Staff

If you are a high school student who has questions about Career Advantage classes at DMACC or at your high school, please email us,

Karen Swanson 
Dean, High School Partnerships & Programs 
kswanson4@dmacc.edu  
515-965-7347 Office 
Karen leads DMACC High School Programming & Partnership initiatives, strengthening connections with schools and community partners, and advancing opportunities for students across the region.   

Michael Lentsch 
Director, Career Advantage Student Affairs 
mjlentsch@dmacc.edu  
515-965-7086 Office
515-249-8245 Cell 
Michael leads DMACC Career Advantage Student Affairs initiatives with local high school partners by making concurrent enrollment programming options and resources available for students.   

Eddie Diaz 
Director, DMACC Perry VanKirk Career Academy 
ediaz@dmacc.edu  
515-428-8120 Office 
Eddie works with high school faculty and counselors to coordinate concurrent enrollment courses in various areas along with operating the DMACC Perry Center.   

Jill Webb 
Director, Work-Based Learning 
jmwebb8@dmacc.edu  
515-964-6829 Office 
Jill leads DMACC Work-Based Learning initiatives, supports concurrent teachers, and partners with area schools and Heartland AEA on Regional Planning Partnerships (RPP) to advance Career & Technical Education on (CTE) and career readiness.   

Jose Lopez 
Coordinator, Career Advantage 
jelopez6@dmacc.edu  
515-322-9039 Cell 
Jose works with high school faculty and counselors to coordinate concurrent enrollment courses in various areas along with operating the DMACC Ames Career Academy. 

Jess Vilas 
Administrative Assistant III 
jbvilas@dmacc.edu
515-965-7185 Office 
Jess works with a variety of areas within Career Advantage.  

Paige Warden 
Coordinator, Southridge Career Academy 
pnwarden@dmacc.edu
515-380-4421 
Paige works with high school faculty and counselors to coordinate concurrent enrollment courses in  various areas along with operating the DMACC Southridge Career Academy.  

Alyssa Ploeger 
Coordinator, Career Advantage 
arploeger1@dmacc.edu  
515-965-7172 Office 
Alyssa works with high school faculty and counselors to coordinate concurrent enrollment courses in various areas along with providing leadership and guidance to maintain NACEP accreditation.  

Amanda Magie 
Coordinator, Career Advantage 
ajmagie@dmacc.edu  
515-371-0438 Cell 
Amanda works with high school faculty and counselors to coordinate concurrent enrollment courses in various areas.  

Marc Renning 
Coordinator, Carroll Career Advantage 
mjrenning@dmacc.edu 
712-792-8323 Office 
Marc works with high school faculty and counselors to coordinate concurrent enrollment courses in various areas along with operating the DMACC Carroll Career Academy.  

Megan Mudd 
Coordinator, Online Course Access 
mjmudd@dmacc.edu  
515-965-7170 Office 
515-249-0560 Cell  

Staci Scholten 
Coordinator, OLCA, Online Learning 
slscholten@dmacc.edu  
515-964-6316 Office 

Jenn Ewalt 
Career Advantage Specialist 
ljlewalt@dmacc.edu  
515-964-7345 Office 
Jenn works with a variety of areas within Career Advantage.   

College & Career Transition Counselors (CCTC)

CCTC support students and families at select high schools as they transition from high school to college or a career. To find a CCTC assigned to your high school, visit this page.

Fore more information, contact:

Gail Zehr
District Coordinator, College and Career Transition Services
Email: gmzehr@dmacc.edu
Phone: 515-965-7094

Academic Advisors

The following staff provide academic advising, recruitment, assessment, and orientation to high school students in the Career Advantage program.

To find the advisor at your high school, select Classes at Your School.

Megan Amato 
meamato@dmacc.edu  
515-663-6707 Office 
515-240-7845 Cell  

Morgan Binder 
mabinder@dmacc.edu  
515-965-7087 Office 
515-901-4134 Cell  

Andrea Gotta 
ajgotta@dmacc.edu  
641-791-5161 Office

Katie Heither 
kfeither@dmacc.edu  
515-964-6658 Office 
515-720-8267 Cell  

Allison Kipp 
amkipp@dmacc.edu  
515-964-6467 Office 
515-901-3110 Cell  

Kam Klaver 
kcklaver@dmacc.edu  
515-964-6361 Office 
515-330-5366 Cell  

 

Emily Marusiak 
esmarusiak@dmacc.edu  
515-901-3181 Cell  

Kirk Pohlman 
kjpohlman@dmacc.edu  
515-964-6840 Office 
515-238-8350 Cell  

Kaylee Rivera 
knrivera1@dmacc.edu  
515-414-6274 Cell 

Ellen Sandholm
emsandholm@dmacc.edu  
515-964-6659 Office 
515-201-1289 Cell  

Maggie Steinkamp 
msteinkamp1@dmacc.edu  
712-792-8332  

Alissa Whitmore 
amwhitmore2@dmacc.edu  
515-901-3548 Cell