The Rev. Louis J. Putz, C.S.C., Award - 2021: Elizabeth Woodward '58 SMC

2021: Elizabeth Woodward '58 SMC

For her years of service to disadvantaged children, refugees, the incarcerated, and her own communities, the Notre Dame Alumni Association and Notre Dame Senior Alumni honor Elizabeth Woodward ’58 SMC with this award.

After graduating from Saint Mary’s College in the late 1950s, Woodward married and raised three children from home while honing her leadership skills through various volunteer efforts. In 1978, she joined the workforce with Save the Children, the international aid and development agency, eventually ascending to the role of vice president of communications. She traveled to more than 55 countries in Africa and the Middle East to study the organization’s programs, raise funds, and guide reporters covering events in those regions, such as the 1982 attacks on Palestinians and Lebanese Shiites in Beirut, the 1984 famine in Ethiopia, and the 1988 earthquake in Armenia.

After joining the public sector as vice president at international ad agency J. Walter Thompson, Woodward continued her volunteer work in her spare time, notably assisting Volunteers in Medicine, a network of retired physicians offering free care to those in need. In retirement, she found her most meaningful role, leading Bible study in the Catholic chapel at New York’s Sing Sing prison, forging strong relationships with inmates through examination of the New Testament.

Now living in Chicago with husband Kenneth ’57, Woodward continues to visit Sing Sing at least twice a year. Her work with refugees continues as a volunteer with Catholic Charities, where she recently helped to provide for families relocating from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Myanmar. She continues to serve her parish as a homilist during services for the elderly, and also gives her time in service of the young poor helping them to build the skills and confidence to find work to build a sustainable future.