Competencies Initiatives: Shaping the Future of Student Success and Institutional Effectiveness

Stephanie Gordon serves as the vice president for professional development at NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. She joined the Association in 2003 as the director of educational programs. Since then, the Association has doubled in size to more than 15,500 members. She supervises a professional development team at the largest, most comprehensive student affairs association in the United States.

Prior to joining NASPA, Stephanie served as director of residence life and coordinator of first-year programs at Chatham University, assistant director of residence life, staff development, and training at Colgate University, and assistant director of undergraduate admissions at Simmons College. Her research interests focus on student retention, persistence, and readiness to learn. Stephanie also assists student affairs educators in their daily work on campus. She has co-authored a chapter in Student Services: A Handbook for the Profession and authored a chapter in the current edition of The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration. Stephanie received her B.A. in English literature and political science from Simmons College and earned her Ed.M. in higher education administration at Harvard University Graduate School of Education. She recently completed her Doctorate of higher education management at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.

Matthew Brink is chief content and programs officer for the National Association of Colleges and Employers. He oversees professional development services, meetings and events, content, and all research initiatives. An experienced professional in the field, Brink has overseen career services in a variety of institutions, including, most recently, the University of Delaware, and has been active in employer-focused activities.

Dr. Ashley Finley is the Vice President of Research and Senior Advisor to the President for the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). She was previously the senior director of assessment and research at AAC&U and the national evaluator for the Bringing Theory to Practice Project. Most recently she served as the associate vice president for academic affairs & dean of the Dominican Experience at Dominican University of California, where she implemented a comprehensive framework for student learning and success centered around high-impact practices, including holistic advising and ePortfolios.

Dr. Finley’s research and campus consultations focus on connecting best practices for program implementation, assessment design, and equity with institutional outcomes for student success and strategic planning. A significant component of this work at the campus and national levels has focused on the connection of students’ personal development (such as resilience, belonging, identity, and sense of purpose) with their learning and civic engagement. She has published a number of articles, book chapters, and monographs, including Assessing Underserved Students’ Engagement in High-impact Practices (with co-author Tia McNair), Civic Learning and Teaching; Assessing Underserved Students’ Engagement in High-Impact Practices; and “Well-Being: An Essential Outcome for Higher Education.”

Prior to beginning her national work, Dr. Finley was a faculty member in the department of sociology at Dickinson College. She received a BA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an MA and PhD, both in sociology, from the University of Iowa.

Amy Geist is director of strategic initiatives at NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. Her work at NASPA focuses on supporting institutions in their efforts to remove barriers to student success. She began managing communications and marketing for the ASN in early 2023 after leading NASPA’s emergency aid efforts and other projects since 2016. Prior to her work at NASPA, she served in a variety of student affairs and university administration roles for 14 years at the University of Notre Dame and one year at California State University—Long Beach. She earned a master’s degree in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education from Ball State University and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Jacksonville University.