Meet The Team
Natalie has over eleven years experience serving disadvantaged families in the Milwaukee Metropolitan area.
Much of her experience comes from her prior work as a W2 case manager, where she assisted clients suffering from
mental illness. Here Natalie saw first hand the struggles many women faced trying to get out of poverty and
move into family sustaining employment. Natalie received her undergraduate degree from the University of
Wisconsin - Milwaukee in Psychology with a minor in English. She also has her Master's degree in Counselor
Education from the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater and is a Nationally Certified Counselor. Natalie
completed her master's level internship at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Career Development Center
where she served UW - Milwaukee students and alumni with career exploration and professional development.
As the Life Coach / Coordinator of the Life Impact Program, Natalie is directly involved with assisting students
in meeting their personal, academic and professional goals and is also responsible for creating and maintaining
program structure and policy. Natalie has presented on the Life Impact Program and Student Parent issues at
multiple conferences including the Wisconsin Academic Advising Association (UW - Parkside, Kenosha, WI), the
Wisconsin Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (Wausau, WI), the Midwestern Regional College
Board (Chicago, IL) and the National College Board (NY, NY). The Life Impact Program was selected as one
of the recipients of the 2008 Program Achievement Award granted by the State Council on Affirmative Action
and State of Wisconsin Office of State Employment Relations.
Natalie is a member of Wisconsin Women in Higher Education Leadership (WWHEL) and Higher Education Alliance
of Advocates for Students with Children (HEAASC). She also serves as a co-advisor to the UWM Student Parent
Association and is a member of the UWM Lactation Support Program Committee.
Bianca started her Master's Program in Urban Studies at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee in Fall 2008. She graduated
from Northern Michigan University December 2007 with a BS in Political Science/Pre Law and a minor in Criminal Justice.
Bianca spent the last nine years serving college students through campus organizations. Bianca focuses on enhancing services
to minority populations, tutoring fellow peers, working with administration on policy goals, and assisting students in setting
personal goals. Bianca has also served as a student member of the Ethnic Cultural and Diversity Committee which annually holds
the UNITED Conference (Uniting Neighbors in the Education of Diversity). In 2006 she received an Award for Excellence for her
Teaching Assistant position at Northern Michigan University. She has volunteered and worked for many years with at-risk and
emotionally disturbed youth which is a life time commitment for her. With the experiences she has had and her new life at UWM she
is working towards a career in the Non-Profit field working with underprivileged persons in an educational setting.
Bianca connects with program participants to address all barriers to academic and personal success. She also is a mom to a
one year old boy named Micah.
Connorie began her academic career as an elementary education major. She worked at MPS for several years with k4-6th grade children. During her time there she found herself spending a lot of time outside of class with parents who were struggling with adjusting to American culture and more specifically the English language. They often had to rely on available family members or even their young children to translate for them. As a parent, the thought of not being able to communicate her desires for her own child was overwhelming. She felt a strong compassion for them. Considering this, Connorie decided to change her major. She graduated with a degree in Anthropology (focusing on culture and linguistics) and a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certification. At present, she is completing coursework to obtain her graduate degree in Curriculum and Instruction.
When not on campus, Connorie volunteers at Eastbrook Church teaching ESL classes. She has a strong zeal for empowering underrepresented individuals in her community, through education. Ultimately, Connorie would like to teach English abroad, help develop/create ESL curriculum, write texts and train other teachers to be more effective in their classrooms.
As a Life Coach Assistant Connorie will draw on strengths she gained through her own experiences as a student-parent. She hopes this will help her to bond with the participants in meaningful ways. Helping other student-parents, a growing but often overlooked portion of UWM's student population, learn to successfully navigate university life, manage time, and balance home-life, with work and school is a task she is excited to take on.
Carlotta is currently a fourth year student at UW-Milwaukee pursuing a degree in Italian Studies with minors in Comparative Literature and Spanish. She will graduate in May 2011. After completing her Bachelor's Degree she intends to apply for a Masters Program to continue her studies in Literature and Foreign Languages.
Carlotta has numerous years of tutoring experience in various subjects. She has worked with students ranging widely in age and skill level. While tutoring a twelve-year old girl who wished to learn a foreign language, Carlotta became aware of her passion for helping others succeed and reach their academic and personal goals. She has since come to the conclusion that understanding between the tutor and the student make an immense difference in the student's improvement. The relationship between the two is one of mutual learning and effort. Carlotta finds great satisfaction in working with others and is proud to be part of a program that supports a group as scarcely represented as student parents. She holds all of Life Impact's goals, such as helping to break the cycle of poverty and improving the overall academic economic and social success of students with children, most highly and will collaborate with the Team to achieve them.
Carlotta works closely with students to challenge, motivate and encourage them to improve their academic standing through peer-to-peer advising and mentoring based on each individual's specific needs. Her ultimate goal is to help participants achieve both personal and professional ambitions--
