Outstanding Staff Member Award

Kelly McMahon

Northwest Iowa Community College

Kelly McMahon has led compliance and risk management operations at Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) since 2012. During her tenure, McMahon has expanded the scope of compliance and risk management operations to include clinical agreements and associated health information coordination; behavioral, safety, and security reporting; and contract and policy review. McMahon is the NICC designated expert in FERPA, Clery, SaVE, VAWA, and civil rights, and she is also a certified Association of Title IX Administrators civil rights investigator with a focus on non-discrimination of protected classes. For the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, the College leaned heavily on Kelly’s talents and experience, meeting almost daily with senior leadership and interpreting and advising on federal and state directives and executive orders that changed frequently. In addition, she liaised with departments across the college, area higher education institutions, and with public health organizations to guide us and help keep students, employees, and our communities safe. Kelly was unwavering in her commitment, and truly exemplified the College values of service, respect, integrity, and resiliency.

Tony Pappas

North Iowa Area Community College

Tony has been a part of the NIACC campus for the last 39 years. Tony is a pivotal leader and has been the project manager for over $45 million in various construction projects. His expertise and supervision has ensured quality and innovative construction and saved the College hundreds of thousands of dollars. Tony leads the College’s Sustainability Council and has developed the NIACC Energy Conservation Plan, a Climate Action Plan, Campus Carbon Footprint measurements, Energy Policy, along with many others. He also led the development and installation of one of the nation’s largest solar fields located at a community college. Tony is a highly respected member of the NIACC family and devoted to the longevity of the College. Tony has great relationships with all staff and faculty as he is approachable, diligent, supportive, and takes time to hear individuals’ ideas and concerns.

Cindy Oviatt

Iowa Lakes Community College

Cindy Oviatt represents the epitome of professionalism and effortlessly serves in any capacity the college president or the Board of Trustees need. Since 2005, Cindy has served three presidents and took on the board secretary role in 2018; the first time for this combination of responsibilities at Iowa Lakes. Special projects attributed to her leadership include successfully leading the 2022 Phi Theta Kappa Banquet planning and special college ribbon cuttings, and ground breaking dedications. Her exceptional proofreading, organizational, problem-solving skills, and technical abilities make her invaluable to our institution.

David Van Egdom

Northwest Iowa Community College

David exhibits great leadership skills necessary to work with his colleagues. He has a great personality, and he works well with faculty, staff, students, and industry leaders both on campus and off campus. Dave is knowledgeable in his field, and many come to him for answers and advice. David has grown our CDL program and is always ready to help our students before and after his normal work hours.

Kevin Twait

Iowa Central Community College

Kevin has served at Iowa Central for over 25 years and has been a pillar of leadership not only in the athletic department but on the entire campus as well. He is an essential leader who believes in the core values of community colleges as students prepare for their next steps in life. Mr. Twait began his tenure at Iowa Central as the Head Football Coach. In 2018, he transitioned into the Activities Director for Iowa Central. Iowa Central has more athletic and student activities than any other community college in the nation, and as a part of Kevin's leadership, Iowa Central has been awarded the Learfield Cup five years in a row for the best athletic department in the nation during his tenure. This includes winning the Natica Cup 12 out of 13 years, which has never happened since the conception of the award. Kevin exemplifies what it means to be a servant leader. Not only is he a servant leader to the coaching staff, but also to the student athletes that are a part of Iowa Central's family. His mission statement for the athletic programs is to create better sons, husbands, fathers, daughters, wives, and mothers. He truly believes it is imperative that we support young people so they can have a better life. In his transition from Head Football to Activities Director, through his leadership and guidance, he navigated Iowa Central through the impossible scenarios that COVID-19 brought to the campuses. With over 1,000 athletes and over 50 coaches, Kevin was a stalwart in ensuring proper protocols were put in place to protect student athletes and staff while managing the logistics of preparing for and hosting competitive events.

