It is with great enthusiasm that I share Tess Cody has accepted Drake’s offer to become our Prevention Coordinator–Sexual and Interpersonal Misconduct. Tess was one of two finalists selected by the search committee. She will begin her new role on Monday, Oct. 17, and will be located in the Student Inclusion, Involvement and Leadership (STIIL) suite in the Olmsted Center.

Since graduating with her undergraduate degree from Luther College, Tess has worked in the field of sexual and domestic violence. Most recently, Tess completed her master’s degree in community development from Iowa State University. During her tenure at the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Tess managed their violence prevention program and associated grant through the Center for Disease Control. Tess comes to Drake having received extensive training on public health models and tools. In addition, she has helped train local domestic violence service providers in prevention work, led a community readiness assessment initiative, and coordinated a healthy relationships program.

Most recently, Tess has worked at Crisis Intervention Services (CIS) serving as the supervisor of their violence prevention team as well as supervising Drake’s Violence Intervention Partner program. Her experience building new partnerships and networks on all of the campuses within the CIS service area—including with existing and new student groups—will most certainly benefit our campus community. Through these efforts, she developed collaborative projects with campus groups and organizations, conducted staff and student trainings, and coordinated campaigns and volunteer opportunities at eight different colleges in south central Iowa. Many of our students and employees are already familiar with Tess through her collaborations at Drake, and we are excited to have her lead our prevention efforts and add to the conversation on campus.

I want to extend our appreciation to the members of the search committee: Stephanie Sledge (Chair), Diane Eischeid, Brett Niederhauser, Anisa Fornoff, Kerry King-Jordan, and students Grace Rogers and Russell White.

—Jerry Parker, Interim Dean of Students