Meet the Student Development Team

RICK ENGSTROM | Vice President of Student Development

Rick serves as our Vice President for Student Development. He is originally from San Diego, where he grew up primarily at the beach or on a baseball diamond. During college, Rick was heavily involved in a variety of ministry opportunities—he was a junior high youth pastor, resident assistant, and youth director for a Christian non-profit which worked with homeless/at-risk teens. It was his work in the residence hall which captured his interest, and that spurred his career in student development. Rick has worked professionally with Christian college students since 2006. That same year Rick married his wife, Shelley, who is an artist, writer and adjunct professor. Rick and Shelley live on campus and enjoy frequently having students into their home. They have a son, River, and a daughter, Eden, who also love the students of Northwest.

Student Life

LARISSA LILLY | Dean of Students

Larissa Lilly serves as the Dean of Students and has worked at NU since 2016. In her current role, she oversees Student Life, which includes residence life, housing, community life, conduct, and student leadership. She has worked in Christian higher education since 2008 and has been on the front row seat for thousands of students’ formational journeys during their college years. Her passion is to build community and help facilitate opportunities for students to find a place to belong, to provide support and challenge, and to cheer students on in their pursuit of Jesus and soul formation. Her top five strengths are Achiever, Responsibility, Activator, Developer and Restorative. She’s a strong Three on the Enneagram and loves talking with students about how their personalities and stories play out. Larissa and her husband Curtis live on campus with their three children: Zia, Iry, and Booker. You will often see them as a family eating in the Caf, playing around campus, or cheering on our Eagles! In her time away from work, you can find Larissa enjoying time with her family, fellowshipping with friends over meals, or at a local coffee shop. Come on by her office in the Pecota Center and ask her to take you to coffee!

BRIANNA HEREDIA | Community Life Director

Bri Heredia serves as the Community Life Director at Northwest University, where she gets to work with the SAB, ASNU, and Welcome Weekend teams to help bring to life a high-quality student experience. She was born and raised in Hawaii until she came to Washington, where she got her BA in Educational Studies at Northwest University. During her time at NU, she served as an Admissions Intern, an SAB Event Coordinator, and also an RA for two years, so she understands the journey of student leadership at Northwest on a personal level. After graduating from NU, Bri went on to get her Master’s in Higher Education and Student Development from Wheaton College in Illinois. In her free time, you can probably find her at a game night, movie night, or playing some sports with friends! She is married to her husband Chris, who is also an NU alum. Bri loves hearing and learning from people’s stories, so her door is always open to get coffee (or a snack)!

RYAN COLOMBE | Area Coordinator of Gray-Beatty

Ryan Colombe serves as the Area Coordinator of the Gray-Beatty Residence Halls at Northwest University. He is a passionate, whole-heart-in type of human who loves a good meal with his wonderful wife, friends, family, and Jesus. Grabbing a cup of coffee, going on a hike, snowboarding, playing a card game or relaxing to his vinyl collection are some of Ryan’s favorite ways to connect and unwind! He is a Biola University graduate with a Bachelor’s in Organizational Communication, and during his time at Biola, he got the opportunity to serve as an RA and focus on ministering to Biola students through leading worship. Though his degree may be in Communications, the heartbeat of his life is to lead people into discovering the beauty of the Lord, and, in that, uncovering identity and abundant life with Him. His prayer for NU students is to fall in love with Jesus & know Him in their heart of hearts.

REGAN THOMAS | Area Coordinator of Guy, Perks, and Crowder

Regan Thomas is the Area Coordinator of the Guy, Perks, and Crowder residence halls in NU’s freshman building. She grew up in San Jose, California, before venturing off to college at Biola University, where she graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor’s in Communication Sciences and Disorders. After praying about what the future held post college, the Lord directed her to a camp on Lake Sammamish called SAMIBCA. For four years, it was her joy to play, lead, and ultimately love college students and campers there. Throughout that journey, the Lord highlighted the mental health counseling field to her and her now-husband Zach, which she is now studying in graduate school. Her prayer is that she can inspire NU students closer to the identity that God has for them as children of God. When she is not working or doing school, she LOVES to be outside in the sunshine, wake surfing, playing games, having friends over, and doing anything with Zach.

ALISSA VINJE | Area Coordinator of the Apartments

Alissa Vinje serves as the Area Coordinator for the Student Apartments and FIRs. She is an NU alum from Mukilteo, WA. She received her BA in Educational Studies with an endorsement in Instructional Design and has faithfully served in Admissions as the Campus Visits and Events Coordinator before her time in Student Development. Alissa found her love for higher education and importance of developing the next generation through her two years as a Resident Assistant and her senior year as the SAB Student Director. She loves to find ways to celebrate, encourage, develop and cheer on others in the big moments and in everyday life. She’s passionate about encouraging and developing students holistically. And to be a resource and advocate for students as they start exploring who they are called to be and what it means to be a faithful disciple of our Creator.

Alissa is an enneagram nine and her top strengths are arranger, connectedness, developer, strategic, and positivity. She is actively using these strengths to build relationship with students and staff at Northwest University.

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