Monte Schaff serves as the Dean of Enrollment Management. His responsibilities include overall leadership for the enrollment services staff, including admissions, registrar, financial aid, transfer and career services, and retention. Prior to his current role, Schaff most recently served as institutional research analyst in the Office of Institutional Research. He began his career at UTTC in 2010 and has worked in a variety of departments including academic affairs, IT, educational outreach, as well as serving as an adjunct instructor. Schaff holds a master’s degree in educational technology from the University of British Columbia and a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of North Dakota.
Leveraging Data to Promote Student Success: A Case Study
Leah Woodke, Ph.D., has nearly 40 years of experience in education ranging from early childhood to higher education; with more than 20 of those years in work related to Tribal higher education. She has extensive experience as a program evaluator and has worked with organizations in the private, public, and tribal sectors. Dr. Woodke currently serves as the Institutional Research Director at United Tribes Technical College. Her responsibilities include supporting institutional planning and goal setting by collecting and analyzing data related to student success and momentum. She believes the key to improving student outcomes is to involve the right stakeholders, including students and faculty, in the data meaning-making process.
Sheridan McNeil, Oyate Ohowicada Win (Respects the People Woman), is the former Dean of Instruction at UTTC. Ms. McNeil graduated from Sitting Bull College with her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction and is a strong advocate for Indigenous people’s rights on the local and national level. She has been employed at UTTC for almost seven years. Ms. McNeil is originally from the Cannon Ball community at Standing Rock.
Lisa Azure, Ph.D., is the Vice President of Academic Affairs at UTTC. She is in her 30th year of employment at UTTC, starting as a Kindergarten teacher at the campus elementary school, serving as Teacher Education Chair/faculty from 2000–2022 and Vice President of Academic Affairs from 2015 to the present. One of the dominant themes in Dr. Azure’s dissertation, Actualizing the Seventh Generation Prophecy in Teacher Education: A Case Study of Preparing Teachers at a Tribal College, was student success as defined by the case study participants, who were all students at a tribal college.
Jordan Jameson is the Assistant Registrar for Academic Progress, Office of the Registrar at University of Utah. He is also the co-chair of the LGBTQIA+ Caucus.
As a senior program officer for the World University Service of Canada (WUSC)'s Student Refugee Program, Warsame plays a pivotal role in facilitating the journey of refugee students from refugee camps to campuses across North America.
Prior to joining WUSC, he worked with the UN Migration Agency, where he processed refugee cases for the United States Refugee Admission Program. With nearly two decades of experience in the refugee resettlement sector, his career path has been dedicated to advocating for and empowering displaced individuals. Warsame’s passion for refugee rights and education fuels his commitment to this work, and he is honored to contribute to the empowerment and success of refugee students on their educational journey.
Warsame holds an MSc degree in Capacity Development and Extension from the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, and a graduate diploma in Refugee and Forced Migration Issues from York University in Toronto, Ontario. He is fluent in English, Arabic, Somali, and Russian languages.
Dr. Woolsey has been working for Soka University of America since 2011 as the Dean of Enrollment Services. His educational background includes a B.A. in History with a Minor in Political Science, an M.Ed. in Secondary Teaching, and an Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership all from the University of La Verne. His research interest focuses on student access, retention, and financial literacy education and policy. Before working at Soka, he held positions as the Director of Admission and Financial Aid at the University of La Verne College of Law and was the Associate Director of Undergraduate Admission, and Assistant Registrar for Transfer Academic Services and Articulation at the University of La Verne. As Dean of Enrollment Services, Dr. Woolsey is responsible for overseeing the Office of Financial Aid, Office of International Student Services, Office of Admission, Office of Graduate Admission, and Office of Admission Operations.
Delgar has been a longtime resident of Bloomington, Indiana and attended Indiana University Bloomington and received a Bachelor’s degree in Informatics. She lived two years in Mongolia and came back to Bloomington to pursue a Master’s in Higher Education and Student Affairs and pursue a career in support of students. She has worked professionally in higher education for the past ten years at IU Bloomington and mainly been with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions leading the application reader team. Outside of work, she enjoys reading and spending time with her five adorable cats.
As Acting Director, Rafael oversees the Department’s international activities and education diplomacy efforts, as well as the Department’s role in supporting the interagency Joint Statement on International Education. His areas of responsibility include managing the Department’s participation in various multilateral forums and overseeing bilateral engagement with a broad range of countries. Rafael also leads the Department’s work on academic and professional mobility. He serves as the U.S. representative to the European Network of Information Centers (ENIC), which promotes the recognition of education qualifications across borders.
Prior to joining the Department in 1998 as a Presidential Management Fellow, Rafael was a public school teacher in Sacramento, California and worked in international trade promotion for the State of California. Rafael holds undergraduate degrees from Sacramento City College and California State University Sacramento, and a graduate degree in education from Chapman University. He also completed studies in international affairs at the University of Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Argentina as a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar.
