The Hosts
Jonathan Hallford - Host
Jonathan Hallford is an Academic Advisor in the College of Liberal Arts where he advises Fine Arts students. He has been an Academic Advisor at Auburn University since 2006. Outside of Liberal Arts, he has advised in both the College of Architecture, Design, and Construction and the Honors College. He has earned a Bachelor of Science in Adult Education, a Master of Education is Administration of Higher Education, and an Education Specialist in Adult Education. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Adult Education. Jonathan has served on various committees in Student Affairs at Auburn University including the Student Conduct Committee, the Academic Grievance Committee, Title IX Process Advisor, and a Third-Party Investigator for Student Affairs. In addition to his roles on campus, Jonathan has been highly involved with NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising. He has served as a Region Conference Chair (2015), NACADA Alabama Liaison (2015-2017), Annual Conference Planning Committee – Exhibitors Chair (2016), Region Conference Registration Chair (2018), Region 4 Budget Chair (2017-2018), Region 4 Chair (2018-2020), Annual Conference Chair (2020 Puerto Rico), NACADA Annual Conference Advisory Board (2019-2021), NACADA ELP Mentor (2020-2022).
Meredith Powell - Host
Meredith Powell has worked as an academic advisor in the College of Sciences and Mathematics (COSAM) since May 2014, and currently advises all majors in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, as well as a portion of the Pre-Health majors for COSAM. She graduated from Auburn University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Sciences with a Pre-Dental concentration. Upon the realization that dentistry was not a career she wanted to commit to, her academic advisor suggested that she look into working in higher education. Meredith then attended Clemson University and graduated in 2014 with a Master of Education in Counselor Education with an emphasis in Student Affairs. Meredith has served on the Planning Committee and as the Social Media Chair for two national NACADA Annual Conferences (Atlanta in 2016 and Puerto Rico in 2020) and for two of Region 4’s NACADA Region Conferences (Auburn in 2015 and Calloway Gardens in 2018). She also served as the Social Media Chair for the Region 4 Steering Committee for 3 years (2017-2020) and is now on the NACADA Annual Conference Advisory Board (2020-2022).
Branden Farmer - Producer
Branden has just joined the ISE department as the Coordinator III of Student Services and is serving our 350+ undergraduate students as their academic advisor. After beginning at Auburn University over eight years ago as the Coordinator of Operations in Campus Recreation, Branden has worked with hundreds of Auburn students in different capacities. Immediately prior to ISE, he spent five years in First Year Experience working directly with first year seminars and learning communities. Combining his experience of supervising students, program development, academic program coordination, and program assessment, Branden has already been able to connect and communicate to all our undergraduate students by creating a non-credit course through Auburn’s Canvas learning management system along with designing new curriculum materials to better inform students.
Prior to arriving at Auburn, Branden completed his B.S. in Mathematics in Teaching from The University of West Florida and then attended Texas A&M University to receive a M.S. in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education while working as a graduate assistant in Recreational Sports. Additionally, he spent a summer at UCLA as a special events intern working with Real Madrid, NBA players, the Los Angeles Tennis Open, and as a group facilitator on UCLA’s Challenge Course. Branden is currently completing a dissertation for a PhD in Higher Education from Auburn.
Growing in Pensacola, FL, Branden played baseball which took him to UWF where he played for one semester and then became involved in New Student Orientation and Campus Recreation. This led to Branden building a career working with college students and hopes to continue serving college students in more capacities moving forward. In his spare time, Branden spends his time fishing, kayaking, hunting, camping, gardening, and doing anything else outdoors with his wife and two dogs. Branden has a passion for teaching and uses mindfulness as a mechanism to reach students and live fulfilling life.