Cindy Schulte

Iowa Valley Community College District

During her 18-year career at IVCCD, Cindy was instrumental in the passage of two General Obligation Bond Referendums, $35 million in 2006 and $32 million in 2019; she has assisted IVCCD administrators, faculty and staff in writing several successful state and federal grants; and she developed a comprehensive compliance review process that has since been adopted by other community colleges in the state. Most importantly, Cindy has served as an effective liaison between IVCCD and state and federal legislators. Her outstanding skills as a lobbyist, including her closely monitoring and analyzing bills, not only benefited IVCCD but the entire Iowa community college system. Cindy is well known at the Statehouse for her collaborative efforts and working efficiently and effectively with members of the House and Senate and the Governor's office. In recognition of her 25+ years of dedicated service as a lobbyist, Cindy was recently inducted as an honorary member of the Pioneer Lawmakers Association.

Mary Pat Moore

Hawkeye Community College

Ms. Mary Pat Moore, Executive Director of Public Relations and Marketing, joined Hawkeye in 2000. She has been instrumental in a number of initiatives at the college including a rebranding project, development of the RedTail identity as Hawkeye introduced athletics, and design and input for the current Strategic Plan and mission and vision statements. Ms. Moore has played a crucial role at Hawkeye throughout the Covid-19 pandemic by leading communication efforts, designing and implementing a dashboard that tracked cases, and assisting with bringing the vaccine to campus for students, staff, and their dependents. Ms. Moore’s efforts have assisted every student, staff, and faculty member at Hawkeye to stay healthy and safe.

Jane Haugland

Eastern Iowa Community Colleges

Jane Haugland has served as Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ District Financial Aid Officer for 22 years. In that time, she has continually provided strong leadership for an essential function of the college, one that oversees critical support for our students and that requires meticulous attention to detail in order to comply with federal and state requirements. Jane oversees a team that works effectively across our three campuses to provide personalized assistance and timely awards for students, and her attention to detail results in clean audits annually. She ensures this work is done with compassion, a strong focus on students, and outstanding communication with faculty and staff across the district. Her expertise in federal regulations has made her a go-to resource not only within EICC but with colleagues across the state of Iowa. Her technical expertise plays a critical role in advising EICC’s IT programming staff in developing processes that ensure accuracy in the awarding of financial aid. She also led the implementation of the new self-serve functions that allow students more direct and efficient access to financial aid information.

Doris Nyaga

Kirkwood Community College

Doris exemplifies what it means for staff to live the Kirkwood mission of identifying community needs, providing accessible, quality education and training and promoting opportunities for lifelong learning. Throughout her short time at the college, Doris has become a well-respected member of the Kirkwood team across every division of the college. She is a problem-solver who seeks out opportunities for departments to serve more students, creates innovative programing, and serves historically marginalized populations who have the most barriers and often the least support. Within the last year, Doris has helped the college become the recipient of not one, but two Trio grants. This year, Kirkwood will become a center for both the Talent Search and Educational Opportunity Centers Programs, both which assists populations with barriers to find a path to longer-term financial stability and health through educational attainment. She has also recently submitted an application for the Upward Bound program, which will add another way for the college to assist disadvantaged local populations. Along the lines of providing accessible education, she also secured funding for the Corrections Statewide Navigator program, which will help bring secondary education into prisons, assisting the success of the “second chance” movement and ultimately reducing community violence and recidivism. She has also led the very first truly “regional” economic development grant application for the Good Jobs Challenge EDA grant. This grant was submitted as a partnership between Kirkwood; the East Central Iowa Council of Governments; the University of Iowa; Iowa City Area Development; Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance; Cities of Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty; the State Economic Development Authority and Workforce Development Offices; and a number of local Biotech companies. She has also helped secure the Iowa Arts and Cultural Marketing Grant, submitted for a federal EDA grant to support a new A&P mechanic Program, completed a grant resources hand book, and assisted dozens of individuals on smaller grants for their departments. She works tirelessly, always with a can-do attitude and with a level of professionalism and expertise that rivals that of the very best grant professionals in the country.

Carolyn Farlow

Des Moines Iowa Area Community College

Carolyn was hired at DMACC as the Executive Assistant to the President in June of 2005. She quickly received promotions and has served as the Coordinator of Special Projects, Director of Strategic Planning, and now serves as Director of Institutional Effectiveness. Carolyn has been the Board Secretary for the past 17 years. Carolyn has a B.A. in Management Systems & Personnel from Buena Vista University and a Master's Degree in Higher Education Administration from Iowa State University.

Troy Jasman

Western Iowa Tech Community College

Troy, who started at WITCC in 1993, is the Vice President of Finance and Administration Services, Chief Financial Officer, and the Board Treasurer of WITCC. He also serves as the Treasurer for the WITCC Foundation. He received his B.S. degree in Accounting and Economics from Morningside University in 1987 and his M.B.A. with a Finance emphasis from Bellevue University in 2008. He was also certified as a Public Accountant in 1990. Troy is married to Emily Rasmus-Jasman, and they have two children: Nicholas and Abby.

Reanna Heim

Iowa Western Community College

As the Dean of Student Life, Reanna wears many hats. She does a tremendous job managing and mentoring her staff to reflect the core values of Iowa Western. She holds her staff and students to very high standards, in order to create an environment in Student Life that leads students to success. From student employees, residents and all students, Reanna promotes the importance of academic success. She encourages students to be their best at all times, academically and socially, by being good stewards of our community. Reanna is not afraid to go against the grain or stand up for what she believes is right. Reanna works tirelessly to update her knowledge on the latest trends in Residence Life, Student Conduct, Student Engagement, Title IX, VAWA, and Jeanne Clery, as well as most areas of higher education. She is very active in professional organizations and applies their standards in every aspect of her job. In the past year, Reanna has had the opportunity/challenge to hire an all new Residence Life and conduct staff, all while the Associate Dean was on leave. During this challenging time, Reanna also had very little time to completely overhaul our Title IX policy and process due to federal mandates. This all occurred during the national pandemic. She has never complained and has taken on the challenge with a smile on her face.

Terri Higgins

Southwestern Community College

Terri has served at Southwestern for over twenty years and has been an exemplary leader during this time. As the director of marketing and enrollment management, Terri’s responsibilities include overseeing marketing, admissions, and public relations. As a result of these responsibilities, Terri is involved in almost every aspect of the college’s operations. As the director of marketing, Terri is often stretched in many directions. No matter how much she has on her plate, she will make sure every department’s needs are taken care of and Southwestern Community College is being promoted in the best way possible. Most importantly, she wants to make sure the students have a phenomenal experience.

Bianca Myers

Indian Hills Community College

Dr. Bianca Myers serves as Indian Hills Community College Director of Marketing and Community Relations. During the past year, Dr. Myers served a pivotal role in the organization, communication, and planning of IHCC’s successful November 2021 bond referendum campaign. Bianca’s efforts helped Indian Hills Community College pass a 28 million dollar referendum with a 73.2% yes vote. Dr. Myers is a proud Indian Hills Community College alum who has served the College in various roles over her past 17 years. Dr. Myers is a loyal Warrior and is always prepared to give her full effort to make Indian Hills the best College for students, faculty, staff, and communities.

Angela Mickelson

Southeastern Community College

As the Accessibility Coordinator, Angie Mickelson’s job is directly tied to SCC’s Mission to provide “accessible, quality programs and services which promote student success and economic vitality.” As the Accessibility Coordinator, Angie maintains detailed records and case notes on students with physical and learning disabilities so that she can provide them with the support they need to be successful in their courses. Angie also advocates to the college administration for improved services, more adaptive equipment, and accessible buildings to accommodate students with disabilities. If anyone at SCC hasn’t heard Angie talk about ADA compliance or closed captioning then they must be a brand-new employee because she has spent countless hours with faculty and staff working to keep SCC in compliance and supporting students. She leads SCC’s ADA/Accessibility Committee which includes staff and faculty from across the college who work together to ensure that SCC complies with ADA laws and accessibility standards. She has also worked with Center for Business and Industry (CBIZ) to get a Disability statement on their materials, and has provided accommodations to several of their students. Angie is a passionate advocate on the behalf of students with disabilities, consistently going the extra mile to make sure their needs are met so that they can be successful. As the Accessibility Coordinator, she provides information to faculty and staff regarding students’ needs and the advantages of a team approach in serving students with disabilities. She always makes time to talk with faculty and staff, making sure they fully understand the support needed for each student. With a background in Social Work and Substance Abuse Counseling, she maintains a close working relationship with many community agencies that provide benefits and help for other types of concerns (e.g. transportation, child care, food assistance, drug addiction) that can also be barriers to student success, and she refers students for help as needed. Angie is not your typical 8-4:30 employee. She comes to work by 8:00 AM and never leaves her office by 4:30 PM. Her countless hours spent helping students and staff underscores her commitment to students with disabilities and working to address their needs.