Four people with Bellarmine ties are among Louisville Business First鈥檚 2022 Forty Under 40 class. The annual awards event identifies and showcases Metro Louisville鈥檚 leaders of tomorrow. This year鈥檚 honorees were selected from more than 600 nominations.
Aimee Jewell MAC 鈥15 Aimee Jewell is the Engagement Manager at the Leadership Louisville Center, the largest
civic leadership organization in the nation. She manages recruitment for all five
of the center鈥檚 civic programs, helps with business development and membership cultivation,
co-facilitates Focus Louisville, and represents the Leadership Louisville Center in
the community. Jewell also serves on the boards of Metro United Way and the Louisville
Pride Foundation and is the past board chair of Assumption High School鈥檚 Alumnae Association.
She is also a member of the New Leaders Council, a statewide leadership program, and
served as one of 150 worldwide Regional Leaders of LeanIn.org. After receiving her
bachelor鈥檚 in Communication at the University of Louisville, Jewell graduated from
农夫导航 in 2015 with her Master of Arts in Communication. With her focus
on leadership development, inclusivity, volunteerism and civic service, she jokes
that she鈥檚 鈥渂asically striving to be Louisville鈥檚 Leslie Knope鈥濃攖he ever-optimistic
deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department of fictional Pawnee, Ind.,
played by Amy Poehler on Parks and Recreation.
Marcus Stubbs, current Ph.D. student Marcus Stubbs is a community outreach specialist with Russell: A Place of Promise
in Louisville鈥檚 Russell neighborhood. The Louisville native, has worked with numerous
organizations throughout the community focusing on social justice, community-building,
food equality and homelessness. In April 2021, he was awarded a Newman Civic Fellowship,
a yearlong program for campus leaders who are committed to finding solutions for social
problems. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Bellarmine鈥檚 doctoral program in Education
and Social Change after earning a bachelor鈥檚 in Interdisciplinary Studies in Social
and Behavioral Studies with a minor in Family Studies and a master鈥檚 in Student Affairs
in Higher Education at Western Kentucky University. 鈥淚 have an understanding that
a Doctor of Philosophy in Education and Social Change provides a strong foundation
for being effective change agents for various communities, in addition to understanding
what social justice means when it comes to looking at populations that are in a poverty
state,鈥 he said. 鈥淭his program will not only help me to reach my goal to know more
about myself as a scholar but will teach me the characteristics that I need to help
individuals in the areas of self-worth, academia, and social mobility. My hope is
to establish a career in community development and stop the cycle of poverty by reinforcing
individuals with resources that will help them to pass down generational wealth and
knowledge to their family and friends.鈥 Stubbs is passionate about food insecurity
and had the opportunity to work as the inaugural mobile market manager at the local
Dare to Care food bank. He鈥檚 also conducting a comparative research study for his
doctoral program on the lived experiences of staff and students using the food pantry. 
Dorothy Thacher '06/鈥21 MBA Dorothy Thacher is the senior director of Global Business Services (GBS) for United Parcel Service in Louisville. She credits Bellarmine with setting her up for success. 鈥淚 can proudly say I鈥檝e spent the last 16 years traveling and working internationally in Dubai, India, South Africa, Morocco, Singapore, Philippines, Guatemala, and many more because of the education and international experience I had at Bellarmine.鈥 Thacher joined UPS after graduating with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Foreign Language and International Studies (FLIS)/French and a study-abroad opportunity in Montpellier, France, one of Louisville鈥檚 Sister Cities. 鈥淲hen HR saw my degree from Bellarmine and the international business component, they asked if I would be interested in applying to the International UPS Customs Brokerage team.鈥 Twelve years later, Thacher returned to Bellarmine to complete an Executive MBA. 鈥淭he alumni discount lured me in, but the experienced professors and talented grad students kept me engaged. I was lucky to work with flexible administrators at Bellarmine who helped me create a unique schedule that allowed me to work and study at my own pace. Even though it took longer than planned, my Bellarmine MBA has paid for itself three times over!鈥
Jessica Tretter 2015 Accelerated Executive Certificate in Financial Planning Jessica Tretter is a
certified financial planner and owner of at Tretter Financial Planning, which is offered
through LPL Financial and serves more than 100 clients. She told Louisville Business
First that earning her CFP, which she did through a nine-month Kaplan weekend program
at 农夫导航, was her greatest career achievement. 鈥淎fter earning my
Accelerated Executive Certificate in Financial Planning from Bellarmine, I prepared
for the board exam, which had an average pass rate of 60 percent at that time,鈥 she
said. 鈥淚 passed, but more importantly now had competency in areas of tax and estate,
in addition to my regular areas of practice including retirement, investments, insurance,
social security, employee benefits, education planning, and several others.鈥
After finishing Bellarmine鈥檚 program, she was invited to serve on the university鈥檚 CFP advisory board. Since 2018, she has been employed by Kaplan and the College of Financial Planning as an instructor teaching the program to CFP candidates.
All photos by Louisville Business First