UR Team,

Please join us in congratulating Kat Gardner on her promotion to Associate Director of Leadership Annual Giving. We are thrilled for Kat to officially join the Annual Giving team as a tier one fundraiser after serving as a valued member of the Stewardship & Donor Relations team.

Over the past 5 1/2 years, Kat has played an integral role with the Stewardship & Donor Relations team. In her early years with S&DR, Kat partnered with the Western fundraising region as well as several divisions. Most recently, Kat has fostered excellent campus partnerships with the College of Arts & Letters, the Keough School, and the Arts & Architecture divisions. Further, Kat developed and led the growth of the annual Endowed Position Stewardship Initiative (EPSI); she has led the newly revised Expendable Reporting initiative for the team; she has co-led the development of the Stewardship Scoop campus-wide educational newsletter, using her marketing talents to make it a truly memorable publication. 

We are confident that Kat’s experience with donors, eagerness to have a greater impact on our students, and dedication to our mission will lead her to continued success as a fundraiser. Please join us in congratulating Kat on her new role. 

Best,
Kasey O’Connor & Cristi Ganyard

Dear Colleagues,

Please join us in congratulating Jeff Fersch on his transition to the Prospect & Research Strategy team as a Research Analyst!

Jeff has been with Development since 2005, when he worked as a Development Assistant. In 2014, he became a fundraiser for what was then the Midwest Region. He continued with the Illinois Region and worked with donors in the Chicagoland area. Jeff has been a prolific mission-giving fundraiser — consistently posting $1 million-plus in unrestricted — along with hitting his tier target in six of the last seven years. More than the numbers, Jeff is known for the consummate care he shows donors and his teammates. The Chicago team wishes him great success as he continues to serve Our Lady’s mission.

In his new role, Jeff will be working with the Research team to provide quality research to fundraisers and help identify process improvement opportunities in our recurring project-based work. We’re excited to gain Jeff’s unique insight as a long-standing member of the Development family. Jeff will make his transition to the team on April 17th.

Again, please join us in congratulating Jeff on his new role!

Jerry Barca & Christina Ryan

I am excited to announce that John Cunningham has joined the Chicago team as a regional director. John (’18, ’20 M.Ed) was born in South Bend, but after various moves during his childhood, his family has called Chapel Hill, North Carolina home for the last twelve years.

While a student at Notre Dame, John worked as a manager for the men’s basketball program under Coach Mike Brey. After graduation John taught middle school social studies for two years at Our Lady of Sorrows School in McAllen, Texas, as part of the ACE Teaching Fellows Program.

After a stint working with the Advancement Team at Saint Joseph High School in South Bend, John was the Facility Operations Manager for the Kansas City Current, a soccer team in the NWSL, for the past two years. John joined the KC Current during its inaugural season in 2021 and worked on a number of projects including the building process of the team’s training facility.

John has always been around sports, and enjoys playing and watching any game and spending time with family and friends.

His first day in the office is Wednesday, March 29.

– Jerry Barca

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 Colleagues,

Please help us welcome Emily Naff to Regional Development as a Development Coordinator (DC). Emily’s first day will be Monday, March 27th.

Emily is no stranger to Notre Dame! She comes to us from the Main Building where she has worked for the past year as a Marketing and Design Specialist for our Marketing Department. Prior to that, she was in Grace Hall working as a People Services Associate in our Human Resources Department. Before joining the Notre Dame family in 2020, Emily held HR and Marketing positions at Talent Source in Mishawaka and Mahoney Family Dentistry in South Bend.

Emily received her BS in Marketing from Indiana University South Bend.

Emily’s experience, skillset, and commitment to the mission of Our Lady’s University will no doubt help advance our team’s work and culture. Development is lucky to have her!

Please consider reaching out to Emily at eknouse@nd.edu to introduce yourself.

Welcome to Development, Emily!

Anita Sareen

Lori Tinkey

On behalf of the Hesburgh Women of Impact program, please join the Student Government Department of Gender Relations – Title IX and Women’s Initiatives in a panel-led discussion on female progress and co-education at Notre Dame, featuring UR’s own Indi Jackson!.

Panelists include Mary Bliley (first female undergraduate – ’72),  Katie Conboy (President of St. Mary’s), Carolyn Woo (first female dean of Mendoza College of Business), Indi Jackson (former ND student-athlete and current Regional Director of Development), and Kathleen Sprows Cummings (professor of American Studies).

We are excited to host this conversation as our community continues celebrating the 50th academic year of co-education at Notre Dame. All are welcome, and the first 50 attendees will receive free t-shirts designed to resemble the previously distributed 1972 hats. We look forward to seeing you in Jordan Auditorium (Mendoza College of Business) on Monday, March 27th, from 6:00-7:15 pm.

In full support of our trusted colleague Mary Flynt, I inform you of her decision:

“After careful thought and consideration, I’ve decided to step back from work to focus on our family during this current season of life. I’ve been inspired, encouraged, supported, and loved by the UR team since even before I joined it, so this departure is bittersweet in many ways. My last day isn’t for a few months yet so I’m confident there will be many more memories made, people to onboard, and opportunities to connect before I depart.”

Mary will continue her model service to our mission until July 1.
Please join me in celebrating her in the coming months.
True to above-and-beyond form, Mary’s thoughtful notice propels effective continuation of her impact.

Also, I am pleased to share that Sara Liebscher, Brian Diss, and I have been collaborating to expand the capacity and influence of the Learning and Organizational Development (LOD) team. Stay tuned for additional news and postings in the coming weeks.

For Notre Dame,

Bryan Reaume

Hello UR Team! If you are interested in joining us for our next UR Walks, please fill out this form. We will meet at  the ESC Lobby at noon. Sara Liebscher will be leading the walk. As there may be some non-pavement, trail walking, we advise that appropriate footwear be considered. Signing up also helps us to contact those who are interested just in case we need to cancel at the last minute due to inclement weather. We look forward to catching up with you while getting in our steps. Happy trails!