Giving

Who's Who in Advancement

Meet the Office


Please feel free to contact the Advancement Office for information about upcoming events. You can also contact us to update your information, or you can use the form below.

We welcome all materials to the archives or letters to the Christ School magazine... and of course gifts to the Christ School Fund are essential to the school's wellbeing.

Our office is located in the renovated '30 House and we are available from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, or by appointment.

Advancement Office Staff

Kathy Belk has fulfilled a number of roles in Christ School’s Advancement Office since 2002: Office Manager, Annual Fund Director, Constituent Relations and Special Events Coordinator, and Advancement Services Coordinator. Kathy worked on all seven of Christ School highly successful Auction & Galas.

She presently serves as Director of Advancement Services, works with the Archives, and acts as liaison to the Christ School Parent Council.

Ms. Belk received her B.S. in Accounting as well as a B.S. in Business Administration in Management from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

In the past, she has devoted her time outside of Christ School to being Co-Leader for the Girls Scouts Troop 30437 out of Hendersonville, N.C. She also enjoys spending time with her fiancé, cooking, camping, working in her yard, and spending time with her dogs. Ms. Belk has one daughter, Jennifer.

Assistant Head for External Affairs Betsy Ellis P'24 has shown a penchant for taking fundraising at Christ School to unprecedented levels since her hiring in 2018. 

Each fiscal year reaches new heights for the school, an upward trend that continued with 2022-23. There was record giving to the annual Christ School Fund and new benchmarks set for the school's annual Day of Giving with the Advancement Department surpassing its goals of 1,000 donors for $1 million in 24 hours. 

The newly-renovated Patrick Beaver Student Center was largely made possible by the 2022 "Work Hard, Play Hard" auction. 

Mrs. Ellis assists Head of School Dr. Sean Jenkins with strategic initiatives, ever mindful of affording every boy the same opportunities she would want for her son, Ben '24, who is a 2023-24 Job Prefect. 

Mrs. Ellis previously worked in Christ School's Advancement Office from 2002 to 2004, assisting with fundraising for the renovation to St. Joseph’s Chapel. In 2004, Mrs. Ellis became Director of Advancement at Asheville's Evergreen Charter School. After the birth of her son, Ben, Mrs. Ellis joined Asheville's Pisgah Legal Services, where she worked for 11 years. Her job grew to Director of Philanthropy, managing a talented team, 1,600 donors, and increasing the non-profit's annual campaign from $200,000 to more than $1.4 million a year. 

Mrs. Ellis was ready for a new challenge and the opportunity to return to Christ School came at the right time. 

Mrs. Ellis, her husband James (an attorney in Black Mountain, N.C.), and their three sons live in Van Every House. When she is not working, Ellis loves to travel, cook, and entertain. She also enjoys spending time at the family's place on Lake Champlain in Vermont. 

Jeff Joyce enjoys teaming with Christ School’s many passionate supporters to create opportunities for enhancement and growth as Associate Director of Advancement.

Mr. Joyce fell in love with the rivers and mountains of western North Carolina while working at a summer camp in college and has lived and worked in the area since 2008.

He served as the Director of Public Policy for the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce for eight years, transitioned to the world of philanthropic development. Before coming to Christ School, Mr. Joyce was Director of Alumni Affairs and Development for nearby Brevard College.

Mr. Joyce is a 2008 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Staying active in his community has been a common theme as Mr. Joyce served as Board Chair for the Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce and as President of the Young Professional of Asheville. When he’s not working, Mr. Joyce can be found whitewater kayaking or mountain biking on local rivers and trails. He shares his passion with the boys as a coach in the Outdoor Program. 

His wife's name is Lucy. 

Dan Stevenson ’72 P'15 is doing what he loves at a place he holds dear as Senior Endowment Gifts Officer. 

Mr. Stevenson returned to Christ School, his own alma mater, in 2011 after a 35-year career in business.

Mr. Stevenson likes reconnecting with former classmates and friends as well as facilitating those relationships for others. He is especially happy to see the school’s growth and current momentum, adding “Christ School is thriving like never before and you will be proud of what you see when you come to campus for a visit.”

Mr. Stevenson won the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2022. The boys dedicated the 2023 Angelus yearbook to him. 

Mr. Stevenson graduated from the University of North Carolina with a B.A. in History in 1978. He stays fit by running. Mr. Stevenson and his wife, Jill, have two sons, Dan III and Andrew ’15.

Strengthening connections up and down The Long Green Line will be the goal of Eric Thorp '01 as Christ School's new Associate Director of External Affairs.

Mr. Thorp has served his alma mater in a variety of capacities since 2007 and was previously part of the Advancement Office as Director of Alumni Relations and Associate Director of Alumni.

He has also formerly been Assistant Director of Admission and was most recently Athletic Director from 2018 to 2022. Notable accomplishments for Greenie sports teams during this time included the school's first-ever state championships in football and cross country, as well as NCISAA titles in lacrosse and track & field.

Mr. Thorp earned his B.S. in Leisure and Sports Management from Elon University. Following graduation, he worked at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort at Osprey Point Golf Club in South Carolina. Mr. Thorp enjoys playing golf and is a diehard Cincinnati Bengals fan.

Mr. Thorp and his wife, Megan, live in Fletcher with their children, Jack and Charlotte.

Update Your Information

We are always excited to hear news from our alumni!

Log in to the Alumni Portal and make changes to your profile or use the form below to submit new contact information and class notes to tell us your news.

If you need a username and/or password, contact the Advancement Office at 828-684-6232 x 126 or advancement@christschool.org.

Name
Title
Preferred Mailing Address

Please Share Your News

One file only.
32 MB limit.
Allowed types: gif, jpg, png, bmp, eps, tif, pict, psd, txt, rtf, html, odf, pdf, doc, docx, ppt, pptx, xls, xlsx, xml, avi, mov, mp3, ogg, wav, bz2, dmg, gz, jar, rar, sit, svg, tar, zip.
CAPTCHA