He recently retired as President Emeritus from Otero College, where he served as only the 5th president. He was relentlessly focused on student engagement, minimizing systematic barriers, equity and inclusion, undergraduate research, career readiness, and mentoring.

Professionally, he provided leadership to the National Association of Student Affairs professionals (NASPA), the Association of Land Grant Universities (APLU), and the broader community. Within NASPA, he has been a regional director, NUFP regional coordinator, state membership coordinator, regional membership coordinator, conference program co-chair, case study judge, program reviewer, and board member for the James Scott Academy.

Tim also enjoys involvement in the community, as evident by his recent participation on the El Pomar Foundation, Koshare Museum Board of Directors, the La Junta School District Advisory Council, and the La Junta Main Street Board.

Dr. Alvarez has been married for thirty-eight years to Lori. They have three grown children: Joshua, Jason, and Tiffany; and 5 grandsons under the age of 4.

Dr. Brownlee is an inclusive educator who proudly served as the sixth president of the Community College of Aurora. Within the first two years of his presidency, President Brownlee has already brought about significant change and improved the student success agenda at the Community College of Aurora. These successes include CCA embarking upon its first capital project in 24 years, record-breaking capital and scholarship fundraising, the hiring of CCA’s largest and most diverse faculty ranks in the college’s history, improved student completions by more than 20%.

Dr. Mordecai publishes frequently, including serving as a columnist for EdSurge. He also teaches for Lamar University and the University of Charleston. Dr. Mordecai has been featured on several local, state, and national platforms including the American Association of Community Colleges Community College Journal, NASPA Leadership Exchange, EdUp Experience, EdTech Magazine, and Colorado Sentinel. In 2023, Dr. Mordecai was named 40 Under 40 by the prestigious Denver Business Journal and the Community Leader of the Year by the Aurora Chamber of Commerce. In 2022, he was featured by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education Magazine as a “New School” leader representing the next generation of college presidents.

Dr. Dixon has spent twenty three years working in Institutional Research.   He holds a Doctorate of Education: Curriculum and Instruction and a Masters of Science in Clinical Psychology.  Dr. Dixon currently serves as the Director of Institutional Research at Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY where he oversees mandated reporting along with predictive analytics and the ethical use of data.  He has experience with the Virginia, Tennessee, and New York education systems and has worked closely with the Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation, and the Aspen Institute.

During his tenure, Dr. Dixon has overseen several initiatives including data warehousing, college accreditation, state and federal reporting, college financial audits, Banner implementation, Grants, and a number of other projects.  Dr. Dixon’s experience in multiple areas allows him to understand the vast amount of  data available and how this data can be used in different ways.  He is a champion of data training and access and believes strongly that people make the best decision possible based on the data they have, they just may not have the right dataset.

Katherine Bender, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Counselor Education and the Student Affairs Program Director at Bridgewater State University. Since 2004, Kate has held many positions in a variety of higher education settings. Her professional areas of interest include suicide prevention, mental health in higher education, graduate student wellness, self-care in the helping professions. Dr. Bender has also  presented on the topic of supervision at national, local, and regional conferences and coauthored a book chapter in the textbook Identity in Supervision: Understanding Who Works for You and Who You Work for in Higher Education. 

Amanda Barudin-Carreiro PhD., LMHC, holds a doctorate in exercise and health sciences and is a MA Licensed Mental Health Counselor. She is the administrator of fieldwork and Part Time Faculty member in the Department of Counselor Education at Bridgewater State University. Her past research includes informed consent, exercise and ADHD, the importance of assessment, and best practices for supervision and fieldwork. Dr. Barudin-Carreiro has also  presented on the topic of supervision at national, local, and regional conferences and coauthored a book chapter in the textbook Identity in Supervision: Understanding Who Works for You and Who You Work for in Higher Education

Dr. J' currently serves as the Associate Director of the Michigan Research & Discovery Scholars program at the University of Michigan. Dr. J's earned her Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati in Health Education, specializing in counseling and wellness in higher education and is a  and is a Certified Dave Ramsey Financial Master Coach. Dr. J' lead at Syracuse University as the Coordinator of Academic Initiatives & Assessment from 2019-2021. Beyond her contribution to higher education, Dr. J' manages her financial coaching business where she coaches individuals on defining and creating their financial peace & health in their personal life.  Dr .J's life mantra is "Accept Help. Give Hope. Welcome Happiness" .

Dr. Patrick TURNER has over 25 years of working in higher education, specializing in academic affairs, student support services, faculty development, curricula analytics, and student engagement.  Patrick serves as the Associate Vice President of Student Academic Success and Coordinator of the Men of Color Initiative at New Mexico State University. He holds a bachelor's degree in Public Administration, a master’s degree in Human Resource Development, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership-Curriculum and Instruction. The VP collaborates with the Provost, Deans, Department Heads, Student Affairs, diversity programs, two-year colleges, and local high schools to address social justice issues and educational access.  With a research focus on the first-year experience, student retention, persistence, and academic success, his work investigates institutional factors that support or act as a barrier to students' academic and social integration, particularly those from underrepresented, marginalized, and minoritized populations. Three years ago, Dr. Turner established the Men of Color Initiative at New Mexico State University, which takes an asset-based approach to developing and engaging the intersecting identities of our male students. Additionally, he leads NMSU efforts on Curricular Analytics and serves as a professional mentor for Complete College American (CCA) leadership academy for Predominantly Black and Historically Black Community Colleges (PBI/HBCU).

