum draws on these experiences each and every day. “The diversity of organizations I’ve served, and the diversity of roles I’ve held, help me understand the varying perspectives and needs of Clients and Candidates.” she states.

Ms. Lum holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Georgetown University.

Ron Schiller
Senior Vice President for Business Development

Prior to joining LOIS L. LINDAUER SEARCHES in 2011, Ron held leadership positions in fundraising at seven institutions.  He began his fundraising career at Cornell University, during Cornell’s groundbreaking $1.25 billion campaign.  In addition to work with the Eastman School of Music, Carnegie Mellon University, and National Public Radio, he served as Vice President at New England Conservatory, Northeastern University, and the University of Chicago, where he led a team of more than 450, completed a $2.3 billion campaign, and facilitated two nine-figure gifts.

While at Northeastern, Ron hired LLLS for one of the firm’s earliest searches, and Ron and the institutions he has served have been clients of the firm in every year since that time.  His role in business development builds on this extensive knowledge of LLLS and the Lindauer team.

Ron brings more than twenty years of experience in working with presidents, boards, deans, directors, and other executive staff to improve their understanding of how to increase performance of development programs and help them find the right leaders to get the job done.  He has hired more than 300 development professionals throughout his career and worked with more than 1000, and he brings this extensive network to the service of Lindauer clients.

A graduate of Cornell University, Ron is a member of the Cornell University Council, the Cornell University Trustees Glee Club Advisory Council, and the Development Committee of the American Academy in Rome.  He serves on the faculty of the annual CASE Conference, “Inspiring the Largest Gifts of a Lifetime.”

Kay Standifer
Office Administrator

Kay Standifer joined the team in August, 2008 as Office Administrator. Kay manages LLLS' many incoming calls, hectic interview and travel schedules, candidate reimbursements and staff support with aplomb. Prior to joining LLLS, Kay worked in administrative roles at numerous nonprofit organizations and gleaned a wealth of nonprofit knowledge through certification in executive administration at Wharton's Cultural Management Project.

Mary Lee Storrs
Managing Associate

Mary Lee Storrs’ background encompasses distinguished achievements in corporate and nonprofit sectors.  For many years she held Vice President and Assistant Vice President positions at the Connecticut Bank and Trust (Bank of New England) and State Street Bank and Trust. On the nonprofit side, she has contributed hundreds of hours of her time to organizations that support the arts and historic preservation.  Before joining LLLS in 2006, she served as Chief Development Officer for Preservation Massachusetts. 

Mary Lee supports the firm’s clients in a variety of vital capacities.  In the area of prospect management, she collaborates across the firm with Search Directors to identify and qualify fundraising candidates with strong technical skills and managerial capabilities and positions their candidacies effectively with clients through formal presentations and informational documents.  In the area of position marketing for the firm, she designs and creates all advertisements and manages distribution through targeted non-profit channels, including the firm’s signature email position announcements. 

Additionally, Mary Lee has partnered extensively with Senior Vice President Jill Lasman including 28 searches, to date, for the University of Rochester, and multiple searches for American University, Carnegie Mellon, Harvard University, and the University of Chicago, to name just a few.

She is a graduate of Goucher College with a BA in International Relations and Economics.

Barbara Weener
Vice President/Search Director

Utilizing her extensive experience as a senior management professional, Barbara Weener has conducted successful searches for such esteemed institutions as Bentley College, Bentz Whaley Flessner, Grenzebach Glier and Associates, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Chicago.

Ms. Weener began her career as a Programmer at Digital Equipment Corporation, and quickly moved up the corporate ladder, becoming a Senior IT Manager. She then advanced through high level positions as Director of IT Marketing for Teradyne; Chief Operating Officer at Jewish Family & Life; and Vice President of Administration, Human Resources and IT for American International Power.

In April of 2005, Ms. Weener was recruited by LOIS L. LINDAUER SEARCHES for both her human resource and technical talents. She is the designer and manager of LLLS’ 41,000 + candidate database – the foundation of every LLLS search – and she loves her work as a Search Director. “Supporting the missions of our nation’s great nonprofit organizations through placing just the right people in the right jobs is deeply rewarding,” she states.

Ms. Weener graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a BA in Economics and received her MBA from Babson College.

Wendy Schiffman Wilsker
Search Director

Ms. Schiffman has 20 years of experience in the academic, healthcare and social services nonprofit sectors. Drawing on her experience as a front-line fundraiser and development manager, she has at LLLS completed successful high-level searches for organizations as diverse as Facing History and Ourselves, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, University of Florida College of Medicine, and University of South Florida, among many others.

Ms. Schiffman began her work in fundraising at the Combined Jewish Philanthropies Young Leadership Division, where she worked her way up to the position of Director of the Business, Industries and Professions Division. She also served as the Director of Institutional Advancement for the Rashi School, as well as Director of Development at Lahey Clinic.

After leaving Lahey to consult for a variety of nonprofits, Ms. Schiffman was recruited by LLLS to assist with a Vice President of Philanthropy search. Joining the company soon thereafter as a full-time Search Director, her assignments have resulted in multiple searches for satisfied clients, a testament to her success. “I want to present an exceptional level of professionalism and integrity to my clients, and live up to the standards of LLLS,” she says.

Ms. Schiffman is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications.