Women Who Inspire
In celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, Notre Dame Global continues its series of stories of women who inspire. Meet leaders from Notre Dame’s global network who are advancing the University’s mission to be a force for good in the world.
Catherine Leung
Director
Notre Dame Hong Kong
Catherine admits that the work she does takes “a special personality” to do it. It’s work days that bleed into evenings. It’s seeking out and connecting with alumni, parents and prospective families while on vacation, just in case the University needs to do something in South East Asia. It’s hosting dinners and gatherings for students in your family home. It’s opening yourself up far beyond what a typical 9-5 job asks, something Catherine understands well and embraces.
"Service, supporting someone in need, has always been a part of me,” she shares. “At Notre Dame, you really feel that everybody is doing it….Service becomes part of your life." Read her story.
Dionne Irving Bremyer
Associate Professor; Director
Notre Dame Department of English; Initiative on Race and Resilience
If there’s one thing Dionne Irving Bremyer tries to impart on every student that she teaches, it’s that they will leave her class as better thinkers and better humans. And it’s not because they’re debating philosophy or studying sociology. It’s because they’re reading and writing, and in doing so, they’re learning how to think critically and compassionately about the world around them.
“I think having the ability to think through the problems of other human beings is a real skill. How do we talk to each other? How do we think about the fact that there's a person out there whose life is remarkably different than my own, and meet them where they are?" Read her story.
Madhushree Sekher
Professor
Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Madhushree has been a longtime collaborator with the University of Notre Dame. Through her work in research, teaching, and international partnerships, Madhushree has played an important role in strengthening academic collaboration between institutions in India and the United States.
“Leadership works with a team. When you create systems where different people contribute their strengths, that is when institutions move forward." Read her story.
Judy Hutchinson
Senior Associate Director, Study Abroad
Notre Dame Global
For Judy, it’s mission-driven work that fuels her, and that’s what has kept her at Notre Dame for nearly 30 years. The University’s holistic view on education informs how she approaches her daily work. She references Blessed Basil Moreau’s quote as inspiration: The mind will not be cultivated at the expense of the heart.
“What I love most is watching students discover strengths that they didn't know they had...being involved in those really important parts of their lives, when they invite me in, is a privilege,” she says. Read her story.
Nydia Morales-Soto
Assistant Director of Research & Partnerships
Eck Institute for Global Health
Nydia Morales-Soto wears many hats. Assistant Director of Research & Partnerships at the Eck Institute for Global Health. Chair of the Somos ND Committee. President of Adelante ND. But if her professional work were to be summed up in two words, it would be these: community builder.
“We are not transaction makers, we are partnership builders,” she says. Read her story.
Corrie Klimek
Director of IT
Notre Dame Global
When most people think about information technology (IT), their minds likely go to computers and technical issues. For Corrie Klimek, IT is just as much about person-to-person connection as it is about internet connection.
“One of my greatest strengths is connecting the right people to collaborate and find effective solutions,” Corrie shares. Read her story.
Jennifer Robichaud
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Teaching Professor
Notre Dame Department of Biological Studies
An expert in public and global health, specifically parasitology, Jennifer Robichaud loves working with germs and parasites. But working with students has proven to be even more of a passion for her.
“The lab is a great way of having one-on-ones with students because you teach them a technique, then they’re doing it, then you have this time to chat with and get to know them,” she says. “It carries over to other teaching moments in the lab.” Read her story.
Maria Mercedes Salmon
Director
Notre Dame Mexico
"I think that by being able to offer these kinds of services to international students, you open so many doors for them and you help change their minds—and the minds of people around them."
That’s the deeper element of Maria Mercedes’ work and passion. It’s about expanding opportunities for the young people of the world, but it’s also about being an agent of change, a force for good. Her belief in this value was one of the reasons she came to Notre Dame. Read her story.
Monalisa
Practitioner in Residence
Institute for Social Concerns and Initiative on Race and Resilience
An international human rights lawyer, advocate, and educator, Monalisa has spent over a decade fighting for victims of human rights abuses. Her expertise spans war crimes, terrorism, gender-based violence, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking. However, what truly defines her work is how she bridges academia with real-world advocacy—especially in India.
"Justice isn’t just an idea—it’s the choices we make every day, the voices we uplift, and the systems we challenge or uphold." Read her story.
Hong Zhu
Senior Director of Global Education
Notre Dame Global
“In my own career, I have never set a goal that I want to be this or be that. My goal has always been to do good work.”
The guiding philosophy of Hong Zhu’s professional life can be summed up in three words: do good work. This mindset has led her through 19 years and counting at Notre Dame. In the five positions she’s moved through in that time, it’s never been about the promotions or the accolades but rather about the grind and quality of the work itself. Read her story
Rubina Philip
Associate Director, GC-DWC Telangana, India
Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child
A development professional with substantial experience working on children’s and women’s issues in India, Philip is part of a nine-member team implementing Project Sampoorna within government-run, residential schools.
"The ecosystem in which we work is one of residential schools responsible for children from families historically and financially so marginalized and impoverished that their physical health is likely to be precarious—anemia and faltered linear growth are, sadly, so common that they are frequently the norm." Read her story
Pooja Manda
Field Training Coordinator, India
Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child
With a passion for working with people from underprivileged backgrounds, Manda works with teachers, through Project Sampoorna, to implement the Safe and Inclusive Schools initiative.
