Executive Director
University of Houston
Houston, Texas, United States
Originally from Dallas, Texas, Natalie Merritt Sumrow is a Univesity of Houston (UH) graduate three times over including a BBA in Finance (with Membership in the Honors College), a BBA in Entrepreneurship and an MBA. Natalie’s academic advising career began shortly after graduation in 1998 at the Conrad Hilton College of Hotel & Restaurant Management (UH) where she developed a strong affinity towards interaction with students.After a short stint in the corporate sector working for an environmental consulting firm, she returned back to her advising roots and love of academia.
In April 2002, she accepted a position as an Academic Advisor at the Bauer College of Business. Natalie served as an academic advisor for over seven years, where she presented at both regional and national NACADA conferences and completed training as a StrengthsQuest Advocate. Less than two years later, she was selected as the “Outstanding Staff Member”—an annual award given to a staff member from a pool of candidates submitted exclusively by student nominations. In November 2009, she was promoted to the Assistant Director for Major Programs position--and later to full Director at the Bauer College of Business where she managed a small team of undergraduate advisors.
In December 2017, Natalie was recruited to serve as the Director for the Undergraduate Advising Center in the College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics at UH where she was tasked with managing a centralized undergraduate advising operation. The next few years led to aggressive growth as the advising staff nearly tripled in size during this period. March 2022 brought forth a promotion to Executive Director followed by winning the UH President’s Excellence Award for Effective Leadership in August 2023. She currently leads a fantastic team of 15 advising professionals that inspire her every day!
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Saturday, November 9, 2024
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM East Coast USA Time
