Michaele Whelan is the ninth President of Wheaton College. She assumed this role in January of 2022 after serving as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Emerson College since 2013. Earlier she served as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Interim Provost at Brandeis University and before that as Associate Dean in the Schools of Arts, Sciences and Engineering at Tufts University and as Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of English and American Literature at Harvard University. She earned her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Cornell University and her master’s and Ph.D. in American literature from Harvard University. She has taught in English departments and programs in American Studies and Women’s Studies at Pennsylvania State University, Harvard University, Tufts University, and Brandeis University. Her area of academic expertise is modern and postmodern America literature.
Christine Siegel is Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. She joined Fairfield University as a faculty member in the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions. She held a number of administrative positions in the Graduate School before being named Vice Provost. In that position, she worked on strategic planning, student learning assessment, and inclusive excellence initiatives before being named Interim Provost in 2017 and Provost in 2018. Her vision has been instrumental in leading a number of significant initiatives, including hiring key academic personnel, reshaping the role of Fairfield’s academic centers, enhancing classroom technology resources, leading a successful accreditation process, revising the core curriculum, and refreshing the Honors Program.
Paula Amato is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for New England College. She is responsible for the College’s finances, budget, treasury, facilities management, student financial services, human resources, payroll, auxiliary services, and student affairs. Prior to joining New England College, she was the Chief Financial Officer for Manchester Community College and in private business before her work with the Community College. She was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for L.E. Bagley Company for over twelve years. She is a certified management accountant with more than 35 years of accounting, facility, and human resources experience, with over 16 years at New England College. She has served NECHE as a team member on eight visiting teams. She received her B.S. from New Hampshire College in Management Information Systems, her MBA from Plymouth State University, and her Doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University.
Prior to beginning her tenure as Salve Regina University’s eighth president, Dr. Armstrong served as vice president for planning and assessment at Boston College. A graduate of Bates College, she earned a master’s degree in English from the University of Virginia and a Ph.D in higher education administration from Boston College. She has held positions in research and enrollment management at a variety of public and private institutions including Tufts University, The University of Massachusetts and Bates College. She is particularly passionate about serving disadvantaged students and supporting the advancement of women in underrepresented areas.
Lloyd Blanchard is the Interim Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the University of Connecticut, where he also serves on the faculty of its Department of Public Policy. He is a seasoned public administrator, having served as a senior White House budget official, chief operating officer of the Small Business Administration and Medgar Evers College of The City University of New York, and deputy chief financial officer at NASA. He has also served as a vice provost at Louisiana State University and on the public policy faculty at the University of Washington and Syracuse University. He earned his MPA and PhD in public administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, and bachelor degrees in economics and political science from the University of Texas (at Austin and San Antonio, respectively). His research interests are in educational productivity and costs; and racial and ethnic disparities in education and small business lending.
Kristin Carvalho (Public Member) is the President, Chief Operating Officer, and Treasurer of Mutual One Bank. She is a Senior Executive Leader of Banking, Audit, and Financial Services with substantial success in increasing market share, acquiring new customers, and improving profitability. Dr. Carvalho is skilled in all aspects of Financial, Investment, Fiscal, Regulatory and Merger & Acquisition management. She also has extensive business development, compliance, credit, loan, retail, and marketing experience. In her financial services capacities, she has served on many boards overtime and has recently joined the Boston University adjunct faculty within the Metropolitan in College teaching finance. Dr. Carvalho earned her Doctor of Business Administration from the University of Rhode Island, a Master of Science in Financial Services and Banking from Suffolk University, an MBA from Bryant University, and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from UMass Dartmouth.
Art (Public Member) teaches in Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, where he is Associate Professor of Practice and Associate Program Director of the Masters Program in Technology Management, whose mission is to empower future leaders to make economic and social impact in a world of constant change and digital disruption. Art is also the Board Chair at CACF, the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, the leading voice for micro organizations and businesses. Art ran for Mayor in the 2021 NYC Democratic primary. Art has been an intrapreneur in large organizations like JPMorgan Chase and the New York City and State governments. He has been a technology entrepreneur, advisor, media and entertainment, e-commerce, fashion, finance, mobile, healthcare, and other sectors, in the U.S. and internationally. Art received his MBA in Finance from New York University and his BA from Yale University in Women’s Studies while he worked full-time.
Steve Coan (Public Member CT) is Executive Director and COO of the National Association of Police Athletic / Activities Leagues, Inc. (National PAL). He has served as CEO of several non-profit STEM and youth serving organizations. He has also held positions in finance and enrollment within higher education. He earned a PhD. from Brandeis University in social policy, a master’s in management of human services, also from Brandeis, and is a trustee of several private foundations.
