Dr. Nadèje Alexandre joined the University of Vermont Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources in August 2018 as a senior professional advisor and service-learning coordinator in the Student Services Office. A student affairs professional, Nadèje comes from Seattle University in Washington state, where she served in various roles from student programs coordinator to senior advisor since 2003.
“Dr. Alexandre brings a wealth of knowledge about student learning and growth and development during this highly formative period in student's lives," says Rubenstein School Dean Nancy Mathews. "Her expertise and leadership will bolster our advising services to ensure that our students have the foundation they need to launch their careers.”
In her office in 312A Aiken Center, books on learning and leadership fill five shelves. Her bike leans against the wall beneath her own vibrant paintings of pears and a goldfish. Like paint on canvas, Nadèje thrives on shaping the development of students.
“I love to see growth in young people. They are so malleable,” she says. “My hope is to support them towards academic success and help them to develop personal and social awareness.”
At the Rubenstein School, Nadèje advises first and second-year undergraduates in the environmental sciences program, the largest major in the School, and leads workshops on advising. She looks forward to meeting the Rubenstein School’s many community partners to coordinate service-learning and help yield student projects.
Nadèje's extensive background in education began with a BA in Comparative Literature and French Literature from Roosevelt University in Chicago. She then taught at the primary and secondary levels in private schools. While at Berlitz Language School in Bellevue, Washington, she was temporarily relocated to Cairo, Egypt where she helped launch the Cairo branch.
“All my life, I have been involved in education to some capacity, whether teaching or student development,” she says. “I feel that’s where I belong. When I arrived at Seattle University, I knew I was meant to be in a university setting. It was definitely the main motivation in pursuing an advanced degree in student affairs.”
As a student program assistant in the Accounting Department at Seattle U, Nadèje coordinated mentoring and tutoring programs; as a graduate program coordinator, she recruited and advised students. She earned both her Master’s in Higher Ed Administration and Student Development and her Doctorate in Educational Leadership while working at the University. In the Albers School of Business and Economics, she became the senior associate advisor and developed programs to support student engagement and leadership. She also hired, trained, and supervised academic advisors.
As immigrants, her parents instilled in her the importance of education. Born in the West Indies, Nadèje speaks fluent French as her native language. She was raised by extended family members until the age of six when she joined her parents who were finishing their education in the United States. She lived in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park with a mother who is a biochemist and a father who is an electrical engineer.
Nadèje has traveled the world visiting friends and relatives. Her travels have taken her from North America to Central America, Europe, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, and Africa.
“I value diversity in all aspects of my life… socially and environmentally,” says Nadèje. “I was born on the warm waters of the Caribbean Islands, moved to urban Chicago and its cold, cold winters, then to Seattle with its constant climate and year-round rain. And now onto the variable seasons of New England, which I’m excited to explore!”
Nadèje lives in Essex Junction, Vermont. With no car, she relies on her bike and bus transportation to commute. An avid swimmer, she plays piano, paints using acrylic and encaustic (pigmented hot wax) techniques, hikes, and practices Bikram yoga.