Staff:
ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALIST
Carrie Thomas has recently joined the Professional Development Programs team as an administrative specialist. In this role, she provides administrative and operational support to the entire PDP team. Her responsibilities include course management and general administrative activities as well as student support. Prior to joining Graham School, Carrie worked in higher education and government.
Most recently, Carrie was an office assistant at DePaul University’s Dean of Students Office as well as an outreach associate for State Representative Ann M. Williams. She has extensive experience in public policy analysis, political campaigning, speech-writing, public relations, and leadership.
Carrie holds a bachelor’s degree in political science with a concentration in American politics from DePaul University.
In addition to working at Graham School, Carrie serves as a member of a Young Activist Council where she fundraises and advocates for legislative and policy reforms that will increase legal and social accountability for perpetrators of harm.
Instructors:
MARKETING:
Jay Sullivan, PhD is an industry consultant at his firm, Branding Rain, where he supports companies as they grow in business to consumer industries. Jay has led brands at companies like Kraft, Quaker Oats and ConAgra Foods and he has launched over $250 million in new products and managed brands and brand portfolios ranging from $30 million to $800 million in retail sales. His acquisition work at these companies has generated over $300 million in newly acquired businesses. For the past sixteen years, Jay has also supported companies by developing marketing strategies for growth and has led client consulting practices at IRI, Epsilon, Ipsos, and Foresight ROI. He has served as client analytic officer and helped grow supplier consulting practices. Jay holds PhD & MA in Social Psychology from University of Iowa and a BS in Physics from the University of Notre Dame.
Jay Sullivan will be teaching sections of the Shopper Marketing course
Having developed deep expertise in media relations, corporate communications and executive positioning, Michael Shmarak spearheads national media outreach efforts for Sidney Maxwell’s clients across the country.
Michael advises clients on how to use different forms of communication to their fullest advantage to generate measurable organizational performance. His work in preparing clients for proper communications execution ensures they are properly equipped to have long-term media relationships—even during times of crisis and adversity. He brings meaningful and influential relationships with the nation’s top business, financial, and features media outlets, and actively seeks ways to bring these relationships to bear with his clients.
With more than twenty years of experience across several industries, Michael taps expertise and best practices from working with some of the country’s most recognizable brands and professional services companies.
Currently serving as adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University, Shmarak earned an MBA from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI and received a BS/BA in marketing from the Ohio State University.
Michael is teaching a section of Designing a Social Media Strategy this autumn and will offer a course on Public Relations in March 2017.
Outside Lecturer
Dr. Samantha Coleman is an award-winning, visionary leader, educator, and professional counselor. She began her career working in mental health facilities, psychiatric hospitals, crisis programs, and private practices. While working in the non-profit and social service arena, Coleman channeled her passion to improve the lives of others by assisting the future of our most promising resource: young girls. In 2005, she founded Assist Her, Inc., an Illinois non-profit organization that provided prevention, literacy, and mentoring programs to girls ages ten to eighteen. Coleman combined clinical training and youth development to change lives one girl at a time. Upon closing its doors in 2014, Assist Her, Inc. serviced well over 2,000 females in the Chicagoland area.
Coleman’s role as a socially responsible entrepreneur has brought her into the landscape of both public and private higher education. This has given her a unique opportunity to use her expertise in leadership, management, systems, culture, and career advancement to engage clients, staff, faculty, school administrators, teachers, students, corporations, and the community at large. She has found her passion in the classroom as a professor while preparing adult learners for their future careers as scholars and practitioners. She has a talent for formulating information into a framework that creates understanding of core concepts. Further, her ability to design, coordinate, and implement seminars, webinars, and conferences make her a sought after thought leader in her field.
Dr. Coleman is a graduate of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology (PhD, Organizational Leadership), Concordia University (MA, Community Counseling) and the University of Illinois at Chicago (BA, Psychology). Her research interests revolve around work engagement and psychological capital (PsyCap) which consists of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism.
AGENDA
Note from the Program Coordinator
BUILDING THE PDP COMMUNITY: What’s happening outside of the classroom?
New PDP Faculty and Staff
PDP STATE OF AFFAIRS 2015/2016: Mike Niederpruem’s update
STUDENT PROFILE: Aurélie Desgardin
FACULTY INTERVIEW: Genevieve Long
Twenty Facts on Student Affairs
