NIRSA Board of Directors

NIRSA Board of Directors 2024-2025

Erin Patchett

Erin Patchett, PhD
Colorado State University
 

Lashica Thomas

Lashica Thomas
Columbus State University
 

Andre Love

Andre Love
Ohio State University
 

Abby Whaley

Abby Whaley
Purdue University
 

Kevin Martin

Kevin Martin
Texas A&M Univ, Corpus Christi
 

Dexter Shorter

Dexter Shorter, Ed.D.
Pennsylvania State University
 

Nicole Olmeda

Nicole Olmeda
Univ. Texas-Austin
 

Rachael Finley

Rachael Finley
Rachael Finley Coaching and Consulting
 

Pam Watts

Pam Watts
NIRSA Executive Director
  

About the NIRSA Board of Directors

As NIRSA continues to embody our leaders in collegiate recreation moniker, the association’s Board of Directors is fully committed to providing the visionary and practical guidance needed to achieve our higher goals. While this includes developing strategic initiatives for the future of our organization, the Board also holds fiduciary and legal responsibilities, establishes policies, guides the Executive Director, and serves as sole shareholder of NIRSA Services Corporation.

The Board is currently working to ensure the successful progression of our strategic plan. This includes developing efforts and initiatives inspired by our strategic values — Health & Wellbeing; Equity, Diversity & Inclusion; Leadership; Service; Global Perspective; and Sustainable Communities — and assembling special committees to activate these values on NIRSA Member Institute campuses.

Professional and student members are encouraged to join in the conversation as the Board continues to guide our organization in how — and why — NIRSA can best build healthy campuses and communities.

The NIRSA Board of Directors comprises three officers in the Presidential Track (President, President Designee, and President Elect), three At-Large Directors, and a Board-elected Annual Director.

Nomination, Application and Election Process

See the Position Descriptions

Members interested in serving in a leadership position on the Board are encouraged to review the position descriptions for Presidential Track and At-Large Director.

See the Position Descriptions

Members interested in serving in a leadership position on the Board are encouraged to review the position descriptions for Presidential Track and At-Large Director.

How to Get Involved

The Nominations & Appointments Committee recruits nominees, reviews applications and supporting materials, and determines the slate of candidates for the At-Large Director and Presidential Track positions on the NIRSA Board of Directors.

Candidates interested in serving in a Board position are asked to submit an initial application, consisting of a resume and a completed initial interest form. Both the form and resume must be submitted by September 19, 2024.

The committee will complete their review of initial applications by October 9; they will then invite finalists to the next stage of the application process. This stage consists of a 15-minute interview with committee members and a written application. The written application will be due by October 28, 2024. The committee will utilize both the written application, the interview, and reference checks to slate two candidates for the At-Large Director position and two candidates for the Presidential Track position.

Please note that if you submit an initial application and are invited to advance and submit a full written application, this will occur on a very tight timeline. Those applicants that are slated to stand for election will have their written application materials posted on the website, for review by the membership, exactly as received by the committee. Therefore, it is in each candidate’s best interest to seek out peer-reviewed feedback on issues of grammar and clarity.

If an applicant would like NIRSA Communications to assist with a basic grammar review, their application must be received by October 18, 2024. This review would be only for correctness (such as correct punctuation or correct use of homophones) and would not be for clarity (such as improving sentence structure or sharpening prose) so as not to alter the candidate’s message in any way. After receiving basic grammar feedback, the candidate will have to approve the edits and resubmit the document by October 28.

The final slate of candidates will be approved by the current NIRSA Board and announced in mid-December. Electronic elections will occur January 17-28, 2025 with results announced in early February.

Questions?

If you have questions about the position description or election process, please feel free to contact any member of the Nominations & Appointments Committee.

If you have questions about the application and supporting materials, please contact Natasha Fischer, NIRSA Member Engagement Manager.

NIRSA Board of Directors, 2023-2024

Wendy Windsor

Wendy Windsor, Ed.D., RSS
Tulane University
 

Erin Patchett

Erin Patchett, PhD
Colorado State University
 

Lashica Thomas

Lashica Thomas
Columbus State University
 

Kevin Martin

Kevin Martin
Texas A&M Univ, Corpus Christi
 

Dexter Shorter

Dexter Shorter, Ed.D.
Pennsylvania State University
 

Victoria Lopez-Herrera

Victoria Lopez-Herrera
Univ. Texas-San Antonio
 

Andre Love

Andre Love
Ohio State University
 

Nicole Olmeda

Nicole Olmeda
Univ. Texas-Austin
 

Pam Watts

Pam Watts
NIRSA Executive Director
  

NIRSA Board of Directors 2022-2023

Mila Padgett

Mila Padgett
University of South Carolina-Aiken
 

Wendy Windsor

Wendy Windsor, Ed.D., CRSS
Tulane University
 

Erin Patchett

Erin Patchett, PhD
Colorado State University
 

Dexter Shorter

Dexter Shorter, Ed.D.
Pennsylvania State University
 

Victoria Lopez-Herrera

Victoria Lopez-Herrera
University Texas-San Antonio
 

Nigel Harris

Nigel Harris
Kennesaw State University
 

Mike Warren

Mike Warren
Purdue University
 

Pam Watts

Pam Watts
NIRSA Executive Director