Oliva Brann

Olivia is a lifelong Baltimorean with two Bachelors and a Masters from the University of Maryland College Park. She loves learning languages and has a degree in Mandarin, Chinese and can speak Spanish and beginner German. She has a background in theatre/film production arts and puppetry (Jim Henson Award 2019 Recipient) and wrote her Masters thesis on The Dark Crystal (1982). She also spent two years abroad in Anqing studying Huangmei Opera and has a passion for travel. Olivia spends most of her weekends video editing and spending time with her two cats, Mr. Midnight & Moonlight. Like theatre/film, you need a great team to run the show and Olivia thinks the AAOU SSC already is an incredible group. She’s thrilled to be a Retriever and is looking forward to working with her team and meeting other colleagues across campus. Olivia joined the AAOU SSC in May 2023, as a Administrative & Operations Coordinator.

Rachel Garcia

Rachel Garcia joined the UMBC community in 2017 as a part-time associate, providing administrative support to the Academic Success Center’s tutoring programs. In 2019, she transitioned into a full-time role servicing all of the department’s programs as well as overseeing the daily operations of the central office as the primary point of contact for all visitors. During this time, she gained valuable experience resolving conflicts and navigating the business processes for human resources, payroll, and financial services. Rachel finds working with educators to be extremely rewarding and enjoys helping clients operate their programs while keeping them in compliance with federal and state regulations. A proud alumna of UMBC, Rachel holds a B.A. in philosophy and professional writing, and is pursuing an MBA from UMGC. Outside of work, Rachel enjoys reading, gardening, and going for nature walks with her dog, Ziggy. Rachel joined the AAOU SSC in April 2023, as a Business Operations Coordinator.

Zack Krasney

Zack (he/him) has a background in both administrative work and customer service having previously worked jobs in payroll and in mortgage refinancing.  He came to UMBC because of his love of education and because his wonderful wife Brynn worked at the University already. Zack and Brynn have three dogs currently, Finn, Flash, and Luna who are their furry children. Outside of UMBC, Zack enjoys a variety of hobbies and projects, including voice acting, board games, video games, traveling, Dungeons and Dragons and a variety of other nerdy hobbies. If you share any hobbies, please feel free to reach out! Zack is always happy to talk nerdy topics with people. He is also a strong mental health advocate, being neurodivergent himself. Zack joined the AAOU SSC in May 2023, as a Payroll & Hiring Business Services Specialist.

Kimberly Pierson

Kimberly Pierson is originally from Wisconsin but attended school in Maryland and has a Bachelor of Science in Human Resources and an Associates in Business Management.  The bulk of Kimberly’s work experience has been in operations and Higher Ed where she’s filled roles in Finance and HR support and coordination. Kimberly and her husband will celebrate 30 years together this June, they both like aviation and boating, they are starting their very first vegetable garden this year and learning how to cook entire meals from scratch, and they are both passionate and active in sponsoring, transporting, fostering, and adopting lots and lots of shelter dogs.  Kimberly is excited to be with UMBC and looks forward to working with you! Kimberly joined the AAOU SSC in May 2023, as a Payroll & Hiring Business Services Specialist.