Ileana Treviño helps organizations succeed by putting her fundraising knowledge to work.
After 30 years of high-power fundraising, running her own shop is consultant’s third act
Ileana Treviño isn’t afraid to admit it. She’s feeling a little scared these days, but she’s also having a lot of fun.
“It’s horrifying, terrifying, but also wonderful and exhilarating,” said the founder of the newly formed Treviño Consulting Group. “I’ve always had these big institutions behind me. Here, there’s no safety net. It’s given me a newfound respect for all of those small businesses that need to get paid on time.”
As the Memorial Hermann Foundation’s previous executive vice president and CEO, Treviño worked directly alongside the health care system’s former president and CEO, Dan Wolterman. Their Memorial City corporate offices were right next to each other. And from the 27th floor, things looked pretty good.
Then in 2016, to coincide with Wolterman’s retirement, Treviño struck out on her own. She and daughter Mari Treviño Glass started a two-woman show from a 1,300-square foot space between River Oaks and the Greenway area. The vantage point has changed, though the view has its perks every now and then.
“Whenever I look up at the sky and see a Life Flight helicopter overhead, I say a prayer for whoever’s on it,” said Treviño, the woman who helped launch those emergency aircrafts off the ground.
Her track record is the stuff of philanthropic legend. She raised $300 million for Memorial Hermann over a 12-year tenure.
But without question, Life Flight’s critical air-transport service is her crowning achievement.
“We raised $40 million in 18 months because everyone knew the importance of those helicopters,” she said. “Regardless of age, race or status, if you have a traumatic accident and live outside the Loop, you need Life Flight to bring you to the Medical Center.”
Dr. Benjamin Chu, who held Wolterman’s title from June 2016 to June 2017, asserts that Treviño’s second-most significant contribution was a neuroscience campaign, an ambitious undertaking with triple the price tag.
“It was a $120 million campaign that really just transformed that department,” Chu said. “Even though we were only together for two months, she really took me under her wing. She knew everyone and could connect a lot of people. That’s what you need in a development officer.”
As a psychology and romance languages double-major at Boston College, fundraising was not on Treviño’s career plan. Even after the Washington, D.C.-native earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Boston University, she never envisioned that her interest in human behavior would lend itself to the psychology behind philanthropy and what motivates people to give.
“I had been working in human resources — that was my background — specifically, employment law and Equal Employment Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Department of Agriculture and National Institutes of Health,” Treviño said of her decade in D.C., before she and husband Michael Treviño transferred to Houston for his job with Texaco. “I went to work at the University of Houston as executive director of EEO and affirmative action. It was fabulous.”
But she wasn’t in that role for long.
Treviño’s work ethic and passion caught the attention of former UH President and Chancellor Arthur Smith. When a position opened on his cabinet in 2000, Treviño found herself at the top of a short list.
“He called me into his office one day, sat me down and said, ‘I’ve been watching you,’ ” she recalled. “I became vice chancellor for advancement, which is all of fundraising, public and media relations and marketing, but development is the biggest piece of all. That’s what really catapulted me to the big leagues.”
UH is where Treviño experienced her first taste of producing large events and relating to donors.
She excelled at both, and Memorial Hermann took notice. Smith retired in 2004, and the health care system swiftly made her an offer.
“When I was hired, the foundation was only raising $3 or $4 million per year. You need to build a really successful team in-house, and a stronger, more powerful and visible board to get the name out in the community,” she said. Her first board chairmen was Gary Petersen, whom Susan Sarofim later succeeded. “Whenever a nonprofit comes to me now and says, ‘We can’t seem to raise much money or increase our presence,’ the first thing I say is, ‘Tell me about your board.’ ”
Treviño applies other lessons learned to her 18-month-old solo venture, too. She emphasizes the culture of philanthropy, image, reputation and engaging community leaders to new clients. Each portfolio has different needs, which range from building a new board of directors from scratch to small tweaks or a brand refresh.
“With Dan’s retirement, I saw a real opportunity to have a third act, set up my own shop and help organizations use the knowledge I’ve acquired over the past 30plus years,” Treviño said. “From transplants and neurology, to the arts and children, there’s no shortage of causes. I can’t even begin to tell you how gratifying it is.”
To best serve their dozen current retainers, including Ben Taub Hospital, the motherdaughter duo recently hired four employees and knocked down an office wall to add more space.
“Now we have 1,800-square feet,” Treviño added with a wink.
Her business is booming, though the Treviño Consulting Group’s success isn’t without challenges.
“My husband said that I would find it liberating. I didn’t know what he meant, but now I do,” Treviño said. “Everything you do, good or bad, for every client and retainer, including the proposals that don’t work out — it’s all for you. The wins are very big wins, and the losses … well, we’re very philosophical about those.”
It’s a promising outlook, indeed. Even from the third floor.
ILEANA TREVIÑO Consultant helps other organizations succeed by putting her unique knowledge to good use.