Academic Advising Staff

Belinda Backous

Assistant Dean for Academic Success

Belinda (she/her/hers) joined Grinnell College in 2014. Her work and passions revolve around supporting students in their learning and life goals. As a licensed social worker, she brings a social justice orientation to her work, as well as understanding of and appreciation for the developmental...
Kate Ferraro

Learning Specialist

Kate (she/her/hers) joined the Academic Advising team in 2021 as the learning specialist. Kate helps students navigate their academic lives. Creating a supportive environment where students are held in unconditional positive regard is key to Kate’s approach to her one on one work with students. In...
Lauren Myers

Academic Coach

Lauren Myers (she/her) has lived in many places across the United States but considers Charlotte, North Carolina her hometown. She began working at Grinnell in November 2015 in the Department of Residence Life. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, vegan cooking, and spending time with her many...
Jillian Steelberg

Program Coordinator

Jillian (she/her) began working at Grinnell College in March 2022. As program coordinator in Academic Advising, she connects students with resources and facilitates programs such as Grinnell Science Project and the second-year program, Level Up. Before joining the Academic Advising team, she taught...
Joyce Stern

Dean for Student Success and Academic Advising

Joyce Stern (she/her) has been working to support Grinnellians since 1999. Her role includes directing the college’s advising program, co-coordinating the Grinnell Science Project, the First-Year Tutorial (first-year seminar program), and Level Up (the college’s second-year program), and serving on...

We use cookies to enable essential services and functionality on our site, enhance your user experience, provide better service through personalized content, collect data on how visitors interact with our site, and enable advertising services.

To accept the use of cookies and continue on to the site, click "I Agree." For more information about our use of cookies and how to opt out, please refer to our website privacy policy.