Empowerment // Stories // We Are ND // University of Notre Dame

Celebrating Our Hispanic Alumni

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Notre Dame Alumni Association looks back at some of our outstanding Hispanic alumni who have dedicated their professional and personal lives towards being a force for good in the world.

Celebrating Our Black Alumni

This weekend, we welcome Tennessee State to campus for Notre Dame’s first football game against an Historically Black College or University. Here are just a few Black Alumni of Notre Dame who have made a positive impact on the world since graduation.

We Are ND Black Alumni Collection

Creating More Equitable Communities…

Shelly Williams '07

Creating More Equitable Communities

Williams has spent her career at nonprofits that work to bring positive change to the lives of children in St. Louis and the surrounding region in Missouri.

Stephen Ziegler '20 MNA

Empowering the Local Neighborhood

Ziegler’s approach to working with the South Bend community remains in line with the sustainable development principles he learned about during his Notre Dame MNA.

Sophia Costanzo

Increasing Representation on the Screen

Sophia Costanzo ’19 grew up in a Cuban American family that passed down their culture and tradition through oral storytelling. Now, as a filmmaker, Costanzo hopes to bring more Latina representation to the screen.

Kathryn Martinez

Breaking Barriers

Kathryn Martinez ’14, a Lieutenant and Naval Flight Officer, was part of the first-ever all-women flyover crew from the U.S. Navy for Super Bowl LVII.

Andrew Wiand '11, '12 M.S.

Shaping the Next Generation of Leaders

Many more talented people will make their way to South Bend and Notre Dame over the years to come. Not all will stay, of course. But the work being done by Wiand and enFocus aims to ensure that talent will continue to make both places thrive.

2023 Mother's Day

Sharing Our Mothers' Stories

This Mother’s Day, the Notre Dame Alumni Association has compiled past We Are ND stories from mothers and mother figures in the Notre Dame community.

Dr. Oluwaferanmi O. Okanlami '15 M.S.

Making Sports and Exercise More Accessible

Okanlami has both led and been a part of numerous initiatives to raise awareness of the program and adaptive sports and inclusive recreation as a whole.

Dr. Carol Lally Shields '79

Paving the Way in Sports and Medicine

Lally Shields has applied the same level of competitiveness and drive to her career in medicine. Most recently, the NCAA awarded Lally Shields with the 2023 Theodore Roosevelt Award — the highest honor the NCAA may confer upon an individual — presented annually to a distinguished person of national reputation and exceptional accomplishment.

Kiley Adams '17

Ensuring Equitable Access to Outdoor Spaces

In the same way that those with disabilities deserve equitable access to education, housing, and transportation, Adams believes that having access to outdoor, adaptive recreation is no different.

Ophelia Camiña

Paying it Forward

Editor's Note: Domer Diaries is a storytelling series from the Notre Dame Alumni Association where members of the Notre Dame family share their story in their own words. This week's Domer Diaries features Ophelia Camiña '82 J.D., a longtime organizer, mentor, and advocate for inclusiveness in the legal field. The first in her family to attend law school, she credits her scholarship and the mentorship of her professors at Notre Dame.…

Meehan Lenzen '11

Creating Opportunities For Young Women In STEM

Lenzen’s hard work and dedication arise from a deep passion for gender equity in STEM.

Geraldine Mukumbi '16

Striving to Make Literature More Accessible to Young People

Geraldine Mukumbi ’16 left her native Zimbabwe to come to Notre Dame in search of a kind of academic freedom. Still entertaining aspirations of a “practical” future, the Hesburgh-Yusko scholar entered as a finance major. But her heart was always with the arts.

Conor Hanney '14

Promoting Inclusion in Television and Theatre

Ever since he was a high school student in Jacksonville, Florida, Conor Hanney ’14 has had two passions: television production and championing individuals with cognitive disabilities.

Maria Hinson Tobin '14 M.S.

Empowering Women and Girls Around the World Through Partnership

“Whether it’s an unjust food system or healthcare system inequalities or social determinants of health, I think partnership and policy are the best ways for us to achieve the scale of change that’s actually needed for it to be felt broadly,” Maria Hinson Tobin ’14 M.S. said.

Lisa Herb '88

A Champion of a Generation of Afghan Women

Lisa Herb '88 founded the Alliance for International Women's Rights to support women in developing countries. Until August 2021 when the country fell back under Taliban rule, AIWR focused its efforts in Afghanistan and is now working with other groups to help Afghan women leaders flee the country for their safety.

Greg Bourke '82 M.A.

Embracing a Marriage of Faith and Identity

In living out his faith while staying true to his identity, Greg Bourke '82 M.A., author of Gay, Catholic, and American from Notre Dame Press, strives to increase representation for LGBTQ Catholics.