Lorena engages with university leadership to build and direct a central program that establishes and fosters successful partnerships with industry and foundations to support university priorities. Her experience in Corporate & Foundation Relations includes roles at Carnegie Mellon University and University of Washington. Lorena has been involved in the Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers (NACRO) since its formation in 2007, including committee roles, conference host, and facilitating mastery sessions. She served a three-year term as Vice President, President, and Past President from 2010-2013. Lorena holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Central Washington University and a Master’s degree in Education from Western Washington University. Lorena was born and raised in the Seattle area. Lorena McLaren joined NC State in November 2015 as Executive Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations. Lorena engages with university leadership to build and direct a central program that establishes and fosters successful partnerships with industry and foundations to support university priorities. At Carnegie Mellon University, she served as Interim Director where she led a team of Associate Directors, each managing a portfolio of companies for the university. Lorena developed strategic corporate relationships aligned with university and school priorities in partnership with university leadership and […]
Todd previously served as Dean of the LSU College of Music & Dramatic Arts and Penniman Family Professor of Music, a position he held from 2014 – 2021. His unique combination of teaching, directing and performing experience has allowed him to travel the world as an educator, stage director, singer and arts leader. During his time at LSU, Todd worked with the faculty to modernize the undergraduate curriculum to meet the needs of the 21st century artist. New courses included instruction in technology, marketing, entrepreneurship, and arts leadership. As an avid fundraiser, he led the college in a $60 million fundraising campaign, which included a $4 million gift in 2018, the largest gift in the college’s history. Additional significant gifts included two new endowed chairs, the lead gift for a recital hall renovation, and the naming of the John G. Turner and Jerry G. Fischer Center for Opera. Prior to Todd’s appointment at LSU, he served as Professor of Voice and Chair of the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance in the College of Liberal Arts at Colorado State University. During his time at CSU, Queen established ten new endowed scholarships for the department and formed the Charles and Reta […]
As Dean of the College of Health Sciences at Texas Woman’s University, Dr. Christopher T. Ray oversees five departments, two schools, and five on-site clinics across three campuses. He has spearheaded the expansion of research, enhanced clinical learning opportunities for students, and capitalized on the many synergies across programs. Most notably, his leadership has resulted in the launch of new innovative academic programs in occupational therapy, nutrition, and kinesiology and more than $2 million in advancement funds. Research productivity and external funding have doubled during his four years as Dean. An innovative and trusted institutional leader, Christopher believes strongly in socio-economic neutral outcomes for students, especially those from underserved populations, and has dedicated much of his advancement efforts to securing student financial support. As a leading expert on geriatric health, his research focuses on the development of innovative rehabilitation programs aimed at reducing falls in older adults, increasing bone density, and lessening the impact of chronic disease. Christopher is active in professional associations, serves as a review panelist for the National Institutes of Health, and is a member of the 2018-19 Texas Governor’s Executive Development Program. Christopher formerly served as the associate dean for research in the College of Nursing […]
Journeying with leaders engaged in challenging change environments. As a leadership coach and strategic change facilitator, Robyn helps clients to envision the next state and work toward a shared vision of how to get there. She encourages individual leaders and teams to recognize and embrace the natural tensions in change environments. She provides frameworks and leader support in addressing the strategic, tactical, and emotional aspects of change environments. Robyn Parker, PhD has extensive experience in higher education change environments. She earned the rank of full professor with tenure, served as Dean, Director of Instruction, Program Coordinator, and VP of Academic Affairs at large and regional publics as well as private religious and secular institutions with varied missions and contexts. Throughout her career, within each institution, she has been a leader in change facilitation both incremental and transformative. A systems thinker, Robyn has facilitated the design and implementation of restructuring strategies that have reduced costs and streamlined processes while creating and implementing innovative new programs and learning environments. As a fellow with Arizona State & Georgetown University’s Academy of Innovative Higher Education Leadership, she discovered the importance of leadership coaching. Today she works with leaders working in change environments to bring […]
Specializing in higher education fundraising/development, Kevin lives in Villanova, PA where he serves as the Associate Vice President for Major Gifts at Villanova University. In this role, he oversees the major gift fundraising team and the directors of planned giving, family philanthropy, athletics, six schools/colleges, and five regional offices. In over 11 years in advancement at Villanova, the teams Kevin has managed have raised over $400 million in support of scholarship, research, newly created faculty/staff positions, capital projects, and student programs. Throughout his career he has been focused on developing tools and processes to enable fundraisers to be more efficient and self-sufficient, including developing homegrown software solutions for gift projections, metrics/portfolio management, and strategy development. Kevin has extensive experience growing advisory council membership to fuel new programs and sustain them through major gift support. Kevin has a B.A. in English and an MBA from Villanova University.
