Cynthia Baker is a Senior Philanthropic Director at Duke University. Over her career in advancement at Duke, she has secured transformational gifts for institutional priorities from individuals and families and led initiatives focused on engaging women philanthropists. Previously she held leadership roles in strategic partnerships and development at the American Legacy Foundation, FasterCures, and Fleishman-Hillard, and worked on Capitol Hill for Senator George Mitchell (D-ME). Cynthia was a board member for 12 years of the Avalon Theater, the last remaining not-for-profit film theater in Washington, DC. She currently chairs the Board of Trustees of College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Cynthia was born in Cambridge, England, and raised in Bangor Maine, the daughter of longtime University of Maine faculty members. She holds both a B.A. and M.A. from Duke University. She lives in Washington, D.C., and Southwest Harbor, Maine, with her husband, Jon Zeitler; they have three sons.