Dr. Noemi Custodia Lora is the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Workforce Development at Urban College of Boston. She is a visionary leader in education and workforce development, bringing over 20 years of experience dedicated to expanding access to education for underrepresented minorities. Her deep commitment to social justice and her expertise in immigration integration and workforce training have established her as a leading advocate for multilingual learners, adults students, and immigrants.
Dr. Custodia Lora is a strong proponent of immigrant integration, spearheading initiatives that empower immigrant professionals to validate foreign credentials and transition efficiently into the workforce. Her leadership extends to her role on the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Alliance for Education Board, where she played a vital role in shaping educational policies that enhance outcomes for low-income and underrepresented students.
In recognition to her significant contributions to education, Dr. Custodia Lora has served on several influential boards and organizations, including the National Skills Coalition Panel on Racial Equity, the Anna Jacques Hospital Board of Trustees, the Latinos for Education Educator Diversity Coalition (OOMA), the Haverhill Public Schools Diversity Committee, and the Massachusetts Commission for Foreign-Trained Medical Professionals. Furthermore, she is an American Council on Education Fellow.
Dr. Custodia Lora earned her BS in Biology from the Universidad de Puerto Rico, a Ph.D. in Biology with a concentration on molecular endocrinology from Boston University, and a post-doctoral research fellowship in cancer research from Tufts Medical School, Boston, MA. Her scientific background enhances her educational leadership, giving her a unique perspective on the intersection of research, education, and community development.
Dr. Amy Donahue is Provost and Chief Academic Officer at the United States Coast Guard Academy. She is responsible for ensuring the academic enterprise fulfills its mission to educate and graduate leaders of character to serve as officers in the U.S. Coast Guard. She is also professor emeritus of public policy at the University of Connecticut. She is engaged in policy work at the state level, helping design Connecticut’s new policy and curriculum for police use of force, and at the national level, serving on NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, which advises the NASA Administrator and Congress on safety and risk management. Previously, Dr. Donahue served as UConn’s Vice Provost for Academic Operations, responsible for operational decision-making, labor-management relations, financial resource oversight, crisis planning and response, and capital planning for fourteen schools and five regional campuses. From 2002-2004, Dr. Donahue was Senior Advisor to the Administrator for Homeland Security at NASA. She began her career serving in the U.S. Army on active duty in the 6th Infantry Division at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Her military assignments included serving as Officer in Charge of a Forward Surgical Team, as the Training and Operations (S3) for the 706th Main Support Battalion, and as Chief of Mobilization, Education, Training, and Security for Basset Army Hospital. She moved on to manage a 911 communications center, and to volunteer and work part-time as a firefighter and medic in Fairbanks, Alaska and upstate New York. She is currently certified as a Wilderness EMT.
Tim Donovan
Before retiring, Tim served as the Chancellor of the Vermont State Colleges (2009-2014), at the time a system of the five public colleges that, collectively, enrolled more than 12,000 students. During his time as Chancellor, Tim oversaw the expansion of the Dual Enrollment and Early College programs that provided access to college classes for high school students. Tim’s experience in higher education also included 24 years at the Community College of Vermont (CCV). He served as President of CCV from 2001 to 2009 when the institution’s enrollment nearly doubled to make it Vermont’s second-largest college. Donovan has been an active contributor in a wide variety of Vermont and New England regional organizations promoting increased access to transformational education and “blurring the lines” between education levels and institutions to benefit learners. These have included serving on the New England Board of Higher Education; the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of NEASC (2013-2014); and New England Secondary Schools Consortium. He is the founding chair of Vermont’s PreK-16 Council.
Harry Dumay is Senior Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Saint Anselm College. His degrees include an MBA and graduate Certificate in Corporate Finance from Boston University and a PhD in Higher Education Administration from Boston College. Previously he worked in finance positions at Harvard (SEAS), Boston College (Research Administration), and Boston University (College of Engineering). Harry is an experienced team member and has served on the ARFE Committee.
Paleontologist John Flynn is the founding Dean of the Richard Gilder Graduate School at the American Museum of Natural History, and oversees the Museum’s university level degree-granting and training programs, from undergraduate to graduate and postdoctoral education. He received his B.S. from Yale and Ph.D. from Columbia, is Frick Curator at the AMNH, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and former Guggenheim Fellow, and has served in many leadership roles including as President of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. John has been a department chair and curator for many exhibits at the AMNH and The Field Museum. He began his academic career at Rutgers University, served as MacArthur Curator at the Field Museum and Associate Chair of the University of Chicago’s Committee on Evolutionary Biology, and is or was an adjunct faculty member at Columbia University, CUNY, University of Chicago, and University of Illinois-Chicago, and visiting professor at the Universidad de Chile.
