Wanda Velez

Wanda Velez joined the staff of Nyack College in 2001 and served as the Director of Alumni Relations until 2003, when she joined the Office of Student Development as a Resident Director for Simpson Hall. Her tenure at Nyack has included a broad spectrum of responsibility from fundraising, community engagement and leadership development to crisis intervention, mentorship and spiritual formation. Previous experience as a youth director, a staff developer, a counselor in training program trainer for the Salvation Army Greater New York Youth Division.

Named Dean of Students on the Rockland County residential campus in 2010, Wanda oversees all aspects of campus life. In addition to her oversight of policies, procedures and a code of conduct for students, she has been instrumental in changing the culture of Residence Life raising the standard of maturity, responsibility, accountability and community. She created and implemented a student leadership selection and mentorship process.

Ordained as a minister of the gospel in June 2011 by the Gathering Place Global Ministries, Dean Velez takes a holistic approach to her leadership role with a heart for seeing young men and women rising to realize their full potential. Going above and beyond the call of duty, Dean Velez has invested in the lives of hundreds of students via numerous outreach ministries and small groups, as well as one on one mentoring. For Nyack’s rite of passage program, “Woman,” she has been a curriculum facilitator and mentor. For the past eight years, she has served as a Spiritual Formation director.

The first in her family to attend college, she arrived at Nyack to pursue undergraduate studies when the institution was embarking on the journey towards intentional diversity. The Bronx native is among the campus leaders who have witnessed the influx of students from the Tri-State New York urban communities.

Wanda’s ethnic identity and personal journey empower her to be an effective leader--on campus, in her home church, and in the community. Her passion for “story” has been a driving force behind her leadership style. She believes we are most effective when we are willing to share our own stories of failures, as well as successes, to impact the lives of others. As result, she has been influential in developing hundreds of students leaders at Nyack College.

In addition to earning her BA in English at Nyack College and her Master of Professional Studies at Alliance Theological Seminary, Dean Velez is an alumna of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) Women’s Advanced Leadership Institute (WALI) and the Multi-Ethnic Leadership Development Institute (M-ELDI). A mentor for the C&MA Metro District certificate program for women, “Empower,” she regularly serves as a conference speaker and as a panelist for higher education and ministry events.

Dean Velez is currently pursuing her Doctor of Ministry at Alliance Theological Seminary.