Faculty – Business Communications

Degrees

MS, Walsh College
BS, Michigan State University

Degrees

MA, Eastern Michigan University
BA, University of Detroit

Biography

Jill Peplinski, M.A., is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Business Communications at Walsh. She has been teaching since 1999 and has been involved in preparing students for standardized writing tests, developing undergraduate and graduate courses, designing instructional enhancement materials, and mentoring new instructors.

For more than 25 years, Peplinski has been a writing coach and consultant, working in the retail, manufacturing, and non-profit sectors. She conducts workshops on giving winning presentations, improving interpersonal communication skills, and writing for successful outcomes. Clients include Fairlane Town Center, in Dearborn, Michigan, HMS Manufacturing, in Troy, Michigan, and Benefit Review Services in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Peplinski began her professional career in journalism, writing for local and national publications, including The Detroit News, Dearborn Press & Guide, and Observer & Eccentric newspapers. She was Contributing Editor of Introspective Magazine. In addition to working as Public Education Director at a non-profit agency, in Detroit, Michigan, she worked in a long-term contract position for Textron, in Troy, Michigan, ensuring compliance documentation standards were met for the Automotive Industry Action Group.

Degrees

MATESOL, Madonna University
BBA, Walsh College

Biography

Lisa Loch joined the adjunct faculty of Walsh in June 2015 and teaches Accounting Communications.

Prior to becoming an adjunct faculty member at Walsh, Loch spent five years as a Writing Workshop instructor in the Accounting Communications courses. Loch has also been an ESL Writing Lab tutor for Walsh since the fall of 2014 and worked as a tutor for students with Individual Education Plans in the ACCESS department at Oakland Community College from 2007-2014.

Loch taught freshman Writing Composition and ESL Grammar at Madonna University in Livonia, Mich., prior to joining the adjunct faculty team at Walsh College. She remains an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Madonna University.

Before pursuing a career as an educator, Loch worked for a small CPA firm and an upstream oil and gas production company in Dallas, Tex. She has also worked as a controller for a nonprofit healthcare agency in the Detroit area.

Loch has always been active in her community, most recently as Treasurer for the Knollwood Fairways Civic Association and Social Committee Chairperson for the Silver Pointe Association.

Degrees

MBA, Walsh College
BA, Michigan State University

Biography

Heather Swarthout is a professor in the Communications Department with a background in teaching English to non-native English speakers. She is also a tutoring lab instructor and provides supplemental instruction for communications classes and the Master of Arts in Business program.

Prior to pursing her graduate studies, Ms. Swarthout earned a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) from the International TEFL Academy in Leon, Nicaragua. As a private language teacher, she has taught university students in Nicaragua and business professionals here in Metro Detroit.