Jackie Comesanas
Executive Director of Gift Planning

(212) 636-7244
jcomesanas@fordham.edu

Jackie Comesanas, FCLC ’83, earned her JD from Columbia University in 1986. She joined Fordham in 2015 as the Senior Director of Gift Planning and is now the Executive Director. After law school, she worked in the legal departments of Lehman Brothers and J. P. Morgan specializing in fixed income securities transactions, then became a fundraiser and served as the Director of Gift Planning for the Archdiocese of New York for almost nine years managing the planned giving programs for the Archdiocese, Catholic Charities, and the Department of Education. She has also held planned-giving positions at Columbia University and NYU Langone Medical Center. Jackie was a member of the Fordham College at Lincoln Center Board of Advisors from 1991-2015.

Emily Shepard
Associate Director of Gift Planning

(212) 930-8889
eshepard5@fordham.edu

Emily Shepard is the Associate Director of Gift Planning and joined the team in 2023, following her role as Proposal Writer at CCS Fundraising. Before joining CCS, Emily served as Associate Director of Donor and Prospect Relations at Columbia Business School. During her six-year tenure at Columbia Business School, Emily was part of the team that reimagined fellowships and scholarships leading to significant growth in donor engagement of over 300 financial aid awards. Emily received her BA from Barnard College and her MPA from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.