Dena Lund
- Community Service Specialist
- Center for Public Affairs Research
Additional Information
A native of Omaha, Nebraska, I chose the school of hard knocks and worked 20 years of retail before surrendering and attending college. It was during these years that I became an expert at customer service. My greatest challenge was working at a Toys ‘R’ Us during the Christmas season – it was never the kids; it was the parents who were fighting in the aisles. I graduated from the University of Montana in Missoula in 2006 with an associate of applied science degree in management with emphases in sales and marketing and entrepreneurship. Working part-time during college and joining that company full-time after graduation, I spent 15 years in the corporate world in payroll, editing, and corporate training for the company’s 11 branches. I chose to take a break from my corporate career to care for my aging mother, which brought me back to Nebraska. In 2018, I found myself at a crossroads, and searching for a new path. I joined the University of Nebraska at Omaha team, first in the Department of Physics, then the STEM TRAIL Center, and finally landing at the Center for Public Affairs Research in the College of Public Affairs and Community Service in December 2022. As the community service specialist, I provide operational direction and administrative support to this amazing team for CPAR's grant and contract projects. I often joke that my job is to “do what is needed to keep the department running smoothly,” but isn’t that all of us? When at CPAR, you will find me scheduling meetings, ordering catering, reconciling invoices, submitting payroll, balancing the budget, making sure the grant money is spent in the right ways, and often making my team members laugh aloud. In my off time, I sing on our church praise team, and continue to work on renovations to my childhood home with my husband, Jack, and our two new huskies, who have taken over landscaping duties.
Education and Credentials
A.A.S., Management, University of Montana, Missoula, 2006
Additional Information
A native of Omaha, Nebraska, I chose the school of hard knocks and worked 20 years of retail before surrendering and attending college. It was during these years that I became an expert at customer service. My greatest challenge was working at a Toys ‘R’ Us during the Christmas season – it was never the kids; it was the parents who were fighting in the aisles. I graduated from the University of Montana in Missoula in 2006 with an associate of applied science degree in management with emphases in sales and marketing and entrepreneurship. Working part-time during college and joining that company full-time after graduation, I spent 15 years in the corporate world in payroll, editing, and corporate training for the company’s 11 branches. I chose to take a break from my corporate career to care for my aging mother, which brought me back to Nebraska. In 2018, I found myself at a crossroads, and searching for a new path. I joined the University of Nebraska at Omaha team, first in the Department of Physics, then the STEM TRAIL Center, and finally landing at the Center for Public Affairs Research in the College of Public Affairs and Community Service in December 2022. As the community service specialist, I provide operational direction and administrative support to this amazing team for CPAR's grant and contract projects. I often joke that my job is to “do what is needed to keep the department running smoothly,” but isn’t that all of us? When at CPAR, you will find me scheduling meetings, ordering catering, reconciling invoices, submitting payroll, balancing the budget, making sure the grant money is spent in the right ways, and often making my team members laugh aloud. In my off time, I sing on our church praise team, and continue to work on renovations to my childhood home with my husband, Jack, and our two new huskies, who have taken over landscaping duties.
Education and Credentials
A.A.S., Management, University of Montana, Missoula, 2006