Erika Naes
“Erika is exceptionally kind and authentic. She cares deeply for all the students who cross her path and provides insightful advice.” Jimenez, Cristy, PMBA
Above: Erika at the Annual PMBA Net Gala
Right: Erika’s children Oliver, Everly, and Sullivan with their Gigi!
“Erika sets a high bar for what an academic advisor can be and has far surpassed my previous advisors at other schools!” Alex Thomson, PMBA
Well, hello there! I’m Erika Naes (pronounced Nay-z) and I am the Professional MBA academic advisor here in the Graduate Programs Office at Olin. I love being able to function as a support for our professional students who are working hard to achieve their educational goals while juggling family, career, and a long list of other commitments. Having been a professional student myself while pursuing a graduate degree, I understand the unique struggle involved in such an endeavor and love being able to walk through that with my advisees.
I’ve been at Olin for a little over 4 years and have thoroughly enjoyed the journey. Before my time here at Olin, I functioned in various advising and student success roles at a small, private, liberal arts institution in Southern Illinois for nearly a decade.
Although Olin is a large part of my story, my family is the central focus of all my moments. I have three small humans and one regular-sized human that belong to me. My husband Adam and I have been married for 17 years, going on forever. We made sure we had a few years together before we decided to start making copies of ourselves. Sullivan is 12, Oliver is 9, and Everly will be 7 next month (which she reminds us of DAILY).
When I’m not following all these humans around to ensure they stay alive and keep my house clean, you’ll find me reading and watching videos about all things plant-y and homestead-y. I have 40+ houseplants and one rabbit, Winnie…for now. Winnie likes to visit the Graduate Programs Office from time to time.😊 One day I will have a chicken coop, maybe a few more rabbits, and potentially a cow. The possibilities are endless!!
“I appreciate Erika’s compassion and dedication to her students. Over the 3+ years that she has been my advisor, she has helped me navigate the PMBA program while dealing with work stress, career changes, and big life events, such as weddings and the death of my mother. Her attentiveness and responsiveness have allowed me to focus on life and not unnecessarily stress about school, while still ensuring that I am moving forward towards getting my degree. She’s a great asset to Olin.” Kelsey Johnston, PMBA
“Erika is a wonderful academic advisor! She is prompt, diligent, and always willing to help with any sort of PMBA questions I have. On top of all of that, she is incredibly kind and friendly at any Olin event I see her at. Something unique about Erika is the time and effort she spends finding or even creating resources for PMBAs to use. During one of our first advising appointments, I mentioned wishing there was an MBA roadmap that I could use to plan out my degree. Within the same day, Erika had made a personalized progression spreadsheet outlining how many credits each semester to meet all the graduation requirements – it is something I continue to reference and made the registration process much easier!” Snehitha Injamuri, PMBA