Michelle Pickett is an experienced higher education professional with over twenty years working with students. Her experience includes academic advising, student retention, program assessment, recruitment, and diverse populations. She’s currently the Director of the Academic Advising Center at Northern Illinois University, which oversees student advising services for undecided and pre-professional students, and where she recently developed a university-wide student advisor training program. As an adjunct professor, she taught classes in leadership and college reading and study strategies. Michelle has earned a Master of Science in Education (M.S. Ed.), Adult and Higher Learning and is a doctoral candidate in Higher Education and Student Affairs having completed a Graduate Certificate of Study in Advanced Qualitative Methodology.