About Us

The Academic Advising, Retention & Completion Office consists of a diverse and dedicated team of professional advisors, administrative assistants, and student academic advisors. In addition to being responsible for a cohort of First Year Experience (FYE) students, each advisor also has an area of specialty and/or program coordination. Our team members come from a variety of professional backgrounds and experiences.

We are committed to helping Towson University students succeed by making informed academic decisions, building sound educational plans, and staying on track to complete their degree programs.  We value and strive to provide quality service and the highest level of respect for students while helping them become self-responsible and contributing members of the campus community.

General Contact Information

Academic Advising, Retention & Completion Office
Academic Commons - 343
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Phone: 410-704-2472
Fax: 410-704-4020
Email:  
Twitter: @TUAcadAdvising
Instagram: @tuadvising

Staff Listing

Ashley Fullwood

Ashley Conte

Director
410-704-5051

Ashley (pronouns she/her) oversees the Academic Advising, Retention, and Completion Office. Additionally, she also represents AARC on several university wide committees centered around advising and student success. Although Ashley has been a Maryland resident for more than a decade, if you ask her where she is from, she’ll still answer New Jersey. She has been advising at TU since 2015 and absolutely loves working with students from their arrival at TU through graduation. In addition to advising Ashley loves bowling, all things Star Wars, and the beach.

Neil Blumberg

Neil Blumberg

Senior Advisor - FYE Program Coordinator
410-704-2874

Neil has been with the AARC office since 2018. In addition to his role as Senior Academic Advisor, Neil is the Coordinator of the First Year Experience program and is the Liaison to the College of Business and Economics. In his current role, Neil trains and oversees Towson faculty and staff in the first-year experience program and works with a case load of first year students, undecided students, and students who fell below good academic standing. Neil graduated from Towson State University in 1997 with a degree in Sport Management. He is married with two daughters. In his free time, he coaches club soccer and loves to travel. He is a passionate, Ravens, Orioles, and Capitals fan.

Strengths: Positivity, Woo, Includer, Communication, Consistency

Amber Elcock

Amber Elcock

Program Management Specialist/Academic Advisor 
410-704-3863
  

Amber has been with the AARC Office since 2023. In addition to open major and academic intervention advising, Amber manages FreshReg during the summer and apart of the FYE Programming Team. 

Strengths: Learner, Focus, Restorative, Intellection, Input

lucero espinal

Lucero Espinal

Academic Advisor
410-704-3405

Lucero is one of the newest academic advisor to the AARC Office.  She advises students without a declared major, transferring into Towson, within their first-year, as well as those who need academic intervention. Lucero is also the advising liaison to the Freshman Transition Program. She is studying to get her Master of Science degree in Learning Experience Design and Educational Technology from Western Governors University. Lucero enjoys traveling and trying out new things with her family as well as sharing her adventures.

Strengths: Achiever, Consistency, Learner, Responsibility, Restorative

Alyssa Fields

Alyssa Fields

Academic Advisor
410-704-3344
  

Alyssa has been with the AARC Office since 2023. In addition to first year advising, open major advising, and academic intervention advising, Alyssa supports faculty and staff with SSC Navigate through trainings and digital/printed materials.  She is one of the liaisons to the College of Health Professions. Alyssa loves to bake, extreme couponing, and spend time with family.

Strengths: Responsibilty, Achiever, Strategic, Learner, Belief

Jackie Gabrielian

Jackie Gabrielian

Academic Renewal Program Coordinator
410-704-4567

Jackie has been an advisor at the university for over 35 years, beginning her career at “Towson State University” immediately upon her college graduation. She continues to enjoy working with students to help them navigate within their overall college experience, including working with students experiencing academic difficulties. To assist those students, she helped to create the Academic Renewal Program to help students on academic probation achieve academic success.

Off campus, Jackie enjoys sharing time with her husband Craig (also an alum), her two children, and now, 3 super fun grandchildren. She loves to travel, spend time creating recipes and treats in the kitchen to share with others, and always enjoys a good laugh with a comedy stand up act, classic movie, or sitcom.

