Inspired by her parents, Wilson and Genevieve Fisher, Bobette Heller (BS 1968 Home Economics Education; MS 1969 Related Art) followed in their footsteps to become a Badger, the first of eight siblings to attend college. After completing her UW degrees, and following two years teaching in Madison Public Schools, Bobette interrupted her career to raise two children, Natasha and Troy, volunteering as a teacher’s aide in the elementary school they attended.
Resuming her career, Bobette coordinated Human Ecology’s internship program for 14 years. In 1999, she joined the University of Wisconsin Foundation as director of development for the School of Human Ecology. Over the next 13 years, she assisted Dean Robin A. Douthitt in raising funds for the renovation and expansion of the School’s historic building.
With the appointment of Dean Soyeon Shim in 2012, Bobette continued working, now as associate vice president for development, guiding a comprehensive campaign to increase endowments. Inspired by the generous alumni she was privileged to meet, Bobette, along with her husband Lynn, joined other donors in the collaborative campaign to endow the 100 Women Chair in Human Ecology.