The University of Notre Dame Alumni Association has launched a new advisory board to guide the University’s engagement with its young alumni.
The Young ND Board will represent the interests of and steer programming for Notre Dame graduates who are 32 and younger. The new 16-person body will meet on campus twice a year and hold regular digital meetings.
The board will work closely with the Alumni Association’s network of Notre Dame clubs, developing and disseminating best practices for young alumni engagement for the 270 Notre Dame clubs spread out across the country and around the globe. Twelve members will serve as regional directors and collaborate directly with the young alumni coordinators of the clubs within their regions.
Outside of the club network, the Young ND Board will craft on-campus and digital initiatives to help young alumni celebrate Notre Dame. The board will strive to support and reach out to all members of the young alumni community with a focus on diversity and inclusion. It will also assist students as they transition to young alumni by serving and inspiring them throughout their time on campus.
“Our young alumni are so passionate about the University, and they are eager to stay connected with Notre Dame and their friends and classmates,” said Dolly Duffy, the executive director of the Alumni Association. “This board will dramatically increase our ability to deliver our young graduates the opportunities they crave online, on campus and in their local communities.”
More than 200 young alumni applied to serve on the board. A task force of five young alumni evaluated the applications and selected the first class of board members. In future years, the board’s membership will solicit applications for open positions and choose the new representatives.
In its first year, the Young ND Board will be led by Chair Molly Cronin, class of 2011. A Chicago native and resident, Cronin is entering her third and final year as a young alumni director on the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors.
Meghan McMahon Cox, who earned her undergraduate degree in 2010 and her J.D. in 2013, will succeed Cronin as chair in 2019-20. Cox is beginning her second year as a young alumni director on the national board. After Cox’s one-year term as chair, the Young ND board will elect a chair every two years. The Young ND chair will serve concurrently on the Board of Directors as the sole young alumni representative.
The Alumni Association also has boards in place representing a number of affinity and diversity groups: ND Women Connect, Notre Dame Senior Alumni, the Notre Dame Alumni Diversity Council, Asian Pacific Alumni of Notre Dame, Black Alumni of Notre Dame, Hispanic Alumni of Notre Dame and Native American Alumni of Notre Dame.
The Young ND Board will join these boards on campus Sept. 6-7 for the Alumni Association’s annual All Groups Meeting. It will be the first on-campus meeting of the new board.
The 16 members of the new Young ND Board are:
- Matt Beck ’17 MBA, East regional director — assistant brand manager, One A Day Vitamins, Bayer Corp.
- Gable Brady ’14, Mid-Atlantic regional director — professional staff member, Senate Budget Committee
- Meghan McMahon Cox ’10, ’13 J.D., director of innovation — attorney, Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs LLP
- Molly Cronin ’11, chair — strategic account executive, Groupon
- Ryan Davila ’15, West regional director — National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and graduate student, Arizona State University
- Jack Moore ’14, Pacific Northwest regional director — product manager, QVentus
- Amy Porter ’14, Northeast regional director — materials development engineer, Xerox Corp.
- Corey Robinson ’17, Director of diversity and belonging — business development associate, Sotheby’s
- Maggie Rohlk ’15, Central regional director — sourcing manager, Target
- Fraderica Smith ’12, South regional director — accountant, City of Doraville
- Lauren Vidal ’15, Florida regional director — senior associate, corporate risk, Willis Towers Watson
- Lizz Weir ’16, Ohio Valley regional director — sixth-grade math teacher, Oldham County Schools
- Tom White ’14, Midwest regional director — strategist/writer, Google
- Rebekah Wierson ’13, director of auxiliary operations — engineering project manager, University Medical Center of El Paso
- Amanda Williams ’13, Southwest regional director — OB/GYN resident physician, Baylor College of Medicine
- Katie Zillmer ’12, Illinois regional director — account director, KitelyTech
Contact: Bill Gangluff, senior director of marketing communications, University of Notre Dame Alumni Association, 574-631-2474, bgangluf@nd.edu