Strengths: Empathy, Developer, Responsibility, Connectedness, Positivity

Emily Halligan

Emily Halligan

Senior Assistant Director- First-Year Experience Programming
410-704-2307

Emily coordinates our First-Year Experience (FYE) advising program, which pairs incoming students with an advisor based on their area of interest. She hires, trains, and provides guidance for the team of over 100 faculty and staff FYE advisors who help ensure our new students have a successful transition to TU. In addition to supporting TU students through advising, Emily is an adjunct faculty member in Art History, focusing on the histories of photography and modern design. Off campus, she’s either hiking with her husband, singing with her women’s chamber group, bingeing HBO, or reading the latest good novels. 

Strengths: Achiever, Discipline, Learner, Intellection, Harmony

Kameron Harrison

Kameron Harrison

Academic Advisor
410-704-2472

Kameron (he/him/his pronouns) is a transition support advisor. He works predominantly with transfer students, but also advises students on academic intervention. Kameron studied English Literature at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and has a masters degree in UMBC's Texts, Technologies, and Literature program. Kameron is passionate about advising students transitioning into new academic environments like higher education and enjoys assisting transfer students in achieving their goals at Towson University. Outside of work, Kameron spends most of his time playing tennis. He also loves to play the drums.

Shaconda Haynie

Shaconda Haynie

Academic Advisor
410-704-4969

Shaconda has been with TU since 2023. She is one of the newest academic advisors to the AARC team. She currently provides advising to first-year students, undecided and intervention students. Shaconda is a 10-year Army Veteran, she received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Central Michigan University. Shaconda is also a full spectrum Doula serving Maryland, D.C., and Northern VA. Her love for birth work and patient advocacy motivated her to earn her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Maternal Healthcare, from the George Washington University, Milken Institute School of Public Health. In her free time, she enjoys reading, practicing yoga, spending time with family and friends, and taking her two fur babies (Abby & Roxie) on hiking adventures all over the state to explore the best trails.

Strengths: Connectedness, Developer, Relator, Strategic, Positivity

Kathryn Klimas

Kathryn Klimas

Academic Advisor
410-704-5220
 

Kathryn (she/her pronouns) specializes in reenrollment and assists with students interested in returning to Towson University. She graduated from Towson, started off in the Reenrollment Office, and now enjoys working and supporting students through AARC. In her free time, she enjoys solving puzzles, watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine, spending time with friends and family, and playing with her pup!

Strengths: Organization, Creativity, Empathy, Learner

Xochilt Lamas

Xochilt Lamas

Senior Academic Advisor- Advisor Training Coordinator
410-704-5015
 

Xochilt originally comes from Southern California, where they earned their Bachelor’s in psychology at Cal Poly Pomona. From there they studied at Rutgers University, earning their Master’s of Education. Post graduation, they coordinated first-year learning communities before coming to Towson University in 2016 to serve as an Academic Advisor. Their current focus is advisor training and open major management.  Outside of the office, Xochilt enjoys playing tabletop RPGs (especially Dungeons and Dragons), video games, and showing off pictures of their cats.  

Strengths: Empathy, Developer, Intellection, Harmony, Restorative

Jen Spera

Jen Spera

Adminstrative Assistant II
410-704-5125

Jen serves as the Administrative Assistant and unofficial "Sunshine Coordinator" for  AARC.  She has been at TU since September of 2012.  Jen lives in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with her husband, Deano and son, Nick. She enjoys her commute to TU because it gives her time to unwind and listen to the Beatles or dance music.  When Jen is not with her fantastic work family she enjoys reading, watching the Ravens/Orioles, and drawing cartoons.  Jen is also a big fan of “The Office” due to its realistic, humorous depiction of office life (...and, of course, the pranks).

Strengths: Positivity, Woo, Empathy, Communicaton, Developer

Eric Welkos

Eric Welkos

Assistant Director- Transfer Advising Programming 
410-704-2008

In addition to advising first-year, undecided, and intervention students, Eric works most closely on incoming transfer student issues. He also serves as liaison for the Fisher College of Science and Mathematics. Eric’s favorite part of working with the advising team is working alongside department faculty to welcome incoming transfer students to Towson University.

Strengths: Maximizer, Developer, Empathy, Strategic, Learner

Lauren Zanta

Lauren Zanta

Academic Advisor
410-704-3408

Lauren has been at TU since 2017. She currently provides advising to first-year students, open major students, and intervention students. She communicates with our Academic Warning students and serves as a liaison to the Fisher College of Science and Math. She particularly enjoys meeting new freshmen each year. Outside of the office, she travels frequently and reads obsessively.

Strengths: Intellection, Input, Learner, Adaptability, Harmony