Celeste Richards

Celeste Richards is the Director of Development at the University of Toronto Scarborough, where she leads philanthropic revenue generation for the campus as part of the Development and Alumni Relations Office. She joined the team in February 2020.

Celeste served as the Director of Development for the Faculty of Community Service at Toronto Metropolitan University for five years. Previous to her role at TMU, she worked at the University of Toronto for almost 10 years, where she held a number of Advancement roles within the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto before joining New College as Associate Director, Advancement. In this role, Celeste was responsible for the development and implementation of all advancement initiatives for New College's portion of U of T's $2B Boundless campaign. She also led the College’s external communications initiatives, as well as the planning and execution of the College's 50th Anniversary.

Celeste has served the community through a number of volunteer and leadership positions, including as President of the Board at TAIBU Community Health Centre, Vice President of the University of Toronto Black Alumni Association, a mentor for the Association of Fundraising Professionals Fellowship in Inclusion and Philanthropy Program, and board secretary at the N’sheemaehn Childcare Centre.

Celeste holds a Masters from the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education (OISE) at U of T, as well as an HBA in Arts Management and Music and Culture from U of T Scarborough. Additionally, she is a Certified Fundraising Executive.