In her nearly ten years of working at Purchase, Sheli Taylor has held three different positions—in Dance, in the School of the Arts Dean’s office, and now in the Foundation. Prior to coming to Purchase, she spent ten years in the fashion industry in New York City and many years volunteering in her community, mostly in leadership positions.
Highlights of her Purchase campus service include three years as vice-chair of the Purchase College Senate and member of the Senate Executive Committee, and membership on the Budget Planning Committee. She currently serves as a member of the Middle States Self-Study Steering Committee and co-chair of the Governance, Leadership, and Administration Work Group.
Beyond Purchase, she is presently pursuing a master’s degree in Management with a focus on Higher Education at the Harvard Extension School. In the course of her studies, she has been fortunate to take a hard look at campus shared governance models at a variety of institutions, and understand how collaboration and trust between faculty, staff, and administration can work to create and sustain well-managed organizations with dynamic and innovative cultures.
She hopes that serving as PSC president will bring together her college service experience, leadership interests, and educational pursuits in a productive way for our constituency. She’s delighted to have the opportunity to serve and advance the institution in this important capacity.
Corey Dawkins, Vice President
Corey Dawkins has over 20 years’ experience in Facilities and Office Services management and has worked at Purchase College since 2014. In his current role as Director of Residential Projects for Facilities Management, he creates and manages specific residential projects on campus - anything from furniture and finishings to critical structural restorations. Past positions have been with Condé Nast Publications, Merrill Lynch, Sprint, and The Hudson River Museum in Yonkers.
He holds a MA in Public Policy from CUNY Brooklyn College, is a New York State Building Codes Official and holds a Facilities Management Professional (FMP) credential. In his spare time he volunteers as a Deputy Sherriff Sergeant with the Westchester County Department of Public Safety.
Dawkins has been a member of the Professional Staff Council since 2016 when he became the Chair of the newly created Professional Awards Committee. In four short years his committee has created a system of staff recognition awards that did not exist previously, and has awarded nine awards to professional staff. In addition to chairing the PAC he also chairs the Chancellors Award for Professional Service selection committee.
He currently resides in Irvington in Westchester County. A lifetime New York State resident, he was born and raised in Manhattan, NYC.
Roberta Morell, Treasurer
Robbie Morell has worked as a Wellness Counselor for seven years and has been a member of the Professional Staff Council since her first year at Purchase College. She has been a member of several committees of the PSC beginning with the Staff Affairs Committee, Professional Development Committee for two years, and most recently joined the Professional Awards Committee.
She has also worked on several other committees throughout her time, including Student Affairs Diversity Committee and Student Health Advisory Committee, and she currently chairs the Wellness Committee.
Before training as a counselor, She was an accounting major and spent several years on Wall Street in the financial industry. She is committed to promoting the importance of the PSC and supporting all staff members as well as the whole Purchase community.
Sonya Alexander, Secretary
Sonya Alexander is an Assistant Director in the Office of Community Engagement. She has been employed at Purchase since June 2018.She currently serves as a member of the Professional Development Committee and previously worked with the on-boarding group.
Alexander brings experience as a secretary within a professional organization. For two years she was the Secretary for NEACUHO, which is the North East Association for College and University Housing Officers. In that role, she was responsible for minutes for all executive board meetings and the annual business meeting. In addition to this experience, her educational background includes organizational psychology, which has a focus on human resources, so she is excited to see the liaison responsibility with HR as part of the PSC secretary role.
Alexander is excited and honored to serve as secretary.
Professional Committee Chairs
Silke Vigue ’13, Chair, Professional Development Committee
Silke Vigue started working in the School of Natural and Social Sciences after graduating from the Purchase biology program in 2013. Vigue holds a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from Stony Brook University and is currently working as Operations Manager for NSS. She has been an active member of the PSC for several years and is currently serving as Chair of the Professional Development Committee.
Els Van Bosch, Chair, Professional Awards Committee
Els van den Bosch joined the School of Liberal Studies and Continuing Education in 2009, where she supports students, as well as staff and faculty as Student Services Coordinator. Previously she was the secretary to the Provost. She studied Slavic Languages and Literature at Utrecht University and gained her MA in General Linguistics from the University of Amsterdam.
Van den Bosch served as the Secretary of the Professional Staff Council for four years and will serve as chair of the PSC’s Professional Award Committee beginning July 2020. She has a keen interest in Sustainability, is a member of the Sustainability Advisory and Outreach Committee, and helped establish the college’s Food Recovery Network chapter.
Christine Attanasio, Chair, Professional Communications Committee
Christine Attanasio joined the School of Art+Design in 2018. She has a background of administration and production coordination in various areas of the arts. Attanasio is invested in the community of Professional Staff at Purchase College and aspires to share that which will both inform and inspire those around her and to do so in a concise, well designed fashion. She hopes to impart her own knowledge and experience and to collaborate with other driven, like-minded individuals to better serve you in the spreading of information.
