Professional Website

About Benita

Benita Blessing is a thoughtful, people-focused leader with over two decades of success guiding nonprofit educational and professional programs in national and international academic and association settings. She is an accomplished administrator, interdisciplinary scholar, grant-writer, fundraiser, and storyteller skilled in relationship cultivation, collaborative spaces, compelling narrative building, and strategic program development. Dr. Blessing is inspired by the role of education in building civil society, both in and out of the classroom.

Professional Experience Highlights

Executive Director

American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies

2022-Present

Operations Director

German Studies Association

2019-2022

Senior Instructor

Oregon State University

2015-2022

Core Competencies

Leadership & Governance

Strategic Planning & Operations

Technical Modernization

Fundraising & Grant Writing

Communication & Outreach

Education & Curriculum Development

 

Certifications & Training

Certificate in Fundraising

Oregon State University

Anticipated 2025

Association Executive Certification (CAE)

Anticipated 2026

Certificate in Administrative Skills

American Institute for Parliamentarians

2025-2026

Certificate in Nonprofit Board Education

BoardSource

2025

DEIA Microcredentials

ASAE

2024

Certificate in Nonprofit Management

Oregon State University

2023

Education

University of Wisconsin - Madison, dual PhD.

 

Departments of History and Educational Policy Studies (1992-2001)

Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Monterey, California, dual M.A.

Departments of German Studies and International Policy Studies (1989-1991)

Sample  Work

Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, B.A. German and French

Magna Cum Laude
Phi Beta Kappa (1985-1989)