Unsung Hero: Ande Niedermayer

Ande Niedermayer

Enrollment and Data Specialist

Thomas Jefferson Adult Career Education at Piedmont Virginia Community College (TJACE@PVCC)

Region 10

Ande Nidermayer joined TJACE in spring 2022 just as they were undergoing a Virginia Department of Education monitoring visit and audit. “Talk about learning under pressure!” says regional manager Carol Coffey. “Ande jumped right in to do anything she could to help us review our data. Most importantly, she prioritized learning about and serving our students with patience and compassion. She immediately created tools for better communication with our many ELLs. She used her expertise with the college’s registration systems to create improved enrollment procedures for our students.”

Ande is customer-focused, flexible, and dedicated to the adult education mission. As she has become more familiar with adult ed, SSWS, and NRS, she constantly looks for process improvement opportunities while collecting and reporting data for excellence in programming. She works with TJACE’s assessment and advising team to coordinate pre- and post-assessments and enrollments. Teachers depend on Ande for rosters and attendance data. She is the first contact for most prospective and current students and the communications coordinator for the TJACE 35-member Team. “Ande is at the hub of our TJACE wheel,” says Carol. “Always good-natured and willing to do whatever is needed for however long it takes, Ande is a valued gem!”

Ande enjoys spending time with her extended family of three grown children, their wonderful significant others, one grandson, and two cats (along with grand puppies) and hopes to add a new dog to the mix. A lifelong resident of Charlottesville, Ande’s path before joining TJACE has included not only several jobs, but also several professions! She has worked in the hospitality industry in catering and wedding planning, and she sold real estate, where she learned the best picnic spots in Albemarle and the surrounding counties. She was part of the Mountainwood community, a treatment center helping those with chemical dependencies, and worked at the Covenant School for seven years. She assisted Ken Farmer in running his Charlottesville Auction House and operated her own business, “The Feathered Nest,” offering antiques and collectibles to those with a discerning eye . Ande also spent four years working with the Workforce Services division at Piedmont Virginia Community College, which made for a wonderful segue to her position with The Adult Learning Center/TJACE@PVCC. Of her current role, Ande says, “I have the great fortune of working with the most giving group of humans ever! Every day, as I watch this team give of themselves selflessly to this community of learners, I am humbled.”