BERKELEY – Beth Tafolla-Voetsch, a veteran member of Cal Athletics who has served the past six years as a senior leader in the department's Development Office, has been named Senior Associate Athletics Director and Chief Development Officer, Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton announced Thursday.
 
"I am thrilled that Beth has accepted our offer to become our new Chief Development Officer," Knowlton said. "She rose to the top of our candidates through our search process, showing keen insight into our donor community and a deep understanding of the culture of our department and the University. She is a proactive teammate and collaborator who understands how much details matter in relationships. Over the past several years, Beth has been instrumental in streamlining operations in our Development office to help make us more efficient and effective. Her vision and planning has us well on our way to reaching our goals for the comprehensive campaign, and she has played a key role in securing several transformational gifts and a record-setting fundraising year in 2020-21."
 
Tafolla-Voetsch joined Cal's Development staff as Assistant Athletic Director in 2015 and was elevated to Associate Athletic Director in 2017. She also spent four years within the Cal Athletic Ticket Office from 2009-13, first as an Associate Ticket Manager and for the final two years as Director of Ticket Operations.
 
"I am excited and honored to continue to serve Cal Athletics as the Chief Development Officer and am incredibly grateful to Jim Knowlton and the search committee for this opportunity," Tafolla-Voetsch said. "I am so proud to be a part of the Cal community, and I am indebted to the University for the experiences it has provided me. This is a place where I see myself for many years to come and I am excited to lead this new era of the Cal Athletics Fund. I truly value the opportunity to support our student-athletes' access to a world-class education while competing at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics. We look forward to our continued partnership with the Cal family as it is critical to building on the momentum to surpass our campaign goal, secure the biggest and boldest resources in Cal Athletics history for our student-athletes and develop a culture of philanthropy that creates a sustainable future for Cal Athletics."
 
As Associate Athletics Director for Development, Tafolla-Voetsch served as chief of staff for the Cal Athletics Fund and led the strategic planning and execution of all leadership gift fundraising initiatives. Through the incredible generosity of the Cal family, the leadership gifts team exceeded $25 million in gifts and pledges and in total more than $40 million was raised for the most recent 2021 fiscal year, including $15 million through the Roll On campaign established to navigate fiscal challenges caused by the pandemic.
 
Aided by Tafolla-Voetsch's leadership, the Campaign for Cal Athletics Excellence -  has raised more than $260 million – 75 percent of its goal to date – from nearly 18,000 donors to support initiatives for student-athlete experience, team and individual competitive success, and staff and coach recruitment and retention. She has also helped lead and raise funds for the Gender Equality Campaign to build facilities for Cal's softball and beach volleyball programs.
 
In addition to her work in Development, Tafolla-Voetsch has co-chaired Cal Athletics' Emerging Leaders Program and completed the two-year Advancement Leadership Lab™.
 
While working within the Cal Ticket Office during her first term at the University, Tafolla-Voetsch received an Excellence in Management Award from UC Berkeley and led the department's Senior Staff Management team.
 
From 2013-15, Tafolla-Voetsch served as Director of Ticket Operations at Stanford University and completed the Stanford Manager Academy and Leader as Coach training.
 
Tafolla-Voetsch graduated in 2006 with a degree in sports administration from Wingate University, where she competed as a student-athlete in swimming. She earned her master's degree in sports administration from Marshall University in 2007.
 
Tafolla-Voetsch and her wife, Ann, live in Castro Valley with their two dogs.