We are thrilled to introduce the newest addition to the Gammage family! Baby Xavier Robert Gammage made a grand entrance into the world on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, bringing immense joy and love to parents, Austin and Katrina, and siblings, Kyra and Oakley. Weighing in at 9lbs 8oz, this little one is already stealing our hearts.
Please join us in welcoming baby Xavier and showering the family with congratulations and warmest wishes!
– UR Family
Friends,
I am very pleased to share that Colleen Bailey-Knapke has been hired to succeed RaeLee Rea as Senior Director of Gift Planning Strategic Operations, to begin on Monday, November 13.
Colleen earned her BBA in Accountancy from Notre Dame in 2013 and returned to the University in 2018. Since that time Colleen has been a standout member of the Gift Management team, most recently serving as Audit and Compliance Program Director where her responsibilities included ensuring the accuracy of gift data, serving as subject-matter expert on regulatory sanctions, and liaising with the University’s Controller’s Office, Tax Department and our Gift Planning team.
Following her graduation from Notre Dame and prior to returning to the University in 2018, Colleen served as a Senior Associate at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, as an independent consultant where she partnered with clients to design and implement accounting systems, and as Controller for Holy Cross Services.
In her role as Senior Director, Colleen will lead the Gift Planning Strategic Operations team and maintain oversight of the University’s Donor Advised Fund, Charitable Remainder Trust, and Charitable Gift Annuity programs, as well as the administration of realized trust and estate gifts. Her abilities and experience in the design and implementation of continuous process improvements will be a boon to the Gift Planning team, to the continued growth of our DAF and CRT programs, and to the benefactors we serve.
Please join me in congratulating Colleen on this new role!
-TJ
Happy birthday to all our UR employees celebrating their special days in November! We’re so thankful to have you as teammates!
11/1—Sid Corrigan
11/1—Sean Cuneo
11/2—Ling Sun
11/3—Paul Hernandez
11/4—Tom Molnar
11/7—Beth Pritchard
11/7—Mike Sullivan
11/8—Michelle Joyce
11/9—Lupe Gomez
11/9—Daria Kapinos
11/10—Ernestine Gardner
11/10—Jennifer Witucki
11/11—Sarah Forner
11/12—RaeLee Rea
11/13—Sean Sharpe
11/14—Shannon Forry
11/14—Kristen Nevill
11/15—Mitch Dansky
11/15—Laura Waltz
11/17—Jim Furlong
11/17—Sara Liebscher
11/20—Sara Kassen
11/23—Debra de St. Jean
11/23—Kelly Kalisak
11/23—Jennifer Odell
11/24—Susan Morse
11/27—Vahid Sadrzadeh
11/30—Ken Camm
11/30—Angel Hess
Please join me in congratulating Kat and Wills Gardner on the birth of Parker Flynn Gardner. Parker entered the world on Monday, October 23, 2023, at 1:38 pm, weighing 6lbs, 8 ounces, and measuring 19 inches. Welcome to the world, Parker!
– UR Family
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:
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: