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Get startedThe 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:
Furthermore, CACO recognizes exemplary volunteer leaders who have demonstrated outstanding service to their class and Cornell.
Erica Healey-Kagan '05, President
Rachel Krug '04, Vice President, Class Officer Training
Janelle Teng '11, Vice President, Communications
Patty Josephine Grant '95, Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion
Rick Saltz '73, MBA '74, Vice President, Finance & Treasury
Julie Vultaggio '02, Vice President, Students & Young Alumni
A'ndrea Van Schoick '96, Immediate Past President, Chair of Nominations & Governance
Lisa Bushlow '91, Secretary/Treasurer
Ex-Officio Member, AVP, Alumni Affairs: Michelle Vaeth '98
Class Officer Training focuses on onboarding and offboarding, officer mentorship, and training including outreach, webinars, and best practices.
Rachel Krug '04, Vice President, Class Officer Training
Claire Ackerman '01, Director-at-Large
Bob Baca '91, Committee Member
Lindsay Forness '84, Committee Member
Daniel Kuhr '13, Director-at-Large
Vanessa Matsis-McCready '04, Director-at-Large
Stacey Silberzweig '87, Director-at-Large
Lauren Coffey, Staff
Communications creates key messaging using electronic and printed communications to inform class leaders about initiatives impacting Cornell alumni and classes.
Janelle Teng '11, Vice President, Communications
Claire Ackerman '01, Director-at-Large
Fred Cohen '81, Director-at-Large
Rosanna Frank '61, Committee Member
A'ndrea Van Schoick '96, Immediate Past President, Chair of Nominations & Governance
Maggie George, Staff
Diversity & Inclusion designs and implements initiatives to achieve diversity in class programming and leadership.
Patty Josephine Grant '95, Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion
Kamillah Knight '13, MPA '15, Director-at-Large
Yvette Lapompe '10, Director-at-Large
Raymond Ortiz II '04, MPA '06, Director-at-Large
Jeffrey Weiss '79, Director-at-Large
Kate Freyer, Staff
Finance & Treasury oversees the CACO budget and supports initiatives relevant to maintaining and increasing class dues payers as a form of engagement.
Rick Saltz '73, MBA '74, Vice President, Finance & Treasury
Fred Cohen '81, Director-at-Large
Henry Siegel '68, Director-at-Large
Lisa Bushlow '91, Secretary/Treasurer
Students & Young Alumni supports and enhances programming to engage and inspire students and young alumni.
Julie Vultaggio '02, Vice President, Students & Young Alumni
Kamillah Knight '13, MPA '15, Director-at-Large
Raymond Ortiz II '04, MPA '06, Director-at-Large
Zena Saunders '79, MBA '81, Committee Member
Nicole Svonavec, Staff
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 resources
We 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.
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.