Contact Us

	Katie Cervenka Executive Director, Corporate & Foundation Relations (713) 348-6012 cervenka (at) rice.edu
	Katie Noble Associate Director, Foundation Relations (713) 348-4614 knoble (at) rice.edu
	Elizabeth Castillo Dept. Coordinator, Corporate & Foundation Relations (713) 348-4637 ecastillo (at) rice.edu
	Jessica Jones Corporate & Foundation Relations Specialist (713) 348-5037 jessicajones (at) rice.edu
	Marybeth Savicki Director, Corporate Relations (713) 348-4267 msavicki (at) rice.edu
	Robin Abramowitz Assistant Director, Corporate Relations (713) 348-4628 rabramowitz (at) rice.edu

Staff Bios

Katie Cervenka
Katie, Executive Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, began her development career in 1985 at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California where she held various positions over 11 years including as director of development overseeing school-based officers, foundation relations, and annual giving.  She also worked for four years at the Austin Children’s Museum as director of development and marketing.  Katie holds a bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College in Iowa, where she took a lot of science classes and majored in art history.  She holds a master’s degree in public affairs from the LBJ School at UT Austin where she studied environmental policy and wrote her thesis on the uses of alternative dispute resolution in state government.  She joined Rice University as director of foundation relations in 2000 and became executive director of corporate and foundation relations in March 2008.  She was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Austin, Texas.

Katie Noble
Katie, Associate Director of Foundation Relations, first joined Rice University in 2005 as a development writer. A Galveston native, Katie returned to Texas after working as an academic advisor for the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Katie holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Texas A&M University and is currently pursuing her master’s at Rice’s Glasscock School of Continuing Studies. When not at Rice, Katie enjoys cycling, swimming, and running.

Elizabeth Castillo
Elizabeth, Department Coordinator of Corporate and Foundation Relations, joined Rice University in May 1998. She held positions within the Department of Resource Development and the Office of Admissions. Prior to coming to Rice, Elizabeth was employed with the City of Houston, Department of Health and Human Services for 8 years. She is a proud native of Lubbock, Texas.

Jessica Jones
Jessica, Corporate & Foundation Relations Specialist, joined the OCFR team in April 2008.  Prior to this, she worked in development at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. and taught English in South Korea.  Originally from Houston, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas.

Marybeth Savicki
Marybeth Savicki, Director of Corporate Relations, joined Rice’s Resource Development team in April 2007. She is a Boston, Massachusetts native (and sports fan) who brings nearly two decades of nonprofit sector experience as a fundraising professional, program administrator and volunteer. Her development experience includes appointments in corporate and foundation relations at Tufts University, her alma mater, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Before moving to Texas in 2007, Marybeth ran a high school for teenagers with emotional, behavioral and learning disorders and worked with adolescent girls in residential care in Massachusetts. She earned a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Tufts University, a master’s degree in clinical social work from the Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work and an advanced certificate in the treatment of psychological trauma from Boston University.