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The Staff Leadership Team was established in July 2022 as part of a staff reorganization during the transition and retirement of Assistant Program Director Peggy Gordon. The reorganization emphasized three areas of staff responsibilities key to the support and success of the Program in Environmental Design: finance and human resources, operations, and undergraduate education and student success. 

Meet the Staff Leadership Team: 

Alea Richmond Akins | Director of Undergraduate Education & Student Success 

Anna Parsons | Director of Finance & Human Resources 

Amanda Pyers | Director of Operations 

The team has been charged to work as a cohesive unit to lead, assess and support the program’s culture of development and engagement amongst staff, and will play an integral role in realizing the program’s core mission while working with Stacey Schulte, ENVD director, the Executive Committee and Executive Leadership team to support the goals and needs of the program.

Developing a full change management plan for the staff reorganization was key in the first year of implementation. In partnership with Director Schulte and input from staff, the team developed the plan and established a new vision and purpose for each unit, refining operations and workflows, creating new partnerships and collaborations. The team also spent time writing job descriptions for new positions and revised several existing ones as part of a long-term strategic staff hiring plan.  

Under the realm of undergraduate education and student success, the advising team launched a new advising model to include a first-year advising team and an upper-division advising team. The new model aligns with campus best practices, and it has allowed ENVD to lower advising caseloads for the first-year team so that more time can be dedicated to support incoming students.  

This year, the Staff Leadership team will continue to build on their work to foster an inclusive, creative, industrious and supportive environment.