Yolanda Bowden blends higher ed operations with cancer wellness advocacy

Yolanda Bowden, an Academic Operations Coordinator at the University of the Potomac, is combining higher education leadership with health advocacy after rebuilding her career following a leukemia diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her work spans faculty operations, doctoral student support, and cancer exercise specialization, underscoring the role of resilience in professional reinvention. Why it matters: - Yolanda Bowden’s story shows how higher education staff can shape student outcomes while also influencing health and wellness support in their communities. - Her path connects academic administration, cancer recovery, and counseling-focused study into one service-driven career. - Bowden’s experience also highlights how serious illness can force career reinvention and create new forms of leadership. What happened: - Yolanda Bowden serves as Academic Operations Coordinator at the University of the Potomac in Washington, D.C. - She manages academic operations for more than 100 adjunct faculty members. - Her responsibilities include contracts, payroll, scheduling, and communication across undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs. - Bowden has a particular focus on doctoral candidates, dissertation defenses, and preserving scholarly work in the academic record. - Before entering higher education, Bowden worked in the fitness industry in Jacksonville as an instructor teaching multiple classes each week. - Bowden was diagnosed with leukemia during the COVID-19 pandemic and left her fitness career. The details: - Bowden partnered with the American Heart and Lung Association and the American Cancer Society while working in fitness. - She later rebuilt her professional path around academic operations and service. - Bowden is a certified cancer exercise specialist. - She works with people navigating cancer and chronic illness to help them reconnect with movement and strength. - Her current studies include interdisciplinary work with a focus on counseling and psychology. - Bowden is also studying Christian Counseling for Women. - Her fitness career once included teaching up to 17 classes per week. - Her oncology nurse urged her to accept that her life would not return to its previous form and that she would need to rebuild with a new identity as a survivor. Between the lines: - Bowden’s career pivot suggests that lived experience can become professional expertise, especially in fields centered on care, guidance, and recovery. - Her work with doctoral students and cancer patients points to a broader theme: support is often most valuable during high-stakes transitions. - Her emphasis on professionalism, kindness, and positivity reflects a view that workplace behavior can shape access, trust, and opportunity. - The article frames her journey as a personal rebirth, not a return to her old career, which aligns with a broader lesson about adaptation after loss. What’s next: - Bowden plans to keep advancing her studies in counseling-related fields. - She will continue supporting doctoral students through dissertation completion and other academic milestones. - Her health advocacy work is set to remain part of her broader professional identity. - Bowden’s profile on Influential Women provides more information about her work: Learn more about Yolanda Bowden The bottom line: - Yolanda Bowden has turned a life-changing leukemia diagnosis into a career that combines higher education operations, wellness advocacy, and support for people facing adversity.