Meet the Campus Admin and Operations

Role at Northeastern:
As Dean & CEO of Northeastern in Seattle, Dave is responsible for defining and executing the campus strategic plan, which includes expanding academic programs, providing innovative and beneficial co-curricular programming, overseeing campus operations and expansion activities, and building experiential learning partnerships with companies and community organizations. His favorite part of the job is getting to know students and understanding their backgrounds and ambitions in order to ensure that Northeastern is always helping them meet their goals.

Educational/ Professional Background:
Dave has a background in human machine systems engineering and 25 years of experience at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), initially as a software engineer, then as a data visualization researcher, and later as a manager of their computing and data analytics research portfolio. Before coming to Northeastern, he was the Director of PNNL’s Seattle Research Center, just down the street from campus.

Personal Background:
Dave grew up with four generations of family in a small town outside of Portland, Oregon where cows likely outnumbered people.

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Role at Northeastern:
At Northeastern, Paula leads academic and student affairs, including degree and certificate programs, support for regional faculty, experiential learning, student advising, career services, and overall support for students. Her favorite part of the job is interacting with students and observing their achievements as they progress through their programs and into their careers.

Educational/ Professional Background:
Paula holds a Master’s of Education and a PhD in Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her Bachelor’s is in Radiologic Sciences from the University of Health Sciences at Chicago Medical School. She has over 30 years of higher education administration experience, heaving served as vice president of economic and workforce development at Bellevue College, dean of continuing education and workforce development at Milwaukee Area Technical College, and faculty development specialist at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Personal Background:
Paula is originally from Wisconsin and Illinois but has spent the last 20 years in the Pacific Northwest.

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Role at Northeastern: Jaren works closely with Dean Thurman and the Leadership team to support university advancement through external partnerships.

Educational/ Professional background: Before joining the university, Jaren worked as the Program Manager for the Technology Alliance and served as U.S. Congresswoman Suzan DelBene’s District Scheduler. She is currently a board member for the SoFi Member Advisory Board and the Dean’s Advisory Board for the School of Business, Government, and Economics at Seattle Pacific University. She is an alumnus of the University of Washington where she earned her master’s degree in policy studies. She also attended Seattle Pacific University where she earned bachelor’s degrees in politics and international economics.

Personal background: Originally from Nevada, I moved to Washington state 17 years ago and have called Seattle my home for the last 10. I am an avid gardener and proud pet parent. I'm looking forward to being able to attend local theater shows again post-pandemic.

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Role at Northeastern:
Gina Copping acts oversees the learner experience for Seattle Campus students, ensuring quality throughout all aspects of their graduate program.

Educational/ Professional Background:
Her previous career experiences revolved around early childhood education and teaching English in Japan. She holds a bachelor’s in psychology from Santa Clara University and a master’s in comparative education from University College London’s Institute of Education. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Education through Northeastern.

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Role at Northeastern: Teresa provides administrative support for the Dean's office and contributes to successful campus operations.

Educational/ Professional background: Teresa received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Washington. She spent her early career as a Research Scientist in the healthcare, biotech, and biomedical research industries before transitioning to a career in higher education administration in 2023.

Personal background: Teresa is a Seattle native who loves to enjoy the Pacific Northwest outdoors by skiing, hiking, and paddle boarding. When not outside, she enjoys painting, cooking, and hunting for new restaurants in the city.

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Role at Northeastern:
At Northeastern, she supports daily technology needs across all the regional campuses and enjoys helping faculty, staff, and students.

Educational/ Professional Background:
Desiree holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Illinois. She has enjoyed spending most of her career working in higher education in various technology-focused roles, starting as a student work study at a law school and developing it into a professional career.

Personal Background:
Desiree grew up living in the Midwest and the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She has always enjoyed living near mountains.

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Role at Northeastern:
At Northeastern, Twinkle leads brand visibility and overall marketing strategy for the Seattle Campus. She creatively integrates marketing campaigns to build awareness, promote programs, and support recruitment efforts.

Educational/ Professional Background:
Twinkle brings more than six years of experience in digital and traditional marketing. She holds a UW-PCE Certification in Digital Marketing and a UW-PCE Certification in Marketing Analytics. She also holds an MBA in Marketing and Retail from KC College in Mumbai, India.

Personal Background:
Twinkle was born and raised in Mumbai and moved to Seattle five years ago.

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Role at Northeastern: Rochelle supports and engages Northeastern undergraduate cohorts attending study away/ residency programs in Seattle and other West Coast campuses. Working in collaboration with staff across the Seattle Campus, GEO, the Office of the Chancellor, and other University offices, she helps plan, coordinate, and engage students in undergraduate mobility program opportunities aligned with campus and University visions, including university-wide programs like Semester-In, N.U.in, Dialogues of Civilization, Global ConnEXions, as well as individual college programs.

Educational/ Professional background: BFA in Dance from Cornish College of the Arts Seattle, WA. After graduation, Rochelle worked for Pacific Northwest Ballet in multiple roles, most recently as Associate Director of Community Education and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Coordinator. She is also an adjunct faculty at Cornish and served as President of Dance Educators Association of Washington.

Personal background: Rochelle spent the first 18 years of her life in Southern California and moved to Seattle to attend Cornish. In her spare time, she enjoys walking with her partner and their little dog, engaging with local theater experiences, and trying new restaurants.

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Role at Northeastern:
At Northeastern, he supports students, faculty and staff across the global campuses.

Educational/ Professional Background:
Tom has an extensive background in customer service and tier one technical support.

Personal Background:
Tom was born in Southern California but moved to the Seattle area when he was a kid. He has a life long love of technology and the outdoors.

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Role at Northeastern: Supports students, faculty and staff across the global campuses.

Educational/ Professional background: B/S in Computer Information Systems from University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point

Personal background: Originally from Minnesota, Ryan grew up just outside of St. Paul. He loves spending time outdoors, especially hiking and backpacking, which is one of the many reasons he is excited to be here in Seattle.

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Role at Northeastern: Kenan is the Admin Operator at the Seattle campus.

Professional background: He has 10+ years of experience in operations & business manager. He has Graphic Design AA, Psychology BA, UX/UI Design Certification.

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Role at Northeastern: Sara supports event planning and execution, operational support, course scheduling on Seattle campus.

Educational/ Professional background: Sara has completed her undergraduate - B.A. in English literature from Trinity University and
graduate in Master of Natural Resources Stewardship from Colorado State University. She has worked in events (weddings, corporate events) for a small catering company for 3.5 years before joining Northeastern.

Personal background: Sara was born and raised in Kansas City, attended college in Texas, and lived in the southeastern US for several years before moving up to the Pacific Northwest. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her dog and being outdoors.

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