Dr Maria Gallo has over 20 years as a scholar, and higher education professional in strategic planning, alumni relations and development. Maria is the former Director of Lifelong Learning and Engagement at St Angela’s College, Sligo and is currently a Research Fellow with the Community Knowledge Initiative at the Institute for Lifecourse and Society at NUI Galway. As the Founder of the social enterprise KITE- Keep in Touch Education, Maria undertakes research, consultancy and education projects to promote alumni connections in life for life and fostering active global alumni citizens. Along with her TEDx talk on alumni, Maria is a regular speaker at education and philanthropy conferences worldwide. Maria completed her doctoral studies in alumni relationships at the University of Sheffield and her undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto. As Chair of the Sligo Volunteer Centre, she led the successful bid for European Volunteering Capital for Sligo in 2017.  She has several academic publications on alumni relations and remains actively involved in all five of her alma maters in Canada, Ireland and the UK.