I have worked at DePaul for over 18 years. I have truly enjoyed seeing how DePaul has changed and grown and being part of those changes in working in the admission office.  I used to be part of Staff Council several years ago but due to changes in the office, I had to step back. In recent years, no one from undergraduate nor transfer admission has been part of Staff Council and I feel strongly that there should be a voice present from our area. I would love to rejoin Staff Council and contribute in anyway I can as well as get new staff involved and more informed as to what Staff Council does.

I am writing to express my sincere interest in serving as a staff representative on university Staff Council. With 28 years of experience at DePaul, including 18 years of prior service on Staff Council, I am excited about the opportunity to continue advocating for the interests and well-being of our staff community. Throughout my tenure I have had the honor of serving in officer positions of Vice President from 2016-2019 and Secretary from 2013-2015, as well as the Chair and member of several Staff Council committees.

Throughout my years at the university, I have witnessed firsthand the importance of effective advocacy, representation, and ensuring that staff voice is heard. My experience on the Staff Council has equipped me with valuable insights into the challenges and concerns faced by our colleagues across various departments and positions. I believe in the power of representation and want to ensure that every voice is respected and valued in the decision-making processes of our university.

In summary, my extensive experience and commitment to the betterment of our university community make me a qualified and enthusiastic candidate for the role of staff representative on the Staff Council. I look forward to the opportunity to serve and collaborate with you all in advancing the interests and concerns of our valued staff members.

Thank you for considering my candidacy.

Dear DePaul University staff,

I'm thrilled to announce my candidacy for the Staff Council to enhance community growth and cohesion. As Program Manager at the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center, I've seen how fostering an entrepreneurial mindset can transform outcomes. This experience drives my passion for collaboration and community-building, values I'll bring to the Staff Council.

At the CEC, we bring together students from different colleges, fostering collaboration and innovation. I aim to extend this ethos university-wide, supporting initiatives that empower individuals and strengthen collective impact.

The CEC's mission aligns with DePaul's core values, emphasizing creativity, innovation, and inclusivity. I envision a Staff Council that promotes this synergy and efficiency to achieve our departmental goals.

I am dedicated to upholding DePaul's Vincentian values and the Designing DePaul initiative, ensuring our efforts reflect our shared values. Together, we can benefit our community and advance DePaul's mission.

I hope to contribute my experience and all these important values to the Staff Council.

Best regards,
Kathia

Hi! I’m Erin Herrmann, and I’m seeking re-election to Staff Council. I commit to serving staff through effective communication, representation, and collaboration. To understand staff across DePaul, I am actively engaged in the life of our university. I am confident in and proud of the work we do as staff, and I believe in celebrating our work and supporting one another.

I have served as an Associate Director in the Writing Center since 2017. As an experienced manager of professional and student employees, I am adept at fostering relationships and building programs. I embody DePaul’s Vincentian mission in all I do; I believe in St. Vincent’s model of hospitality, treating each person with dignity.

My goal on Staff Council is to enhance the personal and professional lives of staff through advocacy, resource-sharing, and community-building. When elected in 2022, I committed to building community among staff. I accomplished this goal through the Membership and Elections committee last year where I helped to plan events, including the 40th Birthday of Staff Council. This year, on the Communications committee, I contribute to the monthly Staff Council newsletter, including information on Demon Discounts and events. I also manage submissions of council meetings to the DePaul Events Calendar and Newsline.

If re-elected, I will continue supporting staff by showing up and speaking up. I lead with care and compassion, rooted in listening. I offer demonstrated follow-through and a thoughtful, informed voice on behalf of all staff.

My name is Erin Kasprzak and I'm a Senior Instructional Designer in the Center for Teaching and Learning. Since joining the University in 2011, I’ve been deeply invested in our community’s growth and well-being. I have seen the dedication and effort staff put in to support the Vincentian mission. As I run for re-election to the Staff Council, I’m eager to continue advocating for our collective interests during these transformative times.

My previous tenure on the council has been a journey of learning and advocating—a journey I’m committed to continuing. I’ve worked to ensure our voices are not just heard but are instrumental in driving positive change. Whether it’s enhancing our work environment or championing staff development, I’ve been there, and I plan to stay on this path.

