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President and CEO
Boys and Girls Clubs of America
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For more information, call (574) 631-5779 or e-mail cscstp@nd.edu.
Sponsors: Center for Social Concerns, Department of Political Science, Higgins Labor Studies Program, Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Master of Nonprofit Administration Program, The Career Center, and The Notre Dame Law School Career Services Office
Roxanne Spillett heads the nation's fastest-growing youth development organization with a primary focus on young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. BGCA now serves some 4.8 million girls and boys through membership and community outreach at more than 4,000 affiliates in the United States, and on military bases in Europe and Asia.
Spillett has led BGCA through a period of dramatic growth, with particular emphasis on serving children in nontraditional environments, including public housing and Native American lands. One of her most noteworthy achievements was the initiation of a unique partnership with the Department of Defense which has chartered Boys & Girls Clubs on more than 470 U.S. military bases worldwide.
Under Spillett's leadership, BGCA has created generation-changing initiatives in education, technology and cultural diversity; while helping Clubs increase their capacities in technology, human resources, and board and resource development. Additionally, Spillett has built one of the most prestigious and engaged nonprofit boards in America. Her proudest accomplishments include uniting Clubs behind a common agenda and creating value for Clubs.
In recognition for her achievements, Spillett was selected in 2004 and 2005 as one of the "Power 50" by The Non-Profit Times, and received the Excellence in National Executive Leadership Award presented by the National Human Services Assembly – an association of the nation's leading national nonprofits in the fields of health, human and community development, and human services. Most recently, Spillett and BGCA were cited by Newsweek (July 2006) as "15 People Who Make America Great," part of the magazine's annual Giving Back Awards.
Her 1996 appointment to the presidency of BGCA marks a major milestone in a career spanning more than 25 years in Boys & Girls Club work.
Spillett joined BGCA in 1978 as director of the National Health Project. Within one year, she was promoted to director of Program Services, responsible for the development and implementation of numerous national youth development programs.
In 1991, Spillett became BGCA's assistant national director for Program Services, and led development of the Commitment to Quality process to ensure the effectiveness of program and service delivery in Clubs nationwide. Spillett emphasized the development of new program resources, including successful initiatives in education, career exploration, drug prevention, literacy, conflict resolution and other educational programming.
Spillett also served as vice president of BGCA's Northeast regional office, managing all programs and services throughout the 11-state area, raising funds and building a Northeast trustee board.
In recent years, she has received a number of honorary doctorate degrees – one in law from the University of Notre Dame and two in the humanities – from Trinity College in Hartford and Marian College in Indianapolis.
In December 2005, President George W. Bush appointed Spillett to the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, which promotes volunteerism, community service and good citizenship. In addition, Spillett teaches MBA candidates at the University of Notre Dame, focusing on nonprofit board management; she also sits on the board at the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University in Atlanta. She is past chairperson for Leadership 18, an alliance of executives from the nation's most influential nonprofits, and serves on the boards of the National Human Services Assembly as well as BoardSource, a premier resource for practical information, tools and best practices, training and leadership development for board members of nonprofit organizations worldwide.
Spillett earned her bachelor of arts degree in education from the State University of New York and did graduate work in guidance and counseling at St. Lawrence University. In addition, she studied public health administration at Hunter College in New York.
Ryan D. Butt currently serves as the CEO & Managing Partner of The Constare Group, LLC, a social-entrepreneurship based in South Bend, Indiana. The firm provides administrative and fund-development support to both domestic and international nonprofit organizations with a focus of developing long-term sustainability strategies. His professional experiences during the past ten years have included providing regional expansion of direct services to at-risk individuals, working with street-children in Kenya, to creating and maintaining innovative development strategies for several non-profit organizations. Currently he sits on several community boards and participates actively within South Bend's nonprofit sector.
Ryan is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government & International Studies, with a second major in African and African-American studies. He also earned a Master of Science in Administration degree from Notre Dame, a course of study that is focused on nonprofit organizational administration. At the present time he is a Juris Doctorate candidate at Valparaiso University School of Law.
