Dawn Fredrickson
The Illinois Community College Trustees Association presented Dawn Fredrikson, senior administrative assistant to the president and the board liaison at Moraine Valley Community College, with the 2021 Professional Board Staff Member Award. Fredrikson, of Mokena, has been an employee of the college for over 40 years.
Fredrikson has worked in her current role since 2012, when Dr. Sylvia Jenkins, college president, took the position and asked her to move to the office with her. She supports the President’s Office by scheduling meetings, sending out monthly invitation notices, taking minutes and managing any affiliations Jenkins has outside of the college. Currently, Jenkins is president of the Illinois Council of Community College Presidents, so Fredrikson schedules statewide meetings and distributes communication to the council.
“I needed to have someone by my side who I could trust and depend on to get work done and get it done in an exemplary way. Dawn accepted my offer, and our partnership is working wonderfully,” Jenkins said. “I see her as an equal partner in this job. She’s very accommodating. I trust her totally. She’s very professional and confidential.”
Fredrikson has been transcribing the board minutes since 1987, but officially became the board liaison in 2014. As the board liaison, Fredrikson is responsible for all communication to the board members; attending all open and closed meetings to take the minutes; notifying the board of opportunities the college gets notices of such as awards and recognitions, invitations and other memos; posting notices for all board meetings; and managing communications of the election process, collects nominating petitions and objections, and comes to campus when the college is closed during the winter break for the ballot lottery.
Joe Murphy, a Moraine Valley trustee for over 20 years, said Fredrikson’s experience and expertise is highly valued by the board.
“Dawn is quiet and kind but takes her work extremely seriously as she is meticulous in her documentation of the board’s discussions and votes. It has been a pleasure to have such a pleasant and professional secretary assist all the trustees,” he said.
Fredrikson was instrumental in transitioning from paper board packets to BoardBook, a paperless board meeting software program, a few years ago. She also won the college’s Robert E. Turner Award in 2016.
“In 33 years serving as board recorder and the last seven years as board liaison, I have always tried to do my best on behalf of the board and the college. To have that work recognized with this award is very special and something I will always treasure,” Fredrikson said.
