Dear colleagues,

It is with tremendous gratitude that I share the news that Carleen Quinlan, Senior Director of Information Technology and Services, will be retiring from Notre Dame effective Friday, December 6.

Carleen has been a valued member of the Development and University Relations team since 2011, and during that time has advanced the work of our team through the development of new tools, advanced analytics, and technological process efficiencies. Every piece of our Development operation has felt the impact of Carleen’s leadership. Moreover, she has hired, trained, and grown a team of talented IT professionals who are committed to the mission of Notre Dame and the work of our Development team. No doubt the biggest achievement of Carleen’s tenure was the launch of the AsceND platform earlier this year, which has provided us with a CRM infrastructure that will fuel our work for many years to come.

Through her entire tenure, Carleen has led with humility, drive, and a commitment to excellence. She would be the first to give all the credit to her team, though we know that great teams always shine brighter by the reflection of their leader. Carleen looks forward to spending more time with her husband, Mark, their three daughters, and her mom as she steps into her well deserved retirement!

I am working through a transition plan and will share more details in the near future. In the meantime, please join me in thanking Carleen for her work and dedication to Notre Dame and our team, and wishing her all the best in retirement.

Brian

Friends, please join me in congratulating Annabelle Hilson on her promotion to the Prospect Management Consultant team! Over the last year Annabelle has grown quickly with the DC team, playing a key role on Athletics Advancement and taking part in the department’s ChatGPT pilot. Annabelle brings a wealth of data analysis experience with a bachelor’s in business analytics and an MNA (both from Mendoza), in addition to her time as an undergraduate and graduate student manager building the analytics efforts for Notre Dame Softball.

Annabelle will formally transition on December 2, when she will begin onboarding as Consultant for our Northwest region.

Congratulations, Annabelle!

-Jonathan Retartha

Please welcome Ariel Roche to the Marketing Operations, Annual Giving team as our new Content Marketing Specialist. Her first day is Monday, November 11. Ariel comes to us from Marquette University, where she spent 7 years crafting compelling content on behalf of campus leaders—including the president, vice president, and deans. Her 11 years of work in Advancement and the President’s Office will lend itself well to our storytelling, fundraising, and digital marketing efforts in Annual Giving.

She will be busy developing solicitation and stewardship content, as well as managing our digital platforms in conjunction with the Marketing Operations team. If you have great student stories, please send them her way.

We’re so thankful she chose Notre Dame. Please join me in welcoming Ariel to the team!

Lauren Dolzan

Friends and colleagues, it is a great joy to share with you news of the arrival of Zelie Isabella “Zelie Bellie” Feeks, born early in the morning of Thursday, October 31! Gracie and baby were champs and all is well as shared by Joe, who despite significant sleep deprivation and increased parental responsibility has already filled out his weekly RD update form. Zelie’s siblings Indy and Liam also report immediate increases in happiness, joy, and fun.

Please join me in congratulating Joe, Gracie, Indy, and Liam on this incomparably wonderful addition to the Feeks family!

Cheers,
Pete

Team,

As our division continues to grow in both team size and the scope of fundraising goals, I am pleased to announce the following organizational changes within Advancement Services. These updates better reflect the work and focus of these individuals’ roles, as well as aligns their work with the overall priorities of the organization:

IT&S Team

Dean Ernzen, a leader on our team for over 10 years and for the past 8 years overseeing our efforts around crmND and asceND, will now be a part of the IT&S team as the Director of the application development team. In this role, he will oversee the administration, configuration and development of the asceND solution along with supporting the crmND, and other business applications which are utilized in the development office. Dean is a seasoned leader with extensive Salesforce knowledge and experience in lean principles, which he will leverage to drive continuous improvement in business processes across our applications. His role aims to enhance synergies across both solutions on the Salesforce platform, and strengthen collaboration among the IT&S teams in delivering technical solutions. In this role, Dean reports to Carleen Quinlan, with Linda Klaybor, Jami Radcliff, Jay Rizzi, and Lynette Shunka reporting to him.

Gift and Data Management Team

Meg Buysse has been promoted to the role of Revenue Fund Management Specialist. In this role, Meg will focus on implementing a strategic process around communicating current pledge statuses with our benefactors. Since joining Notre Dame in 2017, she has been an invaluable member on our team as a functional lead for the Gift and Data Management team in the asceND project.