Michael Evangelist graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2000 with an economics degree and substantial coursework in finance and accounting. While at Notre Dame he lived in Keenan Hall where he participated in community service projects and served as an R.A. his senior year. Following graduation, he began working at P&G as a profit forecaster for brands such as Ivory, Olay, and Old Spice.
After three years and much deliberation, he decided to fulfill a childhood dream and join the Peace Corps. Michael served in Kyiv, Ukraine at Caritas-Spes, the Ukrainian counterpart of Catholic Relief Services, where he helped with staff development and grant writing. His experience living and working in a developing nation rekindled an interest in economics and public policy. Following the Peace Corps, he earned a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Michigan.
Michael is now a policy analyst at the Chicago-based Center for Economic Progress where he specializes in federal tax and asset-building policy. The Center provides free financial services to low-income families and leads a national coalition of like-minded organizations. He supports the coalition’s advocacy work by reviewing research, legislation and policy proposals. In addition, Michael makes recommendations on which policies the coalition should support and keeps coalition members up-to-date on federal policy through a blog and position papers.
Elizabeth Hurley is the Lead Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the Family Violence Special Victims Unit of the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office. The FVSVU is a multi-jurisdictional, multi-agency organization responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases of child physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence and adult sexual abuse. Liz has been with the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office since January, 1993. Prior to that, Liz worked in private practice primarily handling family law and appellate cases. Liz is a 1992 graduate of Villanova University and a 1995 graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School.
Nancy Roberts Linder is the Principal of Nancy Roberts Linder Consulting, a LaGrange, Illinois-based marketing consulting practice for professional service entities, primarily law firms. Nancy consults in a variety of client development and client relationship management areas including strategic planning, communications development, attorney skills enhancement/coaching, as well as marketing department structure and marketing professional recruitment. Further, Nancy has expertise with marketing-related technology having designed and implemented marketing databases; advised on web site design, content and usage evaluation; taught HTML to marketing support staff; developed and administered e-mail discussion forums and evaluated marketing-related software for law firm applications.
In addition to her consulting work, Nancy has developed a curriculum to teach marketing skills to law students. The program has been taught for eight years at Chicago-Kent College of Law and three years at Valparaiso University School of Law. Both schools were the first in their respective states to present this type of issue-specific programming for their students. In 2003, Chicago-Kent College of Law bestowed Nancy with a Professional Achievement Award for this innovative program she developed. The program was also recognized with an award from the Legal Marketing Association. Subsequently, the program has been adapted for and presented to law firm associates and partners.
Prior to starting her consulting practice in January 1993, Nancy was the first marketing professional hired by Hinshaw & Culbertson in Chicago where she was responsible for creating and implementing the law firm's marketing department and programs for four years. Nancy has worked with professional service entities, primarily law firms, for the past 20 years and has also held marketing management positions for environmental and engineering consulting firms.
Nancy has been an active member of the Legal Marketing Association (LMA), formerly named the National Law Firm Marketing Association (NALFMA). She served on the LMA/Chicago Board of Directors since the chapter’s inception in 1989 through 2000, and was the President of the Chicago Chapter in 1996 and 1998. Nancy also served as the Chair of the LMA Technology Committee and is a former Technology Editor for the monthly newsletter Strategies.
Nancy has published more than 100 articles and speaks on a variety of lawyer marketing topics, including conducting CLE pertaining to the ethics rules governing lawyer marketing. Additionally, Nancy writes a monthly column on client development issues for Intellectual Property Today which is read by patent and intellectual property lawyers nationwide, and has written articles for the Chicago Lawyer, ABA Young Lawyer and ALA Advantage on law marketing topics. Nancy is a graduate of the University of Iowa (College of Business Administration), where she studied marketing and English. She is also a licensed pilot and holds an instrument rating.
