Education and human development honors exceptional alumni

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—The College of Education and Human Development at Western Michigan University is honoring Dr. DeAnna Burt-Nanna and Dr. Diane Owen-Rogers with Golden Apple Awards, Kevin Curiel-Vazquez with a Keystone Early Career Award, Dr. Mary Kay VanDriel with a Keystone Meritorious Award and Dr. Antonio Flores with an Outstanding Alumni award at the 24th annual CEHD Alumni Awards. 

"The recipients exemplify the college's mission to develop exceptional education and human development professionals who positively impact our local and global society. It is truly an honor to recognize their contributions to their fields and their ongoing success," says Dr. Kristal Ehrhardt, interim dean of the College of Education and Human Development. 

The 24th Annual CEHD Alumni Awards reception will be held during Homecoming Weekend on Friday, Oct. 14, at 5:30 p.m. in the Fetzer Center. Register for the event.

Dr. Deanna burt-nanna

Burt-Nanna, B.B.A. ‘98, MBA ‘97, Ph.D. ‘09, is the president of Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York. Her professional experience in business, industry and higher education spans more than three decades. Her leadership has served as a catalyst for equitable pathways to socioeconomic mobility for individuals in New York, Minnesota and Michigan.

Burt-Nanna is nationally recognized for advancing student success, innovation, operational efficiency, organizational culture change and creating college-going cultures in communities where she has served. She is a passionate advocate for and a frequent speaker on the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion; educational access and attainment; and workforce development at local, state, and national levels. She also has an impressive record of volunteerism, philanthropy and board/council service.

Currently, she serves on a number of local and national economic and community college related boards. She has been recognized among the Rochester Business Journal’s 100 significant power players in the region and among 50 local Women of Excellence. Burt-Nanna is a recipient of the 2022 CEHD Golden Apple Award.

KEVIN CURIEL-VAZQUEZ

Curiel-Vazquez, B.A. ‘19, M.A. ‘22, is the chief operating officer for Olvera Enterprises. Olvera Enterprises serves as the lead organization for the supermarket chain Supermercado Mexico, a group of stores that offer various services and specializes in the sale of mostly Latin American products. As COO, he oversees the design, operation and improvement of the organizational structure that creates and delivers the organization's products and services. In collaboration with Olvera Enterprises, he is working on establishing a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the immigrant/Hispanic community of Wyoming, Michigan.

Prior to his role as COO, Curiel-Vazquez worked as administrative aid for the Office of Oversight and Public Accountability at the city of Grand Rapids where he served as a liaison between the community and the city related to public safety issues.

Curiel-Vazquez serves as the secretary of the United Methodist Community House Board where he chairs the Funds and Development Committee which focuses on organizing community events and fundraisers and as event coordinator/coach for MNUIS, a Michigan network dedicated to serving and supporting first-generation immigrants in their professional development and transition to higher education. Curiel-Vazquez is the recipient of the 2022 CEHD Keystone Early Career Award.

DR. ANTONIO FLORES

Flores, ‘77 M.A., honorary doctorate of humane letters ‘17 , has served as the President and CEO of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, which represents more than 400 colleges and universities that are committed to Hispanic higher education success in the United States, Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain and Portugal for over 25 years.

He has been named as one of the “50 Most Important Hispanics in Business and Technology” by the editors of Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology, and one of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics in the United States” by the Hispanic Business Magazine. He has also received numerous awards for leadership and advocacy for higher education access, equity, and success for Hispanics.

Flores has served on national government boards and has chaired both the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility and ¡Adelante! U.S. Education Leadership Fund. His career in the United States began as director of Upward Bound in Holland, Michigan. Flores is a recipient of the 2022 Keystone Meritorious Career Award.

DR. DIANE OWEN-ROGERS

Owen-Rogers, B.A. ‘01 , Ph.D. ’14, is a program administrator at Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency (KRESA). Owen-Rogers serves as the Southwest MiSTEM regional director, lead of the MiSTEM Network’s Math Action Area and co-coordinator for the Kalamazoo RESA Anti-Bias Anti-Racism Leadership Team. She collaborates with business/industry, community organizations and K-12 educators to implement high-quality systems and instruction that promote access and equity to STEM education for all students.

Owen-Rogers infuses her expertise in anti-bias education into her work as she seeks to create a more just educational system. Her 21 years of service in the educational system includes experience teaching secondary mathematics, K-12 instructional coaching, curriculum development, facilitating school improvement, program evaluation and professional development, as well as teaching undergraduate and graduate courses at Western. Owen-Rogers is a recipient of the 2022 CEHD Golden Apple Award.

DR. MARY KAY VANDRIEL

VanDriel, Ph.D. ’02, is retiring from 37 years of service at Spectrum Health this fall. She most recently served as the vice president of operations, cancer, specialty and digestive health. She joined to Spectrum Health as a registered nurse in the surgical intensive care unit and played a key role in a wide variety of departments and initiatives in her nearly four decades of service.

She provided executive leadership for Lifestyle Medicine at the advent of the program in 2019 and integrated Mecosta County Hospital into Spectrum Health in 2014 to form Spectrum Health Big Rapids. She transformed the Butterworth Hospital pediatric unit to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and founded the school nurse program in the early 1990s. Additionally her work with the Value Health Partners brought together eight leading healthy systems in Michigan with a goal of sharing data and improving quality, safety and community health.

VanDriel served on the faculty at Grand Valley State University, has authored several publications, given many presentations and is the recipient of multiple awards over the course of her career. Vandriel is the recipient of the 2022 CEHD Keystone Meritorious Career Award. 

For more information about the CEHD Alumni Awards, including past recipients, please visit the CEHD Alumni Awards webpage.

For more WMU news, arts and events, visit WMU News online.