Staff Introductions

Program Director
Teena Olszewski

Teena Olszewski, M.Ed., has served as Director of GEAR UP at Northern Arizona University since 2002. Under Ms. Olszewski's leadership, two six-year, multi-million dollar GEAR UP projects were brought to fruition in 2006, and a third, the State grant, was awarded to NAU for the period 2006 through 2012. With the high school graduation rate of NAU GEAR UP students at 15% above the state average, and the percentage of these students enrolling at postsecondary education more than double the college-going rate for the State, GEAR UP at NAU has proven to be a successful innovative model for increasing Arizona's graduation and college-going rates.

Ms. Olszewski brings 20 years of executive-level administrative, management and leadership experience in government, education and non-profit environments to the position. Prior to joining NAU, Ms. Olszewski served for ten years as chief administrator of the Attorney General's Office of Victim Services, overseeing direct services and the disbursement of state funding to government agencies. Additional experience include two years at Gateway Community College as a community education coordinator and three years as director of the Arizona Bar Foundation's Center for Law-Related Education. Teena has a bachelor's degree from Indiana University and a master's in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University.