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 Fullwood

Director
410-704-5051

Ashley oversees the Academic Advising, Retention, and Completion Office. Additionally, she also represents AARC on a number of university wide committees involving advising, DEI, 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. Her educational background is in Psychology and Counseling. Ashley worked in the community mental health setting for a little over 6 years before transitioning to higher education in 2012. 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, roller skating, all things Star Wars, and the beach.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Strengths: Harmony, Connectedness, Arranger, Relator, Responsibility

Robert Karp

Robert Karp

Associate Director
Associate Director, Fair Chance Higher Education
410-704-5960

Robert has been at TU for 17 years. In his current role, he oversees the software used by advisors across campus called SSC Navigate. In addition, he also serves as the Associate Director for Towson's prison education program, Fair Chance Higher Education. He is one of the liaisons to the College of Health Professions. Robert loves rock climbing, photography and tennis.

Pronouns: He/Him/His
Strengths: Connectedness, Adaptability, Realtor, Arranger, Harmony

Neil Blumberg

Neil Blumberg

Senior Advisor - FYE Program Coordinator
410-704-2874

Neil graduated from Towson State University in 1997.  Neil graduated from Towson State University in 1997. He has been working as an academic advisor at Towson in the office of AARC for 6 years and has been advising in higher education for the past 15 years. In his current role, he oversees the faculty and staff in the first-year experience program. He also serves as the liaison for the College of Business and Economics. He is married and has two daughters. In his free time, he coaches soccer and loves to travel. He is a passionate Ravens, Orioles, and Capitals fan.

Pronouns: He/Him/His
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. 

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
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.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
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.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
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.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
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. 

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Strengths: Achiever, Discipline, Learner, Intellection, Harmony

Kameron Harrison

Front Desk Coordinator
410-704-2472

Kameron is our new Front Office Coordinator. He serves as students’ first point of contact when they enter the AARC office or call the front desk. Kameron also manages the AARC’s cohort of Student Academic Advisors (SAAs) and oversees the operation of AARC’s social media pages. Outside of work, Kameron spends most of his time playing tennis. He also loves to play the drums in his home studio and with his bandmates.

Pronouns: He/Him/His

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.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Strengths: Connectedness, Developer, Relator, Strategic, Positivity

Lisa Hill

Lisa Hill

Academic Advisor
410-704-3583

Lisa has been at TU since 2017 and in the AARC Office since 2019. Her work primarily focuses on supporting transfer students in their initial semester at TU.  Lisa is also a liaison for the College of Liberal Arts. Lisa’s favorite part of advising is meeting with incoming Transfer students to discuss their continued education at TU and connect students with campus resources. Outside of the office, Lisa is either at the rock climbing gym or reading on the sofa with her cat, Scout.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Strengths: Harmony, Context, Learner, Input, Intellection

 

Kathryn Kilmas

Academic Advisor
410-704-5220
 

Kathryn is a Towson University alumna and one of the newest academic advisor to the AARC Office. She began her career in the public school system working with middle schoolers. She enjoyed her time studying at Towson so much that she wanted to return to the university to help support students. After working in the Registrar’s Reenrollment Office for over 2 years, she is excited to further assist students who need to go through reenrollment. In her free time, she enjoys puzzles, watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine, walking in the woods, and spending time with her friends and family.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Strengths: Organization, Creativity, Empathy, Learner

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.  

Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs
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).

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
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.

Pronouns: He/Him/His
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.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Strengths: Intellection, Input, Learner, Adaptability, Harmony