Janel Molnar serves as the Director of Recreation & Wellness at Ashland University, where she has been in that position since 2009.  In 2020, her department began to oversee wellness for both students as well as faculty/staff.  Molnar serves as the advisor for the "Student Wellness Team", which is a peer education group housed within wellness.  The Student Wellness Team is composed of 19 students who share wellness information with campus, promote a healthy lifestyle and serve as wellness resources on campus.  Under Molnar's leadership the Wellness Team President (Sarah Watson) received the "Outstanding Peer Educator of the Year" award at the 2025 NASPA Strategies conference, the Student Wellness Team won "Outstanding Student Organization of the Year" and Molnar won "Outstanding Staff Member" at the 2025 Ashland University Leadership Awards.

Dr. Amelia Parnell is an accomplished higher education executive and an internationally recognized thought leader regarding current issues and emerging trends in the field. She is a passionate advocate for higher education as a tool for personal advancement and impact, and she seeks opportunities to partner with organizations and individuals who share her sincere commitment to centering students' needs.

In her prior role as vice president for research and policy for NASPA, Dr. Parnell led many of the association's scholarly and advocacy-focused activities and fostered partnerships with college administrators, researchers, grant makers, and other higher education professionals.

As a frequent keynote speaker at national and regional conferences, Amelia presents on topics related to higher education, student affairs, college affordability, student learning outcomes, and institutions' use of data and analytics. She has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, and PBS NewsHour.

Amelia recently completed four years of service on the Board of Directors for EDUCAUSE, where she was Chair of the Finance & Investment Committee and the Audit Committee. She is also the past chair of the Higher Education Equity Network (HEEN), a collective impact network representing more than 25 organizations at the forefront of addressing racial equity in higher education.

Amelia enjoys opportunities to teach, and she is energized by making complex concepts easy to understand. She has had enriching engagements with students and peers as an adjunct instructor and lecturer and she is the author of the book, You Are a Data Person, which she wrote to encourage all higher education professionals to discover and embrace their unique data identity.

Amelia holds a Ph.D. in higher education from Florida State University and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in business administration from Florida A & M University.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis serves as Vice President for Student Affairs.

Christakis was named Vice President for Student Affairs in May 2015. In this position, he leads a team responsible for a broad range of services and programs related to undergraduate student recruitment, enrollment and support; campus programming and planning; assisting in creating a campus culture that promotes the academic achievement and personal development of all students (undergraduate, graduate and professional); supporting crisis response and institutional initiatives; advocating on behalf of students; and fostering collaborative relationships among students, faculty, and staff.

Since his arrival to the University in 1999, Christakis has served in numerous positions in student affairs, having served as Associate Vice President for Student Affairs prior to his appointment as Vice President. As a member of the Vice President’s staff since 2007, Christakis developed assessment and evaluation practices; improved the effectiveness of divisional planning, professional development, communications and risk management; and provided oversight to critical campus life areas.

He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Association for Public and Land Grant University’s (APLU) Council on Student Affairs. Previously, Christakis served as Regional Director for NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education Region II, while concurrently serving on NASPA’s Board of Directors. He is the immediate past national president of Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, and past national co-chair of NASPA’s Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Knowledge Community. He currently serves as the president of the Board of Directors for University Auxiliary Services at UAlbany.

A Fellow of the State Academy for Public Administration, he was appointed Public Service Professor in 2013 and teaches undergraduate courses in public policy, public administration and political science for which he was honored with Rockefeller College’s Outstanding Teaching Award in 2010 and the UAlbany Student Association’s Outstanding Teaching Award in 2014.

Christakis holds a B.A. in Political Science and History from Alfred University, and a M.P.P. and Ph.D. from the University at Albany Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy.