Dear Colleagues:

Rod Ambrissi will fill Laura O’Sullivan’s previous role as the program director in Special Events & Stewardship working with the Annual Giving & Marketing Strategy team. He will be working closely with the leaders of the recognition societies (Sorin Society, Corby Society, Order of St. Thomas More, John Cardinal O’Hara Society, Rockne Directors Circle, as well as the Badin Guild) to plan and execute events that engage and inspire.

Rod has spent the last fifteen years traveling the world, as a cruise director with Royal Caribbean International. He will apply his extensive experience working internationally and interacting with diverse cultures and lifestyles to the many recognition society activities as well as Notre Dame Day. Rod’s strengths of creativity and adaptability will serve him well in this role, and you’ll see his enthusiasm is contagious.

Rod and his wife Tammy, already living in South Bend and with Anthony Travel, are thrilled that Rod has found “land legs” and that their long-distance relationship has come to an end. Please join me in welcoming Rod and Tammy to the Notre Dame family.

Yours in Notre Dame,

Katherine Lane

South Bend St. Patrick’s Day Parade is this Saturday, 3/14/2015. Kick off is at 11:00 am

It is with great pleasure that I introduce George West as the first new fundraiser to join the Athletics Advancement team. George will make the move across campus to this new role within University Relations on Monday, March 23^rd after nearly two-years as Coordinator of Game Day Operations.  Prior to joining the Game Day staff, George was in Management and Sales at Enterprise Holdings.

George will fundraise directly for Athletics and also partner closely with the regional development and gift planning teams.  I am truly excited about the opportunity for him to further these partnerships as well as many within Athletics.  His regional assignment will be announced at a later date.

George is a 2009 graduate of the Mendoza College of Business and was a four-year letter winner as a wide receiver on the Irish football team.  He was a part of the first football “early enrollee” class in school history, along with Chris Stewart and James Aldridge.  A native of Spencer, Oklahoma, George and his fiancée Sandra (ND ’09) have one son, George III, and are expecting a baby girl in May.  In addition to time with his family, George loves to travel and play golf (two hobbies that will quickly endear him to his new prospects and benefactors).

Please join me in welcoming George to UR and the Athletics Advancement team.

Sara Liebscher

Kick off St. Patrick’s Day weekend with Gavin McGuire and The Jerry O’Fonics Band at Bucktown Tap on Saturday, March 14th. Music starts at 9 pm. For more info and directions, visit www.bucktowntap.com!

Hope to see you there!

Special Events & Stewardship is excited to welcome two new coordinators to the team, starting on Monday, March 9th.

Rochelle Miller, reporting to Sara Kassen, will focus on stewarding leadership donors by assisting with acknowledgements, endowment reporting, public recognition, events, and more. A graduate of Bethel College, Rochelle’s experience as an educator and in the nonprofit sector will serve her greatly in her new role. Most recently she served as the Volunteer Coordinator for Joni and Friends, a Christian disability ministry that provides outreach to families affected by disability around the globe. Rochelle’s references spoke of her strong character and commitment to service, and noted, “Everything Rochelle touches, she makes better.” We are looking forward to utilizing these strengths to bolster our efforts.

Also beginning her Notre Dame career this week, please join us in welcoming Lauren Whisler, who will report to Cristi Ganyard. In this newly created position, Lauren will assist with both special event planning and stewardship programs. Lauren will work closely with the team on activities surrounding Football Advisory Council weekends, Commencement, and a variety of other events, as well as supporting the principal gifts stewardship program. Lauren comes to Notre Dame with a combination of events and stewardship experience, having worked most recently as Coordinator of Major Gifts with the Ravinia Festival in Chicago. In this role, Lauren provided individual donor stewardship, cultivating donor and sponsor relationships and coordinating member data and benefits throughout the year. During the summer festival season, Lauren’s attention turned to coordinating and executing a large number of donor and trustee events in the fast-paced festival environment. Lauren previously held similar responsibilities with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. A graduate of Indiana University’s Arts Administration Program in Bloomington, minoring in Non-Profit Management, Lauren is a native of the Indianapolis area and looks forward to returning to her Hoosier roots.

Please join us in welcoming Lauren and Rochelle to the Notre Dame family.

Kind regards,

Katherine

Dear team,

One year after the OAD process, I recently initiated a variety of reviews to evaluate the effectiveness of our structure implemented on March 1, 2014. Such exercises have included the recent data retreat, where we evaluated the current structure and our ability to most effectively manage data, and transform this into information, knowledge, and wisdom that drives our business.

