We’ve got some new things cooking over in the team formerly known as Resource Strategy and Administration. First, our new name: Organizational Strategy! Here, you will find a team of dedicated people, working with you to get to Yes! We’ll partner with you to manage your operating budget, get your benefactors the best tickets to football (and other events), find you an office space, and help you recruit wildly talented team members!

It is in this final charge that we have big news to share. Please join me in welcoming Adria Logan as our first-ever Associate Director of Resource Operations and Strategy. Beginning Monday, April 11, Adria will lead our Talent Acquisition team by partnering with managers to find the best talent, clarifying and streamlining our hiring process, and analyzing our hiring/people data to position UR best to reach our goals.

Adria earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Western Michigan University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Grand Valley State University. Adria joins us after a decade of service at Goshen Health where she gained a wealth of experiences through roles as Physician Recruiter, process improvement Coach, Business Manager, and most recently, Director of Revenue Cycle. In our reorganized team, Tara Gilchrist, Sheri Egendoerfer, and Nancy Cole will report directly to Adria.

Adria’s new “home” is 1108 Grace Hall, so please feel free to stop by or drop her a note (alogan3@nd.edu) of welcome!

In addition to this change, a huge congratulations is in order for Sheri Egendoerfer. Sheri has been promoted to Talent Acquisition Associate. In this role, Sheri is taking on additional consulting responsibilities for more roles. Go Sheri!

Tara Gilchrist, Sr. Talent Acquisition Consultant, will spearhead the ever-important sourcing for development positions. Nancy Cole will continue to provide critical coordination for the talent acquisition team as well as manage the assignment of office space and support a variety of financial and position management matters.

Please visit us in 11S Grace Hall! We’d love to see you!

Kathryn Valenti
Sr. Director of Organizational Strategy

Dear UR,

Please join us in celebrating Angel Hess as she joins the DC Team! Angel is transitioning to the Regional Associate (RA) role from Senior Coordinator for Athletics Advancement, a position she has fulfilled since 2018. Angel will remain embedded in Athletics Advancement. This will be her fifth role since she began her Notre Dame career in Annual Giving in 2012. Prior to joining the University, Angel worked for the Penn-Harris-Madison and Mishawaka schools in Human Resources for many years. Angel enjoys spending time with her family (which is growing as both her son and daughter are getting married in the coming months), gardening, and you can catch her walking around the ND lakes at noontime!

Lori

I’m thrilled to announce that Molly Lenaburg has accepted our offer to join the Notre Dame Alumni Association as the new Affinity Marketing Program Director. She succeeds the venerable Anne Faherty, who recently stepped away to embark on her well-earned retirement. Molly is a native of Elkhart, IN and graduated from the University of Southern Indiana in 2014. She brings with her a passion for marketing and, as a lifelong fan, a passion for Notre Dame. Her previous marketing experiences include the shoe industry, boat manufacturing, residential construction, and a marketing agency. When she isn’t working, Molly enjoys spending time with her beagle pup Benji, fiancé Alex, family and friends, crafting, and wedding planning.

Molly’s first day with us will be Monday, March 28, 2022. Please join me in welcoming Molly to the family!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollylenaburg/

Thank you,

Digger

Dear Colleagues,

I write today with bittersweet news. I am delighted to share that our wonderful colleague, Megan DePrimio-Faust, has accepted a position as Program Director for Engagement and Policy Operations with Notre Dame Athletics.

It has been my great privilege to work alongside Megan during my time with the Stewardship and Donor Relations team. Megan is organized, dedicated, deadline-focused, and excellent at managing the details for large-scale undertakings. Megan has excelled in leading many of the Capital Public Recognition projects large and small over her past 5.5 years in Development and has been instrumental in shaping recognition and plaque standards. She has also contributed to other areas of Stewardship including Fr. John and Lou Nanni Acknowledgements and Athletics Endowment Reports. Additionally, she has worked diligently to lead our team towards the completion of a University-wide audit of public recognition.

I know I speak on behalf of the entire team when I share she will be deeply missed. However, her absence on our team will soften knowing that she is headed back to a role that will allow her to work each day using her passion for Athletics. Megan’s last day will be April 1. Please join me in congratulating Megan on this new chapter.

The Stewardship & Donor Relations team will work diligently to post Megan’s position. If you are interested in working with the Donor Recognition team, please reach out to me directly.

All My Best,
Jessica

UR Team-

It is with great excitement for our talented friend and colleague, Brian Powell, (and mixed emotions from our team) that I share the news that he will be leaving Notre Dame to start a new role as Senior Director for National Leadership & Planned Giving at Make a Wish America. Brian’s last day with Notre Dame will be Monday, March 7, and shortly after he will begin his new role, which is remote based. We are so glad that the Powell Family (including Brian’s wife, Katie, and three adorable kids, Cooper, Brooks, & Fitz) will remain in South Bend, and that Katie will continue to be the Associate Head Coach of ND Women’s Lacrosse.

Over the last 9 years, Brian’s leadership, creativity, and teamwork have been critical to the success and growth of the Athletics Advancement team, the Rockne Athletics Fund, the Monogram Club, and the Annual Giving team. Brian’s impact will be felt by generations of Notre Dame student-athletes for decades to come. We are so grateful for his hard work, and are happy that a special cause like Make a Wish is gaining such a wonderful teammate and person.

