Meet Your Coaches
Suzy Hostetler, coach
A native of Telford, PA, Suzy graduated from Bluffton (Ohio) University a degree in
youth ministry/recreation and music minor. She served five years as part-time youth
pastor at Bethel Mennonite Church in West Liberty, Ohio and joined EMU's Campus Ministries
as program assistant in 2009. In 2012 she began her role as a coach. "I see my CoachLink
role as a mentor, connector, advocate, and extra layer of support for students I work
with. Each student has different needs and goals. I meet each student where they are,
stand in the gap whatever it may be, and walk alongside them as they work towards
their goals. One-on-one support is powerful. I believe this service can help all students
be successful."
Email: suzanne.hostetler@emu.edu
Josh Bacon, coach
Josh grew up in a suburb right next to Washington, D.C. He attended Salisbury University (played football) and graduated with a degree in Sociology. After undergrad, he worked for a year in Washington, D.C. as a live-in youth counselor, at a home for troubled youths (where he first felt called to mentor students). He then went back to Salisbury University and earned a master's degree in Education Administration with a concentration in Counseling. Josh worked for a year in Sussex County, Delaware as a Case Manager for individuals and families with learning disabilities. From there, he went to Clemson University in South Carolina (met his wife Darcy!) and completed a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership with a cognate in Law.
For the past twenty years, Josh has been working as an administrator at James Madison University. He retired last year after a number of years as Dean of Students. Josh has always felt called to work with people/students in need of additional support and spent most of his time at JMU doing just that. He looks forward to coaching and mentoring students in the EMU community. Josh lives in Lacey Springs, VA, with his wife Darcy and three teenage daughters (prayers always appreciated!).
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Jonathan Swartz, CoachLink program supervisor
Jonathan grew up in northern Indiana and moved to Harrisonburg in 2011 to go to seminary and graduate school. Upon receiving his MDiv from Eastern Mennonite Seminary and MA in Conflict Transformation from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, Jonathan was the University's RJ Coordinator for several years before becoming the Director for Residence Life, Student Accountability, and Restorative Justice. Jonathan was promoted to Associate Dean of Students in 2023, and enjoys providing support and supervision for Counseling Services, Health Services, Faith and Spiritual Life, and CoachLink.
Jonathan enjoys reading broadly (but mostly focused in the areas of abolition, restorative justice, transformative justice, and race/whiteness), relating deeply (he’s not really that great at small talk), laughing bodily (the abs need work!), riding windily (motorcycles are wonderful stress relief), and writing parenthetically (!). Jonathan appreciates a good (or bad!) dad joke, and appreciates the eye roll he often receives after a dad joke. More than anything, Jonathan relishes the opportunity to participate in students' learning journeys.
life coaching at college • fostering well being • helping you succeed
email us at: coachlink@emu.edu
