EACE 2024 Board of Directors Elections

Director, Career Growth Candidate

Shannon Zelek
Director of Career Connections
Merrimack College

1. Describe your interest in serving on the EACE Board in this capacity.

My journey with EACE has been transformative, helping shape my identity in higher education beyond my institution. Since 2019, I've actively engaged in various committees, learning from organizational leaders and now aspire to contribute my skills to our organization in a new capacity. This opportunity matches my values and experiences, allowing me to further enhance the organization's mission and strategic priorities. Serving on the Board would not only deepen my involvement as a dedicated member but also expose me to high-level decision-making, budgeting, and collaboration with leaders. I strongly believe the work of the Director of Career Growth can positively impact each member within our organization. Learning from mentors and peers, I am eager to tackle the challenges our profession faces through unique and impactful opportunities.

3. What ideas and/or goals do you have for this position?

Career Growth plays a vital role in delivering substantial value to each member within our organization. In this capacity, it is crucial to gather member input on desired offerings, preferred engagement methods to support us in finding feasible long-term solutions to meeting our members where they are at. Collaboration with fellow Board members with guidance from our strategic plan is essential to bring these ideas to fruition.1) Expand our webinar offerings throughout the year - creating a list of interested members or organizations we can partner with to provide ongoing career growth opportunities for our members. This will ensure consistency across fiscal years when committees experience turnover. We can strategically partner with the Programming Committee to identify potential presenters from the Annual Conference submission process. 2) Foster conducive spaces for opportunities to share best practices and industry trends to benefit different sectors of our membership, virtually or in person. This could result in additional blogs, webinars, conference sessions, or opportunities for publishing the work of our members. 3) Elevate our Mentorship meet-ups beyond the Annual Conference, utilizing virtual avenues to create space for mentorship as an area of growth. This work involves partnering with various EACE Committees, regional associations, and individual members. Members serve as both educators and mentors for one another, and it is our responsibility to meet the diverse needs of all members. We will have a continuous focus on assessing program effectiveness for future planning.

Back to Elections Home