Keith Overstreet
Development Director
Institutional Advancement

How long have you worked here, and what did you do before joining the UNT Health Science Center?
I’ve worked at the Health Science Center for two-and-a-half years.  Before coming here, I worked in non-profit management for 18 years for a community-based organization providing health, education and social services to American Indians in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

What are your job duties at the Health Science Center?
I have a wonderful, interesting job and work with a great team of development professionals who are excited about our mission and are committed to raising philanthropic support for the Health Science Center.  One of the things I like most about my job is that there is really no such thing as a typical day! Every day is different and challenging, and I very much enjoy working closely with our Advancement staff, President’s Office, Executive Team, chairs, department heads, faculty, community leaders and volunteers, alumni, sponsors and of course our wonderful donors!

I enjoy coming to work each day and being part of an organization that is not only striving constantly toward excellence, but whose vision is solidly tied to and rooted in our passion of making Fort Worth a better place to live. Coming from a non-profit background, I’ve always had a very strong “mission focus.” So for me, it’s really all about service, being creative, finding innovative ways to build partnerships within the community and doing my small part on a daily basis to make a positive impact. I love the fact that the UNT Health Science Center is doing so many amazing things in our core areas of education, research, clinical care and community engagement.  We are all definitely improving the health status and quality of life for our community, and I am extremely motivated by that knowledge.

My primary job responsibilities revolve around leadership and coordination of our annual fund raising activities:  Gala, Golf Tournament, Campus Pride, Alumni Giving and other annual giving.   However, I also have responsibility for other areas such as major gifts and foundation relations.  I think of our staff as a group of thoroughbreds, so it’s a challenging but enjoyable job just trying to stay up with a bunch of professionals who are out there everyday running fast, promoting the institution and being amazing leaders. 

 Are you currently working on any big projects?
Yes, fortunately there are always big projects happening on the 8th floor of EAD!  Right now, for example, we are working on raising support for the new Medical Education and Training Building across Montgomery Street, our Gala in October 2010, preparing for the upcoming Campus Pride Annual Giving Campaign, working on several large grants, working on cultivating several potential major gifts, getting ready for our Fall Alumni Annual Campaign, and helping with two community-based Civic Councils. 

The Health Science Center's values are compassion, integrity, excellence, pride, innovation and teamwork.  Can you give an example of how your department or your coworkers demonstrate one of these values?
I see the core values of the Health Science Center in action every single day in our Advancement Office.  We’re certainly not perfect by any means. But, what I like about us is that we passionately embrace opportunities for improvement in our services. We have worked hard to create an office culture that welcomes and integrates the dazzling diversity of thoughts, suggestions, styles and temperaments. 

For me, concepts of excellence, teamwork and innovation remain just that – concepts – in environments where intelligent people are unable to disagree agreeably, question, or think outside the box.  But I have to brag on the leadership of our institution and of our office and department.  We really do work to create a culture that encourages healthy debate, critical thinking and a commitment to the idea that there is always an improvement out there if we can just stay away from the turf traps of “but that’s not my idea!”  

Also, there’s no way to underestimate the value of “compassion.”  I think of that quality as something that may not be on your resume, but something we all bring as human beings to all our work and actions. I know for sure our team has a lot of compassion – I’ve seen them have great feeling and emotion at times when working on some area such as Alzheimer’s. Since all of us have been touched by some disease or the other in our families, I think we approach our fund-raising work with that awareness of human suffering always in mind.  

What do you like best about working at the Health Science Center?
For me the best part of working at the Health Science Center is the people.  I’m very relationship-oriented and always gain energy and inspiration by simple things like stopping in the hall or on campus and just chatting with friends and colleagues.  I hope I don’t get too caught up in our ambitious cogs-and-wheels and juggling-of-balls and forget that for me, we’re here first and foremost to build people up and help themand secondarily to build up programs to achieve that primary goal. 

I’ve had a lot of proud moments here. One of the high points was last year’s Campus Pride Annual Giving Campaign in which our amazing faculty and staff achieved an outstanding 83 percent giving rate. This accomplishment is truly world-class and told me that we’re all serving on a team that is generous and very committed to the mission of our school. 

What do you like to do when you aren't at the Health Science Center?
I enjoy hanging out with my three Schnauzers, Max, Coco and Izzie.  I am an avid reader, love studying ancient world history and culture, writing, and doing computer graphics.  Also, I’ve always been a huge nature-lover, so I enjoy just being outdoors and working in my yard. .