Program Associate, Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, Axelle Nassirou is the Project Associate for the Refugee Students Initiative with the Presidents’ Alliance. She is an attorney with global experience advising public institutions and private organizations, notably in public international law. While she has gained expertise in U.S. immigration law doing pro bono work for several nonprofits in D.C., her interest in immigration stems from her experience as an immigrant and her dedication to social justice. She has previously founded a social venture EdTech, which aims at improving African students’ global mobility and access to Higher Education. She holds an LL.M. from the George Washington University Law School and a MA in Gender and Development from the Australian National University.
Christina is a Placement Advisor at the Institute of International Education. She has advised students in the Middle East seeking undergraduate and graduate degrees in the arts and humanities. Currently, she is working on the Welcome Corps on Campus program to place refugee students located in Kenya and Jordan in U.S. institutions for undergraduate degrees. Christina holds a PhD in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology from Bryn Mawr College.
Laura Wagner, Director, Refugee Student Initiatives, Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, Laura Wagner is the Director of Refugee Access. Most recently, Laura was the Senior Program Officer for Integration at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) where she worked with a national network of refugee resettlement agencies to develop innovative and client-centered programs for refugee integration. Laura’s expertise includes refugee resettlement, education, and integration, program development, and project and grants management. Laura graduated from Bucknell University and earned her master’s in International Education Development from Teachers’ College, Columbia University.
Jane Roche is Program Manager for the NASH Refugee Resettlement Initiative, where she mobilizes university systems to welcome refugees. She received an MA in Peace Studies at the University of Tampere in Finland. Jane is also a Fellow at Cohome, an inclusive housing organization for neurodiverse individuals in New Jersey.
Associate Partner, Digital Credentials, IBM
Sade Comiska earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in history and literature from Fitchburg State University and her Master of Arts degree in public history from the University of North Carolina - Greensboro (UNCG). In the past, Comiska worked as an admissions counselor in the Department of Enrollment Management at an HBCU. Additionally, she gained experience as a peer tutor and teaching assistant at both Fitchburg State University and UNCG. Currently, Comiska is employed at UNC-Chapel Hill where she supports students in realizing their individual and academic aspirations.
Positionality Awareness and Training for College Admissions Recruiters
Keith James currently serves as an Equity & Title IX Investigator at Kennesaw State University (GA) and is a veteran higher education professional. His areas of expertise include residence life, student activities, behavioral intervention, Title IX, and Equal Opportunity.
Prior to arriving at KSU, Mr. James served at Spartanburg Methodist College (SC) as the Director of Title IX & Equal Opportunity. Mr. James also provided leadership at Dickinson State University (ND) as the Director of Student Life and Title IX Coordinator.
Mr. James has been active in multiple professional organizations including the Student Conduct Institute (SCI), Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA), Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA), National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), and the American College Personnel Association (ACPA).
Mr. James has a passion for leadership development, staff training, and the intersection of diversity, equity, and inclusion within higher education. Mr. James holds a B.A. in church leadership with a focus on youth ministry from Newberry College (SC) and a M.A. in higher education from John Brown University (AR).
Devising Strategies to Address Threats to Enrollment Management Practices
Allyson Brown is the inaugural Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Spartanburg Methodist College (SC). Prior to SMC, Mrs. Brown served as the associate dean of admissions for diversity and inclusion in the Office of Admissions at Furman University for ten years. She spent the majority of her service recruiting transfer and underrepresented students. Mrs. Brown provides a dual perspective merging both admissions and DEI practices together. Her professional affiliations include the following: the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling (SACAC), Carolinas Association of Collegiate Registrars & Admissions Officers (CACRAO), Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (SACRAO), American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO,) and the Carolinas chapter of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE). Mrs. Brown’s research interests are in the areas of college admissions, the underrepresented student college experience, and inclusive practices in higher education.
Mrs. Brown holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from Francis Marion University (2005), a master’s degree in counselor education–student affairs from Clemson University (2011), and a graduate diversity certificate from the University of North Georgia (2021). She is currently a doctoral student at Boston College, in the executive doctoral program for higher education.
Julius DiLorenzo is an experienced admissions professional and recent graduate of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education (HGSE). His research interests focus on increasing equity in the admissions process with particular attention to how school counselors and admissions officers are trained to produce and interpret application material. Outside of research, DiLorenzo serves as a first-year advisor to new undergraduates at Harvard College. He earned his B.A. in politics from Occidental College and his Ed.M. in education policy and analysis from HGSE.
Rethinking Recommendation Letters: A Critical Tool in Holistic Admission
Mandy Savitz-Romer, Ph.D., is the Nancy Pforzheimer Aronson Senior Lecturer in Human Development and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). She is also the faculty lead of the school counseling strand of the human development and education program. She writes and speaks extensively on college and career readiness and school-based counseling, especially as it relates to students of color and first-generation college students. Dr. Savitz-Romer is the author of Fulfilling the Promise: Reimagining School Counseling to Advance Student Success and co-author of Ready, Willing, and Able: A Developmental Approach to College Access and Success and Technology and Engagement: Making Technology Work for First-Generation College Students. Dr. Savitz-Romer earned her Ph.D. from Boston College and her master’s degree in school counseling from Boston University.
