Dr. Gorman is passionate about the need to help students address issues of mental health, substance abuse, and suicide prevention in a systemic way. As the Dean of Students and Associate Vice President of Student Affairs at Michigan Technological University, she has made student mental health a priority on campus and has facilitated the introduction of Mental Health First Aid and QPR Suicide Prevention training for students, staff, and faculty. Michigan Tech is now in the process of becoming a JED campus. Bonnie serves as an advocate for students and provides leadership for the delivery of student-centered programs in the areas of scholastic standards, academic support, and disability services; student conduct; orientation and parent programs; counseling, wellness and early intervention strategies; housing and residence life; student activities and Greek life, diversity and inclusion programs; and student information systems. Recent accomplishments include establishing a Student Success Center, the development of the Husky Food Access Network to address concerns of food insecurity.
Erin has worked for access and success in higher education for 15 years. She has experience with GEAR UP, TRiO, former foster youth, and degree mapping for completion. Erin currently serves as the Success Coach for Bridges to Baccalaureate (B2B) at Front Range Community College (FRCC) in Fort Collins, CO. She is also the Co-Principal Investigator for the S-STEM Grant called Wolves to Rams Scholars. B2B is funded by the NIH and designed to recruit and retain more diverse students in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, with a focus on transfer from FRCC to Colorado State University (CSU) and involvement in undergraduate research. Wolves to Rams is funded by the NSF and is designed to financially support students so that they can maintain academic momentum by reducing outside work hours. Erin spends most of her time advising students one-on-one, as well as collaborating with her CSU colleagues on deciphering curriculum, policies, and transfer admission.
Dr. Jill Motschenbacher has been with North Dakota State University since 2014 and has been with the Office of Teaching and Learning since 2016. Her professional focus involves educational program development and management, instructional improvement projects, assessment program implementation, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) educational reform, and university-wide administrative initiatives at North Dakota State University. Motschenbacher works to provide opportunities for faculty, instructional staff, and graduate students to advance in individual- and discipline-focused scholarship in the area of teaching and learning, with an aim of creating pathways that lead to student success, professional development, and institutional transformation. Motschenbacher currently serves as a co-PI for the National Science Foundation-funded Gateways-ND grant (2015-2020), which provides training, mentoring, and peer support for STEM faculty and instructors across the university in student-centered teaching practices and teaching quality improvement. Motschenbacher received her Ph.D. (2012) in Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences, with a major in Soil Physics and a focus in the biogeochemical cycling and sustainability of rice-based cropping systems, from the University of Arkansas. She completed an M.Ed. (2007) in the Administration of Higher Education and a B.S. (2006) in Agribusiness, with a minor in Environmental Science, from Middle Tennessee State University. In addition, […]
With more than 15 years of experience in program development and institutional advancement for higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations, Mark leads August Jackson’s higher-education client engagement team. He works closely with clients to discover and share their core character and values in their own voices, and develops strong relationships to help them maintain a successful and sustaining program. His client work includes projects for MIT, Duke, William & Mary, Carnegie Mellon, and Wake Forest, and a number of nonprofit clients, including the Smithsonian Institution. Prior to joining the AJ team, Mark held leadership positions in development, foundation relations, capital campaigns, and professional development in educational and nonprofit organizations. He currently serves on the board of the Children’s Scholarship Fund Baltimore.
Jeff is the Director of Housing and Residence Life at Northern Michigan University, providing leadership to the operations, staff, and students in a housing department of approximately 3000 beds. Jeff’s 15-year career has been dedicated to working within university housing, named director in 2016. At the time of this appointment, the university was in the planning stages of an $80-million, 1200 residence-hall bed replacement, under a P3 model, the first in the state of Michigan. Along with his work in Housing, Jeff has devoted time to becoming a resource on Title IX legislation and trends; he serves as a sexual misconduct investigator for his institution and is a member of NMU’s Sexual Assault Task Force. Jeff received a Master’s of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from NMU and his graduate research provided perspective on Title IX’s many recent legislative transformations.
Michelle Milkovich is a donor relations professional with more than eight years of experience in the industry. She currently serves as the Senior Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship for the University of Maryland where her responsibilities include leading donor relations strategy across sixteen schools and colleges, implementing and overseeing policies and procedures across divisions and managing principal gift stewardship. Previously, Michelle served as the Director of Donor Relations for the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. At the Clark School, Michelle managed all aspects of donor relations including the awarding process and stewardship for more than 500 scholarships and fellowships among eight different departments and business offices. Michelle has also held donor relations positions within Maryland Athletics and the University of Central Florida Golden Knights Club.
Dr. Paige J. Gardner (she/her/hers) is currently an Assistant Professor of Student Development Administration. Prior to this role, Dr. Gardner served as an Assistant Dean of Students at Loyola University Chicago and has 12 years of experience in crisis management, facilitating diversity & equity trainings, identity development workshops, and professional development retreats for college students, staff, and faculty. Her research agenda centers race/gender-equity in the workplace, the experience of emotional labor at historically White institutions and scholar-practitioner identity development. As a queer, Black, cis-Woman of Color, Dr. Gardner is deeply invested in advocating, empowering, and building solidarity-based coalitions with and for those on the margins of society. Inspired by the African proverb, Ubuntu, “I am, because we are,” Paige builds community, cultivates change, and creates space for others to take lead.
Christine J. Quinn, Ph.D. is a certified executive and team coach, a motivational speaker, a facilitator and organizational development expert. She has over 26 years of higher education leadership experience, thus bringing practical fresh perspectives to your organization. She will empower you and your team to unleash your talents and achieve success. Christine’s work is grounded in systems theory, positive psychology and appreciative inquiry. She supports teams to FOCUS and to get results while building strong relationships and shared leadership. Deep engagement is at the core of her work. She entered academia as a faculty member and has since held a variety of leadership positions including Provost, Dean, Department Chair, and Associate Vice President at land-grant universities, public comprehensives and private institutions. She has also attended a wide range of leadership development programs offered by Harvard University, the American Council on Education, and other well-respected institutions. She is currently an ICF certified Team and Executive Coach. She is the CEO of Christine J. Quinn, Inc.
Lynn works within our Business Office as Academic Impressions’ Bookkeeper, making sure that our accounts are balanced, accurate, and up-to-date. She brings over 15 years of experience in operations and bookkeeping to AI and we would be lost without her diligence and attention to detail. In her spare time, Lynn enjoys reading and her favorite holiday is Halloween.
A relentless explorer, John has over 25 years of experience in international education and has taught and lived in 4 countries including Belgium, Morocco, Japan and the United Kingdom. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in French and international relations from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, John served as a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching English at a university in Morocco. Upon completion of his service, he received a master’s in international management from the Thunderbird-American Graduate School of International Management at Arizona State University. As the Associate Provost for Global Learning and International Affairs, John is responsible for WKU’s comprehensive international efforts including international student recruiting and support services, study abroad and exchange programs, international programs and scholar development, strategic partnerships and agreements, and other global engagement activities. John also oversees partnerships and collaborations with sponsored international student agencies and government entities and serves as the liaison between ESLi and WKU. Prior to his arrival at WKU, John has held leadership roles with IES Abroad, the University of Texas Austin and the University of Colorado. He focuses on long-term, multi-level strategic engagement for Western Kentucky University students and academic departments with universities, governments and agencies around the world to provide […]
