Colette Atkins
Vice President of Institutional Advancement

Since January 2022, Ms. Atkins has overseen Hostos’ Development, Alumni Relations, and Center for Arts and Culture initiatives. This includes securing philanthropic gifts and grants for student scholarships and emergency assistance, as well as programs that align with Elevating Justice, Hostos’ new Strategic Plan. It also includes connecting alumni, community members, and students with the College, the community, and each other through career panels, networking events, and other activities. Ms. Atkins also helps to engage Hostos with members of the greater NYC community through student internships, event sponsorships, and space rentals. Additionally, in the Center for Arts and Culture, Ms. Atkins’ purview encompasses an art gallery, a black box theatre, and two state-of-the-art theatres of 900 and 360 seats, where emerging and established artists with diverse backgrounds and talents perform and present their work, serving the cultural interests of the Hostos community and those nearby.

Ms. Atkins’ 20+-year career includes 14 years in higher education and 15 years as a front-line fundraiser. In her previous decade of work at another Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in the Bronx, she was the lead solicitor responsible for converting many $100 contributions into five- and six-figure donations. As well, she secured several multi-million dollar planned gift expectancies that contributed significantly to the institution’s ability to quintuple its endowment and surpass its $42 million campaign goal. Her other work experience includes starting up development offices, writing grant proposals, organizing galas, engaging community members, and managing boards and other volunteer groups in higher education. She holds an M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a B.A. from the University of Michigan.