Build Your Own Pathway Leadership Team

Careers / Build Your Own Pathway Leadership Team

Career Pathway Leadership Teams are model community members and leaders within the Career Pathways, who help the Career Advancement Center with mobilizing community members, evaluating services, and implementing best practice career development solutions to support graduates’ ability to prepare for, and attain, productive and rewarding careers. Leadership teams are composed of trustees, alumni, faculty/staff, employers and students willing to serve as engaged, enthusiastic partners to the CAC.

Build Your Own Career Pathway Leader: Colleen Monks

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Colleen Monks is the Director and leads strategic planning and execution of the 91��Ƭ�� four-year Career Pathways program in alignment with the College’s institutional planning priorities and mission to “prepare our students for, and help them attain, productive and rewarding careers.”

In addition to serving as Director, Colleen leads the Build Your Own Pathway. She supports undecided students as they identify potential career paths and assists them with developing essential skills that can be an asset to any career.

Colleen has more than 10 years of professional experience in higher education in roles with a focus on career development and student success. Before coming to 91��Ƭ��, she worked at Northwestern University Career Advancement and taught a first-year experience course for students in engineering and applied sciences. Prior to her work in Career Services, Colleen helped launch a Student Support Services TRiO program and served as an advisor. She has been a presenter for and has been actively involved in the National Career Development Association and is a member of the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Colleen graduated from DePaul University with a Master of Education in Counseling, and she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Ohio State University.

External Community Members: Trustees, Employers, Alumni, and Friends

Liam Connell ’17, MLS (Trustee)
Member of Board of Trustees
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Kevin Considine
President & CEO
Lake County Partners

Emelia Edmondson ’22
Game Operations Graduate Assistant
Illinois State University

David (Sid) Gorter ’81 (Trustee)
President
SSU Corporation, DK Organics, and 4Medapproved.com

Donell Harmon-Parker '99
Talent Acquisition Director and President/Founder
Genoa Healthcare and AMINAH Consulting, Inc.

Megan Lambert ’15
Manager, Quality of Intellectual Property
Aon

Kyle Lim '21
Operations
Power Dental USA

Martino Moore '99 (Trustee)
Executive Director
Morgan Stanley

Tucker Strang ’20
Marketing Operations Associate
Uline

Steve Strelsin (Trustee)
Managing Partner (Retired)
Axiom Consulting Partners

Internal Community Members: Faculty, Staff, Students

Dawn Abt-Perkins
Associate Dean of the Faculty for Student Success
Professor of Education
Co-Chair, Self-Designed Major

Scott Edgar
Chair of Music

Hayley Headley '24
Major: Sociology and Anthropology and Politics

Bellise Kigozi ’25
Major: Physics

Brian McCammack
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies
Chair of Environmental Studies

Deja McClellan '20
Internship Program and Early Engagement Coordinator

Janet McCracken
Professor and Chair of Philosophy and of Classical Studies
Co-Chair, Self-Designed Major

Jen O'Brien
Assistant Director, Gates Center for Leadership and Personal Growth

Jeff Sundberg
Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies

Holly Swyers
Professor of Anthropology

Anna Trumbore Jones
Associate Dean of the Faculty
Professor of History

Affiliate Membership

There are many more people interested in contributing to the Career Pathways than will be able serve on Leadership Teams at any given time, and supporters who want to be highly involved, but are not serving on a Leadership Team may elect to join the Career Pathways as affiliate members. Privileges and responsibilities for affiliates include:

Receive regular updates from Pathway Leaders about events and success stories
Be invited to offer assistance to students in the Pathways – ways to help may include: event attendance, hosting interns, recommending sites for interns we are struggling to place, or networking referrals; some update messaging will be similar to what is provided to leadership teams
Highly engaged affiliate members can be considered as future Leadership Team members

Leadership Teams are limited to 20 members. All key stakeholders (faculty, staff, employers, alumni, parents, students and other friends of the College) are welcome to become affiliates. All stakeholders will receive periodic updates from the CAC; affiliate members will get more action-oriented, community-building messages, while more passive community members will receive outreach messages more appropriate for their level of involvement. There is no limit to the number of affiliate members associated with leadership teams, and key stakeholders are welcome to join multiple pathways as affiliate members.

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