As described in her nominators’ glowing reviews time and again, Kelly Grab has gone above and beyond her job duties and been an asset to countless departments. For her admirable work, she was named this year’s recipient of the Nancy Blane Guerra Award.
Since 2021, Grab has worked at Moraine Valley as compliance officer – a one-person team that reports to Human Resources.
“There were no documents or precedents of the job when I started, so I took the philosophy of, ‘How can I help?’
I look at every subpoena record and assess gaps. I jump in when issues arise when something is required by law so that departments and employees can focus on their jobs helping students,” she explained. “They can take care of the people, and I can take care of the paperwork.”
In her previous role within the Dean of Students Office at Governors State University, Grab had more direct contact with students. Her role at Moraine Valley is more behind the scenes. Her job, which allows her to work with every division and department, is project-oriented and based on changing government bills or compliance requirements. Day-to-day responsibilities range from leading a cross-divisional project and improving web accessibility to reporting in Financial Aid and updating board policies. Whether ensuring the college’s multitude of reports on its website are accessible or helping departments complete external reporting, Grab is there to aid everyone in understanding what is required.
“I read a lot and do a lot of legal research, but let me be clear – I am not an attorney,” she laughed. “No two days are the same, and the projects can be a one-off or ongoing annually. Everything is important and needs attention and thoroughness.”
That consideration to detail struck Grab’s nominees, who made note of her valuable work.
“Recently, I worked with Kelly, who played an instrumental role in drafting the updated Terms of Service and AI Guidelines. She approached this work with exceptional thoroughness and reliability, always offering thoughtful feedback and volunteering to research complex topics to ensure the accuracy and clarity of the final documents. Her work ethic and attention to detail were critical to producing guidelines that will serve the college community effectively for years to come,” said Randy Basick, director of Infrastructure and Security.
Her collaborative work ethic and diligence also was noted by another nominator, Dr. Ryen Nagle, vice president of Academic Affairs.
“The compliance nature of Kelly’s work means she often joins other teams to make sure the team is meeting a variety of state, federal and professional standards. Making sure people are doing things the right way is not the easiest way to join a team, but she does so with a helpful and improvement-focused approach that gains buy-in from stakeholders and helps the college perform its mission better.”
In addition to her job tasks, Grab also is an advisor for the Women in Leadership Club. The group hosts multiple programs, including a talk-show style conversation with college president Dr. Pamela J. Haney, and was the 2024-25 Club of the Year.
“I was very surprised and humbled to win this award. I work with some great people. It’s nice to be appreciated this way, but I truly feel appreciated by my colleagues all the time. It’s very humbling,” Grab noted.