Jody Donaldson Director of Advancement Kirkwood Community College It all began when she was a young girl, in elementary school. “I used to go to summer school with my sister and ride the bus with her to Monroe Development Center, and then volunteer at the school.” Jody Donaldson recalls how those early years in Cedar […]
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Jody Donaldson
Director of Advancement
Kirkwood Community College
It all began when she was a young girl, in elementary school. “I used to go to summer school with my sister and ride the bus with her to Monroe Development Center, and then volunteer at the school.”
Jody Donaldson recalls how those early years in Cedar Rapids shaped her. “I feel like I was born to be my sister’s voice,” she said. “I was born two years after her; she doesn’t have a voice. And just like my mom and myself, we are her advocates. And I feel like I need to be the advocate for others who have disabilities.”
Connecting people and making things possible for people became her mission in her personal and professional life.
Ms. Donaldson is currently Director of Advancement at Kirkwood Community College.
“Jody’s achievements are notable within her professional career and equally notable in her selfless service to the community,” Theresa Lewis, executive director of The Arc of East Central Iowa, wrote in her nomination letter.
“Serving as the past-president of The Arc of East Central Iowa’s board of directors and current development committee chair, she is concurrently serving as sponsorships chair for the District VI chapter of CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education), which includes Iowa and seven surrounding states; an advisory board member for Kirkwood’s Business & Information Technology program; the incoming chair for the Economic Alliance’s Leadership for Five Seasons Board; the treasurer for the Association of Fundraising Professionals; and serves as secretary for Iowa Snowdrifters Club. All of this while leading the advancement department at Kirkwood Community College. She is always responsive, always engaged and brings positive energy to everything she does,” says Ms. Lewis.
“She always has a smile on her face and a smile in her heart. She’s always there for anyone she meets and has always been a model that inspires me to be a better person,” said Shawn Gallagher, senior project manager at LADCO Division of Waldinger Corp.
Ms. Donaldson says it’s part of her job engaging with thousands of alumni through the Kirkwood Community College Foundation. She initiated the Kirkwood Alumni Leadership Council but said, “The fun part is creating the board, which is people who have an affinity to Kirkwood. They want to be a part of it. It’s letting them share their ideas and direction, and trusting them. It’s about bringing good people to the table and letting them be the experts.”
“Jody’s commitment to Kirkwood shines through in her everyday life. She is a true advocate and is superb at sharing the ‘Kirkwood Story.’ Kirkwood has benefited greatly from Jody’s valuable and unwavering contribution to the college,” says Carissa Johnson, Eastern Iowa director with Variety, the Children’s Charity.
“I get to share everything I love about Kirkwood with our community. Whether it’s to the alums or constituents, or just future students or the public, everybody — I get to share my passion for the college. And if that is seen as leadership, that’s awesome,” said Ms. Donaldson.
The lifelong volunteer credits her dad with teaching her to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
“It just comes from within, and I will tell you this, that my motto in my life is volunteerism, and philanthropy is what makes the world go ‘round,” she said.
Part of her passion for Kirkwood is that at age 30, she came back as a non-traditional student. “I didn’t even know how to enroll in college and didn’t know if I had it in me to be successful,” she recalled.
She worked and went to school for five years to earn her two-year degree and then got excited to go on for her four-year degree. “Then I really loved what I was learning, and so I went right on and got my master’s, and finished that in 13 months, graduated 4.0, which I never was a 4.0 student,” she said. “I loved it so much that I just wanted to learn everything I could, and it’s why I have empathy here at Kirkwood because I know what it’s like to work and go to school and be a mom and to be 30 and maybe embarrassed to not have a college degree.”
Ms. Donaldson says the truth, even working at a college, is that not everyone needs to have a degree to be successful — it just depends on what you ultimately want to do.
She had a great boss who once put it into perspective for her: “Everybody takes off at different times.” She has continued to use that to coach and mentor others.
Ms. Donaldson says she was a bit uncomfortable receiving this award because she likes to be the one to “lift people up and make them shine.”
When it comes to The Arc of East Central Iowa, “I know what they did for our family and I want that for others. I want more people to know about it because the families and volunteers are the voice for these folks. They can’t necessarily stand up for themselves.”
She continues to take away “nuggets” from those around her. “You keep that nugget, and you essentially pay it forward, and that’s who you become,” she said. “Do those little things because they made you feel good; they made a difference.”
