Search form

You are here

QCC Announces New Senior Development Director

Contact: Karen Hutner
Office of Institutional Communications
khutner [at] qcc.mass.edu
 

Release Date: 
9/21/2021

WORCESTER, MA — September 20, 2021 — Life has come full circle for Quinsigamond Community College Alumna Felicia Riffelmacher.  Ms. Riffelmacher recently came back to her alma mater as QCC’s Senior Development Director.

“We are excited to welcome Felicia back to QCC. As a former student, she brings an energy and passion to this role that is unique and inspiring,” said QCC President Dr. Luis G. Pedraja, Ph.D. “Felicia understands the challenges that our community college students face and knows the incredible value donors bring to our college, our students and our community.”

As a former development director for a state university, Ms. Riffelmacher has over 10 years of fundraising experience in the non-profit and education sectors, as a fundraiser and instructor.

“I have a deep commitment to fundraising for mission-based organizations; particularly higher education. I raise funds for students and I share with donors how their gifts have a multiplier effect regarding their generational impact. My joy is in mentoring staff and students and sharing how philanthropic giving on any level is one of the ways we empower ourselves and brighten a world that is in need of healing,” she said. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to return to the institution that changed the trajectory of my life.”

Ms. Riffelmacher is a 1997 graduate of QCC’s Occupational Therapy Program, and believes in the power of higher education to change not only the life of the individual, but the generations that follow. She saw QCC as a pathway to a better life.

“I had longed for a college education to dispel the narrative that I was, ‘not college material’ as I had been told in high school,” she said. “I felt I had a lot to prove. “

At QCC, Ms. Riffelmacher excelled academically and personally, thanks to the guidance and support she received.  She was even named Outstanding Student in the Occupational Therapy program the year she graduated.

“QCC had a life-affirming impact on me in areas outside of academics,” she said.

Ms. Riffelmacher quickly received a job offer in the OT field once she graduated. After working for a year, she found in this career she could not follow her passion for making a long-lasting, positive impact on people’s lives. She began to research other ways in which she could make a difference, while continuing her education. This eventually led to a sales role for a large company that offered her 100% tuition assistance and became the catalyst for her career in development.

She went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Becker College, in addition to working and raising her son.

“I found that I loved business and went on and earned my MBA from Suffolk University,” Ms. Riffelmacher said. “By the time I graduated I had a job offer in development, which was a way for me to make a difference in people’s lives.”

Today, Ms. Riffelmacher is living her best life connecting donors who effect positive change in other people’s lives.

For more information on QCC, contact Josh Martin, Director of Institutional Communications at 508.854.7513 or jmartin [at] qcc.mass.edu

Quinsigamond Community College is the most affordable higher education in Worcester County. As a regional leader in education and workforce development, QCC serves the diverse educational needs of Central Massachusetts by providing affordable, accessible, and high quality programming leading to transfer, career, and lifelong learning.