Westview High School CCAP Advisory Board Mission & Vision

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    Mission: To provide engaging and meaningful career experiences for students and teachers that promote academic excellence and lead to a collaborative and diverse workforce for our communities. 
    Vision: To support authentic and transformative career opportunities that build lifelong confidence, leadership, and learning for students who will serve as active citizens in our community and inspire future generations. 
     
     

Advisory Committee Principal

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Dr. Rachael Arens

Dr. Rachael Arens is a Curriculum Specialist and Director of College and Career Academies and Pathways for Westview High School. She has been with the Omaha Public Schools District since 2014 and has served as a Science Teacher, Next Level Learning summer Principal, and Girls Assistant Cross Country Coach. Outside of Westview, Dr. Arens serves as a lead for the NASA Rural Affinity Committee and is a board member on the United States Environmental Protection Agency National Environmental Education Advisory Council. Dr. Arens was honored with the 2020 Air Force Association/Rolls Royce National STEM Teacher of the Year, the Environmental Protection Agency Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators, and the National Education Association 2018 Nebraska Teacher of the Year Award of Excellence. Three of her most memorable opportunities as an educator include working at NASA as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow, serving as a National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions Grosvenor Teacher Fellow in the Galapagos Islands, and serving as a National Education Association Global Learning Fellow in South Africa. 

 

Dr. Arens has a passion for service-learning and building opportunities for students to work within the community and connect their curriculum to real-life careers and projects. 

Advisory Committee President

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Mrs. Amy Cherko

Amy (she/her) is an environmental scientist serving as senior team leader for Olsson’s environmental team, overseeing industry-specific growth strategy, staff management, market financial performance, and long-term operating plans. She is a proud 2nd generation Omaha South and UNO biology graduate and is honored to bring her love for Omaha to the Pathways program. Amy has a passion for biology, birds, live music, and wilderness. She lives in North Omaha with her family and urban prairie. 

Committee Member

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Mrs. Jen Bober

Jen Bober is the Director of Recruitment and a Realtor with Nebraska Realty. As a home grown, local, real estate brokerage it is important to be part of the our community. Nebraska Realty values our objective to offer time and expertise to the students at Westview. The partnership with our firm and Westview is something we cherish.

Committee Member

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Mrs. Melissa Elvig

Melissa Elvig is the Coordinator of QLI’s IMPACT Workforce Development Program. QLI is a nationally recognized healthcare provider of rehabilitation and care for individuals with a brain or spinal cord injury located right here in Omaha. Melissa joined QLI as a Registered Nurse ten years ago, going on to earn an advanced certification in rehabilitation nursing. After impacting hundreds of lives at QLI as a clinical nurse, Melissa redirected her skills toward building a unique training and internship program focused on expanding Omaha’s healthcare workforce. IMPACT leverages QLI’s expertise in learning and their award-winning culture to provide high school students and recent graduates hands-on training, extensive mentoring, and additional supportive measures to create a meaningful career pathway for individuals interested in healthcare.

Melissa is passionate nurse, mom, and youth mentor who can be often found taste testing and ranking the ranch dressing at local restaurants.

Committee Member

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Dr. Sam Wilkins

Dr. Sam Wilkins is an Assistant Professor and Clinical Education Coordinator for the Athletic Training Program in the School of Health and Kinesiology at UNO. Dr. Wilkins teaches courses related to athletic training and sports medicine. His research focuses on early sport specialization and injury risk in youth sports, injuries in throwing athletes, and using patient-reported outcome measures to assess performance and injury risk. He is also involved in service to the athletic training profession at the local, state, regional and national levels through work on various committees, particularly related to work around education, assessment and governmental affairs.

Committee Member

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Mr. Austen Hill

Austen Hill is the Education Programs Supervisor for the Papio-Missouri River NRD. Born and raised in Omaha, NE, Austen has always valued the state’s unique natural beauty through camping, fishing, hunting, hiking, and bird watching.  He is excited to contribute to the Career Pathways, hoping to influence a new generation in pursuing natural resource careers and protecting our state’s valuable historical, agricultural, and natural resources for the future.

Comittee Member

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Mrs. Jamie Wagner

Jamie works for the Omaha Public Power District as a Community Relations Project Manager. She engages with nonprofits, schools, neighborhood associations and other community organizations to find ways to partner with OPPD. One of the best parts of Jamie's role is working with schools to help get students excited about careers in STEM. 

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Mrs. Hanna Pinneo

Hanna is the executive director of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, a non-profit that Plants Nebraska for healthy people, vibrant communities, and a resilient environment. With a background in environmental education, Hanna is passionate about mentoring students with interests in environmentally focused careers. She is pleased to be part of the Westview Advisory Board to help connect the students and faculty with tree-related opportunities both close to home in Omaha and across the state. 

