Alicia K. Czachowski is the Senior Executive Director of Alice! Health Promotion and Columbia University. Previous work includes roles at Tulane University, Northern Illinois University, and Hunter College.  Alicia holds a EdD in Adult and Higher Education, with a concentration in Student Affairs from Northern Illinois University and a Master's in Public Health from Temple University. Their areas of concentration have included substance use and recovery, assessment and evaluation, stress management and how to help a friend in distress, and restorative practices. They have been working with peer educators as an advisor for more than 15 years. In their free time they enjoy spending their free time with family and friends, their dog, traveling, indulging in anything Star Wars or Doctor Who related, and going to Broadway shows.

Ashleigh Hala, MSW, LICSW is the Associate Dean and Chief Wellness Officer at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA. Within that capacity, Hala has oversight for counseling, health services, health promotion, prevention, peer education, and the CARE team. Previously, Hala was the Director for the Office of Wellbeing at Wake Forest University and the founding director for Wellness & Prevention Services at Babson College, leading Babson’s community health, health promotion, and prevention efforts. Hala previously served as the founding Director of Sexual Assault Prevention & Response Services at Babson College and as the Title IX Coordinator/Associate Director of Residence Life at Wheelock College. Hala is an engaged member of NASPA – Student Affairs Professionals in Higher Education and the American College Health Association (ACHA). Recently, Hala served as the Co-Chair for the Wellness and Health Promotion Knowledge Community (NASPA), Faculty for the NASPA Advisors Academy and Advisors Institute, and an Advisory Board Member for NASPAs Culture of Respect initiative.

LinkedIn

Ashley Hinton, M.S., MPH currently serves as the Director of Health Promotion at Centre College working to build a sustainable model for a health promoting campus that empowers students while promoting skills and competency development toward lifelong wellbeing and academic success. In this role, Ashley supervises an Assistant Director and ten peer educators who promote healthy lifestyles through education, student-led events, and training. Most recently serving as the Student Wellness Director at the University of Kentucky overseeing the student well-being programming initiatives, the Well Kentucky Campus Coalition, the Collegiate Recovery Community, and Koru Mindfulness and Meditation. Ashley also serves as the past co-chair for the NASPA Wellness and Health Promotion Knowledge Community, co-chair of the NASPA Strategies planning committee and faculty member of the Peer Education and Advising. Ashley is a certified wellness coach working in partnership to help establish a strong Student Success Integrated Coaching model for higher education. Previously Ashley served as the Director of Student Health and Wellness at a small liberal arts college, Transylvania University overseeing counseling services, health services, disability resources, health education, while also serving as the Title IX Coordinator. Ashley completed both her undergraduate degree in Exercise and a Master's of Science in Health Promotion at the University of Kentucky, while also obtaining a second Master's in Public Health.

La' Tesha is the Director of Strategic Initiatives for Campus Health and a Certified Health Education Specialist. On a daily basis, she interacts and connects one-on-one with students (and their families) to discuss various health topics to support their academic success and enhance their ability to optimally thrive at Tulane. La' Tesha completed her undergraduate degree in Chemistry with a minor in Biology at Xavier University of Louisiana. She received her Master of Science in Public Health degree in Tropical Medicine concentrating in Parasitology from Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She had the opportunity to work as a graduate assistant at The Well when she attended Tulane and that's when she fell in love with college health promotion.

Joleen M Nevers is currently a public health adjunct faculty member at the University of Connecticut and Southern New Hampshire University. Previously, she worked at the University of Connecticut as the Health Education Coordinator, Associate Director for Wellness and Prevention, and the Director for Regional Wellness. Joleen has a long history with peer education including firsthand experience as peer educator in high school and during undergrad. She has implemented and supervised several peer education groups in higher education and in a community setting. At UConn, she implemented and developed the nationally and regionally award-winning UConn Sexperts, that is still active today. Joleen holds a Master of Arts in Education in Health Education from East Carolina University and a Bachelor of Psychology from Framingham State University. In addition to peer education, she is passionate about sexuality education, LGBTIA+ health, decolonization, boundary and ethics, mentoring, and supporting students. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), Certified Sexuality Educator (CSE), and Certified Sexuality Supervisor (CSES). Her current and past leadership roles include NASPA, American College Health Assocation (ACHA), American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT), BACCHUS Network, and New England College Health Assocation (NECHA). In her free time, she loves hanging with her kitties, family, and friends, camping, traveling, fire pits, MotoGP, and anything Star Wars or Emily the Strange. 

