Campus Box 7501
Raleigh, NC 27695-7501
Telephone: 919.515.5106

David P. Masich, JD
Executive Director of
Gift Planning
Office: 919.515.9076
[email protected]

David joined the Office of Gift Planning as Executive Director in May 2016. His career spans 30 years during which time he has worked for universities in leadership roles for planned giving (College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina), non-profits and financial institutions. As a gift planner, he teaches donors about ways to support the organizations they care about while encouraging holistic thinking about their personal legacies. David also has experience acting as a fiduciary in estate and trust administration.

David is a past president of the South Carolina Planned Giving Council and in 2013, he was recognized as the 2013 Fundraising Professional of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals — Lowcountry Chapter.

David was born and raised in Winston-Salem, NC and his roots are tied to NC State. His father, an electrical engineer, attended "State College." David received a Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University and a Bachelor of Arts from Emory University. In addition, he has a Master of Arts in Counseling from Columbia International University.

Katherine Miller CPA
Executive Director of Gift Planning
Office: 919.515.6059
[email protected]

Katherine has served as Executive Director of Gift Planning for NC State since 2021. She actively works with donors to structure both planned gifts and current, tax-advantaged gifts to the university while managing the day-to-day activities of the Office of Gift Planning.

Prior to joining the university in 2016 as Associate Director of Gift Planning, she was a Tax Manager at Deloitte Tax in the Private Wealth group. At Deloitte, she managed the tax compliance and planning needs of high net worth individuals and family offices, with a focus on estate and gift tax. Her experience also includes work with trusts and non-profits, including both operating and private foundations.

Katherine was raised in Raleigh, NC and earned both her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree and Master of Accounting degree from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Katherine is a member of the North Carolina Planned Giving Council and the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners.

Stacy Zearing
Director of Gift Planning
Office: 919.515.9076
[email protected]

Stacy joined the Office of Gift Planning in 2022 with over 20 years of experience assisting donors in transforming lives through education and philanthropy. From 2001-2009 he served NC State as Executive Director of Development for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. During the interim he returned to his home state of Indiana where he worked ten years in the Indiana University system, leading the entire fundraising operations for two different schools. Before returning to NC State, he served as Sr. Gift Officer for Hanover College near his hometown of Madison in southern Indiana.

Stacy earned his BS in Public Affairs Management from Indiana University and a Certificate in Nonprofit Executive Leadership from the Indiana University Fundraising School.

Stacy is a member of the North Carolina Planned Giving Council and the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners.

Mary Elizabeth Brake '91
Associate Director of Gift Planning
Office: 919.515.5205
[email protected]

Mary Elizabeth Brake, a 1991 graduate of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at NC State, joined the Office of Gift Planning in 2013. In her role as Associate Director she oversees marketing for the Office of Gift Planning and also manages administrative functions with a focus on estates and life-income gifts (charitable gift annuities and trusts).

From 2005 until 2013, she worked in the Office of Advancement for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences supporting their research and extension fundraising efforts and its planned giving program. Before joining the university, she produced weekly and monthly reports covering gaming, healthcare and environmental legislation at the state level for Legislate, A Washington Post Company.

She is a member of the North Carolina Planned Giving Council, and the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners.

A native of Winston-Salem, NC, Mary Elizabeth has lived in Raleigh for over twenty-five years with her husband Robert, also a NC State graduate.

Jennifer Reavey
Administrative Support Specialist
Office: 919.515.5106
[email protected]

As the Administrative Support Specialist for the Offices of Gift Planning and Corporate and Foundation Relations at NC State, Jennifer provides critical support to both teams in a variety of areas including reporting, event planning, and business services.

Jennifer comes to NC State with over 13 years of experience working in the nonprofit field. From 2016 - 2020, Jennifer was the Retail Business Manager at the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation. During her career, she has had a variety of responsibilities including creating and managing spending/revenue budgets and developing special departmental projects,

Jennifer moved to Cary with her husband and three children in 2004. She has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Virginia Commonwealth University.