YAA Executive Director

Alison Cole ’99 is the executive director of the Yale Alumni Association, a position she assumed in 2024.  In this capacity, she oversees the alumni association’s various groups, sets the direction and tone for the YAA’s office and operations, operates as the department’s emissary to the larger university, and serves as the organizational go-to for all things Yale alumni.

Over the past two years, the Yale Alumni Association has worked with volunteer partners to listen closely to alumni across our community. Throughout the process, feedback indicated that alumni want Yale to be part of their lives in four areas of interest: service, lifelong learning, social connection, and professional development and mentoring. These four points offer opportunities across the entire alumni lifecycle and represent the strategic direction of this plan.

Created by alumni for alumni, the plan is grounded in a simple idea: "There is no wrong way to YAA-chart your own course." Learn more. 

Alison is committed to continuing to hear from as many alumni as possible and learning how the YAA can help support and enhance your lifelong relationship with Yale. The YAA completed a questionnaire for all alumni and followed up with focus groups on distinct topics. 

In this series, Alison meets with university leaders to learn more about their priorities and how the alumni community can support them. All conversations occur at Rose Alumni House, the home of the alumni association and a hub for activity on campus. 

Episodes: 

• Jeremiah Quinlan ’03, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions
• Kymberly Pinder ’95 PhD, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Dean of the Yale School of Art
• Lynn Cooley, PhD, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• Maytal Saltiel, University Chaplain
• President Maurie D. McInnis
• Barbara Rockenbach, Stephen F. Gates ’68 University Librarian
• Megan L. Ranney, MD, MPH, Dean of Yale School of Public Health and C.-E. A. Winslow Professor of Public Health (Health Policy) and Professor of Emergency Medicine
• Josh Geballe ’97, ’02 MBA, Senior Associate Provost for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Rachel Fine, Executive Director of Yale Schwarzman Center
• Azita Emami, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dean of the Yale School of Nursing
• Vicky Chun, Thomas A. Beckett Director of Athletics
• Gregory E. Sterling, Dean of Yale Divinity School; The Reverend Henry L. Slack Dean and Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament
• Pippa Jack, Editor of the Yale Alumni Magazine
• José García-León, Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of the Yale School of Music
• Julie Zimmerman, Vice Provost for Planetary Solutions
• Indy Burke,  Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. Dean of the Yale School of the Environment

• “For Humanity” Campaign: Alumni Engagement Goals Update
• Strategic Planning and Engagement Goals Update
• Update on Strategic Planning
• My CASTLE Priorities and Alumni Focus Groups
• Wrapping Up Assembly and Convocation
• Creating Joy and Connection in the Yale Alumni Community