William “Bill” Vanneman ’31 Outstanding Class Leader Award!
Congratulations to our 2025 Vanneman Award winners, Nancy Jenkins Krablin '69 and Larry Krablin '69! Find more information on the Krablins and their service to the class of '69 here.
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CACO Board and committees
The Cornell Association of Class Officers (CACO) Board represents the most experienced and engaged volunteer class leaders who serve Cornell. Overall, the board supports more than 1,400 volunteers, spanning 75 years of Cornell classes. Each class is partnered with a CACO liaison, in an effort to better serve and support all class officers. Therefore, each liaison provides peer-to-peer sharing of best practices and resources to increase class engagement.
The board sponsors a variety of programming funded by class treasuries. Programs, such as training and networking opportunities are provided annually at Cornell’s Alumni Leadership Conference (CALC) and through webinars.
CACO initiatives focus on five areas, each with a committee led by an executive board member. Committees identify new methods of alumni engagement through class. In addition, committees evaluate current programming. To best do so, committees partner closely with Alumni Affair staff.
The areas of focus are:
- Class Officer Training
- Communications
- Diversity & Inclusion
- Finance & Treasury
- Students & Young Alumni
Furthermore, CACO recognizes exemplary volunteer leaders who have demonstrated outstanding service to their class and Cornell.
Executive Committee
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Julie Vultaggio ’02, President
Dan Kuhr ’13, Vice President, Class Officer Training
Stacey Silberzweig ’87, Vice President, Communications
Patty Josephine Grant ’95, Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion
Fred Cohen ’81, Vice President, Finance & Treasury
Kamillah Knight ’13, MPA ’15, MBA ’22, Vice President, Students & Young Alumni
Erica Healey-Kagan ’05, Immediate Past President, Chair of Nominations & Governance
Lisa Bushlow ’91, Secretary/Treasurer
Other Members
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Ex-Officio Member, AVP, Alumni Affairs: Michelle Vaeth '98
CACO Committees
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Class Officer Training Committee
Class Officer Training focuses on onboarding and offboarding, officer mentorship, and training including outreach, webinars, and best practices.
Dan Kuhr ’13, Vice President, Class Officer Training
Bob Baca ’91, Committee Member
Anna Brecher ’21, Director-at-Large
Charles Wu ’91, Director-at-Large
Lauren Coffey, Staff -
Communications Committee
Communications creates key messaging using electronic and printed communications to inform class leaders about initiatives impacting Cornell alumni and classes.
Stacey Silberzweig ’87, Vice President, Communications
Alan Cody ’69, Director-at-Large
Betty Eng ’92, Director-at-Large
Ralph Wilhelm ’67, Director-at-Large
Sara Cantwell, Staff -
Diversity & Inclusion Committee
Diversity & Inclusion designs and implements initiatives to achieve diversity in class programming and leadership.
Patty Josephine Grant ’95, Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion
Frank Dawson ’72, Director-at-Large
Betty Eng ’92, Director-at-Large
Erica Healey-Kagan ’05, Committee Member
Dan Kuhr ’13, Committee Member
Kate Freyer, Staff -
Finance & Treasury Committee
Finance & Treasury oversees the CACO budget and supports initiatives relevant to maintaining and increasing class dues payers as a form of engagement.
Fred Cohen ’81,, Vice President, Finance & Treasury
Cara Kagan ’77, Director-at-Large
Kate Nadolny ’06, Director-at-Large
Mary Kahn ’79, Director-at-Large
Lisa Bushlow ’91, Secretary/Treasurer -
Students & Young Alumni Committee
Students & Young Alumni supports and enhances programming to engage and inspire students and young alumni.
Kamillah Knight ’13, MPA ’15, MBA ’22, Vice President, Students & Young Alumni
Karen Mitchell ’90, Director-at-Large
Dillon Sumanthiran ’20, Director-at-Large
Ralph Wilhelm ’67, Director-at-Large
Nicole Svonavec, Staff
CACO Liaisons
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The CACO Board is made up of current or former class officers who are uniquely positioned to foster peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, given their shared experiences of serving in volunteer roles for their own classes. Each class is partnered with a CACO liaison.
The goals of the liaison role include:
• Peer-to-peer sharing of best practices and ideas
• Mentoring and intergenerational learning
• Serving as a sounding board for challenges a class officer may be facing
• Directing class officers toward helpful resourcesWe are all Cornellians with the shared experiences of serving our alma mater through class engagement. We hope these relationships between classes and their CACO liaison are rewarding and strengthen the ties between all 75 classes and the CACO Board that serves this constituency.
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Your staff contact in Alumni Affairs serves as your primary contact for all class business, including Reunion planning, dues and membership, class communications, class events and initiatives, and succession planning every 5 years.
