A quick note for Eddy Street Tenants: Kite will be shutting off the water to our building today (11/30/22) between 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm to repair a water leak in one of the offices on the 1st floor. If you will be in the office during this time, restrooms and sinks will be unavailable for use.

If you have any questions, please reach out to me.

Thanks!
Lana Taylor

Please join me in congratulating Leah Corachea on her recent engagement with Scott Lanier! We wish them a happy and loving future together.

Best,
Shelby

Catch my family and I on tonight’s episode of Little People, Big World. We were given an incredible opportunity to get our kids together, to talk growing up and raising kids with disabilities.
TLC, or Discovery+, 9PM #DEIU

-Jessica Witous

I am delighted to share that, in recognition of her extraordinary work, Colleen Cross Quinn has been promoted to Foundation Relations Director on Team CFR!

Colleen started with Foundation Relations as a graduate fellow, transitioning to our postdoc, then Assistant Director, and most recently, Associate Director. It has been a great privilege to watch her develop into a remarkable teammate and fundraiser, whose unceasing curiosity and drive have made us all better at what we do. She is on track to surpass her FY23 production goal before the end of the calendar year, but I don’t doubt that she will continue to push forward for the benefit of the University.

Please join me in congratulating Colleen for this well-deserved promotion!

Best,
Amanda Retartha
Senior Director, Foundation Relations

The Prospect Management team is excited to welcome Alexandra DeWeese and Brigette Kinney as two new Consultants working with the Southwest and East teams, respectively.  

Alexandra (Alex) comes to us from University Enterprises and Events where she helped build that department’s sales team from the ground up. Alex started at the University in 2014 in Student Services with the Mendoza College of Business where she was a Program Manager. She then moved to UEE’s Business Development team where she has been since 2017. Alex earned a Bachelor of Arts from Ball State University and is an Indianapolis native. She and her husband, Chad, reside in South Bend, with their three children: Emerson (5), Trey (3), and Kennedy (7 months).

It’s also a bittersweet time in the Development Coordinator (DC) world. While we are thrilled for Brigette Kinney’s promotion, we note the loss of Brigette as Regional Associate (RA) on the team in which she’s served as a natural leader since 2015. A graduate of Indiana University, Brigette has consistently applied her skills in strategy, project management, process improvement, and training. She was one of two people to re-envision and reconstruct the DC Training Toolkit that has proven invaluable to the team, and she has actively contributed to the efforts of the RA Guiding Coalition. As an excellent partner with her Regional Directors and the broader Development team, Brigette has continuously identified value-add opportunities toward fundraising effectiveness. 

In their new roles as Prospect Management Consultants, Alex and Brigette will work closely with Shelby and George in building and managing portfolios, while providing actionable insights and recommendations on the path to goal. They will start with the team and begin their onboarding process on December 5, and will likely join in regional meetings starting after the new year.

Congratulations Brigette, and Welcome Alex!

Jonathan Retartha, Anita Sareen, Lori Tinkey

Friends and Colleagues,

I write to tell you that Mike Brown is no longer with the University, effective Wednesday, November 16th.

We thank him for his years of service to the University and wish him well in his next chapter. All benefactor needs or questions should be directed to me. Thanks in advance for your collaboration.

-Riley Koval

Friends,

I’m thrilled to welcome back Zach Thurston to the Annual Giving team in a new role as Solutions Manager starting November 28th. After a stint serving as Marketing Automation Manager at Indianapolis-based software company Bloomerang, Zach has the following to say about his return to Notre Dame:

“I didn’t think I’d miss this place as much as I did during the six months I was gone. Very excited to be back.”

We’re excited, too, Zach. Now, onward and upward as we close out calendar year-end!

– Brandon Tabor

Please join me in extending sincere condolences to Meghan Walsh, our Prospect Management Consultant for the Southern region. Her father, Daniel Roche O’Connor, Jr., passed away in Salisbury, MD this Saturday at the age of 88. Daniel was a Navy veteran who gave over 30 years of service to his country in various government roles. A Notre Dame alum from the class of 1959, Daniel was blessed to spend the last day of his life with his children cheering the Irish to victory.

