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Marilyn Benuska
Who We Are
Adjunct Counsel Program
The Adjunct Counsel Program is a new initiative at Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt. We currently are adding several adjunct, or of counsel, members to the firm, with the aim of helping our clients with services that we do not make a point of incorporating in our normal ongoing client relationships, often because they may not be part of the expertise of our existing staff.
From the perspective of TW&B, the rationale for this program is:
* To add to the firm’s stable of trusted professionals with expertise in special areas of service on behalf of our clients
* To assure availability of trusted colleagues should the need arise for conventional assistance with the firm’s clients
* To help develop a more extensive and dependable network of client referrals for the firm
* To indicate to the public a larger, more diverse and more imposing scale of TW&B activity
As a thought and action leader with significant accomplishments as a fundraiser, communications professional, and academician, Marilyn has more than 27 years of experience promoting educational, social service, and cultural organizations – both small and large – while having enhanced their financial stability and community standing. Her strength lies in finding creative resolutions and strategies necessary to facilitate a successful close.
Entering the field of philanthropy after more than 20 years as an educator, Marilyn’s expertise in teaching, training, written and verbal communication, and team building is significant. She has participated as a faculty member in the Managing Institutional Advancement program at the University of Chicago, Graham School of Continuing Studies and the Institute for Nonprofit Management, DePaul University. She is an instructor for the Donors Forum and a presenter at conferences for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA).
Currently, Marilyn serves as the Vice President of Development & Marketing for Community Support Services a human service organization serving children and adults with developmental disabilities. Immediately prior to this position, she was with Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt serving as Senior Counsel and Vice President for Administration. Other leadership experiences include Director of Individual Giving, Museum of Science and Industry; Vice President of Development & Marketing, Jane Addams Hull House Association; Vice President of Development, Erikson Institute; Director of Development and Public Relations at both Immaculate Conception High School and Immaculate Heart of May High School.
Marilyn is a graduate of Kalamazoo College. She lives with her husband, Frank, in Oak Brook, Illinois.
mbenuska@communitysupportservices.org