Please join me in congratulating Zach and Emma Thurston on the birth of their first child, Eleanor Maeve Thurston. Eleanor came into the world on Saturday, August 26, 2023 at 3:05am, weighing 6lbs 8oz. Both mom and baby (and dad) are well. She is a beautiful addition to the Notre Dame family!

Brandon Tabor

Team,

Three leadership roles on the Annual Giving team are open. If you’re curious, let’s talk!

👉 Senior Director, Annual Giving

👉 Director, Leadership Annual Giving

👉 Senior Associate Director, Athletics Annual Giving

God Bless and Go Irish!
Brandon Tabor

We are happy to share some exciting news for Caitlyn Clinton!

Starting June 1st, Caitlyn will transition from overseeing ND Listens and Student Philanthropy to Associate Director, Leadership Annual Giving.

Over the last 20 months, Caitlyn has grown ND Listens and forged many valuable campus relationships. Not only that, but her passion for Notre Dame shines every day. She’s certainly leaving some big shoes to fill.

Caitlyn has many talents and we know she will soar in this new role. Please join us in a heartfelt congratulations, Caitlyn!

We are actively hiring for the Assistant Director, Annual Giving Programs (ND Listens) role. In the interim, please direct ND Listens student requests to Meredith Sharwarko (msharwar@nd.edu).

Meredith Sharwarko

Colleagues,

Below is a Notre Dame Day announcement we released on giving.nd.edu this week. Feel free to share with anyone interested. As always, thank you for your work bolstering this one-of-a-kind fundraising and engagement event.

https://giving.nd.edu/stories/the-tenth-annual-notre-dame-day-returns-this-april

Questions about the broadcast? Email lin.wang@nd.edu ›
Questions about fundraising? Email ndday@nd.edu ›

Giving opens April 1st at notredameday.nd.edu.

With Love,
Brandon Tabor

Dear Friends,

I am excited to share that Meredith Sharwarko joins our UR Family as Senior Associate Director, Annual Giving Programs starting today, Monday, January 9, 2023!

Meredith joins us from Hope College where she served on their Annual Giving team for six years—most recently as Director of Annual Giving. Prior to her work in higher education, Meredith was an Account Executive at Inte Q, a provider of loyalty and subscription-based benefit programs, data analytics, and merchandise products.

Please join me in welcoming Meredith to Notre Dame and be sure to stop by and say hello to her.

God Bless and Go Irish,
Brandon Tabor

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

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

The University has been blessed with Dawn Smith’s drive, grit, and humor for 13 years—especially in the last year as she’s served in Development.

Today, we celebrate Dawn’s promotion to Senior Administrative Assistant, Annual Giving effective October 24, 2022! In this role, Dawn will manage incoming communications from benefactors, maintain the team’s budget, and provide administrative support to the turbocharged Annual Giving team.

A South Bend native, Dawn and her husband, Gary, are parents to Lexi (married October 8, 2022!) and grandparents to two grandsons, Declan and Greyson. Fun fact: Dawn’s maiden name was Smith, too!

Please give Dawn a high-five in recognition of her achievement!

– Brandon Tabor and Grace Prosniewski

The ninth-annual Notre Dame Day returns this April!

On Notre Dame Day, students, alumni, parents, and friends join together as a global community to celebrate all things Notre Dame—with an award-winning live broadcast and a crowdfunding campaign that empowers student causes, clubs, and residence halls.

Giving opens April 3rd!

This year, more than 800 Notre Dame causes, clubs, and residence halls will raise money and compete for a share of $500,000 in special challenge funds. Notre Dame Day is your opportunity to join the Notre Dame Family in strengthening the areas of campus that matter most to you.

Giving opens April 3rd at notredameday.nd.edu →

Join the celebration by watching the broadcast on April 24th and 25th!

Notre Dame Day 2022’s broadcast will be filled with hundreds of uplifting stories from Notre Dame about the amazing things her loyal sons and daughters are doing around the world and for others. You’ll hear powerful stories of grit, service, and survival, enjoy entertaining performances from students clubs across campus, and share in special moments that are created on our award-winning live broadcast from the Duncan Student Center.

Watch the broadcast starting at 6:42 PM ET on April 24 at notredameday.nd.edu →

To view past Notre Dame Day interviews and performances, visit the ND Loyal YouTube channel. To learn more about Notre Dame Day and how you can get involved, please email ndday@nd.edu.