Paula Yabar –Wilson Center VP for Development

WASHINGTON - The Wilson Center announced today that Paula Wolferseder Yabar will be the Center’s new Vice President for Development, effective August 5, 2013.

“Paula is an outstanding choice to head our Development efforts,” said Jane Harman, president, director, and CEO of the Wilson Center. “With more than 20 years of experience leading high-level fundraising efforts at top non-profits – both in the US and abroad – she brings the skills necessary to help the Wilson Center build a broader international funding platform for our important work on key global issues.”

“I am delighted to be coming to the Wilson Center at such an exciting time,” said Yabar. “The excellent work that has been accomplished here provides a solid basis for new achievements, and I hope to build on this success with the strong donor network that the Center has in Washington and beyond.” Steven Pearson, who has been Acting Vice President for Development, will remain with the Wilson Center with more responsibility, continuing many of the initiatives that he helped to launch in the last year. “I look forward to working with Steven and my new colleagues in the Development office,” said Yabar.

Before coming to the Wilson Center, Paula Wolferseder Yabar was Vice President for Membership and Development at The Wilderness Society where she led the organization’s philanthropic efforts with individuals, foundations and corporations including expanding existing donor relationships and pursuing new funding opportunities. Previously, she served as a senior officer in the Philanthropic Services office of The Pew Charitable Trusts where she led fundraising efforts for the Pew Environment Group and Pew Center on the States. Other past positions include Associate Director of External Affairs at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, where she was responsible for designing and implementing the first capital campaign at the museum, and at The Nature Conservancy.

Paula holds a MBA from George Washington University and a BA in Geography and Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island.

Notes to editors:

1. The Wilson Center provides a strictly nonpartisan space for the worlds of policymaking and scholarship to interact. By conducting relevant and timely research and promoting dialogue from all perspectives, it works to address the critical current and emerging challenges confronting the United States and the world.