Chief Advancement Officer

Following a competitive national search, Torren J. Blair was named Chief Advancement Officer for Penn Medicine Development and Alumni Relations (PMDAR), effective December 1, 2025. As former Chief Executive Director of Development at PMDAR, Torren is known for his expertise, experience, and deep knowledge of Penn Medicine’s scientific impact, which he communicates skillfully to donors, grateful patients, and friends.

Torren began his career at Penn in 2004. Over the last two decades, he has worked closely with two deans, three chief scientific officers, and numerous department chairs, center and institute directors, and faculty and staff to build and help lead the PMDAR program. Working closely with many faculty members, Blair devised a new “research” fundraising model that leveraged Penn’s deep scientific strengths to address unmet clinical needs for future patients. Over time, he recruited and fostered a team that found inspiration in the transformative ideas of Penn Medicine's faculty.

The results have been impressive: Torren and his team have raised more than $330 million, including six gifts of $10 million+ that created new centers uniting basic and clinical teams. The new centers include the Colton Center for Autoimmunity, the Lurie Autism Institute with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Armellino Center of Excellence for Williams Syndrome, and the Autism Spectrum Program of Excellence, among others. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he partnered with the dean’s office to raise more than $15 million. He was also the force behind the creation of the Council for Discovery Science, which has attracted an additional $17.5 million in unrestricted funds from alumni and unaffiliated friends.

Torren is a graduate of Amherst College with a Master of Public Administration degree from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Jack Gorman led this search with Grace Zakim and Lisa Clayton.