With your support, I’ll keep working tirelessly for our community. The Staff Council is our platform to navigate both the good times and the challenges ahead, and I’m ready to help steer us forward with dedication and purpose.

I appreciate your vote as we strive to make DePaul an even better place to work, together.

My name is Ani Mauricio.  I am an assistant director in the Office of Graduate Admission for the College of Liberal Arts and Social Science and the College of Science and Health.  I have worked in this department for almost ten years and have enjoyed working with prospective students through the application and enrollment process.  I have also had the privilege of being a member of Staff Council for the last two years and hope to continue to serve our staff community through another term.  Through my time on Staff Council, I have learned more about university resources and how we work together to meet DePaul’s Vincentian mission.  It has enhanced the community experience that initially encouraged me to run.  While I have learned a lot, I also feel like there is more I can contribute.  If re-elected, I would continue to work and provide a diverse voice and perspective to issues that impact our professional and academic community.  I would appreciate your consideration in reelecting me for Staff Council.  Thank you!

With 13 years of experience at DePaul and 20 years of professional experience, I am eager and excited to submit my candidacy for staff council. I currently serve as Assistant Director of Facilities and Technology for Housing and Residence Life where I work closely with vendors, staff, and students to ensure our residents have comfortable, safe living and learning environments in the halls. This work requires a great deal of creative problem solving, time and task management, and collaborative communications. I would bring my skills and experiences in these areas to my work with Staff Council, ensuring that I am representing the best interests of my fellow staff colleagues across my department, division, and the University. In addition to my work on campus, I am active with the Great Lakes Association of College and University Housing Officers (GLACUHO), where I serve as a committee member and am a past president, working with elected leaders to advance the goals and priorities of the association for the benefit of our members. I see many parallels and similarities in the experiences and skills required to be successful in this type of role and the Staff Council role. As staff, we are critical to the operations of the University. One of my goals with Staff Council would be to bring my knowledge and experience to work through complex issues and advocate for creative solutions that support and enhance the critical work done by staff as we are being asked to do more with less.

I have been at DePaul for 17 years and continue to work within the LAS Advising Service Office, but my family's connection with DePaul goes back over 50 years. For our family like many others, DePaul provided the first opportunity to get a college education. It has been rewarding to serve on staff council to advocate and collaborate on shared concerns and issues such as, safety and security, benefits, working remotely, diversity, equity and inclusion. I have always felt strongly that DePaul is the institution that it is because of the dedication of his people, and this is a great way to continue to be involved. Thank you for your consideration.

Hello! My name is Shiloh Psujek and I am the Department Assistant for Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Science and Health. I’ve worked at DePaul for two and a half years and have had the privilege of being involved with the DePaul community for most of my life. My mother has been a professor here for many years and would frequently bring me to her classes and office, so I grew up on campus and feel as though it’s my second home. This lifelong connection has encouraged me to recently apply to DePaul’s Educational Leadership MEd program so that I may continue to further give back to those who have supported me all these years.

I am running for Staff Council because I’ve been inspired by the dedication and efforts of those who have served before me. If elected, I will focus on community building and advocacy for staff both in my own college and across the University. Staff continue to be underrepresented in many aspects of university operations while shouldering the burden of unfilled vacated positions. My goal is to make sure all staff are given the representation they deserve and the support they need.

I have been involved with DePaul since 2013 when I returned as an adult student to complete my bachelor’s and master’s degrees.  After working in the office of Adult, Veteran and Commuter Student Affairs for 3 years, I began my current position in the Center for Students with Disabilities in 2019.

For me, watching the students our department have helped receive their diplomas is the highlight of the academic year.   

Two years ago, I decided I needed to contribute more to the University, so I ran for a place on Staff Council.  To my delight, I was elected.  I take great pride in the role staff council has played in navigating some of the rough post-pandemic, budget-shortfall challenges the university’s staff has had to face.  I freely admit, though, that as I was learning the ropes, my contributions were limited to mostly observing and voting for the great ideas put forth by my fellow Staff Council members.  As my first term is ending, I feel the need to do much more.

If graced with another term on Staff Council, I shall take more of a leadership role in suggesting and enacting new policies.  I intend to run for a seat as a committee chairperson and serve as a mentor to any new Staff Council members.  I truly feel that DePaul has a solid plan for the future and I want to make sure that our staff members remain a key and valued part of that future.

My name is Patrick Rezek (he/him) and I currently serve as the Assistant Director for Fraternity Sorority Life & Civic Engagement in the Office of Student Involvement. I started here at DePaul in January 2022 and have been eager to find ways to expand my network and connection with students and campus partners. I currently sit on the subcommittee for Speaker Review and have enjoyed this opportunity challenging and supporting our student's desired and unique experiences.

Something I have really enjoyed about my time at DePaul and within Student Involvement is the intentional connection with our campus partners, which is why I am applying to serve on Staff Council. I want to serve on Staff Council to continue to bring a holistic lens and understanding to the work that we all do- finding new ways to collaborate, advocate, and support one another.

I believe in our institutional mission and that Vincentian personalism serves as this bonding agent connecting us all to a greater purpose. In order to live out our call to action of "What Must Be Done", we have to first embrace the voices of those change agents around us. We all come to the table with different lived experiences, years of service, and institutional roles which cannot be undervalued at any level. I hope to serve on Staff Council in a capacity to bring our change agents and difference makers together to not just act on our values, but to live them holistically in our work as well.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to express my interest in re-election to Staff Council. During my second term in Staff Council, I transitioned from the council's Communications Committee to working with the Effectiveness Committee on revising the council's handbook and bylaws, as well as ensuring that staff have a presence in diverse university taskforce and committee groups. I also recently joined the President's Sustainability Committee, whose work on promoting our institution's green practices can impact the external perception of DePaul, specifically that of prospective students. I am motivated by this committee’s potential to connect the practice of DePaul's sustainability values to the enrollment growth of our campuses, which can be one of the ways to address together aspects of the budgetary concerns that impact us. I also continue to work with two additional university groups: our university's Policy Review Group to connect staff to important updates to DePaul’s policies and guidelines, and the LAS/ Art Institute Committee to assist with external partnerships that can benefit our university community. My main goal as a Staff Council member is to pay forward the support and solidarity that fellow staff colleagues have generously offered and thus empower staff to envision a bright future in which we may continue the diplomatic work of reaching consensus, collaboration, and solutions- together. I aspire to further serve you and all staff, and, therefore, I humbly ask for your support to be re-elected into Staff Council for a third term. Many thanks for your consideration.

Hello! My name is Erin Thier. I’m an Administrative Assistant at the Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media, and joined the DePaul community in May 2022. My interest in running for Staff Council stems from a desire have both an awareness of and a hand in advocating for staff interests. If elected to Staff Council, I wish not only to increase awareness of developments across the university for myself but for my fellow staff members at CDM. I would also aim to connect with staff in other departments to see how we can strategize and create lasting positive changes for both staff and the university as a whole.

We have numerous examples detailing the tangible effects of the work Staff Council does (updates in policies around time off and staff benefits, to name a couple) and I would consider it an honor and a privilege to be able to assist in implementing similar changes. I firmly believe that staff play as vital of a role as faculty in not only keeping DePaul running, but also contributing to its evolution as an educational institution and forum for collaboration with other universities and community organizations. It’s crucial we serve our staff, so that our staff can better serve our students. Thank you for your consideration!

With enthusiasm, I submit my candidacy for re-election to Staff Council. Having served our university community for nearly 18 years, including six dedicated years on Staff Council and four years as its President, I remain deeply committed to fostering a culture where shared governance holds value at DePaul.

Throughout my tenure, I've witnessed the vital role Staff Council plays in advocating for the interests of our diverse staff members. As an Associate Director in Housing & Residence Life, specializing in occupancy and operations, I bring a wealth of institutional knowledge & processes and a passion for collaborative decision-making to a membership role on Staff Council.

My continued desire to serve on Staff Council stems from my belief in the power of collective voices to drive positive change. I am committed to ensuring that staff voices remain heard and are prioritized. If re-elected to Staff Council, I will prioritize further strengthening communication channels between staff and university leadership, advocating for equitable policies and resources, and fostering a supportive and inclusive work environment for university staff.

I am dedicated to building upon the progress we've made and working to address the evolving needs of our staff community. Together, we can ensure that Staff Council remains a beacon of empowerment and representation for all staff members.

Thank you for your consideration and support.