People

Dr. Melanie V. Tucker

Vice President & Dean of Students, and Chief Diversity Officer at Maryville College

Dr. Melanie V. Tucker is seasoned higher education professional, currently serving Maryville College as the Vice President of Student Affairs & Dean of Students, and as the Chief Diversity Officer. She is a steadfast advocate for access and inclusion, and a passionate champion for individualized student success.

Dr. Tucker’s path to Eastern Tennessee has taken her across the county – from Eastern Washington University where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Psychology while working in various mental health settings; to the University of New Orleans where she worked within the community supporting individuals with chronic mental illness transition to independent living while earning her Master’s degree in Counselor Education; to Southeast Missouri State University, where she served as the Director of Learning Assistance Programs & Disability Support Services, and earned her Education Specialist degree in Counseling Education; to Northern Illinois University where she served as the Assistant Vice President for Student Services and earned her Doctor of Education in Adult & Higher Education; and, to Dickinson State University in North Dakota where she served as the Vice President of Student Affairs & Enrollment Management. Prior to her career in higher education, Dr. Tucker worked as a state and nationally credentialed mental health professional serving adolescents and adults within clinics, hospitals, public/private settings, and a state penitentiary.

The first in her family to earn her doctorate, Melanie seeks to give back professionally, as others have done for her. She has become a sought-after guest speaker, touching on topics such as critical hope, humor as an education tool, inclusive design, student success, and women in higher education. Dr. Tucker is a proudly published author with writings covering topics such as threat preparedness on college campuses, crisis management, concerning student behavior, violence prevention, student engagement, leadership transitions, integrating senior leadership and parenthood, and universal design.

Dr. Tucker’s drive to make a difference in the lives of students begins at home, where she is the proud parent of an inquisitive and thoughtful 7-year-old daughter.

Adrienne Fraaza

Director, Office of Student Transitions, Western Michigan University

Currently the director of the Office of Student Transitions, Adrienne has been a higher education professional at Western Michigan University since 2006. Prior to becoming the director of the department, she served as the Fall Welcome Coordinator and the Adult Learner Program Manager. She is also involved in managing the First-Year Experience seminar, as well as several CliftonStrengths for Students initiatives.

Adrienne's capstone project was a literature review on persistence and retention challenges among transfer students. Postsecondary institutions inherently have inequitable transfer processes that students struggle to navigate. Primarily non-traditional students, transfer students face many hardships that traditional native students do not, leading to abysmally low degree-attainment rates. Universities must examine their transfer processes and advocacy systems to improve and create a more equitable transfer process and to achieve higher levels of transfer student retention and graduation.

Aliyah King

Outstanding Scholar, University of Windsor

Aliyah King is a University of Windsor undergraduate student, majoring in behaviour, cognition, and neuroscience. She is an Outstanding Scholar, research assistant and a member of the Teaching International Students Research Group. Through the Office of Human Rights, Equity, and Accessibility, she also serves as equity initiatives coordinator.

Canadian Enrollment Leaders’ Reflections on the Effectiveness of SEM

Shaimaa Nabil Hassanein

GEM and Assessment Senior Manager, American University in Cairo

Shaimaa Hassanein is a Graduate Enrollment Management and Assessment Senior Manager at the American University in Cairo (AUC), a leading English-language, American-accredited institution of higher education and center of intellectual, social and cultural life of the Arab world. Hassanein is handling performance and monitoring, enrollment management, and assessment of graduate studies at AUC. In this role, she is responsible for developing assessment models and metrics as well as crisis management plans. She also identifies and communicates clear assessment measures for graduate program performance and creates data stories.

Hassanein created the AUC graduate strategic enrollment management plan and oversees its implementation. Moreover, she consults higher administration on the best practices to manage student enrollment, retention, and satisfaction. She also develops models for the successful graduate student study journeys and initiates the integration of new skills and principles such as: lifelong learning, design thinking, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and data literacy.

To enhance graduate program assessment, Hassanein continuously enriches her talent and learning experience through: attending and delivering workshops, consultancy services, and training in Egypt and abroad as well as presenting at conferences worldwide and sharing experience and knowledge through her published articles.

Hassanein holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the Faculty of Commerce–English section, Ain Shams University, Egypt. She is an alumna of the master’s degree in applied linguistics at the American University in Cairo. She also holds a data visualization nanodegree from Udacity.

Reimagining Higher-Ed in the New Era: Upskilling Competencies toward Enhancing Enrollment Management

A Practical Framework for a Data-Driven Graduate Enrollment Management Plan

Tara Hornor

Associate Professor and Coordinator of Higher Education Leadership Programs, The Citadel

Tara Hornor, Ph.D., currently serves an Associate Professor and Coordinator of Higher Education Leadership Programs in the Zucker Family School of Education at The Citadel. She has more than 20 years of higher education leadership experience and previously served as Associate Provost for Planning, Assessment, and Evaluation and Dean of Enrollment Management at The Citadel. Dr. Hornor holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Arizona and master’s degrees in school counseling, instructional design, and human resource management.

Factors Influencing Student Veterans’ College Choices

Joshua LaFave

Director of Graduate Business Programs, Clarkson University

Joshua LaFave is the Director of Graduate Business Programs in the David D. Reh School of Business at Clarkson University and holds an M.B.A. He has been in graduate enrollment management for sixteen years and has collaborated on the creation of the first formal model for graduate enrollment management. LaFave oversees the entire student lifecycle of graduate students in business programs for both residential and online students.

