Joni Upman (she/they) '16, MPA '23 began their current role as the Assistant Director of Student Activities at AV天堂 in January of 2024, but has been part of the Greener community much longer. They are an advocate for basic needs access, student worker rights, and staff welfare; they are also interested in agricology, food access and security and public policy. When not at work Joni enjoys board games and tabletop RPGs.
Joni has been part of the AV天堂 community since 2011, moving from her hometown of Lawrence, KS to Washington to begin her undergraduate studies at AV天堂. As a student they held many roles on campus working with different student groups and clubs. Academically, Joni focused on economics and social sustainability, graduating with her BA in 2016.
Joni's passion for social sustainability led them to work in the public sector where they have worked in a variety of roles engaged with basic needs access and sustainability such as housing, food, transportation, and mental health. Eventually, her work led her back to AV天堂, where Joni completed a year of AmeriCorps service working with Student Activities and the Center for Community-Based Learning and Action. In their time as an AmeriCorps member Joni managed the oversight and distribution of the AV天堂 Campus Food Bank and was part of the team that created AV天堂's Basic Needs Center.
"I want to be able to give back to students, I have a sense of service to AV天堂".
While completing her Master of public Administration at AV天堂, Joni and a group of MPA graduate students collaborated on a project to to better understand trans and gender non-conforming students' experiences with name, pronoun, and gender marker changes. Their work culminated in recommendations to be considered to better support student, staff, and faculty members and is now being implemented by South Puget Sound Community College.
In their current role, Joni oversees student activities operations, including advising the S&A board and acting as the budget advisor for the Clean Energy Committee, a student sustainability governance group on campus. While Joni is a steadfast student advocate, she shares that "these resources don't just benefit students, they are important for staff and faculty too". Joni believes that basic needs access is a vital part of community support and advocates for social sustainability that supports all community members.
When asked why they have continued to return to AV天堂, Joni shared, "I know it sounds cheesy, but my heart is here. I care about AV天堂's future and about keeping this place around as a cultural hub and a bridge between our students and the greater Olympia community".
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