Jeffrey D. Coates
Associate Vice President for Advancement, Colleges and Units
Jeff Coates is the Associate Vice President for Advancement, Colleges and Units at the UCF Foundation, Inc.
He came to UCF in 2016 and leads a team of advancement professionals focused on major and principal gifts, annual giving and alumni engagement.
Coates has twenty years of advancement experience in the area of higher education development, including prospect research, annual giving, alumni relations, major and principal gifts, strategic planning, campaign management and advancement operations.
Prior to UCF, Coates served as the Associate Dean for Alumni and Development at Duke University School of Law, where he led all facets of the strategic planning and implementation for the Law School’s portion of the University’s $3.25 billion Duke Forward campaign.
Earlier in his career, Coates worked in various capacities with the University of Illinois Foundation. While at Illinois, he served as the Law School’s Assistant Dean for Advancement during the university’s $1.5 billion Brilliant Futures campaign.
He has also served on several nonprofit boards during his career, including the Winter Park YMCA; Family Life Skills, Inc.; the Illinois Citizens Utility Board; and the Ronald McDonald Houses of Durham, North Carolina and Orlando, Florida.
A first generation college graduate, Jeff earned his bachelor’s degree in administration of justice from Southern Illinois University and a master’s degree in legal studies from the University of Illinois.
He and his wife, Karmen live in Orlando with their teenage son, Tristen.