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Richardson Chosen to Lead Advancement Efforts

John Richardson began in August as Mercersburg’s new chief advancement officer. Richardson comes to Mercersburg from Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, Missouri, and will oversee Mercersburg’s leadership giving, annual giving, alumni and parent relations, advancement services, and donor relations programs.

“We are excited to welcome John as our next chief advancement officer,” says Head of School Quentin McDowell P ’25. “John was a standout candidate from the first time the search committee spoke with him, offering a thoughtful, driven, and humble approach to this important work.”

Richardson joined Pembroke Hill School in 2020 as director of development and provided leadership and strategic oversight for that school’s development office. In his time there, annual giving increased to $1.4 million; Richardson also led the final and public phase of Pembroke’s current capital fundraising initiative, Building Together, which has raised more than $55 million.

“It is an honor to be named the next chief advancement officer at Mercersburg,” Richardson says. “My family and I are excited to join the community. With such an incredible history of philanthropic and volunteer support from alumni, families, and friends of the school, I can already feel how special this place is. I look forward to building off that success and can’t wait to meet everyone!”

Prior to Pembroke Hill School, Richardson spent six years at Gilman School in Baltimore as the associate director of development and campaign manager. While serving at Gilman, he engaged in overseeing the operations and implementation of the First Things First campaign, raising more than $62 million. Richardson’s advancement career began in 2008 at the University of Richmond (his alma mater), where he served as the associate director of annual giving for athletics before moving in 2012 to the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University, where he served as the associate director of development.

“John is easy to get to know, and those of us who have already interacted with him have enjoyed the experience,” says Board of Regents member Tom Hadzor ’72, who chairs the Board’s Reach and Reputation Committee. “I know our community will enjoy making his acquaintance, and John is eager to learn about their Mercersburg experiences.”

Richardson earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and master’s degree in business administration from the University of Richmond, where he played football and baseball. He and his wife, Erin, have three children.

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