"We are seeing evidence that We Succeed Together is proving to be an excellent tool for creating safe and inclusive learning environments, which we know to be critical to the success of all students." Read her story
Sharon Stack
Ann F. Dunne and Elizabeth Riley Director,
Harper Cancer Research Institute
Kleiderer-Pezold Professor of Biochemistry,
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
As a lifelong cancer research advocate and cofounder of Biseach, a cancer research initiative between the University of Galway and Notre Dame, Stack recognizes the importance of true collaboration.
"You really have to...get multiple disciplines to collaborate to match the complexity of the disease." Read her story
Manuela Moreno
Youth Education Service (Y.E.S.) for Refugees and Migrants, Ireland
Manuela Moreno leads with love. It is central to her practice over the last 15 years with Youth Education Service (Y.E.S.) for Refugees and Migrants, an education, youth, and integration program in Dublin where she has acted in loco parentis to hundreds of unaccompanied minors and separated children seeking asylum in Ireland.
Since the 2015 refugee crisis in which 1.3 million migrants arrived seeking asylum in Europe, Irish social services have worked with the European Union Relocation Program for Refugee Children who arrive in hotspots like Greece, Italy, Malta, and Calais. Read her story
Jackline Oluoch-Aridi
Director, Nairobi Initiatives
Notre Dame Global
Jackline Oluoch-Aridi is a firm believer in the power of collaboration.
As the director of Nairobi initiatives for Notre Dame International (NDI), she’s tasked with deepening the University’s engagement in Africa through collaborative research, student engagement, and academic partnerships. It’s no easy task, but Oluoch-Aridi is up for the challenge and is passionate about strengthening partnerships in the region.
As a research scientist with a public health background, she is passionate about conducting cutting-edge field research that responds to current challenges and has an impact on the community she serves. Read her story
Regina Castro Traulsen
LL.M. in International Human Rights Law, 2016
Human rights attorney
Born and raised in Mexico, Regina Castro Traulsen is the current General Director of the Mexican Supreme Court’s Human Rights Office.
Castro Traulsen started her career working on civil litigation. She always had a strong desire to help people through her education. Civil litigation was, in her opinion, the best way to address and solve people's problems. Read her story
Estela Rojo
Program Coordinator
Santiago Global Center
Don’t expect Estela Rojo to sit still, even through retirement.
“Never stop living and learning,” says Rojo. “I used to tell my students to live your convictions – and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
Rojo has dedicated her life to education, focusing on the underserved and underrepresented. It started at Saint George’s College, a locally renowned school led by the Congregation of Holy Cross in Santiago. There, she was introduced to the University of Notre Dame and was asked to support a small group of study abroad students in Santiago. Read her story
Clare Cooney
Notre Dame Graduate 2012
Actor, Filmmaker
“My time in Dublin was not just a cultural awakening but a theatrical awakening."
Clare Cooney - an award-winning actor, writer, director, and filmmaker, representing film, television, and theatre scenes in Chicago and Los Angeles - still remembers her time at Notre Dame and her experience abroad in Dublin. She believes it still influences her today, and empowers those around her to foster a more kind and authentic industry. Read her story
Beth Kellenberg Klein
Notre Dame Graduate 2010
Ph.D. Scholar, Boston College
Beth Kellenberg Klein has worked with migrants, refugees, and resettled populations around the world. To her, service is not just tutoring or teaching but an opportunity for to listen and to learn.
“What I have seen, time and again, since that very first tutoring job in Dublin, is that if you simply listen, support, and most importantly, provide a welcoming space, people will grow and learn to empower themselves.” Read her story
Thaïs Burmeister Pires
Director
Notre Dame São Paulo
A clinical psychologist by trade, Thaïs Burmeister Pires is on a mission to enrich the lives of people around her. It started with her three daughters.
“Ever since they were little, I always empowered them to be whatever they wanted to be,” says Pires. “That empowerment started with a strong education and an experience outside of their comfort zone.” Read her story
Jingyu Wang
Director
Notre Dame Beijing
Jingyu Wang is hoping to redefine the meaning of a leader.
As the executive director of the Beijing Global Gateway, Wang is working to change the focus from “leading” to “serving.”
“The best leaders aren’t just motivating people to do the work; they’re helping and supporting them in a compassionate way,” says Wang. Read her story
Lisa Caulfield
Director
Notre Dame Kylemore
Lisa Caulfield was eighteen when she first visited Connemara in western Ireland. Located in the majestic landscape, she vividly remembers the view of Kylemore Abbey appearing seemingly out of nowhere on the drive out west
Years later, she returned to Ireland to start her M.A. in modern Irish literature at the National University in Maynooth. When Notre Dame opened the Kylemore Abbey Global Centre in 2014, she was asked to lead the Centre as director. Part of Caulfield’s job was to instill a trusting relationship with the Benedictine nuns and their Abbess.
“There is a sort of transparent female bond and ease to talk among women in leadership about communal goals and expectations,” she says, referring to her work with Abbess Máire Hickey and the Abbey. Read her story