2012 DETC Distinguished Recognition Award: ACHS CIO Erika Yigzaw

Congratulations Erika Yigzaw, American College CIO, on being awarded the 2012 Distinguished Recognition Award at the 86th Annual Conference of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). We’re very proud of your achievement and continual, dedicated contributions to the advancement of distance education.

The 2012 Distinguished Recognition Award recognizes outstanding work on special projects that have contributed to the advancement of distance education and DETC and has been awarded to 23 individuals since 1988.

“It’s a great pleasure to award this Distinguished Recognition Award to Erika—her outstanding support for distance education and her tireless work on DETC special projects has more than earned her the respect and admiration of her colleagues,” says Marie Sirney, Chair of the DETC Awards and Recognition Committee and Executive Vice President of American Graduate University.

>> Click here to read the full-length press release, including a message from Erika about what this honor means to her.

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Tags: accreditation, achs, american college, Aromatherapy and Essential Oils, detc, distance education, Erika Yigzaw, online holistic health degree

Dorene Petersen

Dorene is the Founding President of the American College of Healthcare Sciences (ACHS). She has over 50 years of clinical teaching and lecturing experience in aromatherapy and other holistic health subjects. She has presented papers on essential oils and clinical aromatherapy at the International Federation of Essential Oils and Aroma Trades Annual Conference (IFEAT) in California, USA; the Aroma Environment Association of Japan (AEAJ) in Tokyo, Japan; the Asian Aroma Ingredients Congress (AAIC) and Expo in Bali, Indonesia; the International Center of Advanced Aromatherapy (ICAA) at the WonGwang Digital University in Seoul, Korea; as well as the AAIC Expo in Kunming, Yunnan, China. Dorene is a founding member of the Aromatherapy Registration Council (ARC) and served as its chair until 2023. Dorene is also involved in the distance education community and has served as a volunteer, committee member, and standards evaluator for the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). Dorene is a travel junkie, and has led ACHS Study Abroad programs to India, Indonesia, Greece, and Hawaii! Founding President Dorene Petersen holds a BA in Archaeology and Anthropology from Otago University, New Zealand, a Diploma in Natural Therapeutics from the South Pacific College of Natural Therapies in Auckland, New Zealand, and completed specialized training in Chinese herbal medicine and moxibustion. She has also completed part one of the Advanced International Training Program in essential oils at Purdue University. In addition to her work as Founding President of the College, Dorene teaches courses for ACHS and leads the ACHS study abroad programs to Greece, India, and Indonesia, which explore holistic health, holistic nutrition, and therapeutic aromatherapy and distillation, among other topics.