An accomplished leader and emerging higher education scholar, Kyra Lobbins played a key role in the overall leadership, direction, and national reputation of Adler University – a graduate institution uniquely dedicated to advancing social justice. As Chief of Staff previously, Kyra provided support and counsel to the President and key leaders across Adler’s three-campus system – with a focus on operations and administration, institutional advancement, and development of the Board of Trustees. Kyra joined Adler in May of 2021, after an 8-year tenure at Clemson University – most recently serving as the deputy chief of staff in the Office of the President. During her time at Clemson, Kyra served as a member of the University’s Executive Leadership Team, working closely with their President and Chief of Staff along with other leaders across campus on strategic initiatives in student recruitment, academics, communication, alumni engagement, diversity and inclusion, fundraising, and university operations. Prior to that, Kyra served as Director of the President’s Leadership and Strategic Initiatives, which included developing and overseeing the President’s Leadership Institute (PLI). She has spoken nationally on PLI’s success and popularity with faculty and staff at Clemson and has consulted with other universities about creating a similar model. […]
Niecie Washington, Senior Meeting Planner, ensures that all our in-person events go off without a hitch. She is our go-to for meeting planning and logistics. Niecie has more than 15 years’ experience in meeting and event planning with organizations ranging from Academic Impressions, Marriott Corporation, and the City and County of Denver. Niece has a degree from Grambling State University and recently emptied her nest with her daughter flown off to Colorado State University. During the week, Niecie keeps us all on our toes; on the weekends, she enjoys a quiet house and some long overdue downtime.
Meg has been with AI since 2013. She works with members and partners, making sure that we are integrating with and supporting the work already happening at higher ed institutions strategically and mindfully. Meg landed at Academic Impressions after spending four years teaching and traveling abroad and has a bachelor of arts in liberal studies from the University of Notre Dame.
As Assistant Director of Partner Success, Christine works alongside the Director to lead a team of partner success managers dedicated to helping member institutions achieve their professional development goals and get the most out of their memberships. Over her nearly 20-year tenure with Academic Impressions, she has held diverse leadership roles spanning operations, learning and development, online programming, and event planning, ensuring she can leverage her deep institutional knowledge to ensure high-quality experience for every AI partner. Prior to joining the organization, Christine worked in executive education at Harvard Business School and in public relations. She holds a B.A. from the University of Richmond. Christine resides in Denver, where she is the happiest close to the mountains, family, friends, and her dogs.
Amit co-founded Academic Impressions in 2002 to build the capacity of leaders at all levels in higher education. Under his direction, AI has grown to be the largest provider of leadership development for the higher education community and has served over 200,000 people at 3,500 institutions ranging from community colleges to R1 institutions. In addition to his responsibilities leading the organization, Amit actively facilitates leadership workshops, coaches leaders, consults with boards and cabinets, and authors various thought pieces on strategic issues facing higher-ed leaders. He is a certified strengths coach and has been published in numerous outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Huffington Post, International Educator and The Chronicle for Higher Education. He also co-hosts a new podcast focused on higher education leadership and strategy. Articles
Mr. Dexter A. Bailey, Jr. is a fundraising executive with more than 30 years of experience in higher education. Prior to joining Caltech in July 2019, he served as senior vice president for advancement at Stony Brook University and executive director of the Stony Brook Foundation (501c3), where he led the most successful fundraising campaign in the history of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Over the course of his career, Mr. Bailey has successfully built and managed development and alumni relations programs at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the University of California, Berkeley Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, the University of Washington School of Law, and the Ohio University College of Education. His expertise includes reengineering comprehensive fundraising programs, securing complex principal gifts, advancing grateful patient initiatives, strengthening alumni relations, developing high-performing teams, optimizing organizational structures, and executing modern, comprehensive campaigns. Mr. Bailey serves on the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) 50 Steering Committee and as a Board member of the Turkana Basin Institute, International Advisory Board (IAB) and the One Arroyo Foundation. He earned a BS in journalism from the Ohio University E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and an MBA from the University of Toledo. He […]
Jeanne Hey is founder and principal at Hey University, a leadership development consultancy focusing exclusively on higher-ed settings. With over thirty years’ experience in academia, she specializes in developing materials and programs for emerging and experienced academic leaders. At the University of New England in southern Maine, she served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for eight years before finishing her university service as Associate Provost for Student Success. Before that, Jeanne served Miami University (Oxford, OH) for 19 years. There she served in roles including Interim Dean and Executive Director of Miami’s Middletown Campus, Director of International Studies, and Professor of Political Science and International Studies. Jeanne is the author of Managing Difficult Faculty and Staff: A Four-Step Process (Bloomsbury, 2026) and The Balancing Acts of Academic Leadership: A Guide for Deans and Department Heads (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021). She is an active participant in the Council on Colleges of Arts and Sciences, the Higher Education Research Service (HERS), and Academic Impressions. She leads professional development seminars, workshops, and one-on-one coaching sessions in the areas of leadership development, the unique challenges of academic leadership, administrative-faculty relations, strategic planning, and other topics facing academic leaders today. A […]
Amy is a Senior Leadership Development Partner for our leadership focused programming and joined AI in 2022. With over twenty-years of experience in higher education administration, Amy was in the role of Vice President of Enrollment Management & Student Services at Owens Community College in Toledo, Ohio immediately prior to joining our team. With experience leading areas such as athletics, records and registration, service-learning, enrollment management, veteran services, and one-stop service areas her focus has been on developing processes that foster student success and completion while developing staff members. Amy earned a Bachelor’s in History, Master of Labor and Human Relations and a Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration all from The Ohio State University and is currently enrolled in the Higher Education Administration Ph.D. program at Bowling Green State University. To nurture joy, she spends time with her humans, cats and nature.
