History holds abundant tales of notable pairs — Antony and Cleopatra, Lewis and Clark, Napoleon and Josephine, Batman and Robin — but, perhaps none have embraced each other and their work as a team more than Nikkie Preston, associate director of development, and Virginia Weidenfeller, development coordinator in the philanthropy and alumni department.
In a short time, they forged their way as a team through trial by fire and a somewhat turbulent start. Preston started at the school of medicine first in March of 2023 and Weidenfeller assumed her role just three weeks later. The senior director of development at the time went on leave shortly after they started and left her position within a couple of months.
“I can’t remember a place where I started working that was such a roller coaster,” says Weidenfeller, “but we got in there and got into a groove. We had some things we needed to work out, of course, but we just jumped in and did amazing!”
“The number one priority for me,” says Preston, “was to ensure that Virginia and I were on the same page. We wouldn’t have been able to work cohesively if we weren’t on the same page … And then after that, going into my portfolio [list of donors]. The previous director of development had a wonderful relationship with the donors. I wanted to make sure they knew who I was and that I am here as their liaison to help with whatever is needed.”
Development is crucial to a medical school. Broadly, it is the cultivation of financial donors who can support students, reward and recruit faculty, and enable its drive toward innovation and research.
“To me,” says Preston, “development means we have the opportunity to build such great relationships with people on how they would love their legacy to be here in Las Vegas … there’s that servant leadership, there’s that forever friendship that you will have with these donors. And the impact they’re making in this community.”
As with all great teams, the individuals walked their own unique paths before finding each other and melding into a cohesive unit. For Weidenfeller, she had worked for UNLV Health a few years prior, then ventured away for a bit before returning to the school of medicine. For Preston, she had been interested in healthcare since she was a little girl watching her mother as a caregiver.
“My entire career has been in the healthcare realm in one way or another. Whether it was working for an insurance company to working at a drug and alcohol facility to working at a nonprofit that focused on children with developmental disabilities to working with seniors in hospice. Hospice is where I had the bulk of my time.”
Although their start was a little challenging, doing the work of development became easier as individuals and as a team.
“Being able to do something that is so fulfilling,” Weidenfeller says. “Just planning the events and the first one succeeding. Then you get to meet the students and donors. I got goosebumps. It’s so meaningful to get them together and see how genuinely happy the students are and the donors for what they do. At the end of the day, you can be happy knowing you made a difference … not being the medical person or the doctor, but you’re making a difference in the student’s and the donor’s lives. It’s just very fulfilling.”
“The easiest thing for me,” adds Preston, “was meeting with the donors one-on-one and being able to hear their story. Tied to that is meeting with the students and being able to celebrate with them. The other part is that Virginia and I think so much alike, it can be scary! Once we found our groove, it was just smooth sailing.”
Now that they’ve gotten their first year under their belts, Preston and Weidenfeller can focus more on their hopes for the future.
“I would love to see us as THE place to get your med school degree and this is the place to stay,” says Preston. “These students, now doctors, have the opportunity to make amazing history for this community. That every doctor is going to want to come here. And it’s going to be so inundated that people are going to want to fly here to get the most amazing things done.”
Weidenfeller agrees. “I want us to be the role model for medical schools. And I want the students to feel so proud that they graduated from here that they’re willing to give back and come back and speak and share their stories. And donors to be so thrilled that they donated and they were part of the scholarships for these students.”
Beyond their positive view of the future for the school is how they have solidified their relationship with each other.
“I’m proud of what we accomplished because we had to believe in each other and trust each other and that together, we’re going to make this,” states Weidenfeller, “but, the thing I’m most proud of is Nikkie and I just trusting in each other and knowing we are in this together.”
