Michelle Sutton
Donor Engagement Director
Michelle joined Catholic Leadership Institute in 2023 as Donor Engagement Director. Michelle has over a decade of experience working in non-profits as a volunteer, board member, and fundraiser. She has a track record of success in a wide breadth of fundraising initiatives including major and planned gifts, building donor pipeline, strategic planning, communications, managing fundraising databases, event planning, capital campaigns, and directing day to day operations of a small shop development office.
Prior to joining CLI, Michelle worked as Director of Development at the Duke Catholic Center. During her tenure, Michelle raised over $17M for the Center - tripling the size of the annual fund to over $1M and raising major gifts for the Center's endowment and other special projects. Michelle has served on the board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Triangle Chapter and the Catholic Campus Ministry's Association's Development Task Force. She has had the privilege of teaching development courses, webinars, and presenting at fundraising conferences.
Michelle is a graduate from Duke University. While her family is originally from Venezuela, she and her husband Jason live in Raleigh, NC with their three young children James, Henry, and Clara. They are active parishioners of Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral.