Please find a message from Brian below:
“To each one of you – thank you for your friendship over the last nine years. Working at Notre Dame, particularly on behalf of Athletics, has been one of the great privileges of my life. It’s as if I was able to walk into my dreams and those experiences became my day to day reality. I had so much fun. But I think what I ultimately enjoyed most about the job was getting to work with such kind and talented people. The lessons and memories will come with me, and I will cheer on your continued success. I might even throw in the occasional tour or ticket request just to keep everyone on their toes. Thank you so, so much. Go Irish!”

Please join me in congratulating Brian. You will be greatly missed!

Go Irish!

Kim Borza Donaldson

Please join us in celebrating the promotions of Anita Jones, Brigette Kinney, Katie Edel, Maureen Daday, Pam Mullin, Roz Palusci, and Sarah Nugent to the role of Regional Associate (RA). Each of these individuals has exhibited the high-level responsibilities and skills needed for this new role, and we look forward to their future growth as we continue to align the DC Team for exponential fundraising. Please congratulate them!

The RA position creates a new level in the DC Team career stream, which now includes some re-titled roles, as follows: Development Coordinator (DC), Regional Associate (RA), Assistant Program Director (APD, formerly SRDC), and Associate Director (AD, formerly Assistant Manager). The new titles reflect the evolved state of the roles and the high degree of autonomy/responsibility.

Though the changes incorporate some additional responsibilities and restructuring, all managerial reporting relationships will remain the same, as will all fundraiser (RD and SRD) partnership assignments.

Thank you and congrats to all!

~Lori & Team

We are excited to welcome Sam King to the Storytelling & Engagement team on Monday, February 21! Sam brings a wealth of experience to our writing team, from his work as a scholar of American history, a legal writing specialist, a content creator for wikiHow, and an NHL team writer. Sam holds a BA from New York University and a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina.

Sam specializes in the history of post-Civil War America, including Chicago history, Asian American studies, race and ethnicity, and immigration history, and has written about these topics extensively. Notwithstanding such burnished credentials, he’s perhaps best known for his work as a zombie extra in an NYU student film… at least according to his IMDb page. Sam is a die-hard fan of the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team, and he has a senior cat, Jane Addams—named after the early 20th century American social worker activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Sam brings to our team key research, organization, and a demonstrated capacity for inquisitive and creative thinking. We are so happy to welcome him to South Bend and look forward to the many contributions he will make to Development and the University of Notre Dame!

David Chaudoir

We are thrilled to welcome Barbara Josenhans to the Storytelling & Engagement team on Monday, February 21st. Barbara comes to us with a background rich in storytelling experience in arts administration and real estate. Barbara is a professional musician, having held senior chairs in French horn with over half a dozen orchestras in the United States. She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Goshen College.

Some “fun facts” about Barbara:

• Her first job was scooping ice cream at a mom-and-pop dairy bar that only had three flavors
• Her best friend to this day is one she made in kindergarten!
• She’s perfected baking pie, especially with sour cherries hand-picked in Door County, Wisconsin (Go Packers!*)

Barabra values collaboration and synergy in her work and creative endeavors. She brings a breadth of great experience that demonstrates her comprehensive appreciation of high-quality craftsmanship and artistry, qualities vital to the role of a writer. Barabra will be joined in South Bend by her husband, Dr. Thomas Josenhans, and their children at the end of the school year. Welcome to Notre Dame!

 

David Chaudoir

*Packers was added by David without consultation with Barbara

 

It is my pleasure to welcome Dezha Moore to the Annual Giving team as an Assistant Director of Giving Programs. In this role, she will focus on planning and executing annual fundraising campaigns, initiatives, and events, including (but not limited to) Reunion giving, Notre Dame Day, Giving Tuesday, Friday Night Bash, Welcome Weekend, and more. Dezha’s first day will be Monday, February 14th.

Dezha graduated from Indiana State University in 2018. She most recently worked as the Director of Community Engagement and the Dean of School Culture for the South Bend Empowerment Zone. She is actively involved in the South Bend community, serves as the Diversity & Inclusion lead for the Young Professionals Network of South Bend, and has several certifications in the fields of Leadership and Education. We’re thrilled to have her join the Annual Giving team!

Please join me in welcoming Dezha!

Katie Kerby

We are really excited to announce that Amber Cerveny ’03 joined our Storytelling Team this week as our Program Coordinator serving Planned Giving. In Amber’s role, she’ll be directing the storytelling efforts for all Planned Giving projects.

Amber joins us from the Diocese of Springfield (IL) where she served as the Director of Faith and Ministry Promotion. Prior to this she served Catholic Charities (Springfield, IL) as their Development Coordinator. Amber also had a 10-year run in the Chicago market in the residential real estate industry. Thinking about buying vs. renting (?) go see Amber first!

Here’s some fun facts about Amber:

• She played TROMBONE for The Band of the Fighting Irish (she claims it’s the best section in the band)
• She’s graduated from Notre Dame in 2003; magna cum laude with a degree in Psychology
• She loves “challenges” as an adult Amber has learned to play the piano, took up boxing and ran the Chicago Marathon

Soon after graduating from Notre Dame, Amber took a job in the Los Angeles area with a company called Kurtzman Carson Consultants. While living in the Hollywood area, our Amber snuck into a Matthew McConnaughey Malibu House Party… Amber admits; “for fear of being arrested, I didn’t stay long…” I think we all need a little more detail about this story!

Please be sure to stop by and introduce yourself to Amber — she’s situated with the Storytelling Team at Eddy Street Commons.

Jim