The Office of the President (OTP) division staff is comprised of the OTP core staff, as well as Communication & Public Relations, Community & Government Relations, Enrollment Management, Institutional Research, and Regional Educational Partnerships.
Office of the President Staff
Kaia Tollefson
Kaia Tollefson, Ph.D. serves as the Chief of Staff to the President. Within this role, Kaia:
- researches key policy/program matters and directs projects for use by the President,
- coordinates campus-wide leadership initiatives including PACIE, IEAP, Faculty Fellow, and CI Connect.
- oversees the Office of the President.
Andrea Coppinger
Andrea Coppinger, M.A. serves as Presidential Aide. Within this role, Andrea:
- oversees the President's schedule and provides confidential and administrative support to the President,
- staffs the President’s Cabinet, Vice Presidents’ Tactical, Extended Cabinet and President’s Advisory Council on Inclusive Excellence meetings, and
- assists with special projects, reviews presidential event requests and performs research as needed.
Courtney Ellis
Courtney Ellis serves as the OTP Budget & Staff Resources Lead. Within this role, Courtney:
- Prepares budget reports and monitors the OTP departmental budgets
- Facilitates OTP financial and HR documents
- Estimates future financial needs
- Aids with financial transactions and purchase requests for OTP departments and centrally managed University initiatives
Alex Padilla
Alex Padilla, M.A. serves as the Executive Assistant for the Office of the President. In this role, Alex:
- Oversees the Chief of Staff and Special Assistant to the President's schedules and provides confidential and administrative support,
- Oversees hiring and workflow of student assistants,
- Supports the President’s Planning and Policy Council, IEAP/IEATs, CI Connect, the President’s Scholars program, and other initiatives and programs, and
- Assists with the Signature Authority process, committee appointments, and document management.
- Alex also serves as the campus Tribal Liaison helping to build working partnerships and long-lasting relationships between CSUCI and tribal communities.