One of the major strategic goals of NACADA, which always stands out to me, is professional development. Taking advantage of these opportunities is one of the most important things that we can do to become better advisors for the various student populations with which we meet. I would like to fully implement an advisor mentor program that can be run and fully maintained within Region 7. We have many talented advisors from all different backgrounds and it would be in our best interest to put programs in place that will allow us to learn and grow from each other. With participation in this program, we can pair new advisors with advisors who have previously been in the same or similar situations.

I would also like to continue in the Region 7 tradition of working with our state associations and partnerships with NACADA. I feel that Region 7 is already making great headway continuing to do this; however, there are many advisors that will only be able to go to their state association conferences... Display More...

One of the major strategic goals of NACADA, which always stands out to me, is professional development. Taking advantage of these opportunities is one of the most important things that we can do to become better advisors for the various student populations with which we meet. I would like to fully implement an advisor mentor program that can be run and fully maintained within Region 7. We have many talented advisors from all different backgrounds and it would be in our best interest to put programs in place that will allow us to learn and grow from each other. With participation in this program, we can pair new advisors with advisors who have previously been in the same or similar situations.

I would also like to continue in the Region 7 tradition of working with our state associations and partnerships with NACADA. I feel that Region 7 is already making great headway continuing to do this; however, there are many advisors that will only be able to go to their state association conferences because of time, cost, institutional commitment, etc. It is our responsibility as a region to continue to work with our state organizations to see how we can provide support for those advisors who are going above and beyond to build a strong advising network on the state level.
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The thing that I am most proud of is that I have been a co-creator of two separate advisor training programs on two different campuses that were in desperate need of developing a stronger advisor training program. Before moving to Kansas I worked at the University of Arizona where we had nearly 150 professional full-time academic advisors on staff. The issue that came up is that every college at the university handled academic advising in a different way. This was a problem because when a new advisor came in, they were not always given all the foundational information that they needed to be successful regarding all of the policies and procedures at the university. So we utilized our other institutions in the region and developed a strong training program to ensure that essential information was given to the new advisors.

When my partner and I moved to Kansas, it was a different situation entirely. Because of our advising model, we only have four full-time advisors in our office and faculty... Display More...

The thing that I am most proud of is that I have been a co-creator of two separate advisor training programs on two different campuses that were in desperate need of developing a stronger advisor training program. Before moving to Kansas I worked at the University of Arizona where we had nearly 150 professional full-time academic advisors on staff. The issue that came up is that every college at the university handled academic advising in a different way. This was a problem because when a new advisor came in, they were not always given all the foundational information that they needed to be successful regarding all of the policies and procedures at the university. So we utilized our other institutions in the region and developed a strong training program to ensure that essential information was given to the new advisors.

When my partner and I moved to Kansas, it was a different situation entirely. Because of our advising model, we only have four full-time advisors in our office and faculty advisors within the departments do the rest of the advising on campus. After working with the provost, we were given approval to begin an advisor training program for full-time faculty advisors. This was the first advisor training program at ESU and while we have had some resistance, we have had a lot of success.

This would not have been done without the help of NACADA and the resources that are available to us as members and the connections that we make at conferences or online.
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I am interested in serving as the Region 7 chair because I understand the importance of having strong and invested leadership on the regional level. We are lucky in Region 7 to have had strong leadership that puts the interests of the region in the focus and takes the necessary steps to advance our region goals. I believe that having a committed group focused on maintaining and building upon our region goals is important to our association goals.

As mentioned in a previous answer, I am committed to the development of this region and to me this means that we need to be listening to the state associations and the needs of the advisors in those areas. Listening to those states and their needs will only make the region stronger over time.

I have served the last two years as the Kansas state representative and prior to that I was privileged to serve as the Arizona state representative in Region 10. After being involved on these steering committees, I feel that I have learned what it... Display More...

I am interested in serving as the Region 7 chair because I understand the importance of having strong and invested leadership on the regional level. We are lucky in Region 7 to have had strong leadership that puts the interests of the region in the focus and takes the necessary steps to advance our region goals. I believe that having a committed group focused on maintaining and building upon our region goals is important to our association goals.

As mentioned in a previous answer, I am committed to the development of this region and to me this means that we need to be listening to the state associations and the needs of the advisors in those areas. Listening to those states and their needs will only make the region stronger over time.

I have served the last two years as the Kansas state representative and prior to that I was privileged to serve as the Arizona state representative in Region 10. After being involved on these steering committees, I feel that I have learned what it takes to be a committed leader.

Most importantly, I wish to give back to the association that has provided me with so many professional development opportunities.
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To me being inclusive in NACADA means that regardless of your institution size, financial support, advising model, or situation, an advisor should have access to all the information needed to successfully do their job. I feel that NACADA has done a great job of this by making materials easily available to their members. As members, we have the ability to access materials from regional and state conferences. We also have access to countless materials written by veterans and experts in the field that are there for us to use in order to make our jobs a little less complicated.

I also believe that anyone and everyone who wants to be involved within NACADA can be involved as much as they would like. I can personally attest to the fact that diversity is welcomed and needed within the association. We need to have members from all backgrounds to build and maintain an inclusive association.

If elected to the position, I promise that anyone who wishes to be involved will be involved in the... Display More...

To me being inclusive in NACADA means that regardless of your institution size, financial support, advising model, or situation, an advisor should have access to all the information needed to successfully do their job. I feel that NACADA has done a great job of this by making materials easily available to their members. As members, we have the ability to access materials from regional and state conferences. We also have access to countless materials written by veterans and experts in the field that are there for us to use in order to make our jobs a little less complicated.

I also believe that anyone and everyone who wants to be involved within NACADA can be involved as much as they would like. I can personally attest to the fact that diversity is welcomed and needed within the association. We need to have members from all backgrounds to build and maintain an inclusive association.

If elected to the position, I promise that anyone who wishes to be involved will be involved in the further advancement of the association and regional goals. I say this because if someone had not done that for me, I would not be as passionate about involvement as I am.  I asked and volunteered for everything until someone gave me a task to do.
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