BRYANT GROUP Founder and President Chris Bryant is a recognized leader in the recruitment of advancement, development and fundraising professionals.
He began his search career as vice president of the executive search division of an international fundraising and campaign management consulting firm. In 1988, he co-founded AST/BRYANT, a firm that became the industry leader in philanthropy recruitment. BRYANT GROUP is a successor firm, established in 2002.
Prior to becoming an executive recruiter, Chris enjoyed a highly successful career as a development and advancement professional and senior executive in higher education and healthcare.
Chris has served in volunteer leadership positions with the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), and is often recruited to the faculty of regional, national and international conferences and seminars hosted by these and other professional organizations of the independent sector. He has served his alma mater as a member of the Annual Giving Committee of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California and as a Mentor to USC’s MBA and undergraduate business students.
SALLY BRYANT DeCHENNE - Senior Vice President
Sally Bryant DeChenne's two decades of experience managing and consulting with highly successful development and advancement programs prepared her well for a career in executive search for philanthropy. Prior to her position with BRYANT GROUP, she was President of DeChenne Company/Philanthropy Consulting, serving a wide variety of non-profit clients, including universities, colleges, hospitals, and independent schools.
Prior to establishing DeChenne Company, she served as Dean of Institutional Advancement at Marymount College in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, where she was responsible for the development and alumni relations offices, as well as creating and managing the offices of advancement services and public relations. Fundraising totals increased 15-fold under her leadership. Sally has also served in leadership roles at the University of Puget Sound, in Tacoma, Washington; at the Hope Heart Institute in Seattle, Washington; and at her alma mater, Washington State University (WSU) in Pullman, Washington. In addition, she has served in interim executive positions at the University of Southern California, following its $2.9 billion campaign and at the University of Washington, during its $2.7 billion campaign.
Her volunteer activities include serving as a Trustee of the WSU Foundation and chairing its Committee on President's Associates. She has also been an advisory council member for WSU's Honors College and for the Office of Undergraduate Education. She has served as an advisory board member, group leader and promotional video speaker for the Los Angeles Skirball Institute's Intentional Conversation and has served on the Robert H. Williams Diabetes Research Council at the University of Washington, among other volunteer activities.
Sally earned her B.A. summa cum laude from the Honors College at WSU in 1989. She is frequently an invited speaker at advancement conferences throughout the country.
