“Careers in Education, Advocacy, and Public Service”
Alumni-Student Mentor Networking
Sunday, October 25, 5-6 pm
Join via the Zoom link.
Please join us for the third presentation of our Balfour Alumni-Student Network series featuring our alumni speakers:
Dr. Veronica Alonzo, ND Class of 1997 (Pre-Med, Spanish), Associate Superintendent of the Diocese of Dallas; previously middle school math and science teacher through the Alliance for Catholic Education.
Jasmine Brown, ND Class of 2005 (History, Africana Studies), 8th Grade Social Studies Teacher, Navarre Middle School-South Bend; community activist and founder of the Dig In Supper Series.
Jourdan Sorrell, ND Class of 2006 (Anthropology), President of J. Sorrell Consulting, LLC, a global strategic firm that supports inclusive economic development and supplier diversity.
Dr. Veronica Alonzo has worked for 23 years in numerous Catholic schools in the Diocese of Austin and Dallas. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in pre medicine and Spanish, she began her educational career via the Alliance for Catholic Education as a middle school math and science teacher. She went on to teach in high school, followed by becoming the principal of a private Catholic independent high school. She returned to Dallas in 2016 in her current role. Veronica is a first generation high school and college graduate to immigrant parents who was born and raised in South Bend, IN. She is the oldest of five children, all of whom have gone on to earn a college degree. Her parents instilled the love of learning and the love for Our Lady of Guadalupe; together these passions have propelled her to succeed within Catholic Schools. She works hard for the future of the Catholic Church, to make sure that it offers and delivers the same opportunities as with past generations. She is married to Javier and has a daughter and son and four grandchildren.
Jasmine Brown graduated from Notre Dame in 2005 with a major in history and minor in Africana Studies. She is a home-grown South Bend resident and teaches 8th grade social studies at Navarre Middle School in the Empowerment Zone, one of five South Bend schools in the “transformation zone” under Indiana law. These schools dramatically improve the outcomes for their students within a structure that gives educators significant autonomy and support to create a customized educational experience for students. Jasmine is a community activist with a deep passion for youth and South Bend’s West Side community. She is also Co-Founder of the Dig In Supper Series, a grassroots project that organizes communal meals to build relationships, promote truth-telling, and take action to foster multiracial democracy.
A true collaborator, Jourdan thrives in helping small businesses, local governments and nonprofits stay focused and connected while executing large scale programs. He is able to challenge those he works with, while bringing out the best in others. Jourdan believes that all things are possible when passion, purpose and community meet. An ardent supporter of inclusive economic development and supplier diversity, Jourdan is the President of J. Sorrell Consulting, LLC, a global strategic firm that he started in 2020. Jourdan is an avid listener of NPR’s How I Built This, reader of Block Club Chicago and enjoys bike riding along Chicago’s lakefront. Jourdan has a BA from the University of Notre Dame.