President's Message - Summer 2023
PennACE President’s message – Summer 2023
I hope that you are having a good summer, with whatever combination of rest, recharging, and productivity you most need. Another academic year is in the books and planning for the next year is already underway. Take a moment to reflect on the progress you’ve made and try to enjoy some summer fun while you gear up for the fall.
It was great to see many of you at the conference in May! Your presence and participation helped make the event a success and we hope you found the conference to be informative and engaging! I personally enjoy connecting with colleagues and friends from across the state! We thank the amazing conference committee for working together over the last year to coordinate the details of our great sessions and activities! We were especially grateful to those that were present to celebrate 20 years of PennACE conferences! We will review the conference survey feedback and take your insights and recommendations into consideration as we go forward. We hope you can join us next year when we host the 2024 conference at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, PA!!
The slower pace of the summer will allow us to take time to make some employer and member connections. Join our Professional Development and Employer Engagement team for the annual virtual employer visits. Employer invites are out, and we plan to host the visits June 20 through July 29. Look for the member invites to come soon!
What is coming? We can never afford to stand still, and we are not. PennACE continues to adapt to the needs of our members. During our annual general meeting, we voted to move forward with developing resources to support our career professionals and aid the students we serve. We are creating a new committee lead by Heather Balas to begin researching and creating resources for our members to access in the next year. The work of this committee will result in a certification for career centers and employers in several areas (LGBTQ, veteran, formerly incarcerated, etc). The certification will be available to anyone with a discount for members. Pursuing certification will open participants up to a special resource area to support continued efforts to aide these populations. We would love to have you join the committee, reach out to Heather Balas, if interested.
Serving on the PennACE board has been incredibility rewarding, I have had the opportunity to develop amazing friendships and connections. I am thankful to serve with wonderful, energetic, and supportive people. None of our organizational success is possible without the incredible work of our board members and committee members. We value each member of our executive board and benefit from their expertise, leadership, and generosity. Our continued success is only possible through the commitment of our board members and committees. We all have daily responsibilities and they have given time and effort to keep us moving forward! We express gratitude to our outgoing board members for their hard work and dedication. Their guidance, energy, and enthusiasm have been invaluable. We appreciate your support, grace and positive attitude. Thank you for being who you are and doing what you do!! I am personally grateful for your active leadership and being a steward for our organization. As I move into the role of past president, I turn the reins over and I would like to announce and congratulate our 2023-2024 board.
President: Kate Labriola-Gorentz (Chatham University)
VP/President Elect: Sarah Kordish (Mt. Aloysius College)
Treasurer: Heather Balas (Mercyhurst University)
Secretary: Katie Byers (St. Vincent College)
Communication Chair: Jenelle Henry (Kutztown University)
Marketing / PR Chair: Mary Rose Galiardi (Robert Morris University)
Membership Chair: Chad Ganley (Kutztown University)
Member-at-Large SOTY: Andrew Stopko (Saint Francis University)
Member-at-Large Grants – Steve Hassinger (Central Penn College)
Member-at-Large Professional & Employer Engagement East/Central – Phyllis Schoen (West Chester University)
Member-at-Large Professional & Employer Engagement West/Central – George Carter (Seton Hill University)
Past President – Krissie Doppelheuer (Pennsylvania Western University California)
Look for email updates and add pennace.info & mg.pennace.info to your safe senders list!
Happy Summer,
Krissie Doppelheuer
PennACE President