Kelli Parlante-Givas is the Director of Strategic Partnerships Management and is going on her eighth year working at the University. Kelli has two children; Carli, 25, and Bret, 19. Both are college students. Kelli is an extremely compassionate, caring, and altruistic person. In her almost eight years here, she has made it her mission to personally connect with each student, company, or co-worker that reaches her desk. When Kelli's children were young, she chose to be a stay-at-home mom and volunteer her time at the youth center at the McGuire Air Force Base, later becoming a counselor for the Community College of the Air Force; so naturally, starting in the Military and Veteran Education department as the Associate Director was a perfect fit:
"I never served, so that was my way of giving back."
When Kelli moved to Strategic Partnerships & Outreach with Associate Vice President Janet Eickhoff almost four years ago, the two of them expanded the University's number of partnerships from around 15 to 50 partnerships by developing personal connections and relationships with the companies they work with and growing their department internally.
"Although we're an online school, we believe that you should see the face behind the wall; and so we make it a point to try to reach out to all our partnerships and be available on-site as much as possible."
The Office of Strategic Partnerships & Outreach at Thomas Edison State University reaches out to their corporate partners, provides presentations, one on one meetings, information sessions, and onsite visits to its employees as part of being a partner with the University. Kelli makes sure to reach out to each of her contacts personally by offering on-site advising, sending individual emails, and providing her business card so that they don't have to jump through hoops to get the information they need. She believes strongly in the importance of seamless communication and developing one-on-one connections.
As someone who grew up in an environment in which many people did not go to school, Kelli was determined and dedicated to getting an education; which is why she now is so eager and excited about helping and supporting people who otherwise might not have had the opportunity to get their degree. It makes sense, then, that her goals for the new year have everything to do with student enrollment and retention. She wants to keep numbers high, if not increase them. So how does she do it?
Organization and time management.
Kelli keeps a spreadsheet of the University's partnerships to keep track of students and a separate spreadsheet to track numbers. "Goals are not set always by numbers because some partnerships are smaller; and so, what's our goal for them? Do we want to get a couple people enrolled? Do we want to get a couple people to graduate?" This way, she knows the progress of her goals, as well as holds herself accountable and responsible for her progress. To help manage her time, the department has a calendar which keeps track of events, conferences, etc. so that everyone can see when projects (or goals!) need to be completed. There is always a reasonable plan with a clear timeframe.
Kelli also stresses the importance of allowing yourself to reach out and ask for help when working on your goals. Kelli, herself, admits to depending on so many people throughout the University in doing her work and attributes much of her success to her leader and mentor, Janet Eickhoff, who encourages and supports her; and most importantly, leads by example.
"I have to give kudos to everyone because I couldn't do my job without them; it is because of them I can complete my goals".
Since her work involves communication with various departments throughout the University, Kelli is adamant about incorporating other skills and departments into her plans.
Now, what does Kelli suggest if you're struggling with setting and/or achieving your goals?
Take baby steps;
Start with something you're interested in;
Reach out to people who can help you;
Be patient;
Manage your time;
Keep it simple; and
Don't give up.
And remember: always say thank you!
Kelli is a member of the Women's Professional Network. She is determined to become more involved with the organization, saying that "It is my duty, as a woman...so I have to make time!". As a stay-at-home mom for seven years, Kelli knows how to keep herself involved, even if she can't physically attend every event. When she wasn't working, Kelli was volunteering virtually everywhere, making sure to constantly update her resume and keep herself competitive and connected. She has so much to offer and an incredible amount of drive. If you'd like to contact Kelli about goals or getting involved, she can be reached at kparlante@tesu.edu.
Comments