By Terry Haycock

If you’ve met the subject of this month’s member profile, she probably made an impression. Here are a few things you may have learned:

• She was a “theater kid.”
• She was born in Lancaster County, Pa., grew up in Charlotte, NC, and, in 2015, moved to Richmond, Va.
• She spent her honeymoon in Zimbabwe.
• She earned an M.Ed. in educational leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Have you guessed who she is?

Meet Kyra Molinaro, assistant director of donor communications at the University of Richmond since 2021.

It was VPC Contest Director Sunni Brown who introduced Kyra to our organization. Accepting Sunni’s invitation to judge the 2024 and 2025 communications contests, Kyra decided to enter it this year. 

She was awarded first place and honorable mention for feature stories and third place for specialty articles in education.

“I am really impressed with the variety of writing represented in the contest and that the focus is primarily on writing,” Kyra said.

As a “theater kid” in high school at the Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte, she participated in musical theater and chorus.

However, she says, “My type A personality wanted a more predictable career path. It was at NWSA that I first experienced journalism while on the student newspaper staff and discovered my love of writing.”

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and minored in theater arts at Elon University, in the small town of Elon, NC, about an hour south of the state’s famous Research Triangle.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” she said, “I earned an M.Ed. in educational leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University and a graduate certificate in nonprofit management in 2021.”

At UR, her duties include writing gift acknowledgement letters on behalf of the university’s president and vice president; writing articles about the impact that philanthropic gifts have on the university; producing impact reports to thank and recognize donors for their generosity; as well as general stewardship and donor event support.

Kyra’s former positions include: Progressive Business Media, Greensboro, NC, where she wrote and created designs and layouts for trade business publications; marketing and communications for the Steward School, a small, private K-12 school in Henrico County, where she wrote for the alumni magazine, annual report and weekly parent newsletter; and VCU, where, working in donor relations, she wrote donor acknowledgement letters and articles about philanthropy and the impact it has on the university.

On the personal side, Kyra likes to hang out at home with her family including rescue cats Scarlet, a Siamese mix, and Leo, an orange tabby. Watching movies and exploring farmers’ markets, botanical gardens and other local venues are among her favorite things to do with her husband Tyler and 2-year-old son Landon.

Kyra and her husband traveled the globe before their son was born, including a honeymoon in Zimbabwe, where they ventured on two wildlife safaris and explored the stunning Victoria Falls. They also have visited the Philippines, New Zealand, and countries throughout Europe. They hope to visit a special place next year to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary.

“We like to explore exotic locations,” she said.

Kyra also enjoys attending Virginia Repertory Theatre plays. She and her mother, a Chesterfield resident, enjoy attending works performed by small local groups like the Richmond Triangle Players as well as Christmas-themed plays. She also participates in the local book club. When reading on her own, she selects her favorite genre – historical fiction – particularly that of Kristin Hannah.

Besides all this, Kyra is easy to talk to and fun to be with.

Kyra enjoyed our spring conference at UR and looks forward to meeting more members at future VPC activities.

Thank you, Sunni, and WELCOME, Kyra!