Don't forget that we'll be celebrating all of the award winners during our Region 2 Talks Awards Ceremony! For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/events/201906061107412/.
Katina Velentzas | Virginia Commonwealth University | Excellence in Advising - New Advisor
Katina Velentzas is an academic advisor in the School of Business of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and a daughter of Greek immigrants. In her role, Ms. Velentzas serves as the primary advisor to the economics and financial technology majors, guides existing VCU undergraduates interested in changing their major to economics or business, and regularly sits on honor council and student conduct board hearings. Her advising philosophy is largely informed by Schlossberg's (1989) work on marginality and mattering—namely, that students who feel they matter to their institutions are more likely to persist through their pathway than their peers who feel marginalized. Ms. Velentzas leans heavily on attributional retraining with advisees to align past barriers to success with future plans of action, to reframe failure as opportunities for improvement, and to buoy resilience. In her spare time, Ms. Velentzas is a voting machine technician and an election officer for Spotsylvania County, VA and a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for abused and neglected children in family court proceedings.
Sarah Bechtel | Virginia Tech | Excellence in Advising - New Advisor Certificate of Merit
Sarah Bechtel is an Academic Advisor and First-Year Experience Coordinator for Virginia Tech's School of Neuroscience. Sarah has a BA in English with minors in Leadership and Women's Studies from the College of Saint Elizabeth and an MA in English from Old Dominion University. She is working on an Instructional Design and Technology Education Specialist degree at Virginia Tech. Sarah began pursuing an advising career when she was in her master's program at ODU through an Honors College graduate assistantship. From there, she worked at Virginia Wesleyan University as an enrollment counselor and events coordinator. Sarah taught her first college course, "Pathways to Success" this past fall to first-year undecided students and is currently teaching a transfer first-year career exploration course. Sarah also serves on several committees at Virginia Tech and spends her free time scrapbooking, working out, hiking, playing with her dog, and traveling.
Maura Pagano | Salisbury University | Excellence in Advising - New Advisor Certificate of Merit
Maura Pagano is an academic advisor in the Academic Advising Center at Salisbury University, who works directly with first-year students pursuing a major in the Perdue School of Business. She started working at Salisbury University back in August 2018 as the academic advisor for Exploratory Studies students. Maura goes the extra mile for her students to prepare them for their future academic challenges, navigating their college experience and helping them find their passions. She treats each student with respect and understanding because each student comes in with their own set of challenges and experiences. In her advising position she works with a diverse student population ranging from students on Academic Probation to students who are high achievers. Before taking on her position at Salisbury she completed her master’s degree in Educational Leadership in Higher Education from Bloomsburg University. It was during her own undergraduate and graduate experience that she found her passion for academic advising to help guide our students and be a mentor during a time when people face multiple life changing events.
Shawna Morse | Drexel University | Excellence in Advising - New Advisor Certificate of Merit
Shawna Morse has been an Academic Advisor at the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University since August 2018. In her role, she supports undergraduate students pursuing their Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree and enjoys getting to know her students and helping them to develop the skills they need to succeed academically, professionally, and personally. In addition to the positive advising relationships she has created, she has had the privilege of teaching four sections of the first year experience course (UNIVB101: The Drexel Experience) to new first year and transfer students. She is also a member of Drexel’s UNIV Resource Group, LeBow’s Diversity and Inclusion Group, and president for her advising office’s community building initiative, the Party Planning Committee (PPC). Based on these efforts, Shawna was recently awarded the Outstanding New Academic Advisor award within the Drexel community for the academic year 2018-2019. Outside of work, Shawna enjoys exploring Philadelphia with her corgi, Hoagie as well as traveling to different countries. She has been to Ireland, Peru, Japan, and Spain and hopes to go to Thailand soon!
