For Cara Bell Green, accepting a position at Marywood meant not only becoming part of a new community, but also returning to her roots.

Bell Green, a West Pittston native, took over as the director of alumni engagement last October. She oversees engagement activities and communication with Marywood’s network of over 30,000 alumni.

Bell Green earned her master’s degree in organization development and change from Pennsylvania State University, where she also earned a bachelor’s degree in recreation, park and tourism management.

Before working in higher education, Bell Green served as a recreation director for U.S. Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation in Fort Sill, Oklahoma and Fort Benning, Georgia.

Eventually, she moved back to Pennsylvania to be closer to family and worked in athletics at East Stroudsburg University.

“That’s when I got into higher education and really fell in love with it,” she said.

She returned to Penn State for a position in athletics and eventually admissions, where she worked with alumni volunteers.

Bell Green said she and her husband wanted to move back to the area, but wanted it to be for the right position. She applied at Marywood and said she was “lucky enough to earn the position” of alumni engagement director.

“It’s so nice to be closer to our families and friends, but most importantly the Marywood community and all the faculty, staff, students, alumni and the community members I’ve been able to meet with… everyone’s been so welcoming and it really feels like a great community to be a part of, so I’m extremely happy to be here,” she said.

One of Bell Green’s goals as director of alumni engagement is to create a strategic plan for the department. Part of this plan is gathering data on how alumni want to engage. She said an alumni survey will be launched, as well as new communication methods like an e-newsletter.

As part of the plan, Bell Green has also been meeting with departments on campus to explore how they have engaged with alumni in the past and how they can continue to maintain those partnerships.

Additionally, she has been working with the Student Activities Crew (SAC), the Student Government Association (SGA) and the Graduate Student Council (GSC).

Another goal is to increase student involvement. Bell Green said she is looking for student volunteers to help with events like Alumni Weekend this June.

“One of my key initiatives for this year is to get student involvement because I think students bring such an amazing energy to the event,” she said. “Students are going to be alumni, so this also serves as a great networking event for students and to get them involved early on.”

She also encourages students to get involved with the Student Alumni Association, which meets every two weeks in Maria Hall.

Bell Green said she looks forward to the future with her new position as director of alumni engagement.

“I look forward to growing the department as well as growing with it,” she said.

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Twitter: @BWilliamsTWW