Darryl Holloman, Ph.D., has served Spelman College as the vice president for student affairs since 2018. Dr. Holloman supports a student life agenda that promotes every Spelman student's growth, development, and academic success. He oversees program development, financial management and personnel administration for all student development functions, including the Office of the Dean of Students, Housing and Residence Life, Counseling Services and Student Access Center, Student Health Services and Campus Wellness, Student Life and Engagement and Student Judicial processes.

Having worked in higher education for over 27 years, Dr. Holloman has an expansive portfolio that includes experiences in student affairs practice, higher education governance, and faculty life. Dr. Holloman has served on the Rutgers University-Newark, University of Arkansas-Little Rock, Columbus State University, Georgia State University and Spelman College faculty.  He has presented at various regional, national, and international conferences.

An Atlanta native, Dr. Holloman earned three degrees from Georgia State: a doctorate in educational policy studies, a master's degree in human resource development, and a bachelor's degree in English, with a concentration in creative writing.

Dr. Holloman has several articles and book chapters to his credit.  His research examines how an individual's cultural identities and distinctions shape educational settings. He is the coeditor of the book From Boyhood to Manhood: Deconstructing Black Masculinity through a Life Span Continuum through Peter Lang Press. He is working on an autobiography of the noted scholar and activist C. Eric Lincoln, entitled In Search of Camelot: The Life and Scholarship of C.[Charles] Eric Lincoln, 1924-2000 through Mercer University Press.

In 2023,  Dr. Hollowman was named a 2023 National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Pillar of the Profession. "I am deeply and humbly honored to be chosen as a 2023 NASPA Pillar of the Profession. The culmination of my nearly 30 years of work in higher education, which includes my amazing journey at Spelman College, has contributed to this esteemed recognition," said Dr. Holloman. "As I always tell my team, Good Works Stand, so let that motto be your guide!"

Dr. Jhenai Chandler serves as the Vice President of Research and Policy for Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA), where she leads efforts to advance student success and equity through research-driven policies. Previously, Dr. Chandler was Senior Director of College Completion Policy at The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS), where she oversaw the organization’s advocacy and policy strategy aimed at improving college completion rates. Her work focused on enhancing institutional capacity to support student success, collaborating with state and federal policymakers, industry leaders, and researchers to promote policies that advance equity in higher education.

Before joining TICAS, Dr. Chandler was a leader of Postsecondary Transitions at Education Strategy Group, where she worked with state and regional policymakers to improve advising practices, early postsecondary opportunities, and mathematics pathways. She also led business development in college and career advising, ensuring that advising systems addressed the holistic needs of all students. As the inaugural Director of the Florida-Caribbean Louis Stokes Regional Center of Excellence, Dr. Chandler conducted research to assess the impact of growth mindset interventions on STEM student success.

Dr. Chandler began her career in advising at Tallahassee Community College, later holding leadership roles within both the Florida College System and the State University System. As a first-generation college graduate and former parenting student, she is deeply committed to improving access to higher education and creating support systems that promote the success of diverse student populations.

Dr. Chandler holds an Associate of Arts degree from Florida A&M University, a Bachelor of Science in Food and Nutrition Sciences, a Master of Science in Leadership from Nova Southeastern University, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Policy from Florida State University.

Ronjonette O'Bannon, Ph.D., LCSW, is currently the Dean of Strategic Initiatives at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA. Previously, she served as the Director of Counseling at Spelman College and Assistant Professor at the University of North Alabama MSW program, overseeing the development of clinical course benchmarks focused on culturally informed trauma interventions and anti-oppressive approaches for review and approval by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Commission on Accreditation (COA).

