Ms. Lisa Shaughnessy, a BSM alum from the class of ‘85, has come back to work as BSM’s new Chief Advancement Officer (CAO). You can find her in the North Building, working just across from Ms. Mary Fran O’Keefe.

As CAO, Shaughnessy works to facilitate donations to BSM in order to hit its yearly critical revenue targets. “As you may know, the tuition that families pay to send their student to [BSM] does not cover the cost to educate the students. So we work to… fill that gap,” Shaughnessy said.

Besides Shaughnessy’s goals of meeting BSM’s critical revenue targets, she is looking forward to getting caught up in the spirit of BSM. Having previously worked at Visitation for ten years, also as a CAO, she enjoys the feeling of being part of a school community. “Personally, I enjoy the opportunity to get swept up in the spirit here. I look forward to going to games, to going to plays, to productions,” Shaughnessy said.

Of course, the spirit of BSM involves the people that work here, and Shaughnessy remembers a few faces from her days as a student, like Mr. Mike Jeremiah, BSM’s campus minister, and O’Keefe, BSM’s alumni relations director. “One thing that hasn’t changed is I get to see Mary Frances on a daily basis. She was here, cheering me on, when we used to do something… so that’s been fun that she’s right across the hall,” Shaughnessy said.

Entirely different from the continuity of BSM’s community spirit, Shaughnessy has found some things here have changed. In particular, the use of Promethean boards and student computers in class is a major change. “Technology has had a huge impact on learning. I see people with computers, I see the classrooms looking different than they did,” Shaughnessy said.

In the upper area of the North Building, Shaughnessy is fairly far removed from the students of BSM. However, she is close to another group in the BSM community: the Little Knight preschoolers. “I have the honor of walking through a door every morning that goes through [the Little Knights’] area, so I at least shared a few waves with some young people,” Shaughnessy said.

In her personal life, Shaughnessy enjoys  staying active. She also enjoys being out in nature. “I like to be outside. We have a cabin in northern Wisconsin where we go most weekends. I like to walk, I practice yoga, I like to ski, ride my bike,” Shaughnessy said.

Shaughnessy’s position as CAO offers her a bright outlook on life. She gets to experience the goodness and generosity of the people who donate to BSM. “I am hopeful for our future. I’m also so grateful to have a front-row seat to people’s generosity, to see how people want to invest in our future,” Shaughnessy said.