Hello beautiful humans! I am your new IAP President for FY 26-27, Cari West. A little bit about my journey with the University: I started on the UIUC campus at Electrical and Computer engineering in September 2018 as an Office Support Specialist. In September 2021, I transferred to the Gies College of Business working for the Hoeft Technology and Management program. I landed my current role as the Office Manager for University Accounting and Financial Reporting (UAFR) in January 2022.
In July 2022, Marie Tan-Jones invited me to check out the IAP Career Connections lunch. I met some of the amazing members and knew right away that I wanted to be part of this organization. I received full support from my managers and joined IAP in August 2022. When I first joined, I wasn’t sure what committee I wanted to serve on or what elected position, if any, I wanted to run for. I was just taking it all in and enjoying the networking. In 2023 I won the prestigious Office Professional of the Year award which allowed me to serve on the Executive Committee the following year. This opportunity proved to be just what I needed to gain confidence in getting more involved. As a person who loves helping others, I naturally joined the Philanthropy Committee and have loved every minute of it. I was also lucky enough to serve as President-Elect during an All-Employee Expo year which was a lot of fun to plan for and attend. If you are on the fence about joining a committee or getting more involved, I highly recommend taking that leap!
I’ve had the great honor of serving under President Angie Ellis this past year. Her dedication to this group is invaluable. I cannot thank her enough for her leadership and for being a great mentor to me. We have a history of great past Presidents, so I have some big shoes to fill, and I hope I make them all proud.
Without further ado, I present to you this year’s Executive Committee:
- President-Elect: Stacy Walker swaker5@illinois.edu
- Treasurer: Jill Ouellette ouellett@illinois.edu
- Treasurer-Elect: TBD
- Recording Secretary: Sara Coffey sdcoffey@illinois.edu
- Auditing: Jill Odom jillodom@illinois.edu
- Bylaws-Parliamentarian: Hannah Stites hstites2@illinois.edu
- Communications: Sarah Wells, Chair slwells@illinois.edu
- Membership & Mentoring: Allie Langley, Co-Chair ardonne2@illinois.edu & Hannah Stites, Co-Chair hstites2@illinois.edu
- Nominations & Elections: Teresa Spence, Chair tcspence@illinois.edu
- Philanthropy: Beth Lewis, Co-Chair ealewis@illinois.edu & Jill Odom, Co-Chair jillodom@illinois.edu
- Programs & Events: Corissa Clark, Co-Chair okreglic@illinois.edu & Nicole Kyle, Co-Chair kyle@uillinois.edu
- Scholarship: Helen Agans, Chair hagans@illinois.edu
- Special Events: Colleen Hammel, Chair (BOTY & Bess Matteson) chammel@illinos.edu & Sarah Wells, Chair (OPTY) slwells@illinois.edu
- Social: Dimitria Johnson, Chair dimij@illinois.edu
- Staff Advisory Council (SAC): Colleen Hammel, Liaison chammel@illinois.edu
- State Universities Civil Service Employee Advisory Committee (EAC): Jill Odom, Liaison jillodom@illinois.edu
I am incredibly lucky to have such an amazing team helping me navigate this year. I cannot wait for you all to see what we have planned! Hopefully, it inspires you to try new things and take on new challenges both personally and professionally.
In closing, I genuinely believe that an open line of communication is the only way to be successful. If you ever have any questions, concerns, or just need someone to listen…please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at cariw@uillinois.edu or call 217-300-9290.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou
Thank You,
Cari West (she/they)