Hometown: Manila, Philippines
Undergraduate Institution and Major: University of the East-Manila, Accountancy
Graduate Institution and Major: University of Illinois at Springfield, Management Information Systems
Bio: Richelle began her career in the United States accounting field as a General and Regulatory Accountant of Health Alliance Medical Plans, Inc. in Urbana, IL. With her curiosity for the public education sector and how it varied from what she grew up with, she joined the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2015 as an Accountant 1 at the Illini Union. While working in that role, she persevered to become an Illinois Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA) in 2016. Before migrating to the States, Richelle finished her Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, graduated with Cum Laude honors, and passed the October 2013 Philippine CPA exam. Afterward, she worked as an auditor at Ernst & Young Philippines until she moved to the U.S. to rejoin her family in 2014.
As her career progressed within the University, she developed an interest in business process improvement, fiscal responsibility, and educating technical experts about financials. She worked with several departments during her time with the System Government Costing office. During that time, she worked on her Master's degree, which culminated in 2018. Richelle wanted to be more immersed in technology while directly supporting the University's ever-expanding grants and services portfolio, which led her to her current role at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.
Her desire for continuous learning shows as she became an Illini Certified Research Administrator in 2020 and recently passed her Certified Information Technology Professional exam this December 2022. Aside from her University career, Richelle also works part-time as a front desk agent at the Hampton Inn Champaign-Urbana, where she hones her customer service skills. Richelle also retains her availability as a seasonal tax preparer to assist the Filipino-American community.
When Richelle is not working, she finds joy in exploring new places and cultures with her family or bonding with their five cats - Soya, Rosch, Onyx, Brie, and Tsukki. She also enjoys her newly-married life and adventures with her husband, Dalleri.
Relevant Professional Experience: Grants and Contracts Coordinator at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), previously a Government Costing Coordinator at the System Government Costing office at UIUC, Seasonal Tax Preparer
Research Interests: Business Process Improvement, Organizational and Strategic Leadership in a post-pandemic environment, Social Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion
Professional Affiliations: American Institute for Certified Public Accountants, Institute of Management Accountants, Illinois CPA Society, Beta Gamma Sigma, National Council of University Research Administrators
Volunteer Activities: Assisting members of the Filipino-American community in navigating the U.S. administrative and tax system