Joseph Greene is Vice Chancellor and Providence Campus President at Johnson & Wales University. He is responsible for university finance, budget, procurement, internal audit, facilities management, information technology and auxiliary services. He is a certified public accountant with more than 38 years of accounting and finance experience, including 34 years at Johnson & Wales. He has significant commission experience and served as a team member on seven visiting teams. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Accounting from Johnson & Wales.
Judith Hain has a long and distinguished career in higher education, retiring as Vice President for Human Resources at Montclair State University in 2014 after fifteen years of service. Prior positions include Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Executive Director of Employee Relations and Human Resources for the New Jersey Department of Higher Education, and Employee Relations Coordinator for the New Jersey Governor’s Office of Employee Relations. Prior to her service in higher education, Judith was a secondary school teacher and assistant principal. She received her BA from Arcadia University, and her MS in Industrial Relations and Human Resources from Rutgers University. Judith resides with her husband Stuart in Prospect, Maine. Her passion these days is her photography studio in her home in Maine.
Farshid Hajir is Senior Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His previous administrative duties at UMass Amherst include a combined 11 years in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics as Undergraduate Program Director, Associate Head, and Head, and five years in the Provost’s Office as Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. He earned his bachelor’s degree magna cum laude at Princeton and his PhD at MIT, both in mathematics. Prior to joining UMass Amherst, he held a number of postdoctoral and faculty positions at Caltech, UCLA, California State University San Marcos, and UNC Chapel Hill. His area of academic expertise is algebraic number theory.
James Herbert is President of the University of New England, a merger of St. Francis College and Westbrook College, that includes a Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dental Medicine, and a study abroad campus in Tangiers, Morocco. Earlier at Drexel University he served as Executive Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate College, Interim Provost, chair of the Psychology Department and President of the University Faculty. His research expertise is on quackery and pseudoscience in mental health, and he is a fellow of the Institute for Science in Medicine and the Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health. He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Texas Austin, and his master’s and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Lisa Ijiri is Clinical Professor of Higher Education and Senior Advisor to the Dean at Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development where she teaches graduate level courses including “How Colleges Work: Governance and Decision-Making in Higher Education”. She has served in a variety of senior academic roles including Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Accreditation Liaison Officer at Lesley University and at Curry College where she was Associate Dean and Director of the Program for Advancement of Learning. Lisa has served regularly on NEASC/NECHE visiting teams for the last fifteen years (including seventeen visiting teams), and currently serves on the NECHE Data Advisory Committee. She holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in Psychology from Johns Hopkins University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Communication Sciences and Disorders – Learning Disabilities from Northwestern University.
Joyce Judy has been president of the Community College of Vermont since 2009, having previously served as dean of students and provost of the College. A special focus of her work is on expanding access to higher education for all Vermonters, from high school students taking college courses to adult students seeking new career opportunities. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire and a master’s in organization and management from Antioch New England Graduate School. In addition to serving on the University of Vermont Health Network/Central Vermont Medical Center Board of Trustees, the Vermont Higher Education Council, the Vermont Business Roundtable, and the College Board Community College Advisory Group, she is a member of the Future of Vermont Action Team, convened to support the Vermont Council on Rural Development’s efforts to advance resilience, justice, strong communities, and a sustainable economy.
Sarah Latham
Sarah is currently the Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration at Brown University, where she has served since 2022. Her portfolio includes, among others, finance and treasury functions, human resources, information technology, facilities management, real estate, risk management, business operations, dining services, internal audit, public safety, and auxiliary services including the Brown Bookstore.
Prior to her tenure at Brown, Sarah spent a decade as the Vice Chancellor for Business and Administrative Services at the University of California Santa Cruz. Before she joined UC Santa Cruz, Sarah served for ten years at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama where she was Vice President of Operations and Planning. She also served as an instructor in the Political Science department for eight years. Sarah started her career working for the Florida Legislature and Florida Board of Regents. A California native, Sarah received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Alabama Birmingham, her master’s and PhD in public administration and policy from Florida State University.
Todd Leach is Chancellor Emeritus of the University System of New Hampshire consisting of University of New Hampshire, Keene State College, Plymouth State University, and Granite State College. Earlier he served as President of Granite State College, the primary public provider of online higher education in New Hampshire. Before that he served at Northeastern University as Senior Associate Dean of the College of Professional Studies where he oversaw all of its academic programs and faculty and led the development of over twenty master’s and doctoral programs. He provided oversight for Northeastern Online and served as the Executive Director of the School of Education. He earned an Associate’s degree from Massachusetts Bay Community College, a bachelor’s degree from Worcester State College, an M.B.A. from Bentley University, and a Ph.D. from Northeastern University.
