NIRSA Awards and the Nominations Process

I currently serve as the Interim Senior Associate Director of Facility Planning & Operations at the University of Wisconsin Madison. I have been at Madison for the past 5.5 years growing our team within Member Services, Operations, Special Events, Technology, and Aquatics. In that time, I have been involved in the design, construction, and opening of the $7.5M Near West Turf Fields and the $90M Nicholas Recreation Center. I also have led the design on the 270,000 sq ft $95M replacement project for the Gym/Nat facility. Previous to UW Madison, I held positions at NC State, Arizona State, and MIT.

Education:
Arizona State University
Master of Education, 2013

Northeastern University
Bachelor in Criminal Justice, 2006

Olivia Wicker serves as the Director of Brand and Creative Strategy for University of Minnesota- Twin Cities, Recreation and Wellness (RecWell). She has been part of RecWell since 2015. As the lead of the marketing team she oversees RecWell’s communications, marketing and promotions, and creative work. In 2020 she began work on the “You Belong Here” marketing campaign, focusing on creating a sense of belonging, inclusiveness, and storytelling throughout RecWell and RecWell material. “You Belong Here” continues to be RecWell's central campaign. 

Olivia earned her B.S. in Kinesiology in 2015 from the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, and her M.A. in Graphic Design in 2020 from the College of Design at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.