Ohio Academic Advising Association

Serving the needs of Ohio Advisors since 1996

An "allied" organization of NACADA

 

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President

Jeannette Passmore
Owens Community College
jeannette.passmore@gmail.com

I am excited to be a part of the OHAAA executive board. Many people in organizations such as OHAAA, OCPA and ACPA encouraged me along the way, provided leadership and mentorship, and have continued to help me grow as a professional. I look forward to giving back to the wonderful higher ed community and to our OHAAA members in particular!

I am a Student Success Mentor at Owens Community College (Findlay Campus). I see primarly students-at-risk and enjoy mentoring and advising them through to being students-of-success. My experience as a student in higher education spanned 12 years, 5 institutions, and 248 credit hours. I like to believe that all of those experiences and my M.A. in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University make me a unique mentor for both students and professionals.

My areas of interest include nontraditional students, technology, and social media. I also enjoy spending time with my partner, four children, and two grandchildren. Not to mention the dog and the fish! But I will always carve out time for OHAAA and my fellow student affairs professionals, so feel free to contact me anytime.

President-Elect

Christine Shaal
Owens Community College
Christine_Shaal@owens.edu

I graduated from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania with my Masters Degree in Counseling and College Student Personnel. I have worked in student affairs for 12 years in various capacities including residence life and academic advising. I currently serve as an advisor at Owens Community College working primarily with online and business students.

I am very excited to be your president-elect. Together, I hope that we can identify ways to increase membership and involvement in OHAAA. I wish to continue the great work of the organization and to help create stronger relationships across our campuses. I would like OHAAA to be a community that allows our campuses to connect and inform advising professionals on current topics and trends so that we are able to best help our students.

Past President

Kelly Conkle
Lourdes University
kconkle@lourdes.edu

I have been on the OHAAA Board since 2008, now serving as the Past President. I have truly enjoyed being involved with the Ohio Academic Advising Association. I have had the opportunity to learn so much from advisors across the state and throughout the country.

I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Toledo, where I was very involved in student activities and decided I wanted a career in higher education. I then went to Kansas State University, where I completed my master’s degree in Student Personnel Services with an emphasis in Counseling. At Kansas State I had the opportunity to work in the Academic and Career Information Center. This was my first taste of academic advising. I then headed to Central Michigan University where I worked as a Residence Hall Director, with part of my job being to advise students in my building. I have taught as an adjunct at Owens Community College and now work as an Academic Advisor at Lourdes College in Sylvania, Ohio.

Treasurer

Wiona Porath
University of Toledo
wiona.porath@utoledo.edu

As a non-traditional student, I chose Higher Education as a way to empower students. There were three influential advisors that lead me to Higher Education as a career. I am grateful that they took an interest in my development as a student and as a person. I currently serve as the Academic Program Coordinator in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Toledo. In this role, I serve as the academic advisor for undergraduates, coordinate the department experience days, senior checkout, degree audits, graduation checkouts, new student orientations, transfer evaluations, facilitate the peer-mentor and peer leader program, facilitate the Student Advisory Council, and many other tasks.

I began my college career at Marietta College, then the University of Southwest Louisiana, and finally landing at Ohio University-Lancaster. I graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Specialized Studies in Social Science. I continued at Ohio University (Athens Campus) and earned a Master of Education in Higher Education Administration. As you may have guessed, I have moved many times! I have lived in five states, moving to Ohio three times! Through my life experiences and my formal education, I have learned that being open to new ideas is an important asset!

My desire to serve as the treasurer for OHAAA comes from other volunteer experiences in the same area. I have served as treasurer for the Ohio College Personnel Association, several Parent Teacher Organizations, and currently serve as the treasurer for the Lenawee County Youth Bowling Association.

Secretary

Wendy Howe
Owens Community College
wendy_howe@owens.edu

I have been a member of OHAAA for about the past five years. During this time I have seen the organization grow immensly and look for innovative ways to connect Advisors throughout Ohio and more nationally; in particular with regional seminars, the creation of a list serve, and alignment with NACADA. I am very excited about what lies ahead in continuing to connect Advisors, sharing with one another best practices, and helping one another to grow professionally. I look forward to serving you a as member of OHAAA's board.

I entered the wonderful world of Higher Ed 12 years ago at Owens Community College in Admissions and have been involved with advising over the past seven years. I am currently the Assistant Direct of of Advising. I enjoy my role in supporting Advisors to enable them to better serve students. During the past year I returned to the academic arena and am pursing my Master of Organizational Leadership degree through Lourdes college. I am a mother of three; three-year old twins, and a soon to be kindergartner. During my spare time :) I love to do anything outdoors or near water. I also enjoy gardening, cooking/canning, and following Nascar racing. I am thoroughly enjoying my return to the academic arena, but have to admit I cannot wait for the time when I have more freedom to read randomly what I select, cook a gourmet meal, and get to bed before 11 p.m.

