Lex Gillette is a globally recognized Paralympic track and field athlete for Team USA. Competing primarily in the long jump, Lex has amassed five Paralympic medals, four world championships, and he is the current world record holder in the event. He is the only totally blind athlete on the planet to eclipse the 22-foot barrier in the long jump.
Robbed of his sight during childhood, Lex Gillette, with the aid of his mother, was determined not to fall victim to a world consumed by darkness. His athletic talents have been featured by ESPN, Sports Illustrated, USA Today Sports, and People Magazine. He is a 2015 inductee in the ADN Hall of Fame.
Lex is a sought-after inspirational keynote speaker who empowers his audiences to gaze beyond the horizon and see more than what is in front of their eyes. There is no need for sight when you have a vision. ® That is the very phrase that has propelled Lex into a world of infinite opportunity. It is not our eyes that ultimately determine success in life. It is our ability to see a vision and do everything in our power to turn it into reality. During Lex's presentation, you will laugh, you will cry, you will be inspired, and you will learn how to become a better version of yourself. With every stage that he graces, Lex is determined to do for his audience, what was done for him. That is, to Teach ... People ... To ... See.
Chris Butcher serves as the Associate Director of Transfer Advising and Success at Eastern Kentucky University. In this role, he assists in leading transfer advising and recruitment while also advising and onboarding new transfer students each term. Chris is a first-generation, two-time graduate of Eastern Kentucky University, but did not stop there. He's currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership. In addition to his professional responsibilities, he proudly serves in the Kentucky National Guard in Field Artillery. Chris enjoys outdoor activities such as running and hiking in his free time.
I've been in the event tech space since 2018 in various capacities. I’ve worked with some of the largest brands in the world on events ranging from intimate gatherings to weeklong user conferences. I am now the consultant over our registration technology suite of solutions.
2024 SEM-EP graduate
Capstone: Review of Direct Admissions
Dougherty is an accomplished higher education professional with over a decade of experience in enrollment management and student services. Currently serving as the Associate Vice President/Registrar at Madison Area Technical College, Bill excels in strategic planning, policy development, and process improvement. He is recognized for his ability to lead high-performing teams, implement innovative solutions, and champion access, equity, inclusion, and retention initiatives. Prior to joining Madison Area Technical College, Bill worked in Student Leadership at Clark University and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Dougherty holds a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, a bachelor’s degree from Edgewood College, and a certificate in Leadership in Strategic Enrollment Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
2024 SEM-EP Graduate
Capstone: Literature Review on Strategic Enrollment Management in Community Colleges
Benjamin S. Baum is Vice President of Enrollment at St. John’s College, the third oldest college in the United States, known for its great books, curriculum, and campuses in Annapolis, Maryland, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. He oversees admissions and financial aid. Prior to St. John’s, Baum worked in admissions at Tufts University and as a lawyer for Goodwin Procter LLP in Boston. He has a bachelor’s degree in history and European Studies from Amherst College, a master’s degree in history from the University of Oxford, and a law degree from the University of Michigan.
St. John’s College’s Discussion-Based Application: A New Paradigm for the College Application
Blake Johnson, Ph.D., is the Assistant Provost for Student Success & Retention at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith. He has more than 20 years of experience in higher education. He holds a master’s and Ph.D. from George Mason University, as well as a graduate certificate in higher education leadership from The Citadel.
Triumph Over Odds: Stories of First-Generation College Graduates Who Achieved Doctoral Excellence
Vivian Miranda, Ed.D., is Director, Counseling and Advising at Cochise College, Sierra Vista. The majority of her career has been centered on student success, retention, and the student experience. Prior to joining Cochise College, she served as dean of student development for Portland Community College and supported various roles at Maricopa Community College District. She currently provides leadership to Academic Advising, Career Services, New Student Onboarding, Retention, and Graduation.
Li Kang is an Assessment Specialist at the University of Alabama, holding a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Management from Seton Hall University. Specializing in assessment, program evaluation, and educational research, Kang is passionate about promoting diversity, fostering student involvement, and utilizing data visualization. His work is focused on leveraging these skills to support data-driven decision-making, contributing to an inclusive and equitable campus environment that nurtures student success.
