It's time to vote for members of the new CLAS Staff Council!
We have seven great candidates up for this year's election. Below is the list of nominees and a brief statement about why they would like to serve. When you are ready, please go to the ballot to cast your vote. You may vote once for up to 7 people. Voting is open until Monday, May 9th.
Anne Beard
I've been a program assistant on the downtown Denver campus of CU Denver for over a decade and deeply appreciate the knowledge and commitment that staff bring to making this university work for all students. It is a privilege to work with students from all backgrounds, knowing that they will carry the experiences and education they receive at CU into their personal and professional lives after college. CU helps shape the responsible citizens today and the principled leaders of tomorrow, and its highest task is providing an environment in which students can pursue their highest potential. Staff is essential to this task and their contributions should be valued and respected accordingly. There is room for improvement in that area and it would be a pleasure for me to work on their behalf as a member of the staff council.
Kadie Goodman
I would like to join the CLAS staff council in hopes of growing as a professional, meeting others, and volunteering my time to help other staff. I have never served on a staff council, but I have always been interested in it. Now that I will graduate with my MBA this semester, I hope to have more time in my schedule. I work at the ESL Academy in the English department and I have not met too many colleagues in CLAS, but everyone I have met has been amazing. This seems like an opportunity to meet more colleagues. Lastly, I know one of the 5 strategic goals of CU Denver is to be the best place to work. I would like to help with this initiative.
Michelle Medal
My name is Michelle Médal, and I am the program assistant for the Department of Communication, where I have worked for almost 12 years. I am passionate about advocating for staff and working to create the best work experiences possible. Staff are vital to the work of the college and the university at large, and our voices should heard! I served on the University Staff Council when I first came to CU Denver, as I feel it is important to stay aware of policies that impact all of us.
Maria Rase
I would like to serve my fellow staff members in finding ways to develop diverse opportunities for professional development. Perhaps opportunities that not only support ways we can better perform our duties but also ways we can find a positive work/life balance and personal well-being. I would like to be part of a collaborative staff council community to find ways to better utilize the CLAS staff members' talents and develop opportunities for innovative problem-solving of staff issues.
James Salmen
My goals while serving if elected would be to increase professional development and try if possible to get job performance based more on task completion and less on having to be on campus 40 hours/week; so basically maintaining what some people are currently doing now.
Kristen Salsbury
Thanks for considering me to serve on CLAS Staff Council! A bit about me – I have worked as the Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) Program Manager for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) for over 4 years. Prior to CU Denver, I worked at UCLA Extension and have over a decade of experience working with continuing education, extended studies, lifelong learning, custom/corporate training, and other non-traditional educational programs in a wide variety of modalities. As a lifelong learner myself, I am taking advantage of our tuition benefit by pursuing a CU Denver master in business administration (MBA) to compliment my diverse higher education experience with practical business acumen. I currently support a variety of CLAS Extended Studies and CPE programs, serve on the CLAS Council for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and have recently joined CU Denver’s Strategic Plan Implementation Advisory Council as a CLAS staff representative. I am interested in serving on CLAS Staff Council so that I can connect with my peers, celebrate all of the amazing ways that staff contribute to the university, and be an advocate for CLAS staff issues and ongoing professional development.
Anne Marie Summers
I've worked in CLAS for three years and in that time have been supported by wonderful colleagues at every level of the college. I am motivated to give back to my peers by serving on staff council as an advocate for the staff. I believe the top priority of the Council in the coming years should be to reduce the barriers to communication and "silos" within the staff that have been built up over the course of the pandemic. I'm interested in addressing employee work-life balance, job satisfaction, and engagement and making a meaningful impact on the employee experience in CLAS. I would also value the opportunity to get to work directly with individuals on the council I don't regularly work with.
I bring ten years of experience serving with a board of directors as well as experience in strategic planning, leadership, and communication. I would be a representative of both one of the largest undergraduate programs in the college as well as a PhD program and could speak to the needs of administrative staff in departments with undergraduate and PhD programs. I appreciate all that all of you do for our students and community. Thank you for considering me!