Institute for Professional Development

Hess says that although her dream is to write a novel, she's good at textbooks. "Fiction writing takes more creativity and imagination," she said. She wrote a novel a few years ago, Death Key -- A Mystery, but hasn't had any luck selling it to a publisher. "I guess it's not good enough," she said. "I've never taken the time to write anything super. I'd have to go to a mountaintop to get anything done." Hess has always loved to write. "I'd rather write a letter than make a phone call," she said. Always a straight A student, she earned a scholarship from General Motors, which paid for her entire undergraduate studies. "I had good teachers," Hess said. One, Dr. Harold Allen, her adviser at the University of Minnesota, was, Hess said, "instrumental in keeping me interested in writing." Hess holds several awards, including Phi Beta Kappa in 1960, the Pi Lambda Theta Award in 1961, the North Star Award for outstanding leader in 1961, the Merriam Webster Award for outstanding English student in 1961 and was an American Association of University Women Fellow in 1968. She is also listed in 15 publications including 2000 Notable Women, Who's Who in U.S. Writers, Editors & Poets and Personalities of America. Hess currently devotes herself full-time to writing but still teaches one course per quarter at Normandale Community College. She is also president of the Institute for Professional Development, which puts on training programs for those in law enforcement, and chief executive at Information Age Communications, which holds business writing workshops. She is also vhief executive at Milestone Publishing, a company that she cofounded with a friend in 1987. Their intent was to sell corporations on writing their history. "We haven't had the time to pursue it yet, but it's something we would like to do when we have the time," Hess said. She is also a charter member of Text and Academic Authors and served as two terms as secretary from 1991 to 1994. The author of 35 textbooks, Hess gives this advice to aspiring authors of texts or fiction: "Have an idea you're excited about and find a publisher before you write." She said she learned the latter the hard way. She wrote Death Key without first finding a publisher. She also submitted it herself, without an agent. "Most publishers won't look at unagented fiction," she said.

Rodney A. Bernat, CPA, is the Chief Financial Officer of the Institute for Professional Development. As CFO, Rod's duties include fiscal oversight of financial operations, accounting, and reporting, as well as forecasting and reporting to Apollo Group. Rod oversees IPD's real estate, IT, and Title IV regulatory consulting services. He is a member of the executive management and strategic planning teams for IPD.

Kris began her tenure with IPD in 1994 as an Enrollment Counselor at Indiana Wesleyan University, was promoted to management in 1999, and has held both Enrollment Manager and Contract Director positions. In her seven years as a manager with IPD, she has been instrumental in the enrollment growth of IWU's Adult and Professional Studies programs. Kris was promoted to Regional Vice President in September 2006 and will oversee the operations of all campuses in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. Kris completed her B.S. in Education at Olivet Nazarene University and her M.S. in Education with a concentration in Administration at Indiana University. She has two children and two step-children. Three are currently seniors in college and the fourth is a senior in high school.

Rebecca Henriksen began her career with IPD in 1988 and has held the following positions: Enrollment Counselor, Director of Marketing, Contract Director, Regional Vice President with campuses in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Iowa, and is now the Vice President of Marketing and Enrollment. Rebecca has extensive experience in all areas associated with adult student recruitment, including advertising and marketing, corporate and military outreach, recruiter training and development, management training and development, market research, contract management, project management, enrollment forecasting, and strategic planning. Rebecca has a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, and a Master of Science in Management from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Dr. John Lopez joined IPD in 2002 as Director of Institutional Research and assumed the role of Assistant Vice President of Academic and Market Research prior to his current position. John's primary areas of responsibility include market research, leadership in completing various research projects, accreditation consultation, and operational and strategic planning. Prior to joining IPD, he spent nearly six years as an analyst in Institutional Planning and Analysis at the University of Arizona, focusing on higher education research and academic program reviews and serving as Executive Coordinator of the NCA Self-Study Committee. His past work experiences also include four years as senatorial research staff in the Nebraska Legislature. John was a WICHE Policy Fellow two consecutive years while completing his dissertation and is a member of several higher education associations. His faculty experience includes graduate research and statistics courses and serving on dissertation review committees. Dr. Lopez completed his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Nebraska Lincoln, and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in Higher Education specializing in Management and Policy.

Tressa is a Software Engineer and IT Project Manager with the Institute for Professional Development, a higher educational consulting company. She is primarily responsible for implementing solutions related to the Web, databases, and process improvement. Prior to that Tressa worked as an Instructional Technology Designer, delivering an online course management and training system for multiple clients. Tressa holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a master's degree in Information Systems Management. She has recently received her PMP certification and is applying her project management skills across multiple divisions of the company. In her spare time, she enjoys competitive rowing, traveling, gardening, and cooking.

Thomas J. Hastie, Jr. joined McManimon and Scotland, L.L.C. in August 1998 and was named a member in January, 2004. Currently, he devotes a majority of his time to the firm's growing redevelopment practice advising on the statutory processes for the designation of redevelopment areas and the adoption of redevelopment plans and negotiating redevelopment agreements and financial agreements. Mr. Hastie also has extensive experience in the issuance of debt by municipalities and governmental authorities, including revenue and project based financings. He is a frequent lecturer in the area of public and governmental finance for the New Jersey Institute for Professional Development and the New Jersey Government Finance Officers Association. Prior to joining the firm in August, 1998, Mr. Hastie was assistant counsel to the Senate Minority Office in Trenton, New Jersey. Prior to being admitted to practice, Mr. Hastie served in various professional capacities in New Jersey Government, including Legislative Director for the State Treasurer and Senior Policy Analyst for the New Jersey Senate Minority.