More information about Daniel’s life and funeral arrangements can be found here: https://www.bradshawandsonsfuneralhome.com/obituary/daniel-roche-oconnor-jr?lud=F0CE2E8DC804069E49BE0F2B395F3397

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.

-Jonathan Retartha

Wendy Sigala-Rubio welcomed her beautiful daughter, Aliah, into the world on November 9th at 11:40pm weighing 7 pounds. Both mom and baby are doing well!

I’d like to offer a warm welcome to Caiti Houlihan, the new Academic Advancement Associate! Caiti joins us from almost two years as a visa officer for the Consulate General of Ireland, Chicago. She is a 2019 ND grad with a major in Economics and a minor in Irish Studies. She obtained her Masters in Irish and Irish American Studies from NYU in 2021. She also speaks Gaelic!

The AAD team is thrilled to have Caiti on board and look forward to having her be a department-wide resource on campaign priorities, proposal development, and stewardship. I’m not going to say I teared up a little when she arrived, but I also can’t guarantee it didn’t happen.

Please stop by the AAD space and say hello!

Thanks so much,

KO

Dear Colleagues,

Please join us in congratulating Maureen Daday on her recent promotion to Assistant Program Director (APD) on the DC Team of Regional Development. Maureen has been an integral partner in Gift Planning since 2019 after she graduated with a MS in Management from Notre Dame. She’s a proud alumna of Saint Mary’s College with a BA in Music.

Maureen has worked in tandem with Chris DeTrempe, Jessica Brice, and Sarah Wodrich. At the beginning of the pandemic, she successfully took over management of the Life Insurance Program, stewarding ~50 donors and providing research to advance the program. She also helped RaeLee Rea bring the estate program into the digital era. Besides her work duties, as a dedicated contributor to UR culture, Maureen is best known for captaining the Benchwarmers softball team and her work on the DEIU GEE committee.

In her new role, Maureen will continue her current responsibilities while taking on new project-based work and mentoring partnerships. This will include strategizing with the Gift Planning team, training people inside and outside of Gift Planning, and continuous improvement processes.

Congratulations on the well-earned promotion, Maureen!

-Jen Koebel and Lori Tinkey

Dear Colleagues,

Please help me to welcome LaTeesha (Teesha) Wright to Regional Development as a Regional Coordinator (DC). Teesha’s first day was Monday, November 7th.

Teesha has spent the last twelve years assisting the Environmental Staff at the Saint Joseph County Health Department. Her calm demeanor and organizational skills were an asset to our community in getting through the frightening days of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Teesha lives locally and is a proud graduate of LaSalle High School. She received a certificate in medical coding and insurance billing (NHA/BCS) from Ivy Tech. When not cheering on the Fighting Irish or the Chicago Bears, she can be found on the hunt for the best cheeseburger (Byron’s in Chicago, in her humble opinion), Teesha spends time with her 4 grandchildren, and her 3 grown sons (TJ, Terraell and Timothy). as often as she can.

Welcome to Notre Dame, Teesha!

Deena Chamberlin

Lori Tinkey

Monday, November 7th, was a very special day for the Central Region team.

Tara Reilly has returned after a short stint with the Inspired Leadership Initiative. We have missed Tara’s energy, good humor, strong faith, and example of how to minister to benefactor families.

Tara will primarily be working with families in the Columbus, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, PA areas. Tara, thank you for your friendship and welcome back to the Central Region!

Jason Scarlett

Dear Colleagues,

I write to announce that Curtis Claypool will be transitioning from his role as a Regional Director on the New York Metro team effective December 31. During this transition, Curtis will report to Brian Diss and work closely with the Advancement Services team to benchmark and adopt best practices for Regional Director hiring, on-boarding, and training.

Since joining the New York Metro team in June 2019, Curtis has created and deepened important relationships on behalf of the University and raised critical funds for Notre Dame students. Needless to say, he will be missed by his teammates and donors.

Please join me in thanking Curtis for his numerous contributions to our team and wishing him well in his next endeavor.

All the best,
Ryan

Thank you to all who attended the Stewardship & Donor Relations team’s Endowment Report Education Session with Special Guest Trent Grocock on Nov. 2nd. Please find HERE a link to the slide deck from the session as well as a full recording. Please reach out to Cristi Ganyard at cganyard@nd.edu with any questions or feedback.

We are so happy to announce the promotion of Laura Walker! Members of the Badin Guild have been the lucky recipients of Laura’s stewardship, newsletters, cards, warmth, and prayers since 2014.

Laura has been a dedicated, flexible, and steady member of the development team in her eight years of service. She spent her first seven years as part of the Annual Fund team and moved to Stewardship & Donor Relations just over a year ago so that her role could fully focus on and expand the stewardship programs and efforts for Badin Guild members.

Today, we show the University’s appreciation by announcing her promotion to Program Director, Badin Guild Stewardship. Recently of note, Laura has created new stewardship programs for our benefactors with $10 million+ estate gifts and also widows and widowers. Whether making her monthly visit to the Grotto to pray for deceased members of the Notre Dame Family, planning innovative and meaningful events, deepening relationships with members of the Badin Guild, or selecting just the right photo from the Archives to share with her population, Laura conducts her work with excellence, integrity, and great care. Thank you, Laura, and congratulations!

-Sara Kassen

The newest episode of “The Grace of Giving” podcast is out featuring Annual Giving Program Assistant Director, Dezha Moore! In this episode, recorded in the St. Joe Coffee Company in the newly renovated St. Joseph Country Public Library in downtown South Bend, we talk with Dezha about and her journey to Annual Giving, what keeps her motivated in her work, and what it was like to record her new album. Listen now! Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and fill out this form to appear as a guest.

You can find the photos from this year’s UR Spooktacular at the link below:

https://photos.nd.edu/gallery/CP-10-27-22-University-Relations-Spooktacular/G0000uaQiB5uq89U

password: photos

The Gift and Data Management team will be out of the office on Wednesday afternoon for a service and team building activity. The general phone and email will be covered by Mary Bueno and we’ll respond to outstanding issues on Thursday.

Good day, colleagues!

I’d like to share with you a few organizational updates we’ve made on the Annual Giving team:

Lauren Dolzan has been promoted to Director, Marketing Operations where she’ll continue her leadership of the team responsible for the Department’s content development and marketing, campaign execution, and digital giving experiences. Lauren joined University Relations in 2018 as a Project Manager and most recently served as Senior Associate Director, Marketing Operations.

Katie Kerby has been promoted to Director, Annual Giving where she’ll lead a team responsible for the Sorin Society, Order of St. Thomas More, John Cardinal O’Hara Society, and giving society exclusive member experiences and events. Katie was a second-year member of the UR Internship Program and has spent the last three years in Annual Giving, most recently as Senior Associate Director, Giving Programs.

Kasey O’Connor has been promoted to Director, Annual Giving where she’ll continue to grow the Rockne Athletics Fund team while building and coaching an all-star team of leadership annual giving officers. P.S. we’re hiring two more of these roles now! Kasey, a former Notre Dame student-athlete, has served at the University for four years in Athletics and four years in Development.

Please join me in celebrating these three outstanding leaders within our division. Annual Giving will soon post a few newly-opened roles as a result of these changes. If you have any questions about joining our team, please connect with me our leadership team!

God Bless and Go Irish!
Brandon Tabor

Happy birthday to all our UR employees celebrating their special days in November! We’re so thankful to have you on our team!

11/1 – Sean Cuneo
11/2 – Ling Sun
11/3 – Paul Hernandez
11/4 – Tom Molnar
11/7 – Beth Pritchard
11/7 – Michael Sullivan
11/8 – Laura Ruiz
11/8 – Michelle Joyce
11/9 – Guadalupe Gomez
11/10 – Ernestine Gardner
11/10 – Jennifer Witucki
11/11 – Sarah Forner
11/12 – RaeLee Rea
11/13 – Sean Sharpe
11/14 – Shannon Forry
11/15 – Mitchell Dansky
11/17 – Sara Liebscher
11/20 – Alaine Roberts
11/20 – Sara Kassen
11/23 – Debra de St. Jean
11/23 – Jennifer Odell
11/24 – Susan Morse
11/27 – Vahid Sadrzadeh
11/30 – Angel Hess
11/30 – Ken Camm