Rob is an alumnus of the University of Northern Iowa and has held the position of Director of Annual Giving at Wartburg College for three years. Rob’s tasks include running omni-channel campaigns through direct mail, email, text, phone, and digital marketing. Wartburg has been very successful with their Knightcaller Engagement Center, UKnight Day (Giving Day), and crowdfunding projects. Rob previously worked at Missouri S&T as an Annual Giving Officer and at Ruffalo Noel Levitz as a Program Center Manager. Rob previously spent five years as a student caller for Ruffalo Noel Levitz and University of Northern Iowa’s phonathon. Rob’s experience calling, running, and analyzing calling programs has led to a unique perspective on the direction of calling programs and the opportunity they can afford. During his time at Missouri S&T Rob exceeded $1 million in phonathon gifts for the University both years running the program. At Wartburg College the Annual Fund has surpassed $1.2 million in support for three straight years, marking the highest levels for the college in over ten years. Rob is an alumnus of the University of Northern Iowa and has held the position of Director of Annual Giving at Wartburg College for three years. Rob’s tasks […]
Gloria is an enthusiastic educator devoted to advancing teaching and learning with technology. She has had experience with online learning as a student, instructor, designer, and administrator, and she brings over 25 years of experience in various levels of education. By earning a Doctor of Chiropractic degree with post-doctoral training in Neurology, and a Ph.D. in Special Education Leadership, Gloria has unique expertise and a passion for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion for Neurodiverse learners in higher education, particularly in the online learning environment. Currently, she serves as the Director of Distance Education and the Coordinator of the Office of Professional Development and Academic Support for the University of Hawai’i-West O’ahu.
Marcus earned an undergraduate degree in marketing and a master’s degree in history from Southern University as well as a master’s degree in business administration from The Citadel School of Business Administration. He received his doctorate degree in African American history from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Throughout his professional career, he has held leadership positions as Founding Director of the African American Studies, Assistant Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Associate Dean of The Citadel Graduate College with the leadership responsibility of Evening Undergraduate Studies. He holds the distinction of being the first African American faculty member appointed to the position of Dean in the 172-year history of The Citadel Military College of South Carolina. Marcus specializes in African American civil-military history, the Modern Civil Rights Movement, African American history, and U.S. history post-1945. He is the author of over a dozen articles and reviews on the history of African American military personnel, black higher education, and military training programs at black colleges and universities. He is also the author of Segregated Soldiers: Military Training at Historically Black Colleges in the Jim Crow South. Marcus’ current book project uses the U.S. military’s landmark studies on […]
A South Carolina native, Vicki earned her master’s degree in Organizational and Multicultural Communication from DePaul University (Chicago, IL). Her areas of expertise include organizational communication, strategic planning, and program assessment. A leader in higher education, Vicki currently serves as executive director of the Laspa Center for Leadership at Scripps College where she guides leadership development through mission-driven programming and partnerships to address the gender leadership gap and to empower emerging leaders. Vicki has leadership experience in Student Affairs, Enrollment Management, and Institutional Advancement. Early in her tenure at Scripps, she led an overhaul of student employment that incorporated new standards and wage classifications for on-campus student employment still in use. Under her previous leadership as executive director of Career Planning & Resources, the career center was twice recognized as a Top 20 Career Center by The Princeton Review. She continues to partner closely with senior management, frontline fundraisers, alumnae and family engagement, and marketing communications. Prior to joining Scripps, Vicki managed a nationally recognized alumni mentoring program. She began her career with positions in advertising, social services, and cultural institutions before finding her niche in higher ed.
Sandy has served as a mediator in over 1,000 cases. He’s the former Chief Judge of the Indiana Court of Appeals who joined the Judicial Arbiter Group in 2004, after 16 years on the bench in Indiana. Twelve of these years were spent on the trial bench where he also served three years as Chief Judge. While a judge, he promoted alternative dispute resolution in the Indiana court system by serving as a judicial mediator. Sandy has taught extensively in the areas of Trial Advocacy, Evidence, and Alternative Dispute Resolution. He has been an Adjunct Professor at both the Notre Dame Law School and the Indiana University Law School in Bloomington and has taught internationally in Canada, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Thailand, and China His teaching abroad included serving as an Adjunct Faculty member at Nottingham Law School in England.
