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.

Darryl B. Holloman, PhD, serves as vice president for student affairs at Spelman College. He previously held leadership roles as associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Georgia State University and as assistant vice president for student life at Columbus State University. With more than 30 years of experience in higher education, Holloman’s career spans a broad portfolio encompassing student affairs administration, institutional governance, and faculty engagement. He has held faculty appointments at Rutgers University–Newark, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Columbus State University, and Georgia State University. Holloman is a published scholar with numerous articles and book chapters to his credit. His research explores how educational environments are shaped by cultural identity and difference. A frequent conference contributor, he has presented more than 80 research papers at national and international meetings, including those of NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Divisions F and J, the Association of College Unions International, NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising, ACPA–College Student Educators International, and the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities.

Dr. Maxwell has more than 35 years of experience in higher education at both public and private institutions, along with land grant and urban institutions. He currently serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, UH System and the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, University of Houston.

Dr. Maxwell successfully served as the senior student affairs officer from October 2021 through January 2024 for the University of Houston System (UHS) and the University of Houston (UH). He was appointed by Chancellor Renu Khator to serve as the Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Services, UHS, and interim vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Services, UH in October 2021. In July 2022, Enrollment Services was realigned with the Office of the Provost. As the Interim Vice Chancellor/Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Maxwell provided leadership, strategic vision, organization, and administrative oversight for the Division of Student Affairs for UH and has general oversight for Student Affairs across UHS. Dr. Maxwell also served as the interim vice president for Student Affairs at the University of Houston — Clear Lake (UHCL) while maintaining a modified portfolio with UHS/UH during the 2018-2019 academic year.

Prior to his most recent interim appointment role, Dr. Maxwell served as the UHS associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs and the UH associate vice president for Student Affairs (2012-2021). As the associate vice president, he had oversight of the following departments and functions: Student Housing and Residential Life, University Career Services, Center for Student Empowerment, assessment and strategic planning, communications and marketing, student success initiatives, academic and faculty collaborations, advancement, emergency management, Center for Student Empowerment, and Student Affairs committees. He also provided administrative oversight for division operations at UH at Sugar Land and UH at Katy. During that period, Dr. Maxwell successfully led the Division's involvement in the Foundations of Excellence process through the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in partnership with Academic Affairs. He also chaired the Division's Student Employment Work Group, the Greek Life Task Force, the Retention Work Group, and the Programming Sub-Committee of the UHAA's Transition Committee.

Dr. Maxwell is an active member of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and served as the chairperson of the 2023 Conference Leadership Committee and as a member of the NASPA Board of Directors. He previously served on the 2022 Conference Leadership Committee and the NASPA AVP Steering Committee for two terms (4 years). His contributions to the AVP Steering Committee included membership on the planning committees and faculty for the 2020 and 2019 Institutes for New AVPs and the 2020 AVP Symposium. Dr. Maxwell is also the past two-term national president of the Association of College Unions International (ACUI); he went on to serve ACUI in a three-year term as the chairperson of the Association's Educational Research Fund and then as the research coordinator and chairperson of the Research Program Team. Dr. Maxwell is also a member of TACUSPA – Texas Association of College & University Student Personnel Administrators and ACPA – College Student Educators International and currently serves as the Chairperson of the TACUSPA Foundation.

NASPA and the NASPA Foundation named Dr. Maxwell as a 2020 Pillar of the Profession, and in March 2020 Indiana University's Higher Education Doctoral Program named him The Robert H. Shaffer Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. The award honors sustained professional distinction in higher education recognizing extraordinary excellence and service, significant lifetime contributions and leadership roles in NASPA. In March 2019, Dr. Maxwell received the Butts-Whiting Award from ACUI. The Butts-Whiting Award is the association's pinnacle achievement and recognizes long-term commitment to the union and activities profession as well as service to ACUI. The NASPA Region III recognized Dr. Maxwell as the 2018 AVP/Senior Level Student Affairs Professional. This award honors student affairs professionals at the AVP or senior level whose outstanding commitment to the profession includes the development of programs that address the needs of students, creation of a campus environment that promotes student learning and development, and support of and active engagement in NASPA. In 2016, NASPA Region III named Dr. Maxwell the James E. Scott Mid-Level Student Affairs Professional Award that recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to student affairs and demonstrated expertise in establishing a campus environment that encourages student learning and personal development.

Dr. Maxwell has a long history of presenting on student affairs advancement/fund-raising, student affairs assessment, leadership, supervision, and student unions and construction. He has served on multiple program review/assessment teams for student unions, student activities, and fraternity and sorority life. Dr. Maxwell is a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and most recently served as the Chairperson of the Trends in Higher Education Committee. On the local level, Dr. Maxwell is an immediate past member of the Board of Trustees of the St. Stephen's Episcopal School Houston.

Dr. Maxwell previously worked at Syracuse University, the University of Arizona, Western Illinois University, and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Dr. Maxwell is a graduate of Syracuse University with a bachelor's degree in personnel and industrial relations and the University of Miami with a master's degree in higher educational leadership. Dr. Maxwell received his doctorate in higher education and student affairs from Indiana University, and his research interest includes campus ecology, creating purposeful space, and post-occupancy evaluations.