MD Education Team

The Career Development Office assists students all along the path of deciding what area of medicine to pursue as a career. From early career exploration, to residency applications and interviews, and finally The Match! We are here to help!

I am fortunate to advise, coach, and support students both personally and professionally as they work toward success in medical school and beyond.

Kristina Borger, MA, started at IU School of Medicine-South Bend as a curriculum specialist in 2012. She received an undergraduate degree from St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, in communications and humanistic studies. Borger also received a master’s degree in higher education administration from Boston College. Borger has been working in higher education and student affairs for almost 10 years. She also spent time in training and development for the corporate banking industry. In addition to serving as the lead advisor, she is also the staff advisor for the Student Life and Serving Learning committee at the IU School of Medicine-South Bend campus.

Olivia Fellows, MA, is a native of Paducah, Kentucky. She earned her Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Louisville in 2012, and her Master’s in Applied Social Psychology from Ball State University in 2014. Upon graduation, Olivia directed the Ball State Guardian Scholars Program, a postsecondary support and scholarship program for students who have experienced foster care. In the Muncie community, she serves on the board of directors for the Youth Opportunity Center Foundation, Tri Kappa Delta Phi, and as an advisor for Muncie Young Professionals. In 2018, she was named one of Muncie’s Twenty under 40. When she is not working or volunteering, Olivia loves to cook, catch up with family and friends, and spoil her cats, Reese and Isla.

Kristen Heath, MS, is an Indiana native, born in Bloomington, IN. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Purdue University in 2002 and her master’s degree in counseling from Butler University in 2006. She began her higher education career at Spokane Community College in Spokane, Washington where she worked as a facilitator for students pursuing education credits through work at a cooperative preschool. She moved to Idaho in 2010 and began work at Park University, first as adjunct faculty in the social psychology department and later as the assistant campus center director at Mountain Home Air Force Base. Upon her move back to Indiana in 2014, Heath was hired by the Indiana University School of Nursing as an academic advisor. Heath enjoyed traveling across the country during her husband’s time in the United States Air Force but is happy that after more than eight years of experience in higher education she can call IU School of Medicine’s Indianapolis campus home. Heath, and her husband Kyle have one son, Ryder, who is an active Cub Scout and Tae Kwon Do aficionado. Heath is a chicken mom, an avid camper and hiker, a theater lover, and a dance fanatic. She also teaches Zumba and participates in many other dance-fitness classes. She is passionate about learning, wellness, and enjoying every moment of every day.

Tiffany Holmes' educational development began at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan where she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology. Tiffany earned her Master of Arts Degree in Counselor Education: Counseling Education from Western Michigan University and is now pursuing her PhD in Counselor Education from Indiana State University. As a native to Metro Detroit, Tiffany loves all things that remind her of home, but has called Indiana home for the past seven years. Tiffany began her post-masters career at Purdue University while working with students and learning to find her passion of assisting students through advocacy and creating safe spaces for diverse students to thrive in. Throughout graduate school and beyond, Tiffany has made it her mission to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves while remaining fair and equitable for all. Tiffany has found ways to work within social services, advising, and lace her passion for counseling into the fabric of her work. Tiffany has over seven years of advising experience, most recently, working as an undergraduate advisor for IU School of Nursing. In her spare time, Tiffany loves to read, travel internationally, do home improvement projects, and do sisterly relations with her Sorors. Tiffany is excited to join IU School of Medicine and cannot wait to join her new team.

Ashley Holt, MS, was born and raised in Terre Haute. After high school, she attended Indiana State University where she studied Spanish and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2008. She completed a master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice in 2009, which she had planned to use for a career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, after obtaining a graduate assistantship and experiencing an internship at the federal level, she realized she was better suited and more interested in a career in higher education. She has been employed at Indiana University School of Medicine–Terre Haute since September of 2012. During her years of employment at the school, Holt has held several roles, all of which have allowed her to work with medical students. In her free time, Holt enjoys portrait photography, going on cruises, exploring cities by foot, musical theater and playing intramural softball with her students.

