CAPLA Bids Farewell to Angie Smith

The CAPLA community bids farewell to Angie Smith, the director of development, as she returns home to Santa Fe, New Mexico to be closer to family and to build a development program as the first Director of Philanthropy for the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center. 

Angie joined CAPLA in 2019 and her time with the College has been marked by immense growth, collaboration, and numerous achievements in fundraising efforts that support faculty initiatives, student success, and the CAPLA community at large. 

“I’m going to miss this tight-knit community and the opportunities to work with students and faculty on such a granular level,” she said. “I will also miss the palpable energy when walking through the studios every day. It’s just an incredible, intensely creative vibe.”

Throughout her time with CAPLA, Angie endeavored to instill and nurture a culture of philanthropy. She helped structure and secure multi-year studio sponsorships, supported the Drachman Institute, increased the number of endowed scholarships, supported faculty and their academic endeavors through foundation proposals, and significantly increased planned and annual giving.

“I’m proud that we have increased our outreach and engagement of our alumni, bringing them back to CAPLA has been very rewarding,” she said.

Angie cultivated a collaborative environment that was instrumental in driving the success and progress of the College’s efforts to grow a dynamic advancement team that engaged alumni, fostered affinity, and increased our alumni philanthropic footprint. 

The groundwork laid by her team has set a strong foundation for future giving from our engaged alumni, and her leadership has been instrumental to the College’s success.