The Evolution of Graduate Enrollment Management

Christopher Connor

Assistant Dean and Chief Enrollment Officer, University at Buffalo

Christopher Connor is the Assistant Dean and Chief Enrollment Officer, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (SUNY). With more than 20 years of experience in higher education, Connor’s experience includes serving in leadership roles in undergraduate and graduate education both from an institutional and academic unit perspective. In his current role, he focuses strategically on all aspects of the student lifecycle. During his tenure in the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, graduate enrollment has risen 47 percent to the highest in school history, which includes a 28 percent increase in international enrollment and a 155 percent increase in domestic enrollment levels. Connor was recently awarded the 2019 Chancellor’s Award for Professional Service by the State University of New York (SUNY) system, and the operations under his direction were awarded the 2020 IELTS USA Best Practices Award in International Enrollment Management.

The Evolution of Graduate Enrollment Management

Ariana Balayan

Assistant Dean of Admissions and Recruiting, UMass Chan Medical School

Ariana Balayan is the Assistant Dean of Admissions and Recruiting at UMass Chan Medical School. She holds an Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership from Nova Southeastern University and has collaborated to develop the first formal model for graduate enrollment management.

The Evolution of Graduate Enrollment Management

A Study of the Factors and Conditions Associated With Graduate Enrollment Management Practitioners’ Participation in Professional Development

Dr. Tom Green

Director of Strategic Enrollment Management, Salesforce

During Tom Green’s more than 30-year career as an enrollment manager, he has led enrollment management efforts for six universities and collaborated with both public and private institutions to reach their goals. Tom brings proven best-practice expertise in developing effective recruitment strategies, enhancing and streamlining financial aid processes, maximizing institutional aid, identifying customer service/CRM strategies, and implementing and evaluating comprehensive service systems for colleges and universities.

Tom’s first-hand education experience includes his tenure as Vice President for Enrollment Management at Eastern Michigan University, and as Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. There, Tom oversaw multiple functions including admission, bursar, financial aid and registrar offices. Under his direction, new student enrollment grew by 12% while SAT scores rose by over 65 points. While heading academic advising, adult re-entry centers, admission, registrar and financial aid operations at Newman University, Tom lead the university to a 54% increase in freshman students and net revenue increases of 95%.

A former chair for AACRAO’s financial aid, enrollment management and retention committees, Tom is a sought-after speaker at enrollment meetings and conferences worldwide. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Management and Policy from Seton Hall University.

Katie Taylor

Curriculum Analyst USG eCampus

Taylor’s higher education career began almost 15 years ago and has continued in various Enrollment Management capacities. She has served the state of Georgia at public and private institutions, as well as the state’s University System. One third of her career was dedicated to Financial Aid, the next to Transfer Admissions, and now to the system’s eCampus department as Curriculum Analyst.

2022 SEM-EP Graduate

Capstone Abstract - "Why Adults Should be and are Becoming a Prominent Piece of the SEM Puzzle"

With the state of higher education’s changing landscape including the vast number of adults with some college, but no degree and declining high school graduation numbers coupled with the national economic shift and labor workforce shortage, it is more important than ever that enrollment managers focus on encouraging and supporting adults to return to college. Strategic enrollment management is the channel through which institutions can combat that changing dynamic. This paper aims to outline why and how adults became the primary college population, why it is more important than ever for institutions to shift their focus to that population, what barriers they face, how strategic enrollment management is an important part of serving that group, and one state’s online department’s efforts to serve them.

Josh Dodson

Vice President of Innovation, VisionPoint

Josh Dodson knows higher ed. As a university’s director of digital marketing,, a web analytics strategist, a co-founder/ chief innovation officer of a higher-ed marketing firm, and a professor, Josh has helped many institutions modernize their enrollment and marketing programs. He has delivered countless presentations, keynotes, and workshops at national conferences and has taught more than 500+ students as a former faculty member.

As the Vice President of Innovation at VisionPoint, Josh brings his uncanny ability to design strategy, execute tactically, and measure ROI to our clients. Before joining VisionPoint, he led digital marketing efforts at Bentley University, Southern New Hampshire University, Eastern Kentucky University, and Lincoln Memorial University. He’s also served higher ed from the agency side in roles with Converge and Stamats. His experience both inside the university and working with them from the outside gives him a unique perspective that clients find invaluable.

B.A. in Philosophy & Religion | Lincoln Memorial University

M.A. in Christian Studies | University of the Cumberlands

John P. Panzica

Product Solutions Specialist, CollegeSource

John Panzica is a Product Solutions Specialist at CollegeSource who has served in higher education for more than 25 years. From Financial Aid to Enrollment Management, Information Technology to Admissions and Records, and then on to University Registrar, John’s breadth of experience at both 2-year and 4-year institutions gives him a unique perspective when it comes to the student journey.

Chris Starkey

Customer Engagement & Training Specialist, CollegeSource

Chris Starkey is a uAchieve Customer Engagement & Training Specialist with CollegeSource and has been with the company for over ten years. Currently, Chris is responsible for developing training materials and courses for uAchieve products.

Amber Cellotti

Associate Director in the Office of the Registrar, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Amber Cellotti is an Associate Director in the Office of the Registrar at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She is a member of the Upper Midwest Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (UMACRAO) and has served as Program Chair and President. She is currently a member of AACRAO's State & Regional Relations Committee and will be taking on the role of Vice Chair of the committee following the annual meeting. Amber has a bachelor's degree in communication as a master's degree in strategic communication, both earned at the University of Minnesota.

Traci Sorell

Traci Sorell writes award-winning trade published fiction and nonfiction works for young people. Born and raised in northeastern Oklahoma, she is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and lives on her tribe's reservation near Fort Gibson Lake. Her work focuses on combating the erasure and invisibility of Native Nations and their citizