Greetings UR!

It is my pleasure to welcome Jen Odell to the Southern Team as a Regional Director of Development! Jen’s first day on our team will be Wednesday, November 1st, and she will be serving donors in the Austin/San Antonio area.

Jen is no stranger to our UR team, having served on the Cavanaugh Council and President’s Circle Team since 2018, most recently leading the Friends of Ted and Ned Recognition Society to great success. We’re incredibly grateful to welcome her hard work and expertise to our team!

Please join me in welcoming Jen!

Tim Kelly

Kite is asking each tenant group to provide a quick reminder to staff about the loading/unloading area on the ground floor:

• Vehicle parking along the circle or the concrete island is for loading and unloading purposes only. These spots are not for long term parking.
• Vehicles should not block the drivable lanes leading to the entrance or exit to the circle.

If there are any questions, please reach out to Lana Taylor (ltaylor1@nd.edu).

Colleagues,

Over the past year, we have been gathering feedback from Development colleagues and on-campus leaders and partners on Academic Advancement. While we heard how critical the role of the AAD is to our fundraising efforts, we also heard that the current flat organizational structure of the AAD team has not scaled to match the growth of the field, to foster a talent pipeline, or to serve the units with For Good priorities strategically.

In response to this feedback, we are excited to share a new AAD organizational structure to better serve the fundraising field and our overall Development goals, helping us drive philanthropy to the Colleges, Schools, Divisions, and units.

Effective November 1st, this new organizational structure will include three “verticals”, grouped thematically, led by a newly-created Senior Associate Director role. Each vertical will benefit from a new Assistant/Associate AAD who will maintain a small portfolio while supporting the efforts of the AADs in the vertical. We will be utilizing the proven Graduate Fellow model to support the groups, as well.

We are excited to share the promotion of Ellen Kirol and Matt Gelchion to the role of Senior Associate Director. Ellen has served as Academic Advancement Director for Arts & Letters since 2021, working closely with Dean Sarah Mustillo to launch several College priorities, including the efforts on mental health. Prior to this role, she worked across a variety of roles on Annual Giving, focused on alumni giving and crowdfunding efforts. In his role as AAD for Financial Aid and Student Life, Matt successfully collaborated with 87 different fundraisers to close gifts. A proud co-captain with Ellen of #TeamMentalHealth, he has helped Student Affairs already raise more than double the funds for the purpose of student mental health and wellness in For Good than were raised in the entirety of Boldly.

We will be posting the new roles of Assistant/Associate AAD (commensurate with experience) shortly and look forward to conversations about these three roles. We are currently hiring for the open Senior AAD role, which will serve as the newly-created Senior Associate Director – posting to be out soon.

Finally, please know of our tremendous gratitude for your candid feedback and awesome partnership as we work together For Good!

Gratefully,
Michelle and Katy

Please join me in welcoming Paul Hernandez to the Northwest team! Paul will serve Notre Dame as a Tier 2 fundraiser working with alumni, parents and friends in the Bay Area.

Paul graduated from the University of Saint Francis in 2015 where he majored in Communication and Public Relations. In 2018 Paul received his Masters in Education. As if those degrees weren’t enough, Paul is currently pursuing his EMNA here at Notre Dame. While an undergrad at Saint Francis, Paul ran Cross Country and Track for 4 years (ask him about his epic marathon story).

Paul joined us at Notre Dame in 2018 as a member of the Mendoza admissions team within the Graduate Business programs. Paul also worked in the Career Center as an Employer Engagement Manager before joining us in University Relations, where he has served as a Leadership Annual Giving associate director since 2022.

Paul and his wife Kelly have 3 children; Niko, Sam and Jack.

We are thrilled to have Paul continue his Notre Dame journey as part of the Northwest fundraising team!

Sean Sharpe

Those who participated in the UR Family Holiday Photos by the Grotto and in front of the Dome last Monday, October 16th, can find and download their photos here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zcJdbk8_rwMVS-FFp3cM8Jq2uRmXtonT?usp=sharing

Special thanks to Brad Goff for sharing his time and photography skills with us!

We hope you will all join us this Wednesday, October 25th from 3-4PM in the ESC Family Room for our next ND Shares session, “You Are Not Alone: Mental Health Journeys.” If you have a question you’d like to ask our panelists, please feel free to submit it anonymously here:

https://forms.gle/kq6ArBg2y1gofE8d7

Hello UR Team! If you are interested in joining us for our next UR Walks this Thursday, October 26th, please fill out this form. Michelle Joyce will be leading the walk from Main Building at 12:00PM. As there may be some non-pavement, trail walking, we advise that appropriate footwear be considered. Signing up also helps us to contact those who are interested just in case we need to cancel at the last minute due to inclement weather. We look forward to catching up with you while getting in our steps. Happy trails!

Dear Colleagues,

The third fall renewal mailing (renew #2) is dropping in mailboxes starting Friday, October 20 to all our unrestricted and giving society benefactors. As a reminder, this mailing is sent to all assigned and unassigned benefactors whose annual giving is less than $25,000, asking them to renew their previous calendar year gift by their respective fund owner. This mailing is being sent to over 20,000 households and will be followed by email reminders in the weeks to come. If you have any questions regarding our renewal strategy, please reach out to the appropriate fund (Sorin, Rockne, Law, etc.) owner on the annual giving team and they can assist.

Thanks!
Annual Giving Team

I am thrilled to share that Conor Montijo will be stepping into the position of Director of Annual Giving, effective October 25th. We are thrilled that his creativity, prior Annual Giving experience, and immense dedication to the mission of Notre Dame will be expressed in new ways. In this role, Conor will oversee several critical areas including the Sorin Society, Order of St. Thomas More, O’Hara Society, and Giving Society events and stewardship.

Conor is a 2015 graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor’s in Marketing and a Certification in International Business. Conor first started working at the University with Athletics leading various marketing initiatives and student engagement efforts. In 2017, Conor shifted to work with the Marketing and Operations team within Annual Giving. One year later, he was promoted to oversee the Sorin Society. He additionally stepped up to grow unrestricted fundraising for the Law and Business schools during the COVID-19 pandemic and University hiring freeze. For the last two years, Conor has worked with Institutional Innovation leading various projects for the University. We’re thrilled that Conor’s prior experience at the University and within Annual Giving will elevate the work of our Giving Societies team.

Congratulations, Conor!

Katie Kerby

Dear Colleagues,

Please help us welcome Shinnell Lee to the DC Team as a Development Coordinator (DC). Shinnell holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from IUSB and a Master’s degree in Human Services from Capella University. Her extensive administrative background is in customer support, social services, education, and mental health services. Shinnell’s most recent position was in the PHM School District, where she served as a Youth Development Specialist.

A resident of Granger, Shinnell has been married to Shawn for 18 years and they have two wonderful children, ages 14 and 11. Her hobbies include helping in church, traveling, cheering at sports events, and binge-watching the Golden Girls.

Welcome to UR, Shinnell!

Angie Dennig & the DC Team