As Dean of Rutgers School of Business-Camden, Rutgers University, Dr. Adya steers the direction of the school through strategic growth of undergraduate and graduate programs, an executive education unit, as well as Centers of Excellence. Her current priorities include developing and implementing strategies for bridging academic scholarship with industry, and developing the school as a model for access to high-quality business education. She previously served as Chair of Management at Marquette University. As a scholar in information systems, currently her research interests include the design and use of decision aids, as well as the participation and experiences of girls and women in information technology careers.
Monica J. Casper is Dean of the College of Arts and Letters and Professor of Sociology at San Diego State University. She brings to her work extensive administrative experience, including leadership development, faculty affairs, ADEI, strategic planning, and more. In 2021, she received the ChangeMaker Award from the International Association of Maternal Action and Scholarship for her efforts to better understand and address the needs of working mothers. She is deeply committed to fostering a humane, collegial, and equitable workplace. A First-Gen scholar, she is the author of numerous articles and books, including, most recently, Babylost: Racism, Survival, and the Quiet Politics of Infant Mortality, from A to Z (Rutgers University Press, 2022).
Monica Jacobe is currently the Director of Advising for the Undergraduate Division of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where her team supports diverse students from pre-matriculation to graduation. She has spent nearly 25 years in higher education focused on faculty development and student success, as well as on assessment and management of student learning in a variety of leadership roles serving domestic, international, and multilingual learners. Her focus has always been on questions of equity in and access to education for diverse students, leading data-informed decision-making, and seeking to “educate educators” on contemporary student realities. As a first-generation college student herself, Monica seeks to empower students to be agents of their own success, and to ultimately give voice to those who do not arrive feeling authorized to speak. As the author of dozens of essays and book chapters, her research and writing interests include higher education and academic labor, humanities education, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. She holds a PhD in English Language & Literature from The Catholic University of America, an MFA in Creative Writing from The American University, and a BA in English and Mass Communication from Emory & Henry College.
Wayne is the inaugural Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences at Michigan Technological University. As Vice President, he is responsible for providing vision, strategic leadership, and thoughtful change management for campus diversity, equity, inclusion, and sense-of-belonging (DEIS) initiatives. Wayne works collaboratively with Michigan Tech faculty, staff, students, alumni, and external constituents to advance the University’s commitment to all aspects of diversity and inclusion. His senior leadership role includes communicating the value proposition of DEIS initiative educational and innovation impacts on the University’s overall performance-related scholarship and research. Additionally, he coaches University leaders to become culturally proficient in order to promote and sustain culturally responsive leadership. Prior to joining Michigan Tech, Wayne served as Assistant Research Professor and Chief Diversity Officer for the Applied Research Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University. He is the founder and principal of Oasis Strategic Consulting LLC and earned his PhD in Workforce Education and Development, with emphasis on Human Resources, along with an MEd in Counselor Education (both from Penn State). Additionally, he holds certificates from the Harvard University Institute for Management and Leadership Education (Cambridge, Massachusetts), and the Cornell University School of […]
Louis Diez advises nonprofits in annual fund development, digital fundraising, and engagement strategies. He is the founder of the Donor Participation Project and the Annual Fund Toolkit. He teaches at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Previously, he was Executive Director of Annual Giving at Muhlenberg College, Director of the Annual Fund and Development Business Operations at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Associate Director of Development at Johns Hopkins SAIS. In these roles, he led teams that created growth in number of donors and dollars raised through a model he calls the Sustainable Revenue Engine. Of varied interests, Louis holds an MBA from CUNEF, a PhD in Business Administration from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (both in Spain), and an MM in Music Performance from the University of Tennessee. His thesis applied neural networks to predict economic performance indicators. He has also published articles on the investment value of musical instruments, edited peer-reviewed papers exploring applications for economic theories of legitimacy, and been featured in the music business section of the College Music Society’s journal.
