Dr. Edward F. Martinez is the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Campus Senior Student Affairs Officer at Suffolk County Community College, the largest multi-campus community college in the SUNY system. With 30 years of experience across diverse higher education settings, Dr. Martinez is a nationally recognized leader committed to bridging academic and student affairs to create transformative learning environments. A first-generation college graduate, his research focuses on the experiences of community college students and professionals. Dr. Martinez has served in national leadership roles, including on the NASPA Board of Directors and currently serves on the boards of the NASPA Foundation and The Higher Education Consortium for Student Affairs Certification. A SUNY Hispanic Leadership Fellow and recipient of NASPA’s prestigious “Pillar of the Profession” award, he is also the founder and principal of Level Up Consulting and Strategies, LLC, helping individuals and institutions elevate student success through inclusive excellence, coaching, and strategy.

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.

Dr. Lisa Jones is President of Colorado Northwestern Community College, beginning her tenure with the institution in July 2021. She has spent the last 34 years of her career advancing the mission of colleges and universities. Of this, 19 years have been in service to community college students and 23 years as a member of the President’s Cabinet, in PBIs and/or HSIs, in both Student and Academic Affairs. Approaching her work with an entrepreneurial mindset, and as a servant leader, she is committed to social justice, partnership building and equity. She also focuses her work to promote access, student engagement and success to provide students with the best opportunity to achieve their goals and to improve their economic opportunities for themselves and their families. This work was rewarded in 2017 when she won the MACRAO Equity in Education Award.

As a supporter of economic development and community improvement she has served on community Boards and volunteered for City sponsored activities which include her service including chambers of commerce, state workforce commissions (helped pass legislation to establish a Texas Career and Technical Education day), city and town economic development committees and locally and more recently she partners with and serves through memberships on AGNC, NWCDC, Rangely Development Agency (RDA) and Joint Organizations Leading Transition (JOLT).

Described by colleagues as a strong, focused, and visionary leader, her goal is to lead with clarity, strategically focused on that which is in the best interest of the institution and students. She values shared leadership, authenticity, diversity in voices and involvement, inclusion, a caring culture, and integration of efforts across division lines to achieve the most effective outcomes. Her leadership in predictive and data analytics and continuous quality improvement have served to bridge the work of employees across division and functional lines to achieve enrollment and success goals and to improve institutional accountability.

As a staunch believer in the value of community college education she, her husband and their four children all began their educational journeys at community colleges.

Dr. Wesley Lundburg is President of San Diego Miramar College, a comprehensive community college of over 15,000 students, and where he guided the institution through the pandemic and through a major cultural shift into being a college of caring. Prior to starting in his current role, Dr. Lundburg has served at community colleges in Minnesota, Alaska, Massachusetts, and New York. He has been a tenured English faculty member and department chair, faculty association president and grievance officer, academic dean, Chief Academic Officer, Accreditation Liaison Officer, and has served on accreditation evaluation teams for over 15 years. He is a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, owned a fishing charter business in Alaska, and holds a Marine Captain’s license (100-ton Master’s Credential). All of his experiences inform his leadership daily. He holds PhD, MPhil, MA, BA, and AA degrees.

Dr. Larry D. Johnson, Jr. is an equity-minded student advocate with nearly 20 years of higher education experience.  Selected by the CUNY Board of Trustees on February 1, 2021 to be the College’s second president, he assumed the presidency on July 1, 2021.

Johnson is a bold, creative and experienced academic leader. During his tenure at Guttman, he has led transformational changes and established a vision for enrollment growth and ensuring students leave the institution prepared to earn family-sustaining wages. Collaborating with faculty, staff, and senior leadership, Johnson championed the new six-year strategic plan (Guttman Forward 2028), launched inaugural Career Innovation HUB, increased campus outreach and engagement, applied laser focus on grants, and reimagined institutional structures to support success.

Prior to joining Guttman, Johnson served as the sixth and first Black president of Phoenix College (AZ). A college that enrolled more than 20,000 credit and non-credit students, he launched the Presidents’ Promise, a comprehensive plan to: reengage community and workforce leaders, improv employee satisfaction and engagement, employ student-centered practices. Under this Plan, Johnson launched the Neighborhood College initiative to provide educational opportunities for employees at their workplaces and launched the IT Institute to meet industry demands.

Johnson has distinguished record of higher education experience and has served on national board and commissions with organizations such as the American Association of Community Colleges, Presidents’ Round Table, Enterprise Bank & Trust, Mayor’s African American Advisory Committee, Helping Hands for Single Moms, to name a few. He has actively engaged in fund and friend-raising and championed institutional grants and awards that have resulted in over $12M.

As a leader committed to equity and inclusion, Johnson was selected to participate in the inaugural Aspen New President’s Institute to gain a deeper understanding of the competences required to advance equitable outcomes for diverse student populations.

Johnson is a proud alum of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), where he earned his B.A. in English literature. He also earned his M.A. in Humanities and a graduate certificate from Florida State University. His doctorate degree in Humanities, with an emphasis in English literature, is from Clark Atlanta University.

In his spare time, Johnson enjoys attending theatre performances, cooking, traveling and spending time with close friends and family.