Development Staff

Barb McGowan

Barb McGowan is the Director of Development at The Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duchesne College in Omaha, NE in French and History with a minor in Philosophy. Some of Barb's most recent achievements include:

Significantly increased general operating contributions and expanded the donor base by more than 12% in less than 3 years.
Created The Cooper Institute Preventative Medicine and Wellness Lecture Series in 2004 as a fundraising tool and to bring the Institute to the Dallas community.
Helped create the Development Advisory Board, which will recruit "ambassadors-at-large" for the Institute and assist in fundraising events and special projects.
Increased the Development Office from a single staff member to three full-time professionals.
Recipient of the Kenneth H. Cooper Award in 2005; An award given to an Institute employee in recognition of accomplishments that have furthered the visibility and/or welfare of the Institute over the preceding year.

Among Barb's many responsiblities is the organization of the annual Board of Trustees meeting and dinner, management of donor relations, oversight of the Institute's annual report, Board liaison for committee meetings throughout the year, and publication of the quarterly newsletter. She is also a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. In her free time, Mrs. McGowan enjoys golf, sports, and spending any extra time with her family.

Anissa Carbajal-Diaz

Anissa Carbajal-Diaz is a Development Associate in the Development Division at The Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas. Her current duties include site calls to area foundations, grant writing, assisting with ongoing donor communications, and collaborating on various annual development activities. Ms. Carbajal-Diaz brings four years of past fundraising experience with a national voluntary health agency to the Institute, where she contributed to event planning, planned giving, and program development.

Ms. Carbajal-Diaz holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Hispanic and Classical Studies with a concentration in Latin American Studies from Rice University. Currently she is working on her thesis for a Master of Public Health degree from the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. Previously Ms. Carbajal-Diaz worked as a Health Educator in the Research Dissemination & Advocacy workgroup of the Education Division, where she extended The Cooper Institute’s message into Spanish-speaking populations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and provided health education at the community level through a variety of area organizations.

Recently, Ms. Carbajal-Diaz completed a 197-mile 12-person team relay. Her hobbies include dancing, running, singing, and traveling. Prior to joining The Cooper Institute team she coordinated a community health project which examined language barriers to access to healthcare.

Amanda Moody

Amanda Moody is a Development Associate at The Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Exercise Science from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. She came to Dallas in January 2006 to begin her 600 hour internship in the Research Division of The Cooper Institute. Shortly after finishing her internship she was hired on as a full-time employee in the Development Division.

Ms. Moody is currently being trained as an in-house event planner for the Development Office of The Cooper Institute. The events that she will be involved in planning are the Institute’s annual dinner lecture series, a community-based joint venture Day of Action at Carolyn G. Bukhair Elementary, as well as a new signature fundraising event coming in the first quarter of 2008. Ms. Moody also manages the Development Office’s databases, all electronic and direct mailings, all division correspondence with new and current donors, and she also is responsible for the division’s web site content.

Contact Us

To help build a healthier America and assist The Cooper Institute in expanding its pioneering research and educational reach, please contact Barb McGowan, Director of Development, at (972) 341-3280 or by e-mail at bmcgowan@cooperinst.org.