Gabby Martinez brings nearly two decades of invaluable experience to her role as University Registrar at Western Governors University (WGU) since 2020, having been part of the Registrar's office in various leadership roles since 2006. Her journey in education began as a work-study student at Salt Lake Community College, where she quickly climbed the ranks within the Student Records office, showcasing her unwavering dedication and exceptional proficiency.With a Master of Science in Management and Leadership from WGU, complemented by a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Utah, Gabby's academic background enriches her professional endeavors. As Registrar, she provides visionary leadership for the Office of the Registrar, fostering seamless collaboration across the university to address critical areas such as academic standards, policy and procedures, curriculum, registration, digital credential issuance, academic records management, system optimization, and thorough adherence to compliance standards.
Kymberly Lavigne-Hinkley is the Director, Learning & Employment Records Ecosystem at Western Governor’s University. She has over 15 years of experience in the public and non-profit sectors focusing on workforce and economic development initiatives for adults, career coaches, and employers. She is particularly interested in the potential for learning and employment record initiatives to drive the adoption of skills-based practices and to create more alignment between workforce, higher education, and social services systems.
Previously, Kym led the National Career Coaching portfolio at the Markle Foundation; including the Rework America Alliance Coaching Workgroup, the delivery of Markle’s career coaching programs to state and local partners, and the design of a virtual career coach training program focused on developing human-centered, equity-driven, and skills-based career coaches.
Rachel Rotunda is the director of government relations at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). In this role, she contributes to NASFAA's policy & advocacy efforts, representing the Association before congressional members and staff and working to enhance the advocacy capacity of its members at the federal and state levels. Before joining NASFAA, Rachel worked in higher education policy in Washington, D.C.. She began her career in higher education as a college advisor with the Carolina College Advising Corps, where she worked at two public high schools in North Carolina assisting low-income and first-generation students navigating the college application and financial aid processes. Rachel holds a master’s degree in higher education from the University of Maryland - College Park and bachelor’s degrees in public policy and psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ashley N. Jackson is a seasoned professional in government affairs and policy, holding a Master’s in Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies from the University of Maryland Global Campus. As the Director of Government Affairs at the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), she leads advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill, focused on shaping policies affecting business officers including higher education reauthorization and tax policy. Her expertise includes extensive work with the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), where she played a crucial role in securing funding for significant research projects and managed critical legislative initiatives. Recognized as a 2020 Association Leading Lobbyist, Jackson's career is marked by her ability to analyze complex regulatory environments, strategize effectively, and cultivate strong partnerships. Her commitment to advocacy and program management has led to meaningful policy advancements and organizational successes in her field.
Rachelle Hernandez is a nationally recognized higher education leader with over twenty-five years of experience in the important work of student access and success through effective higher education leadership and administration. She serves as a frequent speaker at national conferences, conducting workshops in the areas of student success, strategic enrollment management, student engagement, and the effective use of data to support the achievement of both institutional and student outcomes. She has served in a variety of leadership roles across the field, including as faculty in residence for the Harvard Admissions Summer Institute, as a College Board Trustee, a member of the Access and Diversity Collaborative National Advisory Committee, and as a member of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers (AACRAO) Ascend Leaders in Enrollment Advising Diversity (LEAD) Leadership Development Program and Curriculum Committee. She currently serves as an instructor and coach for the AACRAO ASCEND Program and as the co-director of the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s (NACAC) Chief Enrollment Officers’ Forum.
Rachelle Hernandez joined the Johns Hopkins community as vice provost for student affairs in 2022. In her role as vice provost, Ms. Hernandez oversees a broad portfolio that focuses on student success and impacts all aspects of the student educational experience from student leadership and engagement to housing and community living, Hopkins dining, Department of Athletics, student conduct, and student success. The portfolio focuses its efforts on fostering student connection, belonging, and inclusion in the co-curricular and academic experience, through partnership and collaboration with faculty and staff across the university community to make it possible for students to take full advantage of all that JHU has to offer. The division’s key work, in collaboration with university partners, is student- and outcomes-focused, and centered on a foundation of equity, inclusion and belonging. Ms. Hernandez served previously as the senior vice provost for enrollment management and student success at the University of Texas at Austin. In this leadership role she was responsible for transforming the student services areas across enrollment management and student success, increasing student enrollment, retention and graduation rates, and leading the university’s work to becoming both a Hispanic Serving Institution and recognized with the Seal of Excelencia and designated as a First-Gen Forward university. Prior to her work at UT Austin, Ms. Hernandez served as associate vice provost for enrollment management and director of admissions at the University of Minnesota.
I have worked in several roles in the Higher Education Enrollment Student Services Division beginning in 2001. My very first position in Higher Education was with George Washington University as a Customer Service Rep in the G-World Card Office in 2001. I then moved on to Graduation Coordinator at GWU in 2002. In 2004, my first role at Marymount University was as a Transcript Request Coordinator. In 2006, I was promoted to Transfer Credit Coordinator, in 2009 promoted to Assistant Registrar, and last but not least I was the Associate Registrar from 2011-2016 at Marymount University in Arlington, VA. In 2016, I took the role of University Registrar at the University of The District of Columbia where I was responsible for both their Community College and University Office of Records. In 2019, I accepted my current role at Prince George’s Community College as one of two Associate Registrars in The Office of Records & Registration.
