Three Butler University alumni were newly appointed to the University’s Board of Trustees during a board meeting on February 18, 2022. Jay Love ’76 and Judith Thomas ’90 were each elected to three-year terms, and Sharon Myers ’90 was elected to a two-year term. They will all officially begin serving their terms on June 2, 2022.

“As a university president, there are few things more gratifying than to have highly successful alumni contribute to the success of the University and its current students,” Butler President Jim Danko said. “Jay, Judith, and Sharon epitomize what it means to be engaged alumni, and I could not be more pleased to welcome them to Butler’s Board of Trustees.”

The University also said farewell to outgoing trustee Rob McConnell, and bestowed the title of Trustee Emeritus upon three former board members: Gary Aletto, Jamie Phillippe, and Keith Burks, Chair Emeritus.

About the new board members:

Jay Love ’76
Jay Love, a graduate of Butler’s Lacy School of Business, holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He is Co-Founder and Chief Relationship Officer of Bloomerang, which provides cloud-based donor management software designed for nonprofit organizations. In July 2017, he stepped down from his role as CEO of Bloomerang, a position he had held since the inception of the company in 2012. In 2019, he co-founded The Fundraising Standard, a 40-hour online program designed to give participants a thorough introduction to the process of fundraising. Love was a Co-Founder and Board Chair of Launch Cause, a collaborative office space specifically for nonprofit organizations. From 2012‒2014, Love served as Senior Vice President at Avectra, and as CEO of Social Solutions from 2010‒2011. Love was a Co-Founder and CEO of eTapestry from 1999‒2010. Prior to starting eTapestry, Love served as President and CEO of Master Software Corporation for 14 years.

He is an active Angel Investor and Founding Partner of Round One Capital, a seed capital firm based in Indianapolis. As a student at Butler, Love was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. He later served on the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Advisory Council and was involved with the former Butler Innovation Fund project. He received the Robert Todd Duncan Alumni Achievement Award in 2014.

Judith Thomas ’90
Judith Thomas, a graduate of Butler’s College of Communication, earned a bachelor’s degree in Public and Corporate Communication. She is currently the Deputy Mayor for Neighborhood Engagement for the City of Indianapolis, where she leads the Mayor’s Neighborhood Advocate program; the Citizens Police Complaint Office; and the Offices of Minority Women Business and Development, International and Latino Affairs, and Veteran Services.

Previously, Thomas was the Principal and Cultural Architect of her consulting firm, Judith & Co., focused on celebrating the rich diversity of arts, culture, and tourism. She also served as a Community Scholar and Associate Faculty of Africana Studies at IUPUI. From 2018‒2020, Thomas was the President of the Madame Walker Legacy Center, following 15 years as the Director of Convention Services at Visit Indy. During her career spanning more than three decades, she also served as Director of Marketing at the National Federation of State High School Associations, as an Account Executive at Emmis Communications, and has worked as an Event Coordinator at the Indiana Convention Center and RCA Dome.

During her time as a student at Butler, Thomas was President of the Black Student Union and was involved with the Class of 1990 Student Foundation Board. An engaged alumna, she served on the Jordan College of the Arts Audience Diversity Task Force, the Alumni Association Board, and as a member of the Black Alumni Association Steering Committee.

Sharon Myers ’90
Sharon Myers, a graduate of Butler’s Jordan College of the Arts, holds a bachelor’s degree in Arts Administration. She also earned an MBA in International Management from the University of London. Myers is currently the Content Marketing Manager for Cutco Corporation, the largest manufacturer of kitchen cutlery in North America. In addition, she is an Independent Consultant working with non-profit institutions in the areas of marketing, communications, branding, public relations, and fundraising.

Prior to this, she served as the Director of Admissions Communications at St. Bonaventure University, where she has also acted as an Adjunct Professor of Communications and Public Relations. Previously, Myers was the Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at Houghton College, Director of Communications at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, Academic Director of the European School of Economics in Milan, Italy and a Direct Marketing Executive for the World-Wide Fund for Nature in the United Kingdom.

As a student at Butler, Myers was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority and served as President of the JCA Student Council. Myers has served on Butler’s Alumni Association Board since 2016 and is its current President-Elect. Additionally, she is a Board Member of the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, serving as Secretary and chairing the Donor & Marketing Committee.