Effects of Test-Optional Policies on the Proportion of Racial Groups in U.S. Selective Institutions
Ashley E. Shivar, Ed.D., is currently the Senior Assistant Registrar for Retention and Transfer Initiatives at East Carolina University. Before moving into the four-year space, Dr. Shivar spent more than a decade working as both faculty and staff in the North Carolina Community College System in varying roles across four institutions. She continues her work between both the NCCCS and UNC System as the Eastern Region UNC Representative for the North Carolina College Transfer Program Association (CTPA).
Not Quite Freshmen; Not Really Transfers: Understanding and Assisting Early College and High School Dual Enrollment Students
Margo Landy is Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management and University Registrar at San Francisco State University. She holds a B.A. in philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She has worked in higher education for over a decade, including at Holy Names University and University of the Pacific. She has been a frequent presenter at AACRAO annual conferences and has served on a variety of AACRAO committees and working groups, currently including the Enrollment Management and Retention Committee, the AACRAO Technical Advisory Council, and an AACRAO FERPA advisory council.
How to Adopt the “FERPA Perspective” When Evaluating Disclosures of Student Records
Dr. Maldonado is a pediatric infectious diseases epidemiologist and current acting chair of the Department of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. She attended Stanford University School of Medicine, completed pediatric residency and pediatric infectious diseases fellowship at Johns Hopkins University, and was an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before joining the faculty at Stanford University. She has led a number of NIH, CDC, Gates Foundation and WHO funded domestic and international pediatric infectious diseases studies, focused on pediatric HIV and pediatric vaccine preventable diseases. More recently, she has focused on health disparities and infectious diseases outcomes, including COVID-19 in pediatric and adult populations. She is recent past chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases and a liaison to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. She has over 250 peer reviewed publications and is co-editor of the textbook “Infectious Diseases of the Fetus and Newborn Infant” and the American Academy of Pediatrics “Red Book”. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.
Carolyn Sloane Mata, Ph.D., is a higher education consultant working mostly with private, not-for-profit colleges and their Associations. Bringing 20 years of higher education experience as a faculty member, college administrator, and association executive, Carrie’s expertise lies in the areas of policy, institutional research, and institutional effectiveness. She has served as a National IPEDS Educator since 2016, represented the private, not-for-profit sector on the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative (NPEC), and has been an IPEDS keyholder and state coordinator for many years.
Joe Karaganis is the director of Open Syllabus, a non-profit archive of the main activity of higher education: teaching. Open Syllabus maps the curriculum across thousands of schools to support curricular innovation, student mobility, and school-to-workforce pathways.
Faith Farley joined AACRAO as the Government Relations (GR) intern just one month before the GR team’s biggest event of the year, the annual Congressional Hill Day. She hit the ground running by helping to coordinate meetings with over 90 congressional offices and helping to lead policy discussions on the day of the event. In her role, Faith also helps track important federal issues impacting higher education, communicates with Congressional offices and other stakeholders in the public policy space, as well as being a weekly contributor to Transcript.
Beyond AACRAO, Faith is currently a junior at the George Washington University (GW) where she is pursuing a Bachelor’s in International Affairs and Political Science. At school, Faith enjoys serving as the Head Delegate for GW’s Model United Nations team of 80 individuals. This involves organizing meetings, leading the team’s competition prep, as well as coordinating travel and housing accommodations. Faith was born and raised in Syracuse, New York. In her free time, she enjoys exploring local DC restaurants and cafes and going for walks on the national mall.
Professor Leonard Samborowski recently retired as the chair of the M.B.A. and E.M.B.A. programs at Nichols College. He spent more than ten years in academia. Prior to his academic experience, he served the United States Army for more than 30 years. Professor Samborowski served in numerous command and positions in Central America, Europe, Korea and Kuwait. Among his administrative and management staff positions, he spent five years assigned to the Pentagon, leaving the Pentagon three weeks before 9/11. He served as the Inspector General for the 8,200 members of the Massachusetts National Guard.
College Enrollment and Digital Maturity: A Quantitative Study of Small New England Colleges