Paving Pathways: Developing a Residential Program for Community College Partners at a Four-Year Institution

Dr. Kelly S. Hennessy serves as the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), overseeing Co-curricular & Leadership Development, Residential Education & Housing, Student Life (Brower Student Center, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Student Involvement, and Recreation & Wellness). Previously, she held the role of Associate Dean of Students at TCNJ, managing the Alcohol and Drug Education Program (ADEP), Anti-Violence Initiatives (AVI), the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, the Collegiate Recovery Community, Crisis Management Response, the Care Team/BIT Team, and Religious & Spiritual Life. Dr. Hennessy’s professional journey includes significant roles at Rutgers University in Residence Life and the Educational Opportunity Fund program, and at the University at Buffalo. She completed her doctoral studies at Rutgers University in Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education, with a dissertation titled "Making Connections: Cultivating Social Capital Among Low-Income First-Generation College Students." She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communicative Disorders and Sciences and her Master of Education in Learning Administration and Instruction from the University at Buffalo. An active contributor to the higher education community, Dr. Hennessy has served as the President of The Jersey Alliance, New Jersey’s state affiliate of ACPA, and as the NASPA Region II Foundation Ambassador. She most recently received NASPA Region II’s award for Outstanding Contribution in Higher Education. Her current research focuses on the success strategies and time management of high-achieving women in student affairs. She is co-authoring a NASPA book on this topic, aiming to uncover effective time management strategies and develop new frameworks for utilizing time. In addition to her professional achievements, Dr. Hennessy has presented on women pursuing their doctoral degrees. 

Yannick Ladson, EdD, LPC, NCC is the Director of the Counseling & Wellness Center at Mercer County Community College. In 2024, she served as interim Dean of Students overseeing the Counseling & Wellness Center, Student Life and Leadership, Conduct Office, The Pantry, Single Stop, student housing partnerships, and the Behavioral Intervention Team. Her career in student affairs began in Residence Life over twenty years ago. Most of her career has been in higher education, serving in areas such as counseling, disability services, academic advising, university housing, campus activities in addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate courses. Dr. Ya left higher education briefly to gain more clinical experience in community and hospital settings. She is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and owns and operates a private practice in Voorhees, NJ. Her areas of research and expertise are multicultural competency in andragogy and counseling as well as race-related stress and trauma.

With nearly 25 years of progressively responsible senior level leadership in Student Affairs at The College of New Jersey, Dr. Stallings is TCNJ’s Vice President for Student Affairs. Prior to his appointment, he served TCNJ as the Interim Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, and Executive Director of Residential Education and Housing to name a few. Dr. Stallings oversees a comprehensive division of major units: Athletics, Auxiliary Services, Dean of Students, and Student Development. He leads the division’s strategic planning direction with oversight of a $63M budget, approximately 100 staff across 17 units supporting student success. He has managed the programming aspect of several key building renovations including the award-winning renovations of the Atrium at Eickhoff Dining Hall and Brower Student Center and the construction of two new apartments. It is Dr. Stallings’ belief that the environment in which Student Affairs work is the laboratory for life where students have the opportunity to transform education into knowledge. The leading priorities for Dr. Stallings’ and his leadership colleagues are leadership, student resilience, diversity and inclusion, health and wellness, and operational excellence. With a bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning and a master’s degree in Social Work Administration, Policy, and Planning from Rutgers University, Dr. Stallings also holds a doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Stallings is Executive Producer for the DEI themed TCNJ DocuStory, a 2x Emmy nominated production. He maintains professional memberships in the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) authoring a chapter in AVP: Leading from the Unique Role of Associate/Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs (2016), Association of College and University Housing Officers International (ACUHO-I), Association of College Unions International (ACUI). Dr. Stallings has spent time away from TCNJ serving on the Board of Trustees at Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School in Philadelphia, PA.as well as coaching his kids’ youth sport teams when they were younger. His research interests include leadership and soft skill development for employability which explains his passion that every TCNJ Lion should leave their Paw Print.

Tina Tormey is a residential education professional with more than 20 years of experience in residence life and residential education programs. She is the Director of Residential Education and Housing at The College of New Jersey, during which she led a team to develop the residential curriculum that is currently in place at TCNJ, worked to break down some of the silos that existed between student affairs and academic affairs and actively explores ways housing can serve the needs of the greater community. She currently also is a first year seminar adjunct instructor whose courses address themes of identity, community and how the two intersect. Tina is passionate about creating learning experiences for staff and students, exploring pedagogical practices and using data-driven reporting to tell a story. She received her bachelor’s degree in journalism and pursued a career as a reporter prior to working in residence life programs and receiving her master’s in higher postsecondary education from Syracuse University.