I have multiple experiences as a leader in department, university, and professional positions. In 2005, I took on a leadership role at Northern Illinois University (NIU) as the Coordinator of Preservice Technology Integration Courses, then became the Program Coordinator for the Instructional Technology Program in 2008. In 2011, I began working at the University of Tennessee (UT) as an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of the Instructional Technology Program. During the 2013-2014 academic year, I worked directly with the UT then Chancellor Dr. Jimmy Cheek as a Faculty Leadership Intern. In 2017, I was appointed as the Associate Head and Director of Graduate Studies in the Educational Psychology and Counseling (EPC) Department at UT. In 2019, I left my academic departmental leadership position, and became the University Ombudsperson and I now lead the operations of the Office of Ombuds Services.
Throughout various roles that I have taken, I have led several initiatives including:
the design, development, implementation, and marketing of a new service office;
facilitating difficult faculty, staff, and graduate student conversations in conflict situations;
faculty mentoring and training for tenure and promotion materials development;
the design and development and implementation of revenue-generating programs;
managing the budget and financing for investing revenues into the operations of a program;
the design and development of innovative residential and online undergraduate and graduate programs;
the coordination of interdepartmental collaborative programs; and
the preparation of accreditation and program review materials for data-driven decision-making.
I have learned that to be a successful leader I need to first be a listener and communicator for faculty, students, staff, and organizational leaders. Then, I need to make swift decisions based on data while advocating the people who I serve, and take actions based on those decisions.