Please join the Human Resources Department in welcoming the following new full-time Drake employees:
Giovanna Brookhart, Head Start
Derma Rivera-Aguirre, Head Start
Linda Feiden, Human Resources
Meghan Settje, Finance & Administration
Tracy Warren, Finance & Administration
Keren Fiorenza, ITS
Kyle Smith, Athletics
Hannah Bildstein, International Center
Ana (Lorena) Sagastume Dahl, Law School
Luis Fernandez-Menchero, Arts & Sciences
Drake welcomes Kathryn Overberg to the role of Title IX coordinator, equity and inclusion policy specialist. Kathryn’s role is to oversee sexual harassment and sexual assault complaints involving students and to ensure the University’s overall compliance with Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education. In addition to her focus on Title IX compliance, Kathryn will provide consultative guidance on policies and practices that will advance Drake’s commitment to nondiscrimination and inclusivity. She will conduct training and be involved in a variety of prevention and outreach activities. She will work closely with Student Life, the Office for Sexual Violence Response and Healthy Relationship Promotion, Disability Services, the Office of Residence Life, Academic Affairs, and Human Resources.
Kathryn has extensive experience in higher education and Title IX related issues, serving as associate counsel for Iowa State University where she built strong working relationships across campus in academic and non-academic units. Kathryn received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Washington University in St. Louis, where she also played varsity soccer. She earned her law degree from the University of Iowa.
Please feel free to reach out to Kathryn to welcome her to Drake. Her email address is kathryn.overberg@drake.edu and her extension is x2982. Her office is located in Old Main, Room 205.
—Submitted by Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer
Drake’s Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement recently added Rutgers University political science professor David Redlawsk as its Drake Mabry Fellow. Plus, the University played host to the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Venture Competition Awards Luncheon.
Today we welcome to campus Chris Nickell as Drake’s director, environmental health and safety (EHS). Chris has more than 15 years’ experience in the field of emergency planning and environmental health and safety. He is certified Hazardous Material Manager, Safety Professional, and Red Cross Instructor for First Aid, CPR, AED, and Blood Borne Pathogens. Chris is well versed in all aspects of emergency planning and response, with numerous Homeland Security certifications.
Chris, along with Environmental Specialist Josh Haines, will continue the work of EHS at Drake through collaborative partnerships with faculty and staff.
Chris comes to us from the Mittera Group where he served as the environmental health and safety manager. In this position he developed and implemented EHS programs for 10 locations and 750 employees. Prior to that engagement, Chris worked as an environmental safety and health technician for Monsanto at the Ankeny and Huxley sites, which facilitated a full wet chemistry and genetics lab. Chris also has 12 years of experience with the Iowa Air National Guard, where his duties included developing and implementing installation of all hazardous emergency plans and readiness exercises for his unit.
The Environmental Health and Safety Office will be located at 1418 27th St., next to Facility Services. Please feel free to stop by in the coming weeks and welcome Chris to Drake.
—Submitted by Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer, Title IX Coordinator
I am pleased to announce that Chelsea Ochylski has been hired to serve as our new assistant director of alumni relations. In her role, Chelsea will manage our regional engagement programs and provide counsel to our six Regional Advisory Boards across the country (Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Chicago, Kansas City, Washington, D.C., and Phoenix). She starts Sept. 8.
In addition, Chelsea will serve as a staff liaison to our college and school faculty and administrators to ensure we are engaging our alumni through their strongest affinity and interests. As part of her responsibilities, Chelsea will also manage an affinity reunion annually (the Drake Choir Reunion this year).
She is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa with a bachelor’s degree in Leisure, Youth and Human Services: Nonprofit Administration. Since that time, she has continued to advance her education with certificates in the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, Principles and Practices of Nonprofit Excellence, as well as being certified in Fund Raising Management through the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Over the past three years, Chelsea has worked at Make-A-Wish® Iowa as the manager of philanthropy. In this role, she worked with all individual and corporate donors in the Des Moines area as well as the western half of the state of Iowa. She managed a portfolio of donors ranging from annual donors to major gift donors giving $10,000 and up, as well as managing more than 50 corporate accounts throughout the state. She oversaw regional boards and committees across Iowa and executed dozens of events each year with those volunteers and fellow staff.
Chelsea’s combination of fundraising knowledge and experience; strong communication skills with donors, board members, colleagues and wish families; and energetic personality will be a huge asset to our team as we move forward in building and maintaining relationships with our alumni across the globe.
—Submitted by Blake Campbell, Director, Office of Alumni Relations
Michelle Rogers has been named the assessment coordinator at Drake. She will join a collaborative team committed to using assessment as a means to improve academic programs and student learning. Rogers will partner with administration, faculty, staff, and students to develop and implement assessment plans for institution-wide programs. Rogers will also assist in providing workshops for ongoing assessment initiatives and serve on appropriate campus committees.
She previously worked with the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium on its digital library project to support K-12 teachers in implementing formative assessment practices in their instruction. She is completing her doctoral work in educational psychology at the University of Iowa (UI).
Rogers has taught courses in educational psychology at the University of Iowa and presented her research at numerous conferences. She was honored with the prestigious Dean’s Fellowship at UI and received various grants, including the Iowa Educational Research and Evaluation award and the Iowa Measurement Research Foundation award.