Ellen Catherine Gstalder C'98 Memorial Lecture Fund

The Ellen Catherine Gstalder C'98 Memorial Lecture Fund was established in July 2007 by Herbert W. (C'65) and Barbara E. Gstalder, in memory of their daughter Ellen Catherine Gstalder C'98. It supports an annual lecture on social issues of current significance in America. Through the lecture, speakers and attendees engage with issues like poverty, food insecurity, racism, migration, LGBTQ rights, and the #MeToo movement.

From an early age, Ellen Gstalder gravitated toward helping others. Her father Herb recalled that in first grade she was held in from recess for not completing her seat work—but investigation revealed that Ellen was spending her time comforting a classmate who had difficulty adjusting to school. 

In high school she volunteered with Midnight Run, which distributes essentials like food, clothing, blankets, and personal care items to people experiencing homelessness in New York City, but also meets those people and builds connections with them as individuals. After graduating from Georgetown, she taught at Orr Elementary School in Washington as a Teach for America member. At the time of her passing of leukemia in May 2004, she was preparing to pursue a master's degree in public health at New York University. The lecture series remains a tribute and memorial to her deep concern for others.

Image
Ellen Gstalder in her Georgetown graduation cap and gown

Ellen Gstalder in her Georgetown graduation cap and gown in 1998.

 

Related Links:
"A Life of Service," Library Associates Newsletter, Spring 2022
Jesus, Jews, & Jihad: The Misremembered Christ & the Sick Soul of the West—The 2019 Annual Ellen Catherine Gstalder Memorial Lecture
Building a Bridge: Welcoming the LGBT Catholic with Justice, The 2018 Annual Gstalder Memorial Lecture with Father James Martin, S.J.
"Immigration in the United States," Library Associates Newsletter, Spring/Summer 2017
Immigration in the United States: The 2017 Annual Gstalder Memorial Lecture with Abel Enrique Núñez
"America in the Age of Shadow Wars and an All-Volunteer Military," Library Associates Newsletter, Spring 2016
2016 Annual Gstalder Lecture presented by Mark Mazzetti and Phil Klay
"Patricia Stonesifer and Martha's Table," Library Associates Newsletter, Spring 2015
Martha’s Table CEO to Give 2015 Gstalder Lecture on April 23
DBeyond Foodies: Why Talking about Food Could Change the World," Library Associates Newsletter, Summer 2014
"Too Long Ignored," Library Associates Newsletter, Summer 2013
"A Nation of Immigrants," Library Associates Newsletter, Spring 2012
"Turning Forty, Part 2," Library Associates Newsletter, Spring 2010
"Food Politics," Library Associates Newsletter, Spring 2010
"The Audacity of Despair," Library Associates Newsletter, Summer 2009
"Letters to a Young Teacher," Library Associates Newsletter, Spring 2008