Northwest welcomes new employees to begin spring semester

Jan. 17, 2020

Northwest Missouri State University welcomed more than 20 new faculty and staff members as its spring semester begins.

The new employees, who are those hired to full-time positions at Northwest since August, are introduced below.

Brian Archer joined Northwest in December as a swine production technician for the School of Agricultural Sciences.

Wendy Berthiaume joined Northwest this month as a human resources compliance specialist in the Office of Human Resources. She has 17 years of human resources experience and most recently was a human resources manager at Albaugh LLC in addition to serving as co-manager of The Old Hoof & Horn Restaurant in St. Joseph, Missouri. She earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations at Northwest.

Wick Cunningham joined Northwest this month as an advisor and coach in Academic Success and Retention. Most recently, he was a secondary math teacher at Northeast Nodaway in Ravenwood, Missouri. He earned a bachelor’s degree in middle school education in 2017 and a master’s degree in health and physical education in 2019, both at Northwest.

Kala Dixon is an annual giving and alumni relations specialist in the Office of University Advancement. She completed her bachelor’s degree in December at Northwest in communication with an emphasis on interpersonal and organizational communication.

Christian Falcone joined Northwest in September as a custodian. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Northwest in 2018 in interactive digital media with an emphasis in visual imaging. Previously, he was employed at Hy-Vee.

Dr. Tara Fortner is an assistant professor in the School of Education. Most recently she was an assistant professor of education at Lyndon State College in Vermont. She also has worked as a school psychologist in Vermont, New Hampshire and New York. She earned her doctorate degree in learning, leadership and community at Plymouth State University and has a certificate of advanced study and a master’s degree, both in school psychology from Alfred University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology at The College of Saint Rose in New York.

Alexandra Gallagher began work at Northwest in August as an instructional aide at the Phyllis and Richard Leet Center for Children and Families.

Sagar Ghimire joined Northwest in September as a software developer in the Office of Information Technology. He complete his bachelor’s degree in computer science last year at Northwest, where he was a teaching assistant for the School of Computer Science and Information Systems and a student software developer for the Learning and Teaching Center.

Brandi Harvey joined Northwest in November as coordinator of assignment and administration in the Office of Residential Life. She had worked with SSM Health Medical Group as an administrative operations manager since 2012. She has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Northwest and expects to complete her master’s degree in business management at the University this spring.

Dan Haslag joined Northwest in October as assistant vice president for facility services and oversees custodial, landscape, maintenance, energy and sustainability, central plant and transportation operations. Most recently, he served as vice president of campus operations at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, where he had worked in various capacities since 1995. He has a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College in Missouri.

Laura Kauzlarich is an assistant professor of accounting in the Melvin D. and Valorie G. Booth School of Business. Previously, she taught at Briar Cliff University and Creighton University. She is pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration degree at Creighton University and has a Master of Financial Management degree from University of Queensland and bachelor’s degree in accounting from Illinois State University.

Cassie Lager joined Northwest in December as accounts payable supervisor in the controller’s office. Previously, she was a corporate service advisor at Ag-Power Inc. in Maryville. She earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business at Northwest.

Kayley Lager joined Northwest in December as a custodian.

Kristy McDonald joined Northwest in November as a financial assistance counselor in the Office of Financial Assistance. Most recently, she was the city clerk and city manager in Fairfax, Missouri. She previously worked in the financial aid department at Missouri Western State University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Missouri Western. 

Julie Michaelsen began work in August as an instructional aide at the Phyllis and Richard Leet Center for Children and Families. Her previous professional experience includes work as a geographic information systems analyst and office manager. She received a bachelor’s degree from Northwest in geography and geology, and she is pursuing a master’s degree in early childhood education, having served as a graduate assistant at the Leet Center during the 2017-18 academic year.

Karen Patterson began work in November as an office manager in the Office of the President. She came to Maryville in 2016 from Cincinnati, Ohio, and had worked as a business consultant for the past 16 years. She also formed Makewaves to help non-profits and for-profits work together to solve social problems. She has a bachelor’s degree in communication arts from the University of Cincinnati.

April Protzman began work in August as an office assistant at the Phyllis and Richard Leet Center for Children and Families. She graduated in May with a doctorate in physical therapy from Southwest Baptist University. She has a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Missouri-Columbia and received an associate degree from the Missouri Academy of Science, Mathematics, and Computing.

Benjamin Rogers joined Northwest in November as an environmental health and safety specialist in the environmental health and safety unit. Previously, he was a chemistry technician at Cooper Nuclear Station in Brownville, Nebraska. He received his bachelor’s degree from Northwest in wildlife ecology.

Megan Runde returned to Northwest in September as a secretary in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. Most recently she worked as a customer service representative at MFA Oil and previously was a transportation coordinator in Northwest Facility Services. She has a bachelor’s degree from Northwest in agribusiness.

William Sabio joined Northwest in October as the assistance vice president for Title IX and equity in the Office of Student Affairs. Most recently, he was Title IX coordinator at Hawaii Pacific University and previously has worked in Title IX roles at Buffalo State College and Niagara County Community College in Sanborn, New York. He has a bachelor’s degree in communication studies and a master’s degree in education administration. 

Brad Scott joins Northwest this month as assistant vice president for enterprise risk management. He comes from the University of North Texas where he had led risk management teams and programs since 2012. He brings more than 10 years of experience in risk management, emergency management, and environmental health and safety in both public higher education and private industry. He has a bachelor’s degree in emergency administration and planning from the University of North Texas and completed five years of service in the U.S. Army.

Jeremy Werner began work as new director at KXCV-KRNW in December. Most recently, he was an executive morning news producer for 98.1/980 KMBZ in Kansas City. He has a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting from Northwest.