Dear Colleagues,

I write to announce that Curtis Claypool will be transitioning from his role as a Regional Director on the New York Metro team effective December 31. During this transition, Curtis will report to Brian Diss and work closely with the Advancement Services team to benchmark and adopt best practices for Regional Director hiring, on-boarding, and training.

Since joining the New York Metro team in June 2019, Curtis has created and deepened important relationships on behalf of the University and raised critical funds for Notre Dame students. Needless to say, he will be missed by his teammates and donors.

Please join me in thanking Curtis for his numerous contributions to our team and wishing him well in his next endeavor.

All the best,
Ryan

Thank you to all who attended the Stewardship & Donor Relations team’s Endowment Report Education Session with Special Guest Trent Grocock on Nov. 2nd. Please find HERE a link to the slide deck from the session as well as a full recording. Please reach out to Cristi Ganyard at cganyard@nd.edu with any questions or feedback.

We are so happy to announce the promotion of Laura Walker! Members of the Badin Guild have been the lucky recipients of Laura’s stewardship, newsletters, cards, warmth, and prayers since 2014.

Laura has been a dedicated, flexible, and steady member of the development team in her eight years of service. She spent her first seven years as part of the Annual Fund team and moved to Stewardship & Donor Relations just over a year ago so that her role could fully focus on and expand the stewardship programs and efforts for Badin Guild members.

Today, we show the University’s appreciation by announcing her promotion to Program Director, Badin Guild Stewardship. Recently of note, Laura has created new stewardship programs for our benefactors with $10 million+ estate gifts and also widows and widowers. Whether making her monthly visit to the Grotto to pray for deceased members of the Notre Dame Family, planning innovative and meaningful events, deepening relationships with members of the Badin Guild, or selecting just the right photo from the Archives to share with her population, Laura conducts her work with excellence, integrity, and great care. Thank you, Laura, and congratulations!

-Sara Kassen

The newest episode of “The Grace of Giving” podcast is out featuring Annual Giving Program Assistant Director, Dezha Moore! In this episode, recorded in the St. Joe Coffee Company in the newly renovated St. Joseph Country Public Library in downtown South Bend, we talk with Dezha about and her journey to Annual Giving, what keeps her motivated in her work, and what it was like to record her new album. Listen now! Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and fill out this form to appear as a guest.

You can find the photos from this year’s UR Spooktacular at the link below:

https://photos.nd.edu/gallery/CP-10-27-22-University-Relations-Spooktacular/G0000uaQiB5uq89U

password: photos

The Gift and Data Management team will be out of the office on Wednesday afternoon for a service and team building activity. The general phone and email will be covered by Mary Bueno and we’ll respond to outstanding issues on Thursday.

Good day, colleagues!

I’d like to share with you a few organizational updates we’ve made on the Annual Giving team:

Lauren Dolzan has been promoted to Director, Marketing Operations where she’ll continue her leadership of the team responsible for the Department’s content development and marketing, campaign execution, and digital giving experiences. Lauren joined University Relations in 2018 as a Project Manager and most recently served as Senior Associate Director, Marketing Operations.

Katie Kerby has been promoted to Director, Annual Giving where she’ll lead a team responsible for the Sorin Society, Order of St. Thomas More, John Cardinal O’Hara Society, and giving society exclusive member experiences and events. Katie was a second-year member of the UR Internship Program and has spent the last three years in Annual Giving, most recently as Senior Associate Director, Giving Programs.

Kasey O’Connor has been promoted to Director, Annual Giving where she’ll continue to grow the Rockne Athletics Fund team while building and coaching an all-star team of leadership annual giving officers. P.S. we’re hiring two more of these roles now! Kasey, a former Notre Dame student-athlete, has served at the University for four years in Athletics and four years in Development.

Please join me in celebrating these three outstanding leaders within our division. Annual Giving will soon post a few newly-opened roles as a result of these changes. If you have any questions about joining our team, please connect with me our leadership team!

God Bless and Go Irish!
Brandon Tabor

Happy birthday to all our UR employees celebrating their special days in November! We’re so thankful to have you on our team!

11/1 – Sean Cuneo
11/2 – Ling Sun
11/3 – Paul Hernandez
11/4 – Tom Molnar
11/7 – Beth Pritchard
11/7 – Michael Sullivan
11/8 – Laura Ruiz
11/8 – Michelle Joyce
11/9 – Guadalupe Gomez
11/10 – Ernestine Gardner
11/10 – Jennifer Witucki
11/11 – Sarah Forner
11/12 – RaeLee Rea
11/13 – Sean Sharpe
11/14 – Shannon Forry
11/15 – Mitchell Dansky
11/17 – Sara Liebscher
11/20 – Alaine Roberts
11/20 – Sara Kassen
11/23 – Debra de St. Jean
11/23 – Jennifer Odell
11/24 – Susan Morse
11/27 – Vahid Sadrzadeh
11/30 – Angel Hess
11/30 – Ken Camm

It is my pleasure to welcome Michele Berente to University Relations. Michele will serve as Associate Director on the Cavanaugh Council and President’s Circle team. Michele’s first day is Tuesday, November 1.

We are excited about the impact Michele will have on our team. Michele’s experience in non-profit fundraising, events, and accounting along with her commitment to the mission of Our Lady’s University will help advance our team’s work and culture. Michele and her family moved to South Bend four years ago to join the Notre Dame family when her husband, Nick Berente, began his role as Professor of IT, Analytics, and Operations, in the Mendoza College of Business.

Please join me in welcoming Michele to the UR team!

Mary Jane Añón

It is my pleasure to welcome Steve Horstmann to the Gift Management team as the Gift Management Program Coordinator. Today is Steve’s first day, and his primary role is gift preparation. He will also be assisting colleagues and donors with questions through the departmental phone line and email.

Steve earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Central Michigan University. Steve comes to us with experience in sports ticketing, business sales, mortgage lending, and real estate.

Please join me in welcoming Steve to UR!

Alyssa Strbjak
Program Director, Gift Management Communications