Mark Mach, MA, MEd, has served in higher education since 1998, including his work as an Academic Advisor, Instructor in Psychology, and as Lead Advisor in the IU School of Medicine Bloomington campus. He has provided academic advising to students at the college and departmental levels at four major public universities and has served as a faculty member in psychology at three public community colleges. Mark has also worked as an academic interventionist in the secondary school system. His educational background includes graduate degrees in psychology and school counseling and he is a certified School Counselor in grades K-12. He is currently a doctoral student in Student Affairs Administration and Leadership at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. Mark was raised in California, but has spent much of his adult life working in higher education in the Midwest and higher and secondary education in Arizona, recently moving from Arizona to Indiana after serving in his educational roles there. He is married with four children, ages 4-13 and enjoys traveling, hiking, cooking, and spending time outdoors with his family.

Kelly Matthews, MS, earned her master’s degree in Education from Indiana University in Bloomington and has more than nine years of experience in advising. Prior to her position with the IU School of Medicine, Matthews worked with undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Mathematics at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. In that role, she guided students from matriculation through graduation ensuring they met appropriate benchmarks along the way. She also helped initiate programs and policies to improve retention and provide a better experience for students. In addition to academic advising, she has experience in admissions, orientation and career advising.

I am passionate about student success! Student success is not only what my job description is, it is my passion. As an IU School of Medicine student, I believe you are ready to be successful. In addition to setting students up for success, I work with students who choose to transfer to Indianapolis in their third year, as well as students who come for a short rotation. I support these students by being a recognizable face on campus and answering questions.

Iyabode Okoro, EdD, joined IU School of Medicine as the lead transitions and student success advisor in 2018. One of Okoro’s primary roles is working with students who transfer to Indianapolis from another IU School of Medicine campus, meeting a need directly identified by medical students. Prior to joining the school, Okoro was a team leader and student success advisor in University College at IUPUI, where she received the Outstanding Advisor of the Year award in 2015. Okoro enjoys one-on-one mentoring and worked as a marriage counselor for 20 years before becoming a higher education advisor.

Stephanie Sachs comes to IUSM with over 8 years of experience in the field of mentoring, most recently serving as the Director of Program, Events, Partnerships and Communications with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana. Previous to that, Stephanie coordinated service-learning and volunteer opportunities for students at the University of Indianapolis. She earned her bachelor's degree in English and her master’s degree in Applied Sociology with a concentration in Community Building from the University of Indianapolis. She also teaches as an adjunct Sociology professor at UIndy. Outside of work, Stephanie enjoys being a dog mom, beach vacations with her husband, and is also a collector of Care Bears and other vintage 80s toys. She enjoys trivia of all kinds, and you can often find her watching Jeopardy!

I help students build strengths and conquer challenges so that they can succeed in medical school. I also help develop strategies to enhance student advising.

I hold a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Calumet College of St. Joseph and a Master of Science in technology management from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. My background includes PC instruction, academic advising and coordination of undergraduate academic operations. I was born and raised on the Southeast Side of Chicago. I enjoy traveling, playing sports and spending time with family and friends.

I provide oversight of the Academic Records Office that helps students with Phase 2 and Phase 3 scheduling (including special electives and away rotations), writing letters or good standing or confirming enrollment for external reasons (e.g., scholarships, insurance discounts). I assist students who meet with the Student Promotions Committee. I also provide guidance on policies related to student records such as grade appeals, campus transfers, or general student record inquiries.

I work with all medical students. I work with third- and fourth-year students who want to do special electives, which include away electives, VSAS/VSLO, and independent research electives. I also help with elective changes, ERAS tokens, and grades.

My role is to lead the teams developing the Phase 2 Intersessions and the new Phase 3 Transitions 3 course that will begin in April of 2020. Our goal with Intersessions is to help students develop skills that will help make them fantastic doctors, but are not covered elsewhere in the curriculum. Transitions 3 is a “transitions to residency course” that is designed to help students prepare for the exciting but stressful transition from medical school to residency with a review of medical knowledge and skills, but also “life hacks” to reduce the stress of intern year.

