Leaving AgencyND

November 11, 2011

Posted in Non-Profits and Personal.

In the next couple of weeks, I am moving out of marketing communications and over to the Department of Development at Notre Dame.

My new job will involve starting a new fundraising program within the existing department. It should be a fun and interesting challenge, and it allows me to explore my non-profit interests in a way that I haven’t before.

As regular readers of this blog know, I maintain a separate blog at Non-Profit Chas for all of my non-profit content. I volunteer for several organizations and serve on a couple of boards. I love the challenges and opportunities that come from being entirely mission-driven.

I will continue blogging here, but Non-Profit Chas will see a lot more activity over the coming months.

Over the last six years, I have worked with some of the most brilliant minds in higher ed web. I’ve made good friends over Twitter and at conferences, through collaborations and conversations. The community continues to be one of the brightest spots of our industry.

I’m sad to be leaving AgencyND, but I am very proud of what we have accomplished. As I’ve gone from developer to project manager to director, I’ve seen a lot of changes and realize we’ve come a very long way. But as with any change, this can be an opportunity for rapid improvement and growth. I look forward to seeing what they become in the coming months and years. Fortunately, I will get to continue working with them, albeit as a client.

So here’s a parting thought: for an industry that’s not quite 20 years old, taking place in institutions that are often hundreds of years old, we have much to offer to higher education. We are, if for no other reason than our chosen profession, explorers and innovators and risk-takers. Higher education is changing and we are well-suited to usher that change in and guide our institutions to the future. As the old guard moves on, we find our voices amplified and our minds equipped to face the challenges. We’ve had to fight to be taken seriously, to get the resources to do our jobs, and to demonstrate the value of what we do. As new challenges arise, always keep fighting. As a friend once said, if you’re not making waves, you’re not doing anything important.

2 Comments

  1. Travis Brock — November 14, 2011

    Congrats on the new shift! Sounds like an exciting change. Good luck in your new position!

  2. alanc230 — December 07, 2011

    Best of luck with your work in development. Fund-raising is always a challenge, and I imagine it’s even more difficult in the current economy.