Kati Markowitz, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

Past Involvement in NACADA:

Years in NACADA: 7 years

National Offices Held and Accomplishments Achieved While in Office:

• Chair, Advising Graduate and Professional Students Commission, 2005-2007
  • Designed, disseminated and gathered results of the 2006 general membership survey as a means of gathering information on members' needs and expectations. The results will guide and better commission business in the future, and will result in publication of an article to inform members of the state of graduate affairs professionals nation-wide. 

Regional Activities/Offices Held, including accomplishments achieved while in office:

• Presenter at several Region 9 Conferences on graduate affairs, as well as organizational and training subjects

Committee/Task Force/Advisory Board Activities and Accomplishments:

• Reviewer of submissions to 2003 NACADA Monograph on Advisor Training and Development

Commission/Interest Group Activities and Accomplishments:

• Member and 2005-2007 Chair, Advising Graduate and Professional Students Commission
• Member, Advising Administration Commission, Advisor Training and Development Commission, Assessment of Advising Commission

Other:

• Presenter, NACADA National Conferences, 2002-2006, on graduate affairs, organizational, as well as training and development subjects
• Participant, 2004 Summer Institute on Academic Advising, Portsmouth, VA
• Participant, 2003 Administrators' Institute, San Antonio, TX
• University of California Berkeley activities —
  • Member, Working Group on Student Affair Officer's Job Description and Classification Redesign, 2004-present
  • Member, Graduate Student Officer Advisory Group to the Graduate Dean, UC Berkeley, 2000-present
  • Organizing Committee member, and Chair of Registration Sub-committee, 2005 University of California System-wide Advising Conference
  • Organizing Committee member, 2004 UC Berkeley Advising Conference
  • Founder and coordinator, UC Berkeley AdvisorNet (all-campus advisor network)
  • Several presentations at UC System-wide Advising Conferences, 2003-2006
  • Member, Chancellor's Staff Advisory Committee, 2000-2002  

Platform Statement:

• Highlight the goals you accomplished and the work you did while serving as a Unit Chair or Division Representative. In addition, highlight your involvement in all areas of the Association, demonstrating your experiences that make you qualified to serve in this position on the NACADA Board of Directors. 

As Commission Chair, I spearheaded and implemented a membership survey as a means of finding out details on membership needs and being able to devise strategies to better serve our constituency. In addition, the commission Web pages are being updated with lists of references to ease the members' quest for appropriate sources of information, templates of job descriptions from different universities to serve as models for others, and information on organizational and delivery models. I have continuously encourages the members to submit presentation proposals to both national and regional conferences, and at present I am starting a discussion with the NACADA leadership about a potential incentive program for presenters from small commissions at regional conferences in order to ensure a more comprehensive representation of interests at these meetings as well as wider attendance due to programmatic diversity.

Due to my interest in continuous advisor training and development, I have been involved in reviewing submissions for the NACADA Monograph on Advisor Training and Development. I also had an opportunity of inviting NACADA consultants to give workshops on the UC Berkeley campus, these events being the only developmental training for advisors during the past several years on our campus.

I have attended both the NACADA Summer Institute and the NACADA Administrators Institute. As a result of the many and widespread processes (from spearheading grassroots organizations, to chairing an official commission), learning opportunities, and workshops I have attended and organized, I feel confident in my organizational skills as well of my leadership abilities.

• What do you believe are the most important goals and initiatives for the Association in meeting its strategic plan and what do you feel you can contribute to this position in meeting these goals and initiatives?

NACADA has grown impressively during the past several years and the organization has a very serious and ambitious Strategic Plan. Due to this same growth, however, it is becoming harder to keep the membership informed and involved in NACADA business. There is also a growing need in ongoing and meaningful communication between NACADA's three divisions: regions, commissions/interest groups, and administrative committees. Since the business of one is the business of all - we are all committee members, regional members and have administrative relations with NACADA - devising systems of communication, networking and cooperation between these entities is of importance for each and every member. Having longstanding experience with grassroots efforts as well as well established organizations, my contribution to the board will be to further the dialog with the general membership; devise programs and/or systems of keeping the membership informed as well as keeping the Board informed of the members' needs and expectations.

I will also work on better communication and cooperation between the divisions including the implementation of possible incentive programs allowing members from smaller commission and interest groups to continue and refine their involvement in NACADA, especially on the regional level where more diversity of topics represented at meetings/conferences is most needed.

• Why are you interested in serving in this leadership position or what influenced you to run for this leadership position? 

Involvement in NACADA has enabled me to greatly expand my professional as well as personal horizons. I am an advisor in a relatively small graduate program on a very large and decentralized campus that has no general advisor organization, nor does it have training and development opportunities on campus for advisors. NACADA has provided me with training, networking opportunities, and many friendships. I have honed my organizational and presentation skills within NACADA, and I found many colleagues who have been willing and able to help me out in myriad ways.

My interest in this position is closely related to my personal experience — I want to make sure that others will continue to have the opportunities I have had. I will try to make sure that their paths will not become harder in time, and will endeavor to actually make these paths easier for meaningful involvement in this great organization. I know first hand how hard it is for advisors who are working in departments and programs, as opposed to organized advising offices, to find information, networking opportunities, and training. As a Board member, my priority will be to represent the "line" advisors, like myself, who are working with students and faculty on a daily basis, who find that they need to have a wealth of skills and abilities well beyond the academic advising realm in order to be able to perform their duties well, and who do not necessarily have the "team" support behind them. In other words, I will represent and work for the majority of advisors, and I will try to better their professional lives!

• Provide any additional comments or information (either personal or leadership-related) that you want potential voters to know about you that is not covered elsewhere in your platform information.