Amy Mason will now serve in the role of Audit and Compliance Specialist, assuming greater responsibilities in daily gift auditing, communication with the Controller’s Office, and the delivery of audit and gift reporting to Development and Finance leaders. Amy joined our Development team in 2019 following several years working within the Department of Athletics.

Internal Engagement and Advancement Services

Finally, I am grateful to Lana Taylor and Nancy Cole for their willingness to adjust their responsibilities to better serve our broader department.

In addition to her work on the Internal Engagement team in planning our UR-wide events (ie UR Summit, Blueprints, holiday celebrations, etc.), Lana will now collaborate closely with the Financial Administration and Strategy team to further develop and execute processes to track event budgeting and spending across our division. She will also continue to manage parking needs at Eddy Street.

In addition to her work to support me and the broader Advancement Services team, Nancy Cole will oversee all space-related items within our department, including Eddy Street and Grace Hall. This includes coordination with Kite (the property manager of our ESC building), Notre Dame building services, and other vendors. Nancy will also collaborate closely with Laura Waltz and other colleagues in the strategic use of our large conference room spaces (Family Room and Sorin Room) and will oversee the student workers in Eddy Street.

Please join me in thanking Dean, Meg, Amy, Lana, and Nancy for their continued commitment to our division and Notre Dame.

Brian

I am delighted to share that Nick Weiler has been promoted to Regional Associate (RA), Development Administration. In this capacity, Nick will be able to partner with Tier 4 and Tier 5 fundraisers as well as share his subject matter expertise more broadly with the entire DC team. Nick is currently participating in two AsceND improvement projects: the Ascend Intranet Project and the AsceND iWave + Engage Early Adopter Program. He is also pursuing his EMNA degree at Notre Dame. We are grateful to have him on the team!

Best,
Angie

Colleagues,

I’m excited to introduce our newest team member, Kristen Titus! She started on Monday, October 21 in the Gift Management Program Coordinator Role. She will lead gift preparation efforts while assisting colleagues and donors with questions through the departmental phone line (5150) and email (GiveGift).

Kristen graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 2014 with a Social Work degree. She has non-profit and grant experience. Most recently, she worked with Irish Woodworks, a local business that creates custom wood products, primarily for Notre Dame. Outside of work, Kristen enjoys spending time with friends, exploring local businesses, running, or working on house projects!

Please join me in welcoming Kristen to the team!

Best,
Alyssa

Greetings Team,

I’m thrilled to announce that our very own Todd Lemons has accepted an exciting new position as the Software Asset Manager within OIT here on campus. This is a fantastic opportunity for him, and we couldn’t be prouder of his achievements as he takes on this promotion. As the Software Asset Manager, Todd will focus on the oversight and implementation of a brand new area of ServiceNow for the University. This area will allow better collaboration and oversight of the software used throughout all of campus.

Todd came to the NDAA after spending most of his career at Bethel University. In his nearly two years with us, he spearheaded the redesign of Conference Room 153 and our EVC Auditorium AV, the implementation of two generations of Point of Sale Systems to revolutionize our Football Friday and other event sales, and took on the support of our Alumni Google environment. And he did this all while supporting each and every one of us through our regular technology and licensing needs.

Todd’s official last day with NDAA is expected to be Friday, November 1st; however, he will be supporting our remaining Football Fridays and assisting with the transition to his successor once hired.

Please congratulate Todd on his new position as he prepares for his next chapter!

John

Dear Colleagues,

It is our pleasure to welcome Annie Geary back to Development as Corporate and Foundation Relations’ new Regional Associate!

Annie is joining CFR after three years of dedicated service within the President’s Office as Advisor to the Vice President and Chief of Staff. Prior to that time, she worked for Development for more than 20 years, primarily as a Development Coordinator and right hand to Dan Crossen. Annie is an ND Class of ’91 alum and comes from an extraordinary Notre Dame family, with her beloved father, the late John Butkovich ’63, a Development legend in his own right.

We are thrilled and grateful for the depth of institutional knowledge, experience, and love for the University that she is bringing to her new role on the CFR team. Please join us in welcoming Annie back!

Amanda and Ken