Below are highlights of some of the experiences gained over the last 22 years in Higher Education working for private and public institution's.
• Possess advanced skills utilizing student records in Peoplesoft, Colleague, Banner, and ImageNow. Leveraging existing and new technology to provide the most accurate records providing a positive student experience.
• Extensive knowledge of university and community colleges policies and procedures. Also, State and federal laws and regulations such as FERPA.
• Knowledge of Residency regulations and policy in regard to tuition calculations. Familiar with UCIS regulations regarding the residency status of students.
• Department purchases, procurement, requisitions, etc.
• Proven ability to work and promote in diverse team settings.
• Trained staff and other offices across campus on policies and procedures.
• Collaboration with offices and other team members that are responsible for Academic Advising, Transfer Credit Services, Graduation/Degree Audits, grades, and course scheduling.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and planning skills.
• Ability to handle last-minute changes, adapting to upgrades and changes with ease.
• Ability to organize and prioritize multiple tasks.
• Ability to communicate technical practices and protocols in order to provide training to other staff across the college/university.
• Ability to make administrative/procedural decisions, direct complex projects, meet deadlines, assign tasks, track accomplishments, and meet established goals and objectives.
• Supervised 4- 8 people in several positions.
I have been dedicated to enforcing and assisting in the implementation of policies and procedures at several colleges/universities over the years.
I am Jessica A. Miller, a student success coach, advisor, with a passion for holistically developing collegiate students with an emphasis on special populations (Student-Athletes, Military. Adult Education, etc.). With a strong commitment to a student-approach, unwavering ethical standards, and a proactive approach to challenges. I am passionate advocate for building bridges to success for the diverse populations of students I serve. My expertise and unwavering dedication to making a positive impact in higher education fosters an environment where student voices are heard, and their needs are met.
My professional philosophy in higher education centers on fostering an inclusive and student-centered environment that values ethical work, solid commitment to student success, robust problem-solving skills, and a strategic approach to challenges.
Over the course of my career, I have served my students and my campuses in various capacities. I began my career in the Division of Student Affairs at Huston-Tillotson University (HT) in Austin, TX as the Women’s Hall Director. While in that role, not only did I oversee the day-to-day functions of a residential facility, but I was able to positively impact my students programmatically. I was responsible for recruiting and training a dynamic team of Residential Assistants and student workers, among whom, I am proud to say, I have a 100% graduation rate. During my tenure at HT, I also served in the Office of Admissions, Enrollment Management and Athletics where I served as liaison to the Men’s Basketball Team. Currently, I serve as Special Populations Student Success Coach for Dallas College. In this role, I am primarily responsible for the holistic success of students within a certain demographic such as military-connected, student-athletes, and F1 students. I also must privilege of working with various workgroups we continue to move the success needle for our special population students.
I am proud graduate of Huston-Tillotson University, in Austin, TX., where I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Music. I obtained my Master of Science in Sports Administration from Arkansas State University, and currently I am seeking a Doctor of Education in Applied Learning Sciences from the University of Miami.
When I am not being a studious student, I enjoy serving the community through my various organizations such Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Order of the Eastern Star, and the HTIAA -Dallas Chapter. I enjoy singing, reading a good non-educational book, and increasing my web development skills.
I am building my professional career and legacy so that it is deeply rooted in service, integrity, and adaptability. By remaining student-centered, ethically principled, and solution focused, I aim to provide an environment where students can thrive, overcoming obstacles and achieving their academic and personal aspirations. It is through this approach that I hope to contribute positively to the advancement of higher education and the empowerment of students.
Delonte J. LeFlore (he, him, his) brings over a decade of leadership experience in higher education, primarily at large urban public research institutions. Recognized for his innovative and strategic acumen, Delonte has harnessed these qualities to address educational equity gaps, particularly in areas of college readiness, college access, and student success.
In his current role as the Director of Admissions for Recruitment and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Cincinnati (UC), Delonte leads the recruitment of domestic freshman and transfer students across UC's three campuses. His commitment to transformative change and his ability to harness collective impact have yielded impressive results. During his tenure at UC, he has held various positions, from assistant director and director to system director and interim assistant vice provost. He spearheaded the integration of the admissions offices across the flagship campus and two regional campuses, devising an organizational structure that effectively implements UC’s One UC Recruitment Strategy while bolstering recruitment efforts, developing strategic initiatives to increase access for traditional and nontraditional students, increasing racial and ethnic diversity, first-generation college students, students from rural backgrounds, transfer, and military students, while maintaining a strong academic profile of the incoming class.
Delonte's academic journey is closely aligned with his professional passion. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Northern Illinois University and a Master of Arts in Educational Development from the University of Minnesota. His master's thesis delved into the topic of race in undergraduate admissions and the various strategies institutions employ to recruit a diverse and academically talented student body. Delonte is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Studies, specializing in Educational Policy and Higher Education, at the University of Cincinnati. His research mirrors his career objectives. He focuses on tackling the challenges posed by shifting demographics, educational equity gaps, evolving student needs, and increased competition. His dissertation spotlights the critical role of strategic enrollment management in surmounting these challenges and the imperative need for change management in effectively implementing strategic enrollment management.