Christopher Van Velzer, Ph.D., serves as Chief Student Experience Officer (Dean of Student Experience) at Duke Kunshan University (DKU), where he leads the Office of Student Experience (OSE). In this role, he oversees an integrated portfolio including Residence Life, Campus Engagement, Athletics, Counseling and Wellness Services, Chinese and International Student Services, Student Conduct, Student Accommodations, Case Management, Career Services, and Global Education. Under his leadership, OSE advances DKU’s commitment to a cohesive, student-centered model that fosters belonging, engagement, and success within a diverse global community.

With more than 25 years of experience in higher education—and over 20 years based in China—Van Velzer is an experienced international education leader whose work sits at the intersection of institutional strategy, global learning, and the full student lifecycle. His leadership focuses on designing cross-cultural student experiences that intentionally integrate learning, living, and academic programs to meet the demands of an increasingly complex and interconnected world.

Van Velzer holds a bachelor’s degree in Humanities and an MBA from Pepperdine University, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Azusa Pacific University.

Ms. Wadad Youssef El Housseini started her career as in higher education as Instructor of Social Sciences at Balamand University in Lebanon where she taught for a decade. In 2001, she joined the American University of Beirut as Director of Student Activities. In 2009, she joined Qatar University as Consultant to VP of student affairs where she resumed the responsibility of Acting Director of Student Activities till May 2012. Her role entitled her to get involved in various strategic initiatives to ensure the success of Qatar University students. She is the chair of the Student Affairs Professional Development committee at Qatar University.

Founding member and former vice president for the IASAS (International Association of Student Affairs and Services). Member of the MENASA-NASPA board for 2020-2023. Recipient of the Wisdom Award of the Commission of Women’s Identities – ACPA in 2021. Interested in Leadership of Higher Education and Student Affairs, assessment and women role in higher education.

Well known for having her finger on the pulse of the region, Wadad continues to be an engaged advocate of professional development, and student affairs leadership in the Middle East.

Miriam is the Director of Academic Advising and Student Success at Northwestern University in Qatar. Before this role, she was the Senior Academic Adviser at the American University in Dubai, where she gained extensive experience in academic advising and academic and student affairs.

Throughout her career, Miriam has held various academic positions across Lebanon and the GCC, advising diverse students in engineering, business, international relations, and media studies. She has successfully led a team of advisors and contributed to numerous academic committees focused on curriculum and quality enhancement.

Miriam’s expertise lies in multitasking, mentoring, researching, and implementing best practices to create a culture of student engagement. She is skilled in developing student-centered strategies, conducting data analysis and reporting, enhancing student retention and success, and supporting first-year student experiences and accreditation processes.

In her teaching career, Miriam has instructed finance, management, accounting, and mathematics courses, and has published research papers on academic advising.

Her passion for data analysis led her to complete three certificates in data analysis and reporting in 2021. More recently, she has completed a postgraduate program in AI and Machine Learning at the California Institute of Technology, further expanding her knowledge and expertise in cutting-edge technologies.

Recognized for her dedication, she was nominated for NASPA’s Dedicated Professional Award in 2021.

Miriam earned her MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Banking and Finance with distinction from the Lebanese American University in 2002 and 2005, respectively.

She currently serves as the Communication Team Lead for MENASA NASPA, where she continues to contribute to the field of student affairs and higher education.

Maria del Pilar Murguia was born in Bolivia and raised across Italy and Colombia! Her multicultural life experience allowed her to learn firsthand the challenges that living in different countries entails!  With a business background, Pilar started working in International Higher education since June 2003 at John Cabot University, Rome, Italy. The focus of her work at JCU was and is to establish and maintain an environment that supports learning, encourages a strong sense of community, and promotes student development through active engagement in university life. 

Pilar currently directly supervises the areas of Athletics, Outdoor Education Programs, Performing Arts, Student Activities and Trips, and Student Leadership Programs (OL, OSA, Student Clubs). She is part of the board of the Crisis Management Team of her University, as well as the University strategic planning committee.

Pilar is a certified Student Leadership Challenge practitioner, and her continued interest in intercultural leadership makes her curious about all new trends in the field. She is an active member AACUPI, NASPA, EUCA among other associations.