My "Why":

I want to continue to serve the Staff Senate and the staff of the University of Nebraska – Lincoln as I have spent the last 13 years helping students with their academics and attempting to make UNL a better place for everyone.  I have already served as a Co-chair of the Bylaws Committee and the Secretary-Treasurer of Staff Senate.  I have also held leadership positions in other staff organizations at UNL, and I enjoy helping to develop and serve other people.  For the 2026-27 session of Staff Senate, I have decided to run for the Vice President of External Affairs position on the Executive Committee.  I chose this position over other options for 2026-27 as I believe this will be an important year for external affairs as UNL finalizes the joint accreditation with UNMC.  There will also be three new Regents starting their terms in 2027, which could lead to a change in how the Board of Regents has been operating.

My Platform:

I have three goals for the 2026-27 session of Staff Senate.  First, I want to ensure that staff are a part of any collaborative planning that happens during the next academic year as part of the UNL and UNMC joint accreditation.  For example, I will work to make sure that staff are a part of the fall summit that was mentioned in Nebraska Today on June 22^nd.  Second, I will work with the staff leaders at UNK, UNMC, and UNO to continue our efforts to push for formal recognition by the Board of Regents.  With staff organizations in place at UNK, UNMC, UNL, and UNO, it is time for the Board of Regents to give staff the same recognition as faculty during Board of Regents meetings, and we will work with Dr. Chris Kratochvil, University of Nebraska Vice President for External Affairs, to make this happen.  Finally, I want to ensure a successful launch of the External Affairs Committee, which is replacing the inactive Legislation Committee.  Keeping the Staff Senate and all staff updated about the actions of the Board of Regents and the Nebraska legislature will be important this year with new Regents coming in and with the 2027-29 budget that the state legislature will be working to pass.  In addition to these goals, I will continue to support the whole Staff Senate and the Executive Committee, and I will lead the effort to create the next Staff Senate Annual Report.