Advising Tech: Have You Tried Turning It Off and Back On?

Elise Newkirk-Kotfila serves as the assistant vice president for strategy and partnerships at NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. Her work focuses on student success research and partnerships, and she leads the Advising Success Network, a dynamic network of national organizations partnering to engage institutions in holistic advising redesign to advance success for all students, including Black, Latinx/a/o, Indigenous, Asian, and Pacific Islander students and poverty-affected students. The network provides technical assistance and resources to guide colleges and universities through advising redesign initiatives and has supported over 267 institutions in 30 states. Prior to her work at NASPA, Elise served as the director of applied learning for the State University of New York (SUNY), where she led SUNY’s 64 campuses through an applied learning initiative which culminated in providing at least one high-quality experiential learning opportunity to 460,000 students. Elise has served on national advisory councils and boards, including on the executive board for the Society for Experiential Education. Elise holds a master’s degree from the University at Albany where she studied Women’s Studies and Public Policy with a research concentration on community-university partnerships and a bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies from The College of Saint Rose.

A recognized leader in technology strategy and transformation, Dr. Simpson specializes in building practical AI-powered solutions which advance economic mobility and opportunity. She also is a pioneer in helping organizations identify, measure, and mitigate bias in machine learning systems.

The company’s flagship solution, Swyft, brings intelligent automation to education systems, streamlining high-volume administrative workflows such as registration, financial aid, and compliance tracking. Accelerated by Google.org and scaling to 1 million students in the United States, Swyft frees staff to focus on students while improving outcomes at scale.

Under Dr. Simpson’s leadership, Paritii has emerged as a trusted partner for organizations committed to ethical AI. In 2024, she introduced The Parity Benchmark, (Springer) , a framework for measuring fairness in AI systems.

A sought-after advisor and speaker, her work has appeared at SXSW, Business Insider, Yahoo, and AP.

An influential voice in the tech industry, Dr. Simpson is a sought-after advisor and speaker on AI ethics, fairness frameworks, and responsible technology adoption. Her work has been featured in influential outlets such as SXSW, ASU-GSV, Business Insider, Yahoo, and the Associated Press. Prior to founding Paritii, she served as a Fellow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she led cross-functional initiatives to scale technology for social impact.

Dr. Simpson holds a Doctorate in Clinical Medicine from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She brings a rare combination of scientific rigor, global perspective, and strategic leadership to her work, remaining deeply committed to ensuring that artificial intelligence serves as a force for equitable and sustainable progress.