Janet Distel | Temple University | Excellence in Advising - Advising Administrator
Janet Distel is the Assistant Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Affairs at Temple University’s College of Education where she oversees undergraduate and graduate advising; implements retention initiatives; does assessment and makes data-driven decisions, and continuously strives to increase efficiency and provide high-level services and programs to students, staff, and faculty. Janet has worked in higher education for close to twenty years, starting her career working with low income and first generation students in educational opportunity programs – an experience that informs her approach to this day. Janet has a passion for encouraging students to study abroad, wholly believing that the experience of having to navigate unfamiliar territory expands your worldview and can make better educators and citizens. A professional and personal highlight came when she lived in England and worked as a secretary to the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University for a year. Working at one of the world’s oldest universities was an informative and amazing experience and Janet got what must be the best work perk ever when the Vice-Chancellor selected her as one of Oxford’s attendees to the Queen’s Garden Party at Buckingham Palace! Janet and her husband saw Queen Elizabeth up close, enjoyed delicious tea sandwiches and pastries, and strolled the gardens behind the palace. A memory for a lifetime!
Janet is invested in collaborating with colleagues across the university to contribute to the greater good. In 2018, Janet was elected as one of Temple University’s co-chairs for its Advising Directors Council, and in that role has led the restructuring of advising-related committees so that they may better serve the needs of the advising community. Janet was an inaugural member and continues to serve on Temple University’s Advisor Development Program (ADP) Steering Committee, working with advisors and advising administrators from across the university to develop the highly regarded program that is designed and delivered By Advisors for Advisors.
Janet is a proud graduate of the University of Scranton (BA) and Temple University (MSW). She has been a member of NACADA for several years. Janet moderated a panel discussion at the NACADA Annual Conference in 2018, Coalition Building: Advising Administrators as Change Agents. She co-presented with ADP Steering Committee colleagues (Advisor Development: Don’t Leave it to Chance!) at the NACADA Region 2 and Annual conferences in 2019. In 2020, she was a proposal reader for the Region 2 Conference and the Annual Conference. Janet is presenting as part of a panel discussion at this conference, Women in Leadership: Charting Our Success.
Terri N. Wheaton | Old Dominion University | Excellence in Advising - Advising Administrator Certificate of Merit
Terri N. Wheaton currently serves as the Director of Current Student Coaching and Advising for Old Dominion University Online. Terri directly supervises 16 Student Success Directors who advise several thousand 100% online undergraduate students representing all six colleges of Old Dominion University. The mission of ODUOnline is to provide high-quality personalized academic advising and success coaching, facilitating a sense of connection. ODUOnline advisors assist and empower students in developing achievable educational plans in support of their success, retention, ultimate graduation, and life-long learning. A native of the Roanoke Valley of Virginia, Terri is a seasoned 27 year veteran of higher education in the areas of admissions, student services and advising. She holds a B.A. degree in Psychology and a M.S. Ed. in Counseling and Human Development. Terri enjoys long, brisk walks and time with family and friends.
Crystal Baldwin | Virginia Commonwealth University | Excellence in Advising - Advising Administrator Certificate of Merit
Crystal Baldwin has been an Associate Director for University Academic Advising at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) since 2017. She currently leads a team of nine academic advisors and oversees Foundation advising, which supports first-year and continuing students in Business, Arts and lower-division Social Work. During a time of transition for University Academic Advising, Crystal was instrumental in onboarding three cohorts of new advisors, thirteen positions in total, while orienting a large freshman class of 4,500 students. She is a fierce advocate for the advising - always seeking leadership opportunities for advisors and empowering them to take on new tasks to expand their skill set. Crystal earned her B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her M.Ed in Counselor Education - Student Affairs from Clemson University. Prior to joining VCU, she served as the Coordinator of Recruitment and Retention for the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville.
Amber King | Delaware Technical Community College | Excellence in Advising - Advising Administrator Certificate of Merit
Amber King is an Academic Counselor and the Student Affairs Instructional Coordinator at Delaware Technical Community College – Owens Campus. Amber oversees the Advising Center at her campus and helps develop advising updates and changes. She is currently serving as the Co-Chair of an Achieving the Dream Subcommittee focused on developing robust advising and holistic supports at Delaware Tech. Amber has been at Delaware Tech since January 2015. Prior to Delaware Tech, Amber was a High School Counselor in Arlington, VA and then in Delaware. Amber has a Master’s in School Counseling from the George Washington University and a Bachelor’s of Science from Ursinus College. In 2019, Amber was awarded the Rising Star Award for Delaware’s ACE Women’s Network. She lives in Georgetown, DE with her husband, Justin, and their three daughters, Alexis, Victoria, and Sawyer.
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