Northland Pioneer College (NPC) is pleased to announce Jesse Reeck as the new Executive Director of NPC Friends and Family, the college’s non-profit organization that empowers students and promotes lifelong learning through advocacy, volunteerism, fundraising, and scholarships. Upon the recent retirement of former Executive Director Betsyann Wilson, the college set out to find a suitable replacement for the leading role. In quick order, a perfect fit appeared.
Reeck is a career educator and comes to NPC Friends and Family from NPC’s College and Career Prep (CCP) department, where, for the past three years, she has served as the chair of Integrated Education and Training (IET) programs. These programs fast-track students to college and workplace readiness and success. Students can complete their High School Equivalency diploma (GED®) and build on core academic and career-focused skills at the same time. This innovative approach also promotes skill mastery through applied, contextual, experiential learning. Reeck created and implemented NPC’s Nursing Assistant Training (NAT) Integrated Education Technology (IET) program across NPC’s service area. The program celebrated a second cohort of graduates this past spring. She has also restored the construction program at NPC’s Whiteriver location, where students who enroll this upcoming fall and spring can learn workforce readiness skills in construction trades with zero out-of-pocket costs.
Throughout the NAT-IET program’s development, Reeck helped NPC Friends and Family (NPCFF) with attaining a grant funded by the Del E. Webb Foundation. Reeck said, “when I set out to implement the program, it quickly became apparent that beyond the daunting challenges of returning to school, seeking two certifications at once, and managing work and home life, nursing assistant students face additional financial barriers: the cost of fingerprinting, scrubs, shoes, travel to clinicals, licensure exams and fees, and more.” Reeck said, “I worked with Betsy and Karen Zimmerman at NPCFF over the next two years to put together a proposal and manage the grant the Del E. Webb Foundation generously awarded us.” As one student wrote to the Foundation, “there were times when my dream of pursuing a higher education seemed impossible, but the financial assistance helped me tremendously and kept me going.”
Reeck was inspired by working with NPCFF. She explained, “The power of support, access, and opportunity through initiatives like this makes education financially feasible and empowers students to know that someone believes in their potential and wants to invest in their future. Both literally and figuratively, it keeps them going.” She explained, “As I step in as the new Executive Director of NPC Friends and Family, that is the aspect of the work that most excites and inspires me. I look forward to being a part of fostering opportunity by empowering, encouraging, and investing in the learners who will be the leaders of tomorrow.”
A caring and capable champion for students, Reeck is indeed a perfect fit for the leading role at NPCFF. She has a strong background in development and nonprofit management. In 2011, she cofounded the 501(c)(3) White Mountain Youth Corps (WMYC), where she served as its Education Coordinator for two years, creating and facilitating curriculum that included workshops on topics as varied as resume and cover letter development, preserving native culinary and cultural traditions, rock climbing, and OSHA certification. Throughout the experience, she coordinated and coached coworkers, networked with community liaisons, and supported employees. In November 2016, she returned to the nonprofit world as Program Coordinator for the Arizona Conservation Corps in the White Mountains, the organization that White Mountain Youth Corps eventually merged into.
Reeck is also actively involved in her community. She is the co-director of the Blue Ridge Youth Basketball League. She and her husband, Adam, have grown the league from 80 players to over 325 through coordinating marketing, communication, volunteers, facilities, and by working with the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside, Blue Ridge Unified School District, the Basketball Booster Club, and donors and families in our communities.
Upon naming Reeck as her successor, former NPCFF Executive Director Wilson expressed, “Through these many different avenues, Jesse has experience far beyond the traditional classroom. She has developed and implemented programs, managed data, reporting, and grants, and founded and grown organizations and boards, always grounded in her commitment to opportunity, access, and education for all.”
Indeed, Reeck expressed, “One of my core values as an individual and as an educator is Opportunity, and I am passionate about creating opportunities for learners to grow and achieve their goals. I am honored and excited to join the family as a champion for students and NPC.”
“I am pleased Jesse is coming on board,” Wilson said. “Opportunity is at the very heart of what NPC Friends and Family is all about. Providing students an opportunity to access a college education and succeed in reaching their goals, despite all the challenges they face, is why we do what we do. With Jesse, I am confident NPC Friends and Family will be in great hands.”