Daryl Van Tongeren is an Associate Professor of Psychology and recently served as Interim Associate Provost for Academic Affairs at Hope College. His research focuses on the social motivation for meaning and its relation to virtues and morality. Specifically, he and his students adopt a social-cognitive approach to study meaning in life, religion and virtues, such as forgiveness and humility. His research has been funded by generous grants from the John Templeton Foundation. Daryl holds a BA in psychology, an MA in experimental psychology, and a PhD in experimental social psychology.
Michelle has been in fundraising for nearly 2 decades, having worked with donors of all types—from annual fund donors to third-party volunteers, principal gift donors, and corporations and foundations. From start-up non-profits in Tanzania, to complex institutions of higher learning in Canada, Michelle takes great pride in her passion for philanthropy and her drive to make a tangible impact in our communities and the world. Michelle is a strategic thinker with a track-record of turning vision into reality. She is an intuitive leader who identifies threads of opportunity across organizations and pulls them together to create organizational partnerships that drive results. She thinks big and inspires her colleagues to do the same. Her enthusiasm is contagious, and she uses that enthusiasm to create cultures of learning, innovation, and empowerment within the teams she leads. Michelle ultimately lives by the Dan Rockwell quote, “Fitting in is unsophisticated self-sabotage, but effectively standing out requires finesse,” and she aspires to see the fundraising profession modernize to better meet the needs of donors and the communities served through philanthropy.
Craig L. Jackson, Jr. serves as Associate Vice President of Development and Principal Gifts at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He oversees unit fundraisers for eight colleges at UNLV (Business, Engineering, Education, Hospitality, Urban Affairs, Fine Arts, Sciences, and Liberal Arts). Before he arrived at UNLV, Craig served as Senior Director of Development for the College of Engineering at UC Davis and the lead fundraiser for the UC Davis Coffee Center, the first of its kind in the country. Additionally, Craig writes and presents on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and its application in the business practice for development and alumni relations. Craig began his career in advancement as a Clarence J. Jupiter fellow. This honor is bestowed by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), which is the professional organization for fundraising professionals in higher education. He received this honor as an undergraduate student at Upper Iowa University, a private liberal arts college in Iowa. Given this honor, Craig was recruited to the University of Kansas (KU) to serve as a Graduate Assistant at KU Endowment, where he worked to engage alumni of color in the university’s philanthropic efforts. Craig possesses an extensive and robust career […]
Kristin Daiber is the Director of the Office of Student Retention at Western Carolina University—a regional comprehensive university in the mountains of Western North Carolina where access is part of their mission. Kristin’s work in retention focuses on fulfilling that mission as she leads efforts to support traditionally underserved students including those who are first-generation, low-income, or conditionally admitted, as well as students who have aged out of foster care, who are emancipated, orphaned, or experiencing housing insecurities. She creates data-driven retention initiatives that center around the individual student experience. Kristin is honored to lead an incredibly talented, thoughtful, and innovative team dedicated to the success of all students. She holds an MBA from Western Governors University, an M.A. in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University, and a B.S. in Marketing from Quinnipiac University.
“I help faculty members and academic leaders use their personal strengths and values to build successful and joyful careers.” Katharine has been a faculty member since 1996 and has been mentoring other faculty members and academic leaders (department heads and deans) for over two decades. As a professor and senior vice provost, she is responsible for most policies and processes related to faculty success (including promotion and tenure) as well as for faculty development programming at her university. A significant part of her current role is to work closely with department heads and deans in managing their academic units. The two things that motivate everything Katharine does are her love for faculty life and her desire to help other faculty members and academic leaders be both successful and joyful in their careers. She uses her extensive experience as a clinical psychologist, NIH-funded researcher, award-winning classroom teacher and mentor, and long-time academic leader along with what she’s learned from the dozens of faculty, department heads, and deans that she has mentored over the years to inform her practice. Using a strengths-based and cognitive coaching approach, Katharine will help you set clear goals that make the most sense for you, strategize about […]