Dr. O'Bannon is dedicated to supporting the well-being of ethnically and culturally diverse communities, particularly black women. Her work involves research, programmatic initiatives, and innovative strategies for informing physical and mental health interventions and policies. She holds a Ph.D. in social work from Smith College, an MSW from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and a BSW from Buffalo State College. She also received a postgraduate certificate in Trauma-Informed Organizations from SUNY Buffalo. Dr. O'Bannon operates a private practice offering online psychotherapy to women who have experienced workplace trauma, interpersonal trauma, and related symptoms of depression, anxiety, and imposter syndrome. Dr. O'Bannon is also a reviewer for the Journal of Social Science Research. Her professional experience and research interests include destigmatizing mental health care and help-seeking for women of color, as well as the interplay between childhood maltreatment and adult revictimization, and well-being in higher education, with emphasis on students and staff members at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Dr. Adena Williams Loston possesses more than 40 years of professional leadership experience including spearheading a national agenda for education, engaging communities in addressing economic development issues, and providing organizational and institutional leadership towards workforce readiness and academic preparation. Dr. Loston serves as the 14th President of St. Philip's College, our nation’s dually-designated Historically Black College and Hispanic Serving Institution. She serves as the Chief Executive Officer responsible for providing overall strategic leadership and management oversight, developing collaborative partnerships, implementing a performance budgeting model, implementing district priorities, and establishing and maintaining institutional effectiveness measures with an operating budget of over $80 Million, plus $100 Million in grant and DOE funds; over 17,000 students, 4 Early College High Schools, 12 P-Tech High Schools, a Veterans Outreach and Transition Center, 3 military installations, and over 800 full and part-time employees. St. Philip’s College was named among the Best Community Colleges in Texas in 2023, named among the Most Promising Place to Work in 2021, 2022 and 2024; and named #4 on the Top Best HBCUs in Texas in 2022.

Dr. Loston has provided leadership service in the academy and in the federal government. Previously, she served as the Chief Education Officer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at its Headquarters in Washington, DC, and as Director of Education and Special Assistant for Suborbital and Special Orbital Projects Directorate for the Goddard Space Flight Center, Wallops Flight Facility. Academically she has served as President of San Jacinto College South; Executive Dean of Valle Verde Campus and Transmountain Campus in the El Paso County Community College District; Dean of Professional Programs and Dean of Vocational Education, Budgets and Facilities at Santa Monica College in California; Associate Professor at Georgia State University; and instructor and supervisor at Houston Community College. She has also taught as an adjunct instructor at Texas Southern University and University of Houston-Downtown.

Dr. Loston received her bachelor’s degree from Alcorn State University 1973 and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Bowling Green State University 1974 and 1979. She attended the Leadership Journey at Wharton Business School 2005 and received certificates from the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard in 1996 and the Oxford Round Table at Oxford University in 2001. She received an honorary Doctorate of Science Degree from Wiley University in 2005.

In 2023, Dr. Loston was appointed to the White House Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans. She is a three-time appointee by U.S. Secretaries of Education to the HBCU Capital Finance Advisory Committee under the Bush and Obama administrations, a member of the National Strada HBCU Advisory Council, an Advisory Trustee for the Southwest Research Institute, and a member of the Presidents’ Round Table,  Quality Texas Foundation Board of Directors, KLRN Endowment Fund Board of Trustees, and the Alamo Collegiate Network Board. Dr. Loston is a Life Member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Alcorn State University National Alumni Association and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Some of her awards and recognitions include being a member of the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame, the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame, and being named One of The Ten Most Dominant HBCU Leaders of 2021. In 2024 she received the Pinnacle Award for Leadership Excellence, the Legend Award, The Trailblazer Award, and The Executive Leadership Award.  

She is the mother of one son, Gilbert Williams Loston, III and grandmother to Valentina Adena Loston!

Dr. Steve D. Mobley, Jr.’s scholarship focuses on the contemporary placement of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Particularly, his research underscores the understudied facets of HBCU communities including issues surrounding race, social class, and student sexuality. He earned his B.A. in Communication & Culture from Howard University. Upon graduating from Howard, he completed his Master’s in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania and earned his Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Maryland.