Professionally I have been involved with the creation and implementation of a caseload advising system at a community college, as well as the implementation of advising teams by academic school, and we are amidst the process of transitioning from a majority part-time advising staff to the creation of full-time advising positions. We have also recently merged Advising and Student Services with Academic Services to create a more collaborative environment in serving our students. Feel free to pick my brain regarding any of these processes if they are directions your institutions are headed.

Two-Year Institution Representative

Dana Roof
Owens Community College
ellen_roof@owens.edu

I've been at Owens Community College for three years. I was an academic advisor on the Findlay campus, as well as the weekend coordinator. I am currently a Student Success Mentor at The Source, Owens' downtown Toledo campus, where I deal with at-risk students. Years ago I was a faculty advisor at the University of Findlay where I taught English and Journalism. I am currently adjunct faculty at Owens where I teach English and career decision making classes. I have also taught at BGSU, University of Findlay, and Owens in Ohio; and Jordan College, Baker College, and Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan. I previously served on the OHAAA board as the Two-Year Institution Representative in 2009-10.

I have an MA in College Student Personnel (CSP) specializing in adult learners, plus a certificate in Women's Studies, an MA in English and Educational Media, a BA in English and Journalism, and I am ABD in Mass Communications. I am also a certified Victims Advocate. My research area is adult women learners. I have presented and published on single parent moms as students, college for women over fifty, and the impact of intimate partner violence on women's post-secondary education.

On the personal level, I have two twenty-something daughters: one in her last year at Penn Law and the other who is going to McPherson College in Kansas. Besides OHAAA, I'm involved in NACADA, ACPA, NASPA, NWSA (Nat'l Women's Studies Assoc.) and AAUW.

Four-Year Public Institution Representative

Melissa Gleckler
University of Toledo
Melissa.Gleckler@utoledo.edu

A self-proclaimed nerd, I feel most at home in an academic environment and feel very fortunate to have a career in the culture of learning I so loved in my undergrad and graduate programs. I received a B.A. Cum Laude in 1996 and a Master of Liberal Arts and Graduate Certificate in Communications in 2009, all from The University of Toledo. As an adviser, instructor, student and alumna of The University of Toledo, it is a privilege to serve on the Board for OHAAA.

In my former life, I was a TV news director, but I found myself training all of the new hires and recognized a calling to teach and lead others on fulfilling educational and career paths, which led me back to UT. I’m now the academic adviser for the Individualized and Adult Liberal Studies programs in the College of Adult and Lifelong Learning at UT, where I am also the College Honors Director, Orientation Liaison, Online Learning Liaison, and Commencement Committee Chair.

I grew up a farm kid in rural Northwest Ohio. Never forgetting my roots, I still help my dad on our small hobby farm, where we plant, grow and harvest 6 acres of produce by hand. It’s times like these that I don’’ enjoy being an only child! In my free time (if you can believe I have any), when I’m not teaching or taking a class, or picking strawberries (the bane of my existence), I also enjoy anything with wheels, from my bicycle built for two, to my Rollerblades and Heelys, to my muscle cars. I’ve even been seen Rollerblading with my extremely adorable Shih Tzu, Gizmo, in a stroller.

Four-Year Private Institution Representative

Stacy Jenkins
Lourdes University
Sjenkins@lourdes.edu

I have worked in higher education for the last 9 years, it all began as an internship for my M.A. degree. Originally, I obtained my B.A. in Psychology from Siena Heights University in Michigan. I was determined to assist children and young adults struggling with family issues and healing. I quickly realized that I would not be able to support my family on the income I was making with my B.A. and felt the push to complete my M.A. degree. While working on my M.A. in Counseling I had the opportunity to intern in the Counseling Services Office at Siena Heights University as well as to intern in the Career Center. It didn't take me long to love the work that was being done in higher education.

Upon graduation I was offered a position at Monroe County Community College as a part-time advisor; I truly enjoyed every moment. I decided that higher education was the perfect fit; I can still help people but now they actually want my help. Previously, the individuals I was working with were being court ordered to get help. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in MI as well as a National Certified Counselor, it is hard telling which doors God will open next for me.

Member-at-Large

Heidi Jones
Ashland University
hjones5@ashland.edu

I am very excited and honored to be a member of the OHAAA board. I am currently the Director of Academic Advising for the College of Arts and Sciences at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. I have been in this position since June 2008. Ashland University has a faculty advising model, so much of my work is helping faculty to understand and navigate various academic policies, procedures, and deadlines. Additionally, I work with closely with incoming first year students, Exploring students, and students experiencing academic difficulty.

Prior to this position I held a variety of positions at the University of California at Los Angeles which is also where I earned my undergraduate and graduate degrees. My undergraduate degree is in American Literature with an emphasis in African American Literature and my graduate degree is in Higher Education/Student Affairs. My previous positions have included not only those in academic advising units, but I have worked in Residence Life, Judicial Affairs, and International Education. Between my undergraduate and graduate degrees I worked in advertising as well as for a variety of non-profits raising money for people living with HIV/AIDS.

When not on campus I cherish spending with my partner and toddler. Additionally, I enjoy cooking, travel, and keeping in touch with friends and family all around the globe!