Julie Captain

Julie Captain, CFRE, CAP?

Position Associate Vice President, Advancement
Phone Number Description Phone

Telephone Number

312-238-8083

About Me

About Me

Julie is a highly successful nonprofit executive with more than 25 years in healthcare philanthropy ¡ª a natural result of being raised by two nurses and studying the life sciences and music in college. She maintains a proven track record for optimizing teams and securing principal, major and planned/deferred gifts through the responsible and thoughtful stewardship of internal and external stakeholders.

As Associate Vice President, Julie leads Shirley Ryan ³Ô¹ÏÌìÌÃ91¡¯s Advancement team in their fundraising and stewardship efforts, and also plays an integral role in the organization¡¯s $100 million "Accelerate Ability¡± campaign.  

Previously, she invested nearly 19 years at Northwestern Medicine in a variety of roles, most recently serving as Director of Development and Planned Giving at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital. There, she co-led their $150 million ¡°Our Legacy. Our Future.¡± campaign. She also previously spent time at Shirley Ryan ³Ô¹ÏÌìÌÃ91 (then the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago) in the early years of the organization¡¯s ¡°Advance Human Ability¡± campaign. Julie also served as Senior Regional Development Director for Conservation International, a nonprofit that creates healthy, sustainable communities around the world. She rejoined Shirley Ryan ³Ô¹ÏÌìÌÃ91¡¯s Advancement team in 2018.

Julie¡¯s professional forte is in creative gift-planning. She has been involved heavily with the Chicago Council on Planned Giving throughout her career, including serving as its President. In 2023, she received the organization¡¯s prestigious Russell V. Kohr Award in recognition of her professional accomplishments and mentorship to others. 

Julie received her Bachelor of Music in Horn Performance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Active in her community, she has served on the Evanston Community Foundation Board of Directors and completed Leadership Evanston. She currently serves as Co-moderator of First Congregational Church of Evanston, UCC, and leads its justice/advocacy board.

Location

Shirley Ryan ³Ô¹ÏÌìÌÃ91

355 East Erie

Chicago, IL 60611

Education & Professional Associations

  • Education

    1992 ¨C 1997

    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Bachelor of Music

Affiliations

  • Chicago Council on Planned Giving
    Member and Past President (2011-2013)
  • Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)
    Member
  • Association of Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP)
    Member