Iman Riddick serves as Registrar and Assistant Dean of Students at The Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C. She is passionate about access and equity for all student populations. Having worked as registrar for Kennedy King College, one college part of the City Colleges of Chicago, assistant registrar at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and associate director of enrollment services at the Johns Hopkins University, Center for Talented Youth., Riddick has contributed to policy creation supporting student success for students K–12 to graduate level. She has earned a Bachelor of Science from Chicago State University and previously served the Chesapeake and Potomac Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (CAPACRAO) Committee. She currently serves as a committee member for the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) Accessibility Task Force.
Higher Education Has a Problem: Holistic Disability Inclusion and Belonging
Huidi Yan is the lab manager of Fox Lab at New York University. She holds an M.A. and a B.A. in psychology from New York University. Her research focuses mainly on the intersection of cognitive psychology domains and perception.
Criteria and Procedures Used for Holistic Admissions Procedures in Graduate Degree Programs
Olasumbo O. Oluwalana, Ph.D., is a Research Associate/Psychometrician at WestEd. She earned a Ph.D. in Educational Statistics, Measurement, & Evaluation from Rutgers University, Graduate School of Education. With expertise in assessment development, psychometrics, research, data analysis, and curriculum development, Dr. Oluwalana has a strong foundation in educational assessment. Her dedication to ensuring fairness and equity in assessment aligns with her commitment to advancing the field.
Teresa M. Ober, Ph.D., is an Associate Research Scientist at ETS. She received a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). Before joining ETS, she was an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Notre Dame where she conducted research on student engagement and learning. Throughout her research, she maintains a focus on issues related to fairness and equity in educational assessment.
Jonathan Breaker is Blackfoot/Cree from the Siksika Nation in southern Alberta, Canada. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at the University of Calgary and completed his Master of Public Policy and Administration from Carleton University in Ottawa. Breaker has a background working at and with Tribal Colleges and Universities. He worked for the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) for eight years in recruitment, admissions, and dual credit programming as Assistant Director of Admissions, then managing community and adult education and non-credit programming as Continuing Education Manager. Prior to that, he worked for a decade in the public service in the Government of Canada in various roles advising on Indigenous issues and programs, cultural policy, international relations, and Indigenous treaty rights and consultation. Breaker has worked extensively with tribal nations in Canada and the United States and has presented at Indigenous education conferences in and outside Indian Country.
Capstone (Literature Review): Indigenous Higher Education: Approaches to Building Institutional Capacity for Indigenous Students
SEMQ 2023 Co-Authored Article:An Indigenous Approach to Strategic Enrollment Management: The Native Student Journey at Tribal College and Universities
2024 SEM-EP Graduate
Tiffany Gusbeth, a citizen of the Northern Cheyenne Nation, is Vice President of Student Success Services at the American Indian College Fund. Tiffany leads scholarships, college access, career readiness, student engagement, strategic enrollment management, and the development of an organizational student and program management database. Gusbeth’s expertise is in financial aid, college access, and Native student success in postsecondary environments. She was recognized by the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) as an inaugural fellow in their “Leading for Equity” fellowship program, designed for excellent executive leaders of color in higher education.
An Indigenous Approach to Strategic Enrollment Management: The Native Student Journey at Tribal College and Universities
Lisa Silverstein, Ph.D., Senior Program Officer, TCU Capacity for Student Success, oversees and supports programming in education pathways from high school through to college completion and the greater strategic enrollment management programming at the College Fund. She earned her bachelor’s in public health, master’s in education, and Ph.D. in education studies and research, focusing on developmental education and retention, sense of belonging, and student and faculty voice in community colleges. Her research includes the study of higher education staff and faculty development, college access, retention, and strategic enrollment management. She is a peer reviewer for Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and serves as a consultant for community colleges focused on adult learner supports. She served as the principal investigator for a Minority Serving Institution Student Success Initiative grant, working closely with HSIs, HBCUs, and TCUs, directed and led guided pathways programming, initiated an accelerated developmental education learning communities and faculty development program, and served as a representative on the state of Colorado’s developmental redesign team. As a faculty member in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Denver, Silverstein worked with preservice teachers, and was a team member on a community college and university partnership to support Colorado rural communities in building their K–12 teacher workforce.
Heather Taynor currently serves as the Vice President for Customer Experience at Watermark and has been with Aviso Retention—now Watermark Student Success & Engagement—since 2012. Taynor supports the overall customer experience through internal cross-departmental support and external customer advocacy. She is a trusted advisor to the Watermark customers providing subject matter expertise within higher education specializing in strategic enrollment management and student success. Prior to Watermark, Taynor worked in higher education for fourteen years at colleges and universities, both two-year and four-year, leading enrollment management and student success teams to help recruit, enroll and retain students.
Improving Educational Outcomes for Minority Male Community College Students
John “JJ” Evans, Ph.D., currently serves as the Associate Director of Student Life for the North Carolina Community College System. In his role, his work centers around issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, leadership, campus engagement, and student retention. He received his Ph.D. in educational research and policy analysis with a concentration in adult and community college education from North Carolina State University, a M.Ed. in counseling education with a concentration in student affairs from Clemson University, and a B.A. in elementary education from Clemson University. Dr. Evans’s research interests include leadership, student retention and completion, and transfer students.