National Alumni Board Election

I want to serve the Alumni Association of Saint Joseph’s University because I have benefited significantly, as has my family and friends and colleagues, from the education and experiences we have been provided by the University. Anything I am able to do to continue in service to the University I find extremely valuable and warranted. 

The biggest opportunity the Alumni Association has is to bring together as many alumni as possible to serve in whatever capacity works best for them for the betterment of the University. Engaged alumni will enhance the university and will help ensure its future. I will work to include alumni from different majors, different colleges, different time periods, and those who had varying experiences as a student. Engaging alumni from legacy institutions will be critical to our collective success. Every graduate has benefited from their experiences and education at Saint Joseph’s University and the Alumni Association can work to bring them back or to increase their engagement and dedication.  

At the end of my term, if alumni engagement has increased and the University is benefiting from alumni involvement and the work of the Alumni Association, then my tenure will have been successful.

My higher education administration background I believe gives me impactful insight into how to support our students and alumni - and create new opportunities for reconnection. The Alumni Association continues to be a strong force with our community and has continued potential to expand alumni involvement. 

Our opportunities are endless if we remain dedicated to our SJU spirit.
 

At the end of my term, if elected, I hope to know and see that our alumni are having positive connections back to the place they love. Through shared stories, higher alumni numbers, and school pride I hope these things will show the impact of our Alumni Board. Thank you for the opportunity to run for the Vice President position.
 

Hawk Hill has been a special place for me since the very first day that I stepped on campus over 20 years ago.  In fact, it has been almost a second home to me in that SJU has prepared me to succeed in both my life and my career. I feel the responsibility to give back and contribute to SJU in order to assist future generations of Hawks in the same way that prior generations of Hawk leaders have helped lay the foundation for my success.

Having served as a volunteer at SJU for over the past decade, I have met many wonderful alumni in various regions throughout the country and have had the privilege of knowing many of them as close friends. In the past six years serving on the National Alumni Board, I have met and worked with a group of incredibly talented, smart, dedicated and hard-working alumni leaders who strive tirelessly to create great events and programs for our alumni population. As a result of their hard work, we have experienced tremendous growth in our alumni engagement in the past two years. It will be a great honor and privilege to have the opportunity to work with them again for the next two years together with our friends on the Alumni Relations team in order to serve our alumni community.  

SJU is at the threshold of a new era as a premier institution with the additions of the University of the Sciences and the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences. I believe that with my diverse background and strong experience in operations and relationship management, I can help to further advance alumni engagement while continuing to build on the strong foundation put in place by my predecessors.  

We have several great opportunities on the horizon. Our current chapters and regional leaders have laid the foundation for several successful programs and initiatives. We will need to concentrate on the execution and implementation of these programs so as to ensure that a proper infrastructure is put in place to establish continuity and success. This can be achieved by building a strong operating council within each chapter to support chapter leaders. There is significant potential to expand our alumni engagement footprint in Florida since it is one of the fastest growing states in our nation.  With the addition of both the University of the Sciences and the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences, we need to re-examine our ability to further engage our graduate level segment of the alumni base together with the young alumni base that is increasing every year. Lastly, we also need to promote Saint Joseph’s University from a regional brand to a national brand given that we have alumni present in nearly every state in the country and internationally. 

My first measure of success at the end of my tenure would be to determine how well we have welcomed and engaged the entire community from the University of the Sciences and the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences while continuing to offer great experiences for all of our alumni base. Second, I would consider an annual and sustainable 10 to 15 percent increase in overall alumni engagement and participation to be successful. Lastly, I would hope that we have established an active pipeline of alumni leaders in place to lead our various chapters, programs, and initiatives to ensure their continuity and success.