Getting to Know Campus’ Newest Admin and Staff

Gaby Portillo

Student Care Coordinator

Gaby Portillo has been in her role for about three months, and the role was designed to assist the director of student support services and intervention, Colleen Zavodny. Portillo said that in the last school year there were 300 cases coming to Student Support Services and Intervention, and her role will help manage them.

Portillo said she will see students for a plethora of different reasons, including mental health, physical health, and financial housing and security. Prior to working at Elmhurst, Portillo’s background was in kindergarten through 12th grade. She worked at two high schools before Elmhurst and went to grad school for social work.

“I’ve literally said my dream was to be in an office where I could talk to people about their feelings and things that they’re going through,” Portillo said.

She said she is most excited to meet the students since she has never worked with people of the college age. In the new role, she takes a headfirst approach and said her past experiences help her address the needs of the students.

“My philosophy is to do things to the best of my ability through trial and learning,” Portillo said. “There’s no one person who can always know exactly what to do and when to do it, so I’m going to do the best that I can.”

Portillo anticipates some challenges with helping students open up about what is happening in their lives. She said she wants to help students by acknowledging their struggles and letting them know they can rely on her and Zavodny, and that they do not have to struggle alone.

Courtney Miller

Provost, Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Dean of the Faculty

Last spring Courtney Miller was appointed as the interim vice president for academic affairs as well as dean of faculty. This spring she was offered to take over the role permanently, which also added the role of being the university’s provost.

Prior to taking this role, she was the assistant professor in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences in 2005; she became a full professor in 2015 in what is now the Department of Communication and Media. Before she took over her new role, she was the dean of the School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

She said in this new role she looks at leadership as a service and wants to create the conditions under which others can do their best and grow professionally.

“To me that means a lot of listening, communicating with transparency, removing barriers, and making decisions that are good for the institution, but also the people,” Miller said.

One priority Miller has in the role is the implementation of the new general education curriculum that will be rolled out in Fall 2027. She said that she looks at any challenges she may have in the position as opportunities to grow and wants to cultivate a culture of curiosity and continuous improvement.

Conor Wilson

Assistant Director of Operations for Public Safety

Conor Wilson has been in this role for about two months. Prior to being at Elmhurst, he was the assistant director of operations at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois.

Wilson found the role through a work group of other universities, and after talking with the executive director of public safety, John Escalante, he felt this was a position he could see himself in.

“I was looking to just grow,” said Wilson. “I like to learn as much as possible. I felt like I learned as much as possible at St. Francis and this was the next step.”

Before working in higher ed, Wilson was a correctional officer for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. He said he likes working in colleges to guide students who may have been like him. “I was a very, very bad student,” Wilson said. “So being able to help students before it gets to that point, that’s the best reward.”

One skill Wilson brings to Elmhurst is his training with mental health and crisis intervention. He said that when students are having very hard days, he wants to be a part of helping as much as he can. Wilson also has specific training with threat assessment and dealing with any potential threats to the institution as a whole.

He hopes students understand that Public Safety is not just there to get students in trouble. “There’s a lot more attributes to this department that can be of assistance,” Wilson said. “It might not be something students are aware of but we’re kind of plugged in everywhere.”

Amanda Gott

Chaplain

The Rev. Amanda Gott was announced as the new chaplain on campus back in March but has officially moved near campus and has begun to prepare for the school year. She said she has already met a few students and started getting to know them.

“I’m looking forward to meeting more students and building those relationships and connections,” Gott said.

She will be participating in the orientation events and will be speaking at New Student Convocation, as it is custom for the chaplain to offer a prayer and invocation. Her office is located in the Nest, and she will be participating in the Student Involvement Fair with her other colleagues.

Gott hopes to host some events over the course of the semester like events for religious holidays coming up as well as events having to do with belonging and suicide awareness and prevention. She also wants to hear the ideas students have about hosting activities on campus.

“I’m hoping to just sort of drop in on a lot of meetings when some of the student groups get together and to hear what is being talked about and get a feel for what folks are excited about or concerned about,” Gott said.