The Sinfonia Educational Foundation Board of Trustees is proud to announce that it has hired Matthew R. Garber, Mu Delta (Longwood) ’99, to serve as its Director of Development. Garber will begin work in January 2006.

This historic move by the Sinfonia Educational Foundation marks the first time in the SEF’s 51-year history that it has employed its own full-time staff member. For many years, the Fraternity’s staff has been stretched to also include SEF operations, taking valuable time away from the very organization the SEF is intended to support. The Board of Trustees felt that the SEF would never fulfill its potential as long as it did not have a dedicated staff member responsible for its own fundraising programs.

Garber, originally from Winchester, Virginia, was initiated into the Mu Delta Chapter at Longwood University in 1999. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Music from Longwood University. Since his initiation, he served his chapter in several officer positions including President, Treasurer, Secretary and Music Director. He has also served three terms as the Collegiate Province Representative for Province 18 (Virginia).

For the past three years Matt has worked for Longwood University as the Conference Administrator for the Office of Conferences, Scheduling and Special Events. During his tenure in that position, he designed a master reorganization plan, which included a business plan for the opening of a Conference Center, a marketing program, and a fiscally responsible department resulting in a $150,000 turnaround and huge savings for the University.

Selected from among many qualified candidates, Garber received the unanimous endorsement of the search committee headed by SEF Trustee Derek J. Danilson. Danilson explained, “Matt’s skills and experience helped him stand out from some truly exceptional candidates as being the one we felt could be successful and open a new page in the SEF’s history.”

Once he begins his duties for the SEF, Garber will work from an office in the Fraternity’s National Headquarters in Evansville, Indiana. On the selection of Garber for this important position, Executive Director (and SEF Chief Operating Officer) Ryan T. Ripperton stated, “I have every faith in Matt to fulfill the many challenges of this trailblazing position. We needed an extremely organized, outgoing personality that truly understands the organization’s important mission and is able to articulate it in an inspiring way, and we found exactly that in Matt.”

Garber commented, “It has always been a dream of mine to work for Sinfonia and I am extremely excited about this new path in my lifelong journey.”

Matt Garber can be reached at garber@sinfonia.org.