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). Prior to this role, Chandler was senior director of college completion policy for The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS). At TICAS, Chandler oversaw the direction and implementation of the organization’s college completion advocacy, research, and policy strategy. Fueled by a commitment to increasing college completion rates through enhanced institutional capacity, she worked at state and federal levels to promote effective policies, as well as with industry leaders, policymakers, researchers, and advocates, to amplify key messages of equity and research.

Prior to joining TICAS, Chandler served as associate director for postsecondary transitions at Education Strategy Group. In this role, she collaborated with state and regional policymakers to enhance policies and practices related to advising, early postsecondary opportunities, and mathematics pathways. She led business and strategy development on college and career advising to address the holistic needs of all students. As inaugural director for the Florida-Caribbean Louis Stokes Regional Center of Excellence (a collaboration with the University of the Virgin Islands and Santa Fe College) from 2019 through May 2021, Chandler conducted quantitative and qualitative research and data analysis to determine the correlation of student and faculty growth mindset interventions with student success in STEM classrooms. Dr. Chandler began her career in Student Affairs, starting as an academic advisor at Tallahassee Community College. She later held multiple roles in both academic and student affairs within the Florida College System and the State University System. As a first-generation college graduate and former parenting student, Dr. Chandler is deeply committed to improving college access and providing support systems that foster the success of diverse student groups. 

Chandler holds an A.A. from Florida A&M University, a B.S. in food and nutrition sciences from Florida State University, an M.S. 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.