Dr. Michelle Cantu-Wilson is a trustee at San Jacinto College. She is also the owner of Vida Linda Consulting, a higher education leadership consulting firm that provides leader-focused professional development, program review services, and strategic-planning support. Dr. Cantú-Wilson currently serves on the board of Pasadena Health Center, a growing medical care provider in Southeast Houston. She also serves on the College of Education Curriculum & Instruction (EDCI) with STEM Emphasis Doctoral Program Advisory Board at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Dr. Cantú-Wilson is a guest host of the EdUp Experience podcast, a global higher education podcast. Locally, she is a member of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce and serves on the workforce committee. She is also a member of the Pearland Chamber of Commerce. Previously, Dr. Cantú-Wilson served as the Director of Teaching and Learning Initiatives and Special Projects at San Jacinto College. She was also a developmental education faculty member. She is the past president of the Gulf Coast Region Chapter for the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education and served as the membership chair for the Houston Chapter of the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas. Dr. Cantu-Wilson’s prior career as a K-12 campus administrator and teacher have served her well. She was a junior high assistant principal for six years and a junior high English teacher for 5 years in Pasadena ISD. Michelle holds a Doctor of Education degree in Higher Education Leadership from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, a Master’s in Administration and Supervision from the University of Houston, a Bachelor’s of Arts in English from the University of Houston, and an Associate of Arts from Ranger College in north Texas. She was born and raised in Brownsville, Texas and was the first in her family to attend college. She is married and has three amazing children.

Richard Lee Monroe (he, him, his) assumed the role of Student Engagement Manager in January 2019, having previously served as the Coordinator for Campus Life & Leadership at Metropolitan Community College (MCC) from March 2017 to January 2019.  Before joining MCC, Monroe served as the Coordinator for Student Organizations at the University of Missouri - Kansas City and the Technical Operations and Marketing Manager for Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.  Richard has also served as an adjunct faculty member at MCC.

A native of Carl Junction, Missouri, Monroe holds a bachelor of science in accounting with a minor in computer information systems from Missouri State University, and a master of science in student affairs in higher education (administration) from Missouri State University.  Monroe is working on his dissertation for the Ph.D. in Education, instructional design, and Technology degree from Liberty University.

Monroe is a lifelong learner dedicated to improving higher education by providing holistic support services that give students the best opportunity to grow in their life path.  Monroe has the drive to improve and seek efficiency, which has directed him to research how higher education can better utilize and mine the available data to enhance the support systems at higher education institutions.

Monroe is very involved and continues to serve in many capacities.  Currently, Monroe serves as a deacon and as a lead producer for the production team at his local church and is a founding father of the Theta Lambda chapter of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity of Missouri State University.  Monroe is also a member of NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, and Chi Sigma Alpha, student affairs honor society international, of Missouri State University, among other organizations.  

Andrea Garcia Gonzalez (she/her/ella) serves as Program Specialist at Mt. San Antonio College (Walnut, CA) in the NextUp/REACH Program where she has the privilege of working with current and former foster youth in their transition into, while attending, and as they graduate from college. Additionally, Andrea oversees grant funding and programming for Life Skills, a unique component of NextUp/REACH which aims at strengthening students’ independent living skills for a more successful transition into adulthood. 

A proud first-generation college graduate, Andrea has dedicated her life’s work to supporting students from all backgrounds as they strive to grow through education. Andrea has experience working in the K-12, university, and more recently, community college system, having worked for multiple campuses in the southern California region. As a new student affairs professional herself, Andrea cares about growing the pipeline of equity-minded community college professionals, which is why she sits on the board of NASPA’s Community Colleges Division as the New Professionals representative. She also supports the work of the CCD Latinx/a/o Task Force. 

Andrea earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Child Studies from Santa Clara University and a Master’s of Education in Educational Counseling from the University of Southern California. She proudly claims the agriculturally rich town of Dinuba, CA as her hometown and currently lives in Ontario, CA with her husband and fur baby, Fanta.

Hana Lahr is a senior research associate and the director of applied learning at the Community College Research Center where she leads research on whole-college reforms at community colleges across the country. She has conducted research on the change management process, advising reforms, onboarding students into programs, and the costs of guided pathways reforms. Lahr is interested in how colleges approach the change management process, how colleges adapt reforms to their state and institutional context, and how these reforms change the student experience and impact student outcomes. As the director of applied learning at CCRC, Lahr focuses on translating research into practical guidance that can help support organizational learning and reform. She has a BA in music performance from the University of Florida, an MS in counseling from Shippensburg University (PA), and a PhD in education policy from Teachers College, Columbia University. Prior to joining CCRC in 2011, Lahr worked in student affairs at HACC (Central Pennsylvania’s Community College) and at the Metropolitan College of New York

Dr. Shelitha Williams serves as the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs at Rochester Institute of Technology. Prior to taking this role, Dr. Williams served as the Vice President of Student and Enrollment Services and the Chief Diversity Officer at Genesee Community College, with over 20 years of professional experience in higher education.  Dr. Williams received her doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Rochester, Master of Social Work with a counseling concentration from SUNY Stony Brook University and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Africana Studies from SUNY Potsdam.