(finding solace, cont.)

Now the 42-year-old Madison resident works with UW alumni to reengage them with the university and raise money for a few of the College of Letters and Sciences schools and programs, including the School of Music, the physics department and the religious studies program. “It’s something I thought I would never do,” Noel-Ney says. “But it’s great to talk to people who love the university and who were shaped by what they learned from faculty members here. It’s a lot of fun, and I can’t believe I’m getting paid to talk to all of these great people about the school.”

It is this enthusiasm for her job that her co-workers find infectious. “She’s highly energetic, and she brings a great spirit to the job,” says Walt Keough, vice president of administration at the UW Foundation. Noel-Ney also brings a wealth of connections and an uncanny resourcefulness to the table. “She has brought to our organization so many interesting contacts from arts and philanthropic organizations in New York and she really enjoys reaching out to alumni,” says Anne Lucke, another director of development for the College of Letters and Science at the Foundation. “And because she has such interesting experiences, people really enjoy talking to her.”

And although Noel-Ney says she makes less money in Madison than she did in New York, her paychecks go a lot further here. “At first it was amazing to me that my son was here playing outside, we were living in this nice apartment and I had this really fun job.”

Noel-Ney says she is able to add this job onto the list of other interesting, dynamic positions she’s held at other organizations. In addition to working at American Express, she also worked as the assistant director for the Institute of African American Affairs at New York University and as the coordinator of cultural affairs and special programs at Philip Morris in New York. However, the difference with this job, Noel-Ney says, is the warmth and openness of her co-workers here that she never found anywhere else. “People have opened their doors, their hearts and have given me so much information,” she says. “Madison has a way of just being magical like that. It’s just been welcoming to me. I never would have believed an environment like this existed.”

Even her social life has been shaped by acts of kindness. The wife of a dean at the veterinary school welcomed her into in her social circle, introducing her to many people Noel-Ney now considers her good friends. Another friend in Madison, knowing how active Noel-Ney had been in the arts community in New York, arranged a luncheon for her to meet many of the women in Madison who are involved in the arts. And a year ago, Noel-Ney received an invitation from Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton asking her to join the State Arts Board.

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Profile: Denise Matyka