TOGETHER WE CAN

Dr. YingKei Hui

The First Lady of Purdue University

Dr. Kei Hui is excited and honored to serve as the First Lady of Purdue University. In her role as First Lady, she hopes to function as a catalyst for new Purdue families to integrate and thrive in a beautiful and rapidly growing community.

Dr. Hui completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital system in Philadelphia, PA, where she was the program’s Chief Resident. Board-certified in internal medicine, she has been practicing as an academic hospitalist and internist since 2012, while mentoring and teaching medical residents at various programs. A naturalized citizen of the U.S., she has been proud to serve her communities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Indiana.

At Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center in Princeton, NJ, she was the Section Chief of Hospitalists. She then worked at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, where she was the advocate and Director for Residency Patient Safety and led quality improvement curriculum for the morbidity and mortality conference.

She also has a Master’s in Population Health Management from John Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a Fellow of Hospitalist Medicine. She currently holds the role of physician advisor for several healthcare institutes. 

Dr. Hui’s passions revolve around promoting children’s general well-being and practical learning. She volunteers at her children’s schools whenever time allows and hopes to bolster the community’s before and after school programs. She is also deeply interested in health promotion and preventive care at the community level. She looks forward to collaborating with the many organizations in her areas of shared interest.

Anthony P Cawdron

Westwood Estate Manager HTM Adjunct Faculty

Anthony Cawdron is the Events Coordinator and Estate Manager at Westwood, the Purdue President’s official residence. ​
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Anthony was born in northern England, and traveled extensively with his family, as a child, growing up in the Far East, most notably Singapore and Hong Kong. Once he graduated from high school Anthony studied at Cassio College in Watford and then following a year’s internship in Switzerland finished his undergraduate degree at Brookes University in Oxford. ​
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During his time at Oxford, Anthony had the opportunity to work part-time at Blenheim Palace. Upon completion of his degree Anthony returned to service with the Duke of Marlborough and his family. Here Anthony was in charge of both the private side of the house and oversaw major events. Sutton Place also gave him the opportunity to meet and work with several members of the Royal Family, including King Charles, Prince Philip and the late Queen Mother and Princess Diana.​
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In 1986 he joined Hotelconsult and taught Restaurant Management, Beverage Management and Food Service techniques. During his tenure in Switzerland a visiting US Dean suggested a faculty exchange and in January 1990 that came to fruition when Anthony traveled to Ames, Iowa, for a year working in hospitality extension & teaching at Iowa State University.  Upon completion of his year, Anthony decided to stay on, and enrolled in the graduate program within the hospitality department.  He completed his graduate work in the summer of 1992 and took on the role of Event Coordinator at The Knoll with Patty and Martin Jischke.​
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When the Jischke’s made the move to Purdue and West Lafayette, they asked Anthony to consider making the transition also. Following the Jischke’s retirement from Purdue in 2007, Anthony stayed on. He continues to act as the Westwood Event Coordinator, and as House Manager to the current President and First Lady. He also teaches business etiquette and advanced service courses in the Hospitality and Tourism Management department at Purdue

Catharine Whitten

First Lady Chief of Staff Sr. Director Events & Projects

A native of South Carolina, Catharine received her B.S. degree in Business Administration from the College of Charleston.  After graduation, she worked in the banking and estate planning legal field until she made her way to higher education Development work at Presbyterian College.

Her work in banking and the legal field together with donor stewardship and event planning roles at Presbyterian College prepared Catharine to make the leap from small liberal arts college to Purdue University, a world-renowned, public research university.​

Catharine came to Purdue University in 2004 in the Office of Special Events for the University Development Office where she led a team in several capacities over 10 years.  Catharine’s teams coordinated and executed high level presidential and donor events honoring and recognizing Purdue’s most generous Purdue Alumni from business leaders to astronauts and a variety in between.  University-wide activities executed by the team included some favorites with Homecoming and Purdue Day at the Indiana State Fair at the top.​

In 2014, Catharine remained in University Development but moved into a fundraising role with the Krannert School of Management, now known as Mitchel E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business.  Helping alumni and donors match their philanthropic passions with the needs of the School was a very rewarding role.​

January 2023 began a new journey at Purdue.  It is an honor to work in the Office of the President with Purdue’s First Lady, and I look forward to being able to assist the First Lady accomplish her vision to help the Boilermaker Community thrive.​

Ashley Conner

First Lady Key Initiatives Coordinator

Ashley holds a Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in Elementary Education. After graduating from Purdue, she taught first grade at a local elementary school. While teaching, she spent her summers running summer camps for the West Lafayette Parks Department. In August of 2021, she transitioned to full-time employment with the West Lafayette Parks Department to help grow their youth programming. She was responsible for developing and overseeing youth programs such as after-school care, preschool enrichment, special events for families, and various youth camps.
In January 2024, Ashley joined Purdue University, where she currently serves as the Community Coordinator for the Office of the First Lady and Office of Engagement. In this role, Ashley is dedicated to fostering community connections and building meaningful partnerships to further the First Lady’s mission. She looks forward to working with the First Lady’s team to enhance the well-being of the Purdue community and beyond.