I oversee the Phase 2 curriculum which includes the mandatory clerkship as well as the Transitions 2 and Intersessions Courses. My door is always open to meet regarding questions about this section of the curriculum and to hear your feedback and suggestions.

I am the Phase 3 Clinical Sciences Curriculum Specialist. I update and maintain the curriculum data for the Phase 3 required courses to facilitate Phase 3-related and IUSM program-related curricular changes and initiatives. I also work with my team to upload the curriculum data to the AAMC to support national benchmarking and research regarding medical school curriculum. In addition, I act as a project manager for various curriculum development initiatives and assist individual faculty and curriculum teams on the design and development of new curriculum. I serve in an advisory capacity on a variety of curriculum committees. I also facilitate curriculum-related data collection in accordance with our LCME accreditation reporting standards.

I work with electives. I also verify faculty appointments. I am Dr. Maureen Harrington’s administrative support.

I work with the Phase 2 Assistant Dean for Curriculum in the Clinical Sciences to manage clinical curricular programs and activities, including work to develop, implement, evaluate and maintain the statewide clinical medical school curriculum at all IU School of Medicine (IUSM) campuses. I also work with clerkship teams to collate curriculum data to upload to the AAMC to assist initiatives in research regarding medical school curriculum. In addition, I act as a project manager for various curriculum evaluation and revision initiatives and serve in curriculum committees.

I assist in the oversight of statewide assessment for Medical Student Education.  I primarily help in thedevelopment, implementation, and evaluation of clinical skills performance assessments (e.g., OSCEs) to measure competence and provide students with feedback on learning.

I provide support to the Assessment Team with the planning, development and implementation of the OSCEs (Objective Structured Clinical Exams) and related SP Events for FCP1, FCP2 and EOP2. I work closely with our wonderful partners at the Simulation Center at Fairbanks Hall.

Emily supports the all aspect of the HRSA PRIME grant as the Program Coordinator.

I manage the HRSA funded PRIME Grant (Primary Care Reaffirmation for Indiana Medical Education). The aim of this grant help the IU School of Medicine educate medical students to better care for underserved populations. This grant will develop curriculum focused on social determinants of health, primary care skills and health systems science.

I manage all aspects of Foundations of Clinical Practice 2 and Transitions 2. I serve as the front line position for all activities related to those courses in the new curriculum. Additionally, I am responsible for coordinating the Indianapolis site logistics for effective course delivery.

I work primarily with MedHub and assist students, faculty and staff in navigating the system. I resolve any immediate concerns for our users and work with MedHub to continuously improve functionality to meet the needs of the School.

My job involves supporting MedNet for medical students, staff and faculty. If you need help with utilizing MedNet, I’m here for that!

Phase 2 is only in its 2nd academic year and Phase 3 is new this year, so the scope of my job is still unfolding. My usual week is comprised of attending planning meetings either about content updates and revisions based on feedback for Phase 2 or about new content development for Phase 3 (Critical Care selective and Transitions 3). Then it is my job to transfer those non-clerkship curricular visions developed by the Faculty, Curriculum Specialists, and MSE leadership into easily followed course instructions for students. This includes designing Canvas course sites, student guides, facilitator guides, editing video content, and creating interactive assessments. I also coordinate the logistics for Orientation to Clerkships for Phase 2, Intersession, T3, and various course and clerkship meetings, as well as assisting the statewide clerkship and regional campus coordinators in any aspect that will help them prepare their students for rotations.

My role focuses on managing the Curriculum Council committees for the school, including managing the educational policies. I keep information flowing through the curriculum committees and the most current version of policies on MedNet.

I'm a storyteller with a passion for creating thoughtful, compelling communications. I guide the communication strategies and content for MSE. You can find me working on MD Student News, communication plans for events and surveys, and telling the stories of IUSM's future healers.