Dino M. Hernandez is a 20+ year veteran in the higher education advancement profession and in his career has successfully managed all aspects of university advancement: transformational and major gift fundraising, annual giving, alumni and parent relations, corporate and foundation development, grants and sponsored programs, and advancement communications and media relations. Within his first months in his current position, Mr. Hernandez secured a transformational gift for Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) of $6,000,000 and grew the major gifts pipeline from zero to $25,000,000.00 within his first eleven months. He and his team met and exceeded a daunting $6M Taube Challenge on December 31, 2015 by raising over $6.4M in less than twelve months. The average gift size grew 881% and as of June 30, 2016, NDNU will celebrate two consecutive years of the highest amount of private philanthropic support ever raised than in any previous years in its entire 165-year history. Prior to Notre Dame de Namur University, Mr. Hernandez has held leadership roles at Sierra Nevada College, Lawrence Technological University, The University of Michigan-Flint, and Oakland University. At Lawrence Tech, where he served more than thirteen years, he led two successful comprehensive capital campaigns of $46.6 million and […]
In 2007, Gary Brahm became the founding chancellor of Brandman University and today, oversees a network of twenty-nine campuses, more than 2,500 faculty and staff, 12,000 students, and an annual budget of $100 million. Prior to his present position, Brahm served as the executive vice president for finance and administration and chief operating officer of Chapman University for over thirteen years. Brahm was responsible for enrollment management, financial aid, registrar, student life, investments, budgeting, information systems, human resources, facilities management and campus planning, and business services. He has periodically served as chair or a member of numerous WASC accreditation visiting teams. He has presented on non-traditional education, online, and competency-based education at the American Council for Higher Education annual meeting, the Association of Governing Boards National Conference on Trusteeship, the Credit Suisse global conference, the WASC Academic Resource Conference and many others.
Ale Sosa began working in the higher education industry at Tiffin University. Initially serving as the admissions representative for all the northwest, Ohio, and international students, she went on to become the online degree completion admissions director. In 2008, Ale joined Florida Southern College (FSC) as associate director of admissions. While at FSC, she was involved in the creation of financial aid training for admissions counselors, implemented their current CRM software, served on the senior strategic planning team, was responsible for the maintenance and creation of communication flows, and was responsible for admissions operations. During her tenure at Florida Southern College, the institution broke enrollment records. In 2012, Ale joined Mercer University as the director of undergraduate admissions. In her two and a half year tenure, her team implemented recruitment and financial aid strategies that resulted in the enrollment of the largest—25% growth in two years—and most academically talented freshman classes in Mercer’s history. Ale now serves as the Vice President of Enrollment Management at Walsh University
Allen is responsible for helping guide the Innovation Center in its mission of supporting businesses concentrating on advanced technology, biotechnology, life sciences, and nanotechnology research and development. He assists in coordinating the resources of the federal, state, and local governments with the resources of Missouri State University to promote business and industrial growth by blending entrepreneurship with research, innovation, and commercialization. Allen is responsible for engaging the University in economic development activities, including the development of IDEA Commons and development of the University’s business incubator, The eFactory. Allen also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Springfield Innovation, Inc., which is a non-profit organization affiliated with Missouri State University that operates the Missouri innovation center and serves an advisory role with The eFactory. He also manages the intellectual property portfolio at Missouri State University.
Ron is the founding partner of 2468 Appreciate, LLC, which provides consulting services to help nonprofit organizations thrive by maximizing the contributions of their constituents. Prior to that, Ron spent 32 years working for three small universities that secured over $350 million in gift and grant revenue from donors. He served as Vice President for Advancement at Susquehanna University (PA) from 2000-2017, leading two successful campaigns and starting a third, all of which saw donors contribute more than $200 million. Ron’s research on how colleges and universities stay meaningfully connected to their graduates led Susquehanna to re-positioning alumni engagement in ways that produced greater value benefiting students, alumni, and the university.
In her current role at the University of South Florida (USF), Katie advises both geographic alumni chapters and interest-based alumni societies. Having been with the USF Alumni Association for ten years, Katie has worked with multiple diverse alumni groups. In the spring and summer of 2014 she spearheaded the association’s efforts to refresh the alumni groups program and was integral to the development of a new operating plan, Project Group Evolution. The new model established a tier system, created new categories of alumni groups and set clear expectations for both staff and volunteers. In addition to her primary work with alumni groups she also executes the association’s annual business recognition awards.
Between 2104 and December 2018, Emily Richardson was responsible for the Hayworth Center for Online Learning at Queens University of Charlotte, focused on five fully online programs at the graduate level. Prior to this position, she was the associate vice president for Boundless Learning at Stetson University for two years. She began her education career at Widener University where she spent twenty-one years, initially teaching in the School of Hospitality Management. She also served as dean of the University College, a home for non-traditional students, prior to her departure. Currently she is working as an adjunct faculty teaching online for one of her previous institutions. Richardson started her career in the hotel management industry, where she spent time in multiple positions throughout the United States and worked for companies such as Hyatt Hotels, Harvey House Hotels and RockResorts. Her emphasis during most of her hospitality career was on training for customer service employees.
In addition to her current position, Stephanie Atella, MPH, CHES, is the project director for a campus grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women. During her time as a public health professional, her work has focused on violence prevention, sexual health, and gender-based violence. She is a certified health education specialist and a trained rape victim advocate and domestic violence advocate in the state of Illinois. At Loyola, Stephanie coordinates sexual assault advocacy services, as well as training and education on campus around Title IX and the Clery Act. Stephanie served as a primary negotiator on the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee for Clery Act updates under the Violence Against Women Act.
Dr. Brenda Flannery is Dean for the College of Business at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Her other roles at the University have included Assistant Vice President for Undergraduate Studies and International Education, Director for the Center of Entrepreneurship, and Professor of Management. As Dean, she is a member of the President’s Expanded Cabinet and responsible for the strategic and operational success of the College of Business. Dr. Flannery’s academic, community and industry partnership work has spanned campus-wide and external initiatives included developing, delivering and publishing about service-learning and entrepreneurship programs, developing and supporting international academic partnerships, building interdisciplinary teams for external advancement outcomes, and designing curricula for transformational, real-world student learning. Awards have included 2009 Campus Technology magazine’s top technology innovation award, 2012 Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) Excellence in Curriculum Programming Award, 2014 Greater Mankato Growth Business Education Partnership Award, and numerous teaching honors.
Dr. Ludwig has been with Western Governors University for seventeen years and has been responsible for developing the systems, policies, and procedures that created the foundation of the competency-based university. She is currently responsible for the academic services of the university that include the Office of the Registrar, career and professional development services, alumni relations, term break and withdraw recovery teams, orientation and student success teams, field placement for the Teachers College and College of Health Professions, and information technology initiatives that impact the student experience. Dr. Ludwig was involved in the original Title IV distance demonstration project and guided the early development of the university’s system to deliver Title IV aid. She has a passion for delivering student services that support on-time progress to graduation, retention, and overall student satisfaction.
