Benjamin Johnson is the director of media and public relations at The Ohio State University, where he co-manages media relations for the Office of the President, develops a communications strategy for key university issues and initiatives, and serves as a university spokesperson. Prior to joining Ohio State, he spent five years as director of communications for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), where he led a combined marketing and communications office for a $3.7 billion state agency responsible for most of Ohio’s human services programs, including food and cash assistance, child protective services, child support, and unemployment compensation.
Dr. King is dedicated to supporting, strengthening, and developing experiential education for post-secondary students. Her doctoral research explored the importance of experiential education for civic engagement. Her current research combines her passions for experiential education and social justice education for a more equitable community.
Dr. Gay’s current responsibilities include fostering strategic opportunities, and oversight for institutional effectiveness, diversity and inclusion, online learning, multimedia services, and community engagement. She held previous positions at the College as Chief Academic Officer and as Interim President. Before coming to Community College of Philadelphia, in addition to serving various administrative roles, she served as a faculty member, full- and part-time, achieving the rank of full professor. Dr. Gay also serves as co-chair for the city of Philadelphia’s Running Start Committee which helps provide oversight for the city’s plan to provide quality early learning for all children; chair of the board for Interim House, Inc., an innovative substance abuse treatment program for women; and executive committee member for Pennsylvania’s American Council on Education Women’s Network. She is co-author of the 2018 book, Up and Running: Starting and Growing a Leadership Program at a Community College, written to help other institutions create leadership development programs. She has an undergraduate degree in psychology from Findlay College and a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Jennifer has a long history with Dale Carnegie Training®. She began working in a consulting role in 1998, assisting companies to meet their corporate training goals. Shortly after, Jennifer became a certified instructor for Dale Carnegie Training® and has been training ever since. In the fall of 2004, she left her consulting role for the classroom and became a tenured faculty member at Anoka Ramsey Community College. Jennifer teaches in the Psychology Department, co-chairs a Student Success Committee, is a member of the Diversity Committee, and is involved in strategic planning for the college. In addition, she and her business partner own a small start-up consulting company, R.U.N., which is focused on helping small- to mid-sized businesses develop their people. She works with students, staff, and faculty across generations and knows first-hand the dynamics that go along with that job.
Melissa Casey specializes in developing visionary, inclusive leaders and is passionate about working with groups who are on the quest to becoming the kind of team that others aspire to be a part of. At her core, Melissa maintains a deep commitment to diversity and inclusion – with her clients and in all aspects of her life. Having worked internationally, mentored new immigrants to Canada, and volunteered extensively with LGBTQ2S+ youth, she understands first-hand the powerful potential inclusion and allyship have on engagement, innovation, shared respect, and fostering excellence. To her coaching practice, Melissa brings over 17 years of leadership within post-secondary administration, with a focus on senior leadership, international partnership development, and strategic planning. Heavily experienced working in cross-cultural settings, she has worked in Asia, Europe, South America, USA, and across Canada. She holds a Master of Education from the University of Alberta, is a Certified Executive Coach through Royal Roads University, and has achieved the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) designation with the International Coach Federation.
Dr. Cathy Buyarski serves as the Executive Associate Dean for University College at IUPUI. In this role she oversees 13 programs and services designed to support student success, learning, and graduation. Student success has been the focus of Dr. Buyarski’s career which includes experience in residence life, orientation, academic advising, first-year programs, and educational equity. Most recently, Dr. Buyarski has partnered with Stanford researchers from the College Transitions Collaborative and PERTS to examine the role of academic mindsets in college student success. She is working with the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU) on the “First Day” project which will lead to the development of tools for faculty to use early in courses to ensure that students are receiving and internalizing positive cues about their academic success. Dr. Buyarski holds a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Administration from the University of Minnesota.
