EACE 2024 Board of Directors Elections
Director, Member Services Candidate
 Mia Wittels
Director, External Partnerships & Career Engagement
Haverford College
1. Describe your interest in serving on the EACE Board in this capacity.
I am interested in advancing within EACE and taking on a new role where I can continue to support the organization's goals and member experience. I have learned so much about leadership and the importance of strong communication as an EACE Co-Chair for various committees. As this year’s EACE Conference Co-Chair, I have had the opportunity to learn even more about the organization’s innerworkings, and the various roles the Board plays in EACE’s success. As a Conference Co-Chair, I have touchpoints with various EACE leaders, and this exposure to the organization has motivated me to serve EACE in an even larger way.
EACE has played a significant role in my professional development within higher education. I feel lucky to have found a community of colleagues that are thoughtful, innovative and collaborative. I credit the organization with helping me develop as a strong and ethical leader, especially when I did not always have the opportunity to grow in these areas in past roles. As the Director of Member Services, I hope to continue to grow professionally and share my strengths with the Board. This way I can continue to help the Board reach their goals such as increasing employer membership, promoting diversity and inclusion and ensuring members' participation, retention and satisfaction. I have loved serving in a leadership role for EACE and hope to continue to do so in the future.
2. What skills and experiences do you possess that have prepared you to be successful in this role?
I would be honored to serve as the Director of Member Services. As a former Co-Chair for the Connections Committee, I am very familiar with the role that the Director plays in supporting this Committee and also serving as a liaison to the Board. I served as a Co-Chair for the Committee for two years, and worked closely with my fellow Co-Chairs to develop new initiatives and expand opportunities for the former Road Trips to the Real World (RTRW) and Professional Exchange (PE) programs. One of the challenges I faced during my tenure was navigating how to continue programming during the Covid-19 pandemic. We made the decision to move our scheduled sites visits to a virtual format to ensure that members could continue to build partnerships with various employer partners. This has now become a permanent format option for Professional Exchange programs.
Additionally, as a current Conference Co-Chair I have honed my decision-making, delegation and leadership skills. I have encountered new challenges, and have worked through them with my EACE colleagues to determine thoughtful solutions. The Conference is a large-scale event with various moving parts, and I feel that my accountability, and detailed-oriented approach has helped me successfully manage my responsibilities. I take pride in being a transparent and responsive communicator, who is able to manage multiple projects simultaneously. By overseeing three different Conference sub-committees, I have continued to grow in these areas.
Serving as a leader within EACE has also helped me build my confidence in various ways. I feel comfortable speaking out and respectively sharing my opinions, leading committee meetings, creating marketing collateral and networking with college and employer members alike. As challenges arise, I take a calm, transparent, and creative approach to problem solving; I am energized by mentoring and empowering others in the field, and am dedicated to helping our members grow in their professional life. I hope to continue to support EACE members by making sure their voices are heard, and also contribute to the Board’s goals for the organization.
3. What ideas and/or goals do you have for this position?
Based off of the description for the Director of Member Services, I think that there is an opportunity to revise and revitalize this role on the Board. One idea is to conduct benchmarking research into what this Board role looks like within other professional organizations, and learn more about how to expand and maximize this position.
In addition to serving as the liaison for the Connections Committee, this role could focus on creating a new strategic plan for member retention and engagement. One thing I have observed is that many of the same members are repeatedly taking on leadership roles, and we are seeing many experience burnout. In order to continue to thrive, EACE needs to reimagine how we can better engage members and motivate them to take on leadership roles. By investing in developing our newer members and better engaging longstanding members, we better identify future leaders and spearhead a renewed commitment to the organization. This role would work closely with many other members of the Board to meet this goal, including but not limited to, the Director of Membership Recruitment & Retention, Director of Diversity & Inclusion and the Director of Career Growth.
Finally, I believe that a goal of this role should be to identify new ways to stay on the pulse of members’ feedback and suggestions for the organization. EACE needs to stay agile and identify new and different ways to encourage members to communicate with one another, and engage with EACE leaders and professional development programs.
4. EACE History
Years as member: 9 years
EACE Service History: EACE 24 Conference Co-Chair- August 2023-Present,
Awards Committee Co-Chair- July 2022-July 2023,
Connections Committee Co-Chair- August 2018-July 2020,
Professional Exchange Committee Member- 2017-2018,
Technology Committee Member- 2016-2017,
Speed Session Presenter- EACE Annual Conference Summer 2017,
College Member Mentor
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