Notre Dame International features stories of women who empower
In celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, Notre Dame International is launching a series of stories of women who empower and 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.
Thaïs Burmeister Pires
São Paulo Global Center
Assistant Director
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
Lisa Caulfield
Kylemore Abbey Global Centre
Director
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
Jingyu Wang
Beijing Global Gateway
Executive Director
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
Beth Kellenberg Klein
Notre Dame Graduate 2010
PhD 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
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
Estela Rojo
Santiago Global Center
Program Coordinator
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
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
Jackline Oluoch-Aridi
DIRECTOR, NAIROBI INITIATIVES
NOTRE DAME INTERNATIONAL
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
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 into hotspots like Greece, Italy, Malta, and Calais. Read her story