Montplaisir has more than 30 years of higher education experience at both public and private institutions throughout the United States. As the chief Advancement officer for more than 15 years, Montplaisir was responsible for fundraising, board of trustee relations and corporate partnerships. During his career, he focused on building accountability and transparent performance systems that allow campus leadership to understand and recognize the impact of philanthropy and expanded partnerships. While he served as a Vice President at Cal Poly Pomona is recognized in the U.S. as the highest ranked polytechnic university in the nation on their “Social Mobility Index” for propelling low-income students to financial success by preparing graduates for desirable careers. In addition, Cal Poly Pomona ranked among the top 20 among all colleges and universities in the U.S. for quality education from Money Magazine.

Prior to Cal Poly Pomona, Daniel served the University of California Irvine (UCI), as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Development, overseeing the $1 billion “Shaping the Future” Campaign. UCI is consistently ranked among the top 10 public research universities in the United States by US News and World Reports, which compares metrics from more than 1,400 U.S. based institutions.

Montplaisir also served as Vice President for Advancement at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where he led the successful completion of its first comprehensive fundraising campaign, travelled to Dubai, Singapore, and France to expand the role of alumni chapters, and worked with the Board of Trustees to unveil a national media campaign. Embry-Riddle is the number one aviation focused University in the U.S. and maintains a global reputation among the aviation and aerospace industry.

Montplaisir first visited Ganpat University in 2019 as part of the delegation from Cal Poly Pomona and established and Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions. In 2020, he accepted an invitation to serve on the Board of Trustees of Ganpat University and visited in February 2023 during the West Zone Unifest.

Montplaisir earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Central Florida and a master’s degree in management from Indiana Wesleyan University. He holds the professional credential of CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive) and is active with the Council for Advancement of Secondary Education.

Daniel is married to Kelly, a sixth-grade educator, and they have three adult children.