The Gift Planning Strategic Operations team is thrilled to welcome Thomas Speranza as a Development Associate. His first day with us will be Monday, October 31st.

Thomas will work with Carolyn Hardman in the administration of our Charitable Remainder Trust and Life Insurance Programs and assist the Operations team with realized estate gifts. Thomas received his degree in Accounting from Purdue University Northwest. In his free time, he is an active member of the South Bend Chamber Singers.

Please stop by the Office of Gift Planning to welcome Thomas to UR!

RaeLee Rea
Sr Director, Gift Planning Strategic Operations

The JHC MVP (Most Valuable Pairings) program is under way for the 22/23 academic year. Here is the list of the benefactors participating this year: JHC | MVP. Please click here to view the email invite. We have space for a few more mentors, if you have a JHC member not listed, feel free to reach out to them! If you have any questions, connect with Shannon Longo, slongo1@nd.edu.

Dear Colleagues,

On Friday, November 4, 2022, the Badin Guild will host our Clemson Reception from 4-6 PM at Downes Club in Corbett Hall. We are pleased to announce that Dr. Maria McKenna ’97, the Faculty Director of the Transformational Leaders Program and the AnBryce Scholars Initiatives, will be our special guest speaker for this event.

Please see the list of registered attendees for detail on benefactors who are registered for this event.

If you have questions regarding this event, please contact Laura Walker.

Dear Colleagues,

We have posted a position for a Tier 3 or Tier 4  (depending on experience) Director, Regional Development on the New York Metro team. A sizable portion of this important portfolio will include a number of existing leadership donors who were assigned to Jesse Meyer prior to his departure in September. Applicants will be expected to have demonstrated success in their current roles and should be intent on cultivating long-term relationships with these generous members of the Notre Dame family. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to have a conversation with your manager. The posting will close at midnight on Monday, October 31.

Thank you,
Sara Liebscher

Dear Colleagues,

The third fall renewal mailing (renew #3) dropped in mailboxes starting Thursday, October 20 to all our unrestricted and giving society benefactors. As a reminder, this mailing is sent to all assigned and unassigned benefactors whose annual giving is less than $25,000, asking them to renew their previous calendar year gift by their respective fund owner. This mailing is being sent to over 22,000 households and will be followed by email reminders in the weeks to come. If you have any questions regarding our renewal strategy, please reach out to the appropriate fund (Sorin, Rockne, Law, etc.) owner on the annual giving team and they can assist.

Thanks!
Annual Giving Team

Our friends from the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS) would like our help in driving attendance to an event they are having next week, featuring ND alum Thom Browne.

A message from the NDIAS:

We want to pack Washington Hall for the Tuesday evening event. At the moment, we have 100 RSVPs, but want at least 150 more. We are doing another marketing push on Monday so hopefully people will respond post-fall break. Thom has an entourage of journalists, a documentarian, the CEO of Thom Browne, Inc. family and staff coming. If you could encourage students you know, colleagues, etc. to come that would be greatly appreciated.

Tickets are free but an RSVP is required. 

The University has been blessed with Dawn Smith’s drive, grit, and humor for 13 years—especially in the last year as she’s served in Development.

Today, we celebrate Dawn’s promotion to Senior Administrative Assistant, Annual Giving effective October 24, 2022! In this role, Dawn will manage incoming communications from benefactors, maintain the team’s budget, and provide administrative support to the turbocharged Annual Giving team.

A South Bend native, Dawn and her husband, Gary, are parents to Lexi (married October 8, 2022!) and grandparents to two grandsons, Declan and Greyson. Fun fact: Dawn’s maiden name was Smith, too!

Please give Dawn a high-five in recognition of her achievement!

– Brandon Tabor and Grace Prosniewski

It is my pleasure to welcome Bailey Smith to the Regional Development team as a Development Coordinator (DC). Bailey’s first day will be Monday, October 24th.

Bailey brings a wealth of institutional knowledge from her more than three years with Mendoza College of Business, in which she provided support for the Department Chair and the ITAO Faculty. Prior to that, she was a construction and events coordinator for Granite Ridge Builders in Fort Wayne.

Bailey attended Manchester University and met her husband Ian there. They reside in Osceola with their two sons, Adler (4) and Reiner (1). In her spare time, if she is not playing superheroes with Adler or building blocks with Reiner, she enjoys reading and baking!

Please join me in welcoming Bailey!

Deena Chamberlin

Dear Colleagues,

I am excited to share that Jessica Dennis is joining our For Good Administration team as Senior Program Director effective October 24. In this role, Jessica will serve as a key point of contact as she advises, manages For Good projects, develops and implements innovations in the initiative, liaises with OPAC on For Good gift press releases, and provides oversight of For Good events.

Jessica comes to us from the IDEA Center where she most recently served as their Financial Business Manager. Prior to that role, she worked for ESTEEM focusing on operations and student experience. Jessica is a 2013 graduate of Notre Dame with a BA in Sociology. She and her husband, Lex, live in South Bend. Jessica has a deep understanding of and commitment to the mission of the University, and we are thrilled that she is bringing her passion and skills to be a force For Good.

Please join me in welcoming Jessica to Development and UR.

Sincerely,
Michelle

Please welcome Maya Sison to the Marketing Operations, Annual Giving team as our Data Analyst. Her first day was Monday, October 17. Maya has ten years of data analytics experience in one of the top telecommunication companies in the Philippines. There she monitored business performance of products and transformed consumer behavior data into actionable, data-driven insights.

In her new role, Maya will build populations and segmentation for solicitations, stewardship, and other Annual Giving communications. She will additionally handle the assessment and processing of our Giving Society acknowledgements, as well as the assessment of our recurring giving data. We’re so thankful to have her on the team.

Please join me in welcoming her to Notre Dame!

Lauren Dolzan