Staff Spotlight: Kristin Varella

This month’s staff member in the spotlight is Kristin Varella, OVPUE’s Director of Development. We asked her a series of questions (and kept the bonus question!), and here’s what she had to say:

What is your name and what do you do; how long have you worked here in OVPUE?

My name is Kristin Varella and I have been the Director of Development for four years now. I stepped into a newly created position to develop a deeper culture of philanthropy among our OVPUE units, students, and alums. I partner with the broader IU Development community and connect donors/IU alumni to OVPUE Programs to strengthen our students’ experiences.

What three traits define you?

Practical, thoughtful, resourceful

What would you do (for a career) if you weren’t doing this?

I’d love to be on the granting side of a community organization/foundation and provide resources to individuals. It is the flip side of what I do now!  In my current and previous development roles, I have witnessed the generosity of others, and the impact it can make on people – it is inspiring.

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

Speak multiple languages.  I hope to do so, eventually.

What challenging thing has happened (to) for you, and what did you gain from it?

My husband Doug and I recently closed a chapter of our lives: being foster parents for ten years.  Our permanent family was built, unexpectedly, through foster care.  We are deeply grateful for the children, experiences, and families we have gotten to know through being a foster placement, but it has not been without pain and loss for everyone involved.  For me, in more recent years, a challenge has been to accept the choices and circumstances that have unfolded, while wrestling with observed shortcomings of the child/family welfare system as well as socioeconomic disparities, and tough decisions we have taken a part in that have had real consequences on children’s lives.  In today’s popular language – I guess it’s wrestling with and accepting privilege, but also seeing how abruptly those lines of privilege are drawn or can be removed.  I’m continuing to learn from this tension and how I can become more active in working towards equity in our community.

How do you define success?

This is a broad question.  For me, at this point in my life, I think I would define success as the ability to honestly accept the outcome and move forward receiving the lessons learned. This Wendell Berry quote really resonates with me: “We live the given life, not the planned.”

What do you do in your spare time?

My days are quite consistent, and I try to make good use of my time: I practice yoga each morning, try to get a long walk in (preferably with a friend, or a podcast), cook dinner after work and eat a meal together as a family, then end the evening with a book.  I enjoy painting, outdoor activities (biking, gardening, hiking, camping, snake hunting with my son), hosting people for dinner, and am eager to add grabbing a beer with my husband on Lennie’s patio back into my life soon!

What’s the coolest (or most important) trend you see today?

The diversity of children’s literature authors being published today.  Books allow us to learn about others and the world, and I’m grateful for the access we have to books about people, cultures and places written by authors from those cultures and places, rather than from a dominant author’s perspective.  I am an avid library reserve-er and am grateful for the work of @hereweeread (Instagram) for introducing our family to so many incredible books to learn and grow from.

What is your favorite thing about working at OVPUE?

I appreciate the push for innovation and ability to make changes to create stronger programs, our responsive IT department, collaborative colleagues, humble leadership and autonomy.

Bonus: What is a question you wish more people would ask you, and what’s the answer?

Q: How can I support the great work that OVPUE is doing?

A: I’m so glad you asked! Learn more here: https://ovpue.indiana.edu/support-ovpue/index.html