Nina Bender Smith
Senior Vice President, Chief Philanthropy OfficerNina Bender Smith serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer of IIE. She is responsible for the organization’s philanthropic partnerships with individuals, corporations, and foundations, as well as a range of external-facing areas, including annual giving, event fundraising, community engagement, and philanthropic marketing and communications. Under her leadership, IIE achieved a historic milestone, securing the largest single-year philanthropic achievement in the organization’s century-long history. Nina co-founded the Global Community for Women’s Leadership in 2024, an innovative initiative that fosters empowerment, collaboration, and professional growth for leaders worldwide and played a pivotal role in launching the Odyssey Scholarship for refugee and displaced students in 2021, the only fully funded scholarship program of its kind.
Prior to her tenure at IIE, Nina held leadership roles at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and New York University (NYU). At the IRC, Nina led the principal and planned giving team, a $50 million annual program. While at NYU’s Faculty of Arts and Science, she orchestrated fundraising strategies across 54 departments, managed the development team, and personally secured significant national and international major and principal gifts as part of the university’s groundbreaking $1 billion scholarship campaign. A lifelong advocate for the power of the arts and education, Nina is a musician and first-generation graduate of Northern Illinois University.