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Lauren Ramsby, a very recent migrant from NYC to Indianapolis, has been a news executive for over 25 years as deputy editor of The New York Observer, managing editor of the New York Post, and head of operations at Patch Media. She cut her teeth chasing Capitol Hill politicians around with a tape recorder and, based on her skills driving efficiency, problem-solving, and “making things happen,” quickly rose up the ranks. Behind every project she tackles lies a passion for writing and storytelling and a mission to expose injustice and abuse of power. Lauren was born and raised in Winter Park, Florida, to a family of German citrus growers. Her 99-year-old grandfather, one of her heroes, still leads the clan, now made up of 103 descendants and counting. Recently settled in Downtown Indy with her boyfriend, another German, Lauren feels a connection to Kurt Vonnegut’s roots and has been visiting the significant addresses of Kurt’s life and family history.

Lauren Ramsby is the new programs director at the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.

We posed a few questions to get to know Lauren better:


How did you first become acquainted with Kurt Vonnegut? Before connecting with KVML founder Julia Whitehead following a screening of her film, My Friend Mickey, I had known Vonnegut mainly through reading Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions in school and a few tangential connections to him during the time that we were both New Yorkers.

What is your favorite Vonnegut work and why? I am partial to the short story “Harrison Bergeron” as a brilliant example of Vonnegut’s ability to shine a light on the most absurd tendencies in our society.

What do you hope to achieve in your first year here? I am joining the KVML family at a time of tremendous momentum and opportunity—considering the recent acquisition of a “forever” home—so one goal would be to play a critical role in maximizing the potential and use of the new space.

 

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Kathi Badertscher, PhD

Director of Graduate Programs at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
Kathi Badertscher, PhD, is Director of Graduate Programs at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Dr. Badertscher teaches a variety of BA, MA, and doctoral courses, including Applying Ethics in Philanthropy and History of Philanthropy. She has participated in several Teaching Vonnegut workshops and is a member of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library. Dr. Badertscher has been a guest speaker on ethics in philanthropy, including at the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners – Indianapolis Council; Association of Fundraising Professionals – Indiana Chapter; and Zhou Enlai School of Government, Nankai University, Tianjin, China. In 2019 she received IUPUI Office for Women, Women’s Leadership Award for Newcomer Faculty. In 2019 and 2020 she received the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Graduate Teaching Award.
Dr. Badertscher’s publications include “Fundraising for Advocacy and Social Change,” co-authored with Shariq Siddiqui in Achieving Excellence in Fundraising, 5th ed., 2022; “Insulin at 100: Indianapolis, Toronto, Woods Hole, and the ‘Insulin Road,’ co-authored with Christopher Rutty, Pharmacy in History (2020); and three articles in the Indiana Magazine of History: “A New Wishard Is on the Way,” “Evaline Holliday and the Work of Community Service,” and “Social Networks in Indianapolis during the Progressive Era.” Her chapters on social welfare history will appear in three upcoming edited volumes on the history of philanthropy, including “The Legacy of Edna Henry and Her Contributions to the IU School of Social Work,” Women at Indiana University: Views of the Past and the Future, edited by Andrea Walton, Indiana University Press, 2022 (forthcoming). Dr. Badertscher is also the Philanthropy and Nonprofits Consulting Editor for the forthcoming Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, edited by David J. Bodenhamer and Elizabeth Van Allen, Indiana University Press, 2021. Dr. Badertscher is an active volunteer in the Indianapolis community. At present, she is a Coburn Place Safe Haven Board Member and a Children’s Bureau/Families First Brand and Marketing Advisor. Dr. Badertscher holds the MA in History from Indiana University and the MA and PhD in philanthropic studies from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Volunteer With KVML

Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library Volunteer Application

Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions about this application’s content.