Ryan Low is the Vice Chancellor for Finance & Administration and Treasurer at the University of Maine System, overseeing finance, government relations, facilities, procurement, and information technology. With a robust public sector finance background, Ryan has also served as CFO/VP for Administration and Finance at the University of Maine and the University of Maine at Farmington. His career in higher education followed significant roles in Maine’s state government, including Commissioner of Finance, State Budget Officer, and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor. He has managed state biennial budgets, overseen stimulus funding, and contributed to budget reform at the State and University level. Ryan’s expertise was recognized through his service on the transition teams for Maine’s last two governors and as an active member, and former chair, of the State of Maine’s Consensus Economic Forecasting Commission. Additionally, he contributes to various Boards and Commissions, leveraging his extensive experience in finance and administration.
Lynne Pantalena
Lynne Pantalena is managing director at Bank of America Private Bank. With more than 30 years of experience, she leads a team of wealth management advisers to high-net-worth clients in the areas of estate and financial planning, tax payments, business succession and philanthropy. Formerly an attorney in private practice, she is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Chicago Estate Planning Council and the Connecticut Bar Association. A nationally sought-after speaker, Pantalena is a member of the Lyric Opera Planned Giving Committee and is a former trustee of La Rabida Children’s Hospital.
She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from New Hampshire College (now Southern New Hampshire University) and a Master of Public Administration degree from New York University. She also holds a juris doctorate from Quinnipiac School of Law and a Master of Laws degree from Boston University.
Dr. Luis G. Pedraja has served as president of Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) since 2017. Prior to that, he served as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Antioch University in Los Angeles and Interim Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs for Peralta Community College District in California. Previously, as Vice President for Middle States Commission on Higher Education, he led initiatives in international accreditation, substantive change, and evaluator training. President Pedraja emigrated from Cuba as a child and grew up in Miami. He is a passionate advocate for increased access to higher education for all people, especially those who have been underserved historically by the American higher education system. Dr. Pedraja received his BA from Stetson University, and a
Ph.D. in Philosophy and Religion from the University of Virginia.
Juan is a member of EHL Group’s Executive Leadership Team in charge of the Academic Office. He Holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from the University of Lausanne, and a PhD from the Institute of Education, University of London. Education and training policy is Juan’s professional passion. He particularly specializes in all aspects of Higher Education and Research, as well as the development of quality assurance, accreditation, governance, and funding systems. After gaining his PhD, Juan served as the head of the Higher Education Department of the Observatory on Science, Policy, and Society at the Lausanne Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), before joining the State of Vaud’s education ministry, where he became Deputy Director General of the Board of Higher Education in 2012. For more than 10 years, Juan has spearheaded some critically important accreditation projects such as the NECHE accreditation, the association agreement with the HES-SO and the negotiations of the Singaporean government that led to the opening of the first EHL International Campus. Juan is tasked with formulating the Group’s program development strategy as the Chairman of the Certification Board, he is responsible for Group-wide certifications and oversees the academic quality and accreditation. Juan also joined the Board of Directors of EHL Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality in June 2020. With a Spanish and Swiss dual citizenship, Juan was born in Barcelona in 1970 and grew up in the Swiss Alps, where both his parents worked at the “Hotel du Parc”, the oldest hotel of Crans-Montana, built in 1893. Juan is one of the rare recipients of the Marie Sklodowska-Cure Fellowships, the prestigious scholarship awarded by the European Commission which financed his doctoral studies in London.
Sebastian Royo is Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Clark University. He previously served at Suffolk University as Vice President of International Affairs and Professor of Political Science from 2019-2021; Acting Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs from 2016-2019; and as Vice Provost for Student Success from 2012 to 2016. He was Suffolk’s Accreditation Liaison Officer since 2013 and has led the self-study and interim report processes at the University. Sebastian has served on six NECHE accreditation teams.
Dr. Treadwell, an alumna of Keene State and the first in her family to attend college, began serving as interim president of Keene State on July 31, 2017. Dr. Treadwell originally joined Keene State as a faculty member in 2000. Later, she also served as interim provost. Prior to returning to Keene, Dr. Treadwell served as CEO and provost of Antioch University New England. Dr. Treadwell holds a Doctorate in Pharmacology and Toxicology from Dartmouth Medical School and a Bachelor’s degree from Keene State College.
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