University Relations Family,

It is a bittersweet time for the Central Region. We are sad to see Tara Reilly leave her role as a Regional Director. Her last day with UR will be Friday, July 29th.

Tara has been and continues to be a dear friend to us all. Tara’s extraordinary talent for understanding what is important to other people and affirming who they are, will be sorely missed by her teammates and benefactors alike. We will also miss the energy she infuses into the team and her extraordinary example of how to lead a life of love, faith, and fun.

All of this said, we could not be more happy for Tara as she will continue to serve the mission of Our Lady’s University as the Director of Candidate Development and External Relations for the Inspired Leadership Initiative (ILI). For those of you who know Tara, it only seems fitting that she will be working for an area of Notre Dame with the word “Inspired” in its title and her energy and authenticity will empower her to do well in this new role.

Thank you, Tara, for your friendship, prayers, and kindness over the years. We look forward to seeing you around campus and wish you all of God’s blessings as you make the transition.

-Jason Scarlett and the Central Region Team

Dear Colleagues,

Sara Munoz’s last day with the gift management team will be July 15. Sara and her family moved to North Carolina this spring to be closer to family and to see more sunshine!

Sara has taken a position at a tech start-up, Levitate, as a Sales Development Representative for small/medium size businesses.

Sara has been with our team for more than four years. During that time Sara has evolved several of our processes, hired and trained students and seasonal team members, served hundreds of donors, and prepped thousands of gifts. We are so grateful for Sara’s time with our team. Sara’s contributions to the team will be missed!

Congratulations Sara!

-Amy Schell

Beginning today, (July 6th), the policy and process for reserving the Family and Sorin Rooms is changing. Based on feedback we have received, this change will focus on providing an improved manner of getting meetings set up and mitigating overlapping meetings. To reserve the Sorin and/or Family Room, contact Dawn Smith (dsmith34@nd,edu, 631-7164, or stopping by ESC front desk). If either room is available, Dawn will be able to reserve the room for you.

To reserve one of the rooms, the information that will be needed includes:

• Date & Time

• Meeting Length

• If a specific layout is required (for Family Room only)

Moving forward, meetings will be booked with set-up time prior to each meeting and clean-up time after meeting. The set-up and clean-up time that is set will be determined by the needs for each meeting or event. Any existing calendar reservations for the Sorin and/or Family Rooms will remain in place unless the meeting’s reservation time is adjusted. If an existing meeting reservation needs to be adjusted by either the date or time, the host/organizer will need to contact Dawn to inquire about the room availability.

As we partner with everyone to ensure that this process works for all, please note that there will be some items that each meeting host/organizer needs to handle. These include cleaning up any food or beverage, ensuring handouts are picked up, trash is thrown away, etc. An information sheet with more details can be found here. If you have any questions about this process, please feel free to reach out to Dawn, Grace, or Lana.

Dear UR team,

On Tuesday, July 5, we are welcoming two new members to the NDAA family, Allie Griffith and Eleanor Hanson.

Eleanor Hanson SMC ’22 will be joining the Alumni Association as the Coordinator of the Marketing & Communications department. Eleanor graduated in May from St. Mary’s with a degree in Communications and a concentration in Public Relations and Advertising while serving as Student Body President. Her mother is a 1994 graduate of St. Mary’s, and her father is a 1995 graduate of Notre Dame. The Hanson family has lived in Scottsdale, Arizona, rural Georgia, and Toronto, Canada and her hobbies include riding horses, reading, and spending time outdoors. In her new role, Eleanor will coordinate all MarCom efforts, including the areas of budgets, finance, project management, affinity programs, social media, young alumni, storytelling, and content creation.

Please join me in welcoming Eleanor to the NDAA.

Best,

Digger

Happy birthday to all our UR employees celebrating their special days in July! We hope you have fun in the sun this summer!

7/3 – Katherine Lane
7/4 – Giovana Heeter
7/5 – Ashley Van Avermaete
7/8 – Brian Diss
7/8 – Brittany Jaso
7/10 – Christina Ryan
7/10 – Megan Hale
7/10 – Patrick Brennan
7/10 – Roz Palusci
7/11 – Lin Wang
7/14 – Anita Sareen
7/14 – Lori Tinkey
7/15 – Carleen Quinlan
7/16 – Gail Slevin
7/17 – Darrell Paulsen
7/17 – Patty Kokesh
7/18 – Kevin Vaughn
7/19 – Meghan Buysse
7/19 – Susan Lynch
7/20 – Jordan Wahlstrom
7/21 – Caleb Worm
7/23 – Chris Walsh
7/23 – Mike Brown
7/27 – Greg Williamson
7/29 – Ellen Aranowski
7/30 – Jill Calderone
7/31 – Mary Scott

Dear Colleagues,

Please join me in congratulating Colleen Bailey-Knapke in her promotion to Audit & Compliance Program Director on the Gift and Data Management Team. In this role, Colleen will report directly to me and will oversee the audit process – continuing to develop new audits and reconciliations for the team. Colleen has taken on the compliance responsibility which requires her to liaise directly with the Tax Director, the Controller’s office, and to be the expert for CASE guidelines, tax rules, and the Gift Management Guidelines.

Colleen has been a key member of the team for more than four years. During this time she has developed and executed our audit program, executing critical reconciliations between Development and the Controller’s office. Colleen’s expertise in understanding our data and her helpfulness have made her a go-to resource for the entire team.

Congratulations Colleen!!

Amy Schell
Sr. Director, Gift and Data Management