Emily Lowers joined Florida Polytechnic University in January 2023 as graduate program coordinator. Prior to this, she held several positions at Florida Southern College, including associate director of adult and graduate admission, admissions operations specialist, and admissions counselor. Lowers also worked at the University of Central Florida as she pursued a master’s degree. Her roles there included graduate residence coordinator, summer advisor, and teaching assistant.
Lowers, a Lakeland, Florida native, enjoys traveling, playing video games, and playing Dungeons and Dragons with her husband, Taylor. With her pets, Delilah, a wheaten terrier, and Valerie, an electric blue crawdad by her side, Lowers also enjoys spending time on painting, gardening, cooking, and personal finance.
Education
This session will demonstrate that practical risk management is for everyone, regardless of a formal program. Attendees will learn actionable and simple strategies that are easy to implement, enabling them to start immediately by focusing on their top risks to build greater operational resilience and ensure the sustained success of their auxiliary enterprises.
Michelle Powell serves as the pioneering Risk Manager at Florida Polytechnic University, the state’s sole 100% STEM-dedicated institution. Having been with the university for nearly 11 years, Michelle transitioned from a leadership role in Admissions in October 2023 to establish and evolve the risk management function from the ground up. In this solo capacity, Michelle builds robust frameworks for our dynamic, young university, overseeing our insurance portfolio, consulting on third-party and event risks, and developing critical campus-wide training programs. Michelle has obtained the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) Enterprise Risk Management certificate and the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS) designations. Her distinct background in mathematics and engineering, combined with extensive higher education leadership, brings an analytical and strategic approach enhancing the institution’s resilience.