Comittee Member

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Dr. Angie Hawkins

Angie has been a pharmacist at Nebraska Medicine since 2002, and couldn't imagine working anywhere else.  She is passionate about OPS students being better represented amongst our health care professions as she is #OPSProud K-12.  When she is not at work, Angie loves being a mom to her 4 kids, 2 cats, and dog.  She also volunteers at her church where her husband is a pastor, and she is the president/co-founder of the Omaha Northwest High School Foundation. 

Comittee Member

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Mr. Steve Rodie

After a 26-year teaching, research and extension career at the University of Nebraska, Rodie is currently Professor Emeritus of Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). He is also a licensed landscape architect, and a Fellow in the American Society of Landscape Architects. Professor Rodie has worked on numerous service learning projects combining UNO students and OPS students to design and build rain gardens and outdoor classrooms; conduct school waste audits; and co-author environmental legislation. He is currently involved with the design, planting and implementation of the Westview High School Arboretum.

Comittee Member

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Mrs. Jaimie Qaiser

Jaimie Qaiser is the Business Systems Coordinator at Project Harmony. She started her journey in education as a Business, Marketing and IT Teacher for six years teaching students in both OPS and Bennington Public Schools. She is excited to continue working with students in a different capacity to help create meaningful experiences to explore career opportunities in the Business Pathway and beyond.

Comittee Member

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Dr. Scott Keenan

Scott was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, where he graduated from Omaha Roncalli High School. He then attended the University of Nebraska-Omaha where he received his Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science. Scott was a Graduate Research/Teaching Assistant in the Biomechanics Laboratory at the University of Nebraska-Omaha while completing his Master's degree. He then went on to attend Creighton University where he received a Doctorate of Physical Therapy. Scott completed an Orthopedic Residency through Creighton University, and is certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Scott is an American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS) board certified
Orthopedic Clinical Specialist (OCS) Scott is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association, the Nebraska Physical Therapy Association and the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Committee Member

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Dr. Dobri Dotov

Dr. Dotov is at the Department of Biomechanics, University of Nebraska Omaha. He studies healthy and impaired movement, and how to mimic nature to improve human abilities for movement. In his free time, he likes to play soccer and practice foreign languages.

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Mrs. Bailey Feit

Bailey Feit is one of the Education and Career Pathways team members at the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at UNL. Her goal is to support students, educators, and schools find, connect with, and explore opportunities in fields related to Food, Energy, Water and Societal Systems.

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Mrs. Allison Sambol

Allison Sambol is a Principal and Senior Environmental Scientist with Felsburg Holt & Ullevig (FHU). With 20+ years of work in the Great Plains and Midwest she leads FHU's Great Plains Environmental team and has extensive technical expertise and regulatory knowledge that helps DOT’s and Local Public Agencies successfully comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). She believes truly excellent transportation solutions are sustainable and incorporate the natural and human environment.

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Mr. Matt Fowler

Matt Fowler is a self-proclaimed "Military Brat" who's moved all over the Midwest, but proud to now call Omaha home. He learned from his father at an early age the importance of always listening to others and providing your time to anyone who asks. He now gets to put this into practice as the capture lead for Bland & Associates' government consulting department where he's responsible for developing and executing a strategic plan for new business opportunities. Being on Westview's advisory board has been an amazing experience and it allows him to attempt to provide the same assistance that he received growing up.

Committee Member

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Mrs. Toni Monette

Toni Monette is the Assistant Director of the Office of Engagement at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and considers herself to be a servant leader. In her role she oversees campus and community co-created partnerships, student engagement pipelines, and civic engagement. She is also serving her second term on the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWV) national board as secretary. Additionally, she serves LWV as co-chair of the National Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. She earned her bachelor's degree in political science with a minor in Spanish and is completing a master's degree in public administration with a concentration in Public Policy at UNO. She is also an active member of her sorority, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., where she is the Vice Chair of the newly formed Zetas in Action National 501c4, whose mission is to advocate on public policy issues around social, health, and economic justice. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and is a poetry teaching artist for the Nebraska Writers Collective.

Committee Member

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Mr. Stephen Peters

Stephen is a member of the faculty at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in the College of Public Health where he instructs graduate level courses in health administration and public health.

He spent 18 years at Nebraska Medicine as part of a statewide healthcare services organization that assisted clinics and hospitals with business services, physician recruitment and supply chain services.

He also is an adjunct instructor at Creighton University in the Health Administration Program.

Stephen works with several not-for profits in Omaha.