WVC announces new dean of Strategic Enrollment and Student Success
September 3, 2024
Media Contacts:
Dr. Diana Garza, vice president of student affairs, 509-682-6805, dgarza@wvc.edu
Dr. Jennifer Korfiatis, interim public information officer, 509-682-6650, jkorfiatis@wvc.edu
Ellia Sablan-Zebedy is the new Wenatchee Valley College Dean of Enrollment Services
and Student Success. She started her new position on Sept 3.
The dean of enrollment services is responsible for the leadership, administration, supervision, and evaluation of recruitment and outreach, educational planning, financial aid, registration, admissions, student employment, and veterans’ services. Sablan-Zebedy will work to develop, implement, and oversee an enrollment plan that achieves WVC’s outreach, recruitment, admissions, and retention goals. She will also work to build strong relationships and affiliations with K-12 schools, industries, and other regional organizations.
“Ellia has an impressive background. She is ready to join our team and continue the work initiated by the Strategic Enrollment Management taskforce,” said Dr. Diana Garza, vice president of student affairs.
With nearly 20 years of experience in higher education, Sablan-Zebedy is a seasoned professional with a strong background in enrollment management. She has spent 15 years in enrollment management, specifically outreach and recruitment, and student success and retention initiatives.
Most recently, Sablan-Zebedy served as the executive director of enrollment at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville, Penn. During her seven-year tenure there, she led the Enrollment Management Retention and Student Success Committee, which spearheaded recruitment and student success initiatives. Her accomplishments include the implementation of a Client Relations Management recruitment tool, application fraudulent detection software, a new student onboarding process, and she developed key benchmark enrollment indicators. She also played a key role in the college’s institutional strategic plan, aligning it with the enrollment strategic plan.
Prior to her role at LCCC, Sablan-Zebedy served as the dean of enrollment at the University of Maine Fort Kent for six years. There, she led the implementation of the university’s One Stop Center, integrating key student services departments into a centralized location. She collaborated to create comprehensive First Year Experience and Transfer Experience programs; recruited over forty students from the Marshall Islands who graduated with bachelor's degrees in nursing, education, and business administration; and served as a key member of the accreditation team.
Sablan-Zebedy’s commitment to student success is further evidenced by her experience working with a diverse student population at the College of the Marshall Islands. She led the development of non-academic program reviews that helped lead the college out of accreditation sanctions. She was also involved in innovative student success initiatives such as integration of a book fee that allowed students to collect textbooks and school materials prior to the start of classes.
Sablan-Zebedy has an MBA in business administration from The Australian National University and a bachelor’s degree from The University of the South Pacific.
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Wenatchee Valley College enriches North Central Washington by serving educational and cultural needs of communities and residents throughout the service area. The college is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion for all students and employees and provides high-quality transfer, liberal arts, professional/technical, basic skills and continuing education for students of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds. Visit our website, wvc.edu.
Wenatchee Valley College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in employment and student enrollment. All programs are free from discrimination and harassment against any person because of race, creed, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a service animal by a person with a disability, age, parental status or families with children, marital status, religion, genetic information, honorably discharged veteran or military status or any other prohibited basis per RCW 49.60.030, 040 and other federal and state laws and regulations, or participation in the complaint process. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies and Title IX compliance for both the Wenatchee and Omak campuses:
To report discrimination or harassment: Title IX Coordinator, Mish ee twie 1321A, (509) 682-6716, title9@wvc.edu.
To request disability accommodations: Student Access Manager, Wenatchi Hall 2133, (509) 682-6854, TTY/TTD: dial 711, sas@wvc.edu.