Citizen of the Year. In San Miguel, home of overachievers and otherwise high-performing citizens, that’s a heap big deal. And, no less of a great deal this year as Kathleen Devine has been selected by the Rotary Club of San Miguel de Allende – Midday, to receive the Farley W. Wheelwright Citizen of the Year Award. Please join us Tuesday, February 21, at 12:30 p.m. when Kathy receives this acclamation to all she has done for San Miguel in her 12 years here – as if all that actually could be calculated! The meeting will be at Hotel Mision, Salida a Queretaro 1, free and in English.
Devine is iconic with many strong local organizations including Mujeres en Cambio (Women in Change), over which she has presided and led effective fundraising strategies to meet the organization’s mission to grant scholarships to rural girls to help them break their cycles of poverty. As a result, more than 150 girls are scholarship recipients at the secondaria, preparatoria and/or university levels now. Kathy’s abilities to see the big picture, track details and communicate are her inspirational characteristics. Her dedication can be heard when she speaks in public, and can be seen in her grant writing.
Kathleen Devine
Devine also is a founder of the San Miguel chapter of 100 Women Who Care, which has raised more than million pesos for various nonprofits locally in quarterly meetings at which women pledge funds and nominate nonprofits, hear from them, and then vote for winners who walk away with all the take. The winners then come back the next quarter to explain what became of the investors’ funds. It is a not-to-be missed hour each quarter at the Rosewood Hotel, thanks to their generosity.
Devine is also a founding member of Democrats Abroad in San Miguel, where she also served as the Mexican Country Committee member-at-large for more than a decade. The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Miguel de Allende appreciates Kathy’s dedication to its social action committee, which determines where to give one-half of all of its income, always to local nonprofit organizations.
In addition, Devine is a founder of the AC Presidents Group here, which convenes and informs local nonprofit leaders; a member of the local Audubon Society; and a member of El Charco del Ingenio botanic garden.
Preparing Devine for her abundant good deeds here over the past 12 years was a professional career in banking sales, marketing and human resources. She worked in executive search and outplacement as well as in commercial and residential real estate sales and leasing. And, of course, she founded great organizations, such as the Women’s Exchange Network in Los Angeles and Friends of Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women
Devine earned a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and an English as a second language certificate from UC Santa Barbara. When not involved in community relations, she can be found on the tennis court, at the Shakespeare Readers organization, and traveling. She is married to Barry Devine.
Attending the ceremony, which will be emceed by Barbara Johnson, will be Teri Kavanagh, who is in charge of the city’s office of nonprofits and foreigner affairs. In addition, the ceremony will include a musical interlude.
Rotary is where neighbors, friends and problem-solvers share ideas, join leaders and take action to create lasting change. For more information, contact President Nate Fultz at Nate Fultz [email protected] and see RotarySMAMidday.org.
- What: Citizen of the Year Award
- Title: Kathleen Devine Named Rotary’s Citizen of the Year
- Date, time: Tuesday, February 21, 12:30 p.m.
- Where: Hotel Mision
- Address: Salida a Queretaro 1
- Extra info: 415 112 3413 (SMA), 925 476 8117 (US/Canada)
- Cost: Free
By Robin Loving
