The William D. Reynolds Award - 2023: Erin Place Kerr ’01

2023: Erin Place Kerr ’01

In recognition of her outstanding commitment to providing school-aged children in America the nourishment they need to learn and grow, Erin Kerr ’01 is honored with this award.

Erin is the national chief executive officer of Blessings in a Backpack, the only national organization solely dedicated to feeding school-aged children across America on the weekends. This school year, Blessings in a Backpack has provided more than 3.1 million hunger-free weekends for children.

Prior to her role as chief executive officer, Erin served as the organization’s chief development officer, leading Blessings in a Backpack’s national fund development team to raise support to make more hunger-free weekends possible for children. Her past roles include president of Kerr Consulting, Corporate and Foundation Relations Manager with Girl Scouts of Chicago, and Assistant Director of Resource Development at Christopher House. Erin serves as president of the advisory board of Alphonsus Academy and Center for the Arts and volunteered with Welles Park Parent Association. She earned a B.A. in finance from the University of Notre Dame, a certificate in nonprofit management from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management's Center for Nonprofit Management, and she participated in the Allstate Foundation’s Greater Good Nonprofit Leaders program.

Erin and her husband, Ross ’00, have two teenage sons.

“I am extremely honored to receive the William D. Reynolds award. Building on my family’s dedication to community service, my time at Notre Dame helped define my professional purpose of improving the lives of kids and helping others drive change. Receiving this award from the Notre Dame Alumni Association has tremendous personal significance, but more importantly it further ignites my passion to lead Blessings in a Backpack into our next phase of decreasing food insecurity for kids.”