Anne Browning, Ph.D. has been looking at the ways internal psychological resources (e.g. self-compassion, resilience coping, psychological capital) buffer against adverse experiences and stressors. She looks at how skills, like emotional intelligence, can be best leveraged in academic and medical settings to support learning and patient outcomes. As an Atlantic Fellow at GBHI, Browning hopes to develop programming to support caregivers and focus on shifting conversations about dementia towards thinking about brain health over one’s lifespan. She promotes well-being in her own life through rowing, biking, and being as active as possible – including chasing a three-year-old with her wife in Seattle. Anne Browning studied Social Anthropology as an undergraduate at Harvard University. Browning went on to earn a Master’s in Education at the University of California at Berkeley. At the University of Washington (UW), she earned a PhD in Education, Leadership and Policy Studies while working to support equity and access for a diverse student body. She now serves as the Assistant Dean for Wellness at the UW School of Medicine, is the Founding Director of the UW Resilience Lab, and serves as an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the UW College of Education. Anne regularly gives talks to audiences […]
Dr. Jacob Diaz oversees a diverse portfolio of areas including Housing and Residence Life, Student Conduct, Student Outreach and Support, Title IX Services, and the Military and Veterans Success Center. His purpose in our profession is to create a university or college where every student feels empowered to share the fullness of who they are and to help faculty and staff to be more equipped to shape their learning environment so it reflects the institutions aspirations of inclusivity. Throughout his career, he has served in a variety of capacities such as multicultural affairs, student conduct, housing and residence life, behavioral interventions teams, and Title IX services in both public and private institutions. In each, he has advocated for and led the development of departmental and divisional strategic plans that demonstrate the organization’s stated commitment to diversity and inclusion. Dr. Diaz has served as a faculty member teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in intergroup dialogue, leadership and governance of higher education, and community engagement. Dr. Diaz’ undergraduate degree in English literature is from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He holds a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from the […]
Sheila Radford-Hill is the Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) and Title IX Coordinator at Dominican University. Her teaching and scholarship focus on black feminism and social change from a womanist perspective. She is the author of Further to Fly: Black Women and the Politics of Empowerment and has been an executive in the field of diversity and inclusion since 2003. At Luther College, Sheila was the founding director of the Luther College Diversity Center, now the Center for Intercultural Engagement and Student Success. At Dominican, Sheila led the team that developed Promising Pathways, a project sponsored by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) to promote equity in college classrooms. In addition to her work with AAC&U, Sheila became a founding member of the Latinx Visioning Group whose project Encuentos en La Plaza resulted in Dominican University’s receipt of a $2.75M grant to elevate its institutional identity as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). In her role as CDO, she developed the President’s Advisory Council, a student council that advises the President on diversity and equity issues on campus. Sheila conducts workshops for the Higher Education Resources Services (HERS), a women’s leadership organization in Higher Education. Sheila completed a B.A. at […]
Jennie Marchal serves as an Associate Director of the Vanderbilt University Career Center. She provides vision, leadership, and oversight for relationship development with more than 500 recruiting organizations across the country. Jennie optimized data collection and reporting for the Career Center, enabling the office to better identify successful initiatives and partnerships. This included building out VU’s customized DoreWays portal, a holistic system to track student engagement, connect them with Career Center coaches and employers, and manage the office’s 350+ events per year. Recently, Jennie successfully launched the first Vandy In career communities. She enjoys building connections across campus and has established a Campus Collaborations group to build stronger partnerships between Vanderbilt University stakeholders and recruiting organizations. Jennie’s passion for collaboration has led her to take on numerous roles outside of the Employer Relations sphere. She served on steering committees for the 2016 Presidential Debate, 2013 Clinton Global Initiative, 2008 Vice Presidential Debate, and 2015 Student Affairs Strategic Plan at the Washington University in St. Louis. She chaired the University’s LGBT Advisory Board 2010-2012 and was awarded a 2014 NACE Chevron Honorable Mention for her SLAM program. One of Jennie’s personal interests is supporting students pursuing internships. Jennie managed the Summer […]