In recent months, I have also asked Sara Liebscher to lead an expanded team in Athletics Advancement. Many of you are aware of this expanded team, which will include additional positions focused on operations, events, stewardship, and fundraising. Brian Powell, Kevin Nugent, Brent Henningfield, and Laura O’Sullivan have recently been appointed to several of these positions, and and I am excited about the impact they are having already. Sarah Futa continues excellent work in her critical role on the team, and Sara is recruiting three new employees to serve as fundraisers and key partners with all members of our fundraising team. In her leadership role, I am pleased that Sara will now assume the title of Sr. Director of Athletics Advancement. Through her excellent leadership and partnership with all members of our team, I am excited about the future cultivation of new philanthropy and stewardship of so many generous Notre Dame benefactors.

I would also like to take this opportunity to outline an expanded scope that I have asked Gavin McGuire to assume. In the role of Development Associate, Gavin will continue with his current responsibilities, but also manage a variety of staff communications for our team, maintain responsibility for stewardship of benefactors I work with, collaborate on cultivation strategies, and lead a variety of special projects. Another specific component of this expanded role will be a deliberate focus on organizational health and innovation. We will be introducing a variety of new concepts on how our team can continue to reinvent itself, provide innovative opportunities to employees across the team, and constantly strive for excellence in our cultivation and stewardship of benefactors. Working closely with each of you, I am excited about the impact that Gavin’s leadership will provide.

Please join me in thanking Sara and Gavin for their continued leadership on our team, and know that I look forward to engaging in dialogue with each of you as we continue to debrief the OAD process and structure.

Alex Romagnolo will join the Annual Giving and Strategic Marketing team on Monday, March 9, as the Associate Director, Athletics Annual Giving. Alex joins us from Grassroots Soccer where he was the Director of Annual Giving for more than three years. Prior to that, he was the Director of Ticket Sales for UC Berkeley. Alex brings with him a wealth of annual giving and athletic ticket sales knowledge. Alex moved to the South Bend area last summer with his wife, Theresa, (the ND women’s head soccer coach) and their two daughters, Sierra (almost 3) and Giovanna (8 months).

Please join us in congratulating him on his new position.

We are pleased to share with you the following position announcements for the Annual Giving and Strategic Marketing team:

It is with great pleasure that we announce the promotion of Pablo Martinez to the position of Assistant Director, Alumni 21+.  Within minutes of meeting Pablo it is apparent that his passion for Notre Dame drives him.  His efforts in leading the Matching Gifts program as well as his vision for increasing Employee giving have impressed those who work with him.  Please congratulate Pablo on his new role.

Lindahl Chase has accepted the promotion to Assistant Director, Notre Dame Fund. Lindahl joined the Annual Giving and Strategic Marketing team in December of 2013 as the Marketing & Communications Specialist. Lindahl has been a tremendous asset to the entire team. Lindahl has stepped up to every challenge and handled each one with enthusiasm and professionalism. We are thrilled to have her lead the Notre Dame Fund.

Please join us in congratulating them on their new positions.

I am excited to officially announce the addition of Brian Powell to the Athletics Advancement team as the Director of Operations.  Brian will oversee a number of our internal functions, including marketing, communications, stewardship, and reporting.  Furthermore, he will work closely with the field fundraisers and serve as an integral on-campus resource for their prospect and donor needs, much like an Academic Advancement officer.

Since coming to the University nearly two years ago, Brian has done terrific work as a major gift officer, a leader of Notre Dame Day and most recently, as the Director of the Rockne Heritage Fund.   He will continue to oversee the Rockne Heritage Fund through the transition to a new manager.

Brian and his wife, Katie (ND assistant lacrosse coach), are the proud new parents of Cooper, who joined their family and our UR team this past December.

I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Brian officially to Athletics Advancement and am confident that he will play a significant role in our future success.

Sara Liebscher

We are pleased to announce that on March 9th, Pam Mullin will become the newest member of the Development team.  Pam will be joining our Midwest team as Administrative Assistant- Regional Development, in support of Chris Murphy and Darrell Paulsen.  Pam comes to the University with years of experience as a dedicated events planner, with a consistent record of administrative management that exceeds expectations. Pam was most recently employed at CarexTech and, before that, Press Ganey.