This month’s spotlight shines on the 2019 winner of the Administrative and Professional Collaborative Exceptional Service and Initiative Award, Robyn Reese. As the Learning Management System Administrator at FSCJ, Robyn works each day to make sure that the College community maintains consistent and fair access to online courses in both Blackboard and Canvas. She loves the fact that her job gives her to opportunity to work on huge projects with big impacts on the College as a whole (like the Canvas roll-out) and that she also gets to meet and help individual faculty and students to solve problems that can make their College experience a better one!

Robyn holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Art History from the University of Florida. She taught art AND history for seven years at Darnell-Cookman School of the Medical Arts, a local dedicated magnet school. As a classroom teacher, she began to recognize the benefits of using technology to supplement excellent teaching practices, and this became her secondary professional passion. After completing three years as Testing, Activities and Recruitment Director at Darnell-Cookman, she came to FSCJ as an Educational Technology Specialist in the fall of 2016.

In her free time, Robyn is an advanced yoga practitioner, an enthusiastic gardener and a curator of pictures of her cat (just ask her). She loves to travel with family and friends and to convince them to visit art museums.

This month’s spotlight shines on Deana M. Waite. Deana began her tenure with FSCJ’s Adult Education program in 2011, quickly acquiring the knowledge to successfully create a career path from project coordinator to program coordinator to instructional program manager within a seven-year timespan. In her current role as Interim Director of Institutional Research (State and Federal Reporting), Deana provides Collegewide leadership through collaborative efforts with various departments to ensure the College meets compliance for state and federal reporting.

Deana overcame many obstacles in life and created a pathway out of poverty through education. Through rigorous courses of study, she earned her high school equivalency diploma (GED), an Associate in Arts, a bachelor’s degree in public administration, and a master’s in educational leadership, all from Rhode Island College. Deana’s next big goal is to complete her doctoral degree in educational leadership from the University of North Florida in 2020.

Deana received numerous accolades from the Rhode Island Legislature, including citations for her excellence in community service. Her selfless dedication and timeless effort to local community agencies continues as she has consistently been active within the social sector: Literacy Pros, Operation New Hope Life Coach and a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

Deana aspires to the creed, “Knowledge is power but what you do with that knowledge is what makes you powerful!”

This month’s APC spotlight shines on Interim Dean of FSCJ Online Ujjwal Chakraborty. As the Interim Dean, Ujjwal provides leadership to the College when it comes to online education. He also oversees the development of all online courses at the Center for eLearning and serves the Deerwood Center as the campus ambassador.

Ujjwal received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Calcutta in India. He then earned his master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India, specializing in inorganic chemistry. He then came to the U.S. to study medicinal chemistry, obtaining his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Kentucky in 2012. He presented his doctoral research work at several national and international conferences and was also awarded two patents for his research.

Ujjwal worked as a lecturer at the University of North Florida for three years before joining FSCJ as a chemistry professor from 2014-17, teaching a variety of chemistry and physical science courses. Working with the Center for eLearning, he also developed the online master course for chemistry for Liberal Arts. Ujjwal was selected to function as the Department Chair of Physical Sciences from 2017-18. In January of 2019, he was appointed as the Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences for FSCJ Online. Ujjwal’s current research interests revolve around advancement of higher education through online modality. He recently presented on the online course builder tool at the American Association of Community Colleges annual convention along with the director of the Center for eLearning.

In addition to serving on many Collegewide committees, teams and taskforces, Ujjwal also enjoys presenting new developments in science education and online education at college events and colloquiums.

In his spare time, he enjoys watching movies with his family and reading about new developments in the field of scientific research.

As the manager of the Assessment and Certification Center for South Campus, Andrew Pierce provides campus leadership in planning and implementing a comprehensive program for the delivery of assessment and certification services to prospective and matriculated students. He is also a member of the Florida Association of College Test Administrators (FACTA) and the National College Testing Association (NCTA).

Andrew holds a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in English and a master’s degree in business administration. Although Andrew envisioned a career in business, a student worker position at the University of North Florida revealed that he had an unparalleled passion for helping students achieve their educational goals. This passion has led him to a career in higher education where he has spent the past seven years.

Andrew will be celebrating five years of employment with FSCJ this year. During this time, he has served in various roles, including test examiner, distance learning assessment coordinator and project coordinator. He has also served on several committees and councils for the College with the most recent being the College’s Wellness Committee.

In his spare time, Andrew has founded a fitness group at the College that meets four times a week to work out and encourage each other to live healthier lives. The group currently consists of 30 employees and more are always welcome to join.

Director of Financial Aid Kristine Hibbard began her career in higher education almost 13 years ago. She started as a Financial Aid Representative at Everest University in Orange Park. Her passion for student success and desire to make the Financial Aid process easier to navigate has led her current role at FSCJ. Kristine began working with the College in August of 2018, and is grateful to lead such a hardworking team.

Kristine comes from a military family; her father retired from the Navy shortly after she graduated from high school. Her family was very fortunate to have three consecutive tours in Jacksonville, at all three bases (when Cecil was still a base), and having only two duty stations after that in Rota, Spain and Key West. Kristine graduated from Key West High School, and immediately began classes at Florida Keys Community College. Upon receiving her Associate in Arts, she then transferred to University of North Florida to complete her Bachelor of Business Administration. She later went on to obtain her MBA from Everest University.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and four-year-old daughter, extended family and her friends. Although, with a four-year-old, there’s not much spare time on her hands!

This month’s spotlight shines on Randi Brokvist, Executive Director of Purchasing. Randi performs a variety of duties to ensure the College obtains the goods and services it needs at the best possible value. She has been in the position since April of 2016.

Randi earned her A.A. degree at Winona State University in Minnesota and a B.A. in Political Science from DePaul University in Chicago.  Prior to transitioning her career to the public sector, she worked for American Airline’s Inflight Service Department for 10 ½ years. She started her  seventeen year public sector career working for the City of Chicago and the Chicago Transit Authority where she gained purchasing, supply chain operations, project management, process improvement, workforce development, and management supervisory skills. Randi is also a member of The Institute of Public Procurement (NIGP), Florida’s Council of Purchasing Professionals (COPP), and the North Florida Procurement Association (NFPA).  In addition, she also serves as a resource for FSCJ’s Employee Benefits Committee, providing advice and consult regarding strategies for benefits procurement/contracting activities.  

Randi is excited to celebrate three years at FSCJ.  During her three years, she is proud to have led the College on critical procurement committees for College services such as branding/marketing, insurance, and other benefits agreements. What she has enjoyed the most is collaborating closely with staff Collegewide, but in particular, working closely with staff from both finance and purchasing to embrace innovation, seek areas of process improvement and target opportunities to generate revenue on purchases all to better serve the needs of the College.

In her spare time, she takes pleasure in spending time with her family and close friends. She enjoys keeping active, walking her willful Boston Terrier rescue and taking advantage of the wonderful outdoor Florida lifestyle. When time allows, she also enjoys experiencing new cultures by traveling to all corners of the globe.

Dr. Linda Herlocker came to FSCJ from Valencia College where she served for six years in two different leadership roles. In fact, she brings more than 20 years of higher education experience, serving in the student services and academic affairs areas for public and private institutions, in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Linda’s higher education experience extends beyond student affairs. She has been a Dean of Academic Affairs, has taught as an adjunct faculty member at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and has had several unique professional opportunities including opening a campus, closing a campus and constructing a new student services building in a national historic district.

Before coming to higher education, Linda served as a Naval Officer for 11 years on active duty and nine years as a Reservist, retiring with the rank of Commander. Her many military roles included classified material custodian, public relations officer, operations officer in charge of the port in Guam, commanding officer of a weapons station unit and historian for Special Operations Command.

She earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership from USF, an MBA from National University and a bachelor’s from Penn State. When not at work, she enjoys international travel and “safe” adventures like scaling rock walls or doing tree-top obstacle courses. She also has achieved Level 2 certification as a wine sommelier. Linda believes that her wide variety of interests, coupled with her “checkered past,” provides her with a unique perspective on student issues and professional challenges.

In addition to working at FSCJ, she volunteers as Board of Trustees Chairman for a nursing college.

Kelsey Kyne is an Assistant Director supporting the offices of Strategic Priorities and Institutional Effectiveness. In this role, she supports the Collegewide processes of SACSCOC accreditation, outcomes assessment and strategic planning. Through this, she enjoys partnering with faculty, staff and students in the pursuit of continuous improvement.

Kelsey holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with a concentration in International Development and Humanitarian Assistance from the University of Florida and a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of North Florida. Having worked in higher education since her own college career, she has held a variety of positions relating to fiscal management, program evaluation and contract compliance.

In her spare time, Kelsey enjoys kayaking, spending time with her husband and dog, and reading. One of her favorite books is “The Boys in the Boat,” a true story of perseverance and the never-ending quest for excellence.

Chrystal Wickline is an eLearning Instructional Designer with the Center for eLearning (CeL). She has spent 18+ years with FSCJ in various roles. The first 14 years she served as a technology professional, beginning as project coordinator and working up to an Engineer IV. Chrystal gained experience with responsibilities including design, layout, technical manuals, strategic plan publications, project management, web design and content, publication artwork, packaging, ads, graphics interface, design for templates, printed communication pieces, program management, eBook creation, as well as workspace design.

After earning her MA in Instructional Design and Technology – eLearning from the University of Central Florida in 2012, Chrystal joined the Center for eLearning (CeL) team and now works collaboratively with faculty and content expert professionals to design and develop online programs, courses, and training. She has experience in technical writing, instructional design and curriculum creation. Chrystal has the pleasure of working with other exceptional instructional designers and talented multimedia professionals, as well as dedicated and enthusiastic faculty and deans who are as excited as she about providing quality and accessible education for FSCJ students. As she works to improve and customize her project management approach, her goal is to make each the course development process run smoothly and efficiently. 

Chrystal is passionate about instructional strategies which incorporate research into best practices for diverse adult learners. She finds the intricacies of providing a robust, engaging and aligned online course to be exhilarating, challenging and rewarding. 

She believes teaching and learning is a living organism that grows better with challenges and continually fine-tuning the tools and methods of instruction leads to improved success. One of her favorite quotes is “While it is possible to change without improving, it is impossible to improve without changing.” (Carroll, 1994)

This month’s spotlight shines on Library and Learning Commons (LLC) Manager Nicholas Bodnar. Nicholas has worked at Florida State College at Jacksonville since 2010. He began his career with the College as an Academic Tutor for the Downtown Library and LLC and served as an adjunct faculty member teaching history. In 2017, Nicholas became LLC Manager of the Downtown Campus, where he is now responsible for overseeing the day-to-day activities of the LLC.

Prior to becoming LLC Manager, Nicholas also served as a history faculty member at Edward Waters College for six years, developing a love for Northeast Florida history and the local history of many of Jacksonville’s communities.

He is currently serving as the Professional Development Officer for the Florida College Learning Center Association (FCLCA). In addition, this past year he has presented at various conferences throughout the state on topics ranging from support services for non-native English speakers to using escape rooms within libraries to promote student support services.

Nicholas holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in history from the University of North Florida. He is currently working on his doctorate degree in history at the University of Florida.