EACE 2026 Board of Directors Elections
Director, Membership Recruitment & Retention
 Jamie Guilford
Director of Career Pathways
Dickinson College
1. Describe your interest in serving on the EACE Board in this capacity.
Serving as Director, Membership Recruitment & Retention would allow me to translate two of my strongest beliefs about EACE into actions to guide the work. First, that the members are the heart of EACE and their voices should be included and heard to determine experiential and topical needs and gaps. Second, that EACE provides compelling, relevant opportunities for professional and leadership development that more members should be taking advantage of regularly. If selected for the position, I would focus on gathering insight and data from current members to guide efforts on meeting their needs during this unsettled time in higher education, career services, and the job market. I would also strategically promote the benefits of EACE to non-member institutions and employers in an effort to increase total membership. As someone who remembers feeling that I had little guidance on how to make the most of being an EACE member after my first conference almost 17 years ago, I would like to create clear pathways to engagement for all members, both colleges and employers. As someone who has always sought to include others and bring different voices to the table, I want to help EACE thrive by securing new members and by more fully engaging current members in ways that elevate their daily work.
2. What skills and experiences do you possess that have prepared you to be successful in this role?
As a career services practitioner, I have long recognized the importance of benchmarking and surveying. From my experiences serving on an institutional Middle States committee and in creating student and employer surveys and focus groups as part of my past employer relations work, I am confident in conducting research as well as tracking and analyzing responses to determine needs and expectations across a diverse EACE membership. Serving as a Co-Chair for both the Grants & Scholarships Committee and the Conference Experience Committee as well as a Co-Lead for the Working Parents Affinity Group, I have worked and communicated regularly with colleagues in other institutions and states to strategically set goals, organize tasks, delegate responsibilities, and meet deadlines. EACE committee work also entails working strictly within given budgets while ensuring a high-quality experience for members. Particularly in working with the Grants & Scholarship committee volunteers, I believe it has been essential to clearly lay out the goals of our work and consistently encourage them to provide their insights and feedback or ask questions. I always seek to be an open and welcoming leader who invites others to share different thoughts and viewpoints that can help our outcomes be more successful. Ensuring that everyone on the committee has a voice in our work is critical to me.
3. What ideas and/or goals do you have for this position?
If selected for the Director, Membership Recruitment & Retention role, I have some ideas on both increasing membership in EACE and engaging more current members in our offerings. First, I would like to access membership records for the last 5-10 years to determine what institutions and employers have let their EACE membership lapse. Using a more personalized approach, it would be important to conduct outreach to determine why they are no longer members while promoting the benefits of EACE membership to encourage renewing. I would also like to survey current members in a strategic way to better understand the reasons for their level of engagement in the organization as well as get feedback on areas or topics where EACE might not be “hitting the mark” as effectively as it could. While EACE has changed quite a bit over the years since I have been a member, I always remember struggling to understand how to navigate the organization as a new professional. While the Mentoring Committee certainly helps in this area, I would like to develop something more concrete to clearly communicate the ways to get involved in EACE that feels more personal and inspires excitement in our current members. While this could be focused more on new professionals, I think there are likely current college and employer members who have been with EACE for some time who would appreciate more clarity in what we have to offer them and what that time commitment would look like.
4. EACE History/Additional Experience
Years of Membership: 12 years
EACE Service History:
- Co-Chair Grants & Scholarship Committee: July 2025 - present
- Co-Chair of Conference Experience Committee: July 2024 - June 2025
- Working Parents Affinity Group Co-Lead: December 2023 - June 2025
- Annual Conference Committee Member - Experience: Fall 2023 - June 2024
- Annual Conference Committee Member - Keynotes: Fall 2022 - Spring 2023
Awards & Presidential Citations:
- Presidential Citation 2024
- Presidential Citation 2025
|
