Heather Rakoczy Russell
Director, Gender Relations Center
Heather Rakoczy earned a BA in Philosophy and Theology from Notre Dame in 1993 and a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt in 1997. While living in Nashville, Tennessee, she spent five years working in the domestic violence movement with both victims and batterers. She served as Victim Contact Coordinator and later as the Program Coordinator for PEACE, Inc. (Project to End Abuse through Counseling and Education). In addition, she served as a lay pastor of an inner-city church, as a hospital chaplain and as Community Service Coordinator on the Board of Directors in the Alumni Club of Nashville.
In 1998, Ms. Rakoczy returned to Notre Dame to work for the Office of Student Affairs as rector of Pangborn Hall (1998-2005) and then as the founding director of the Gender Relations Center (2004-present). Additionally, she has participated in campus ministry as a spiritual director for campus ministry interns and as a supervisor to Master of Divinity students. Ms. Rakoczy has team taught several Theology and Social Ministry classes and has presented training sessions for Diversity Education, Network and CommUnity—programs designed to create a more welcoming environment on campus and foster respectful dialogue around issues of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. Ms.Rakoczy served as Advisor of Feminist Voice, the first officially-recognized feminist group on campus, during its inaugural year in 2003, and she has been a part of several campus committees, namely: Campus Life Council, University Committee for Women Faculty and Students, Gender Issues Committee and Core Council for Gay and Lesbian Students. She is also a member of the President's Ad Hoc Committee to address issues of gender and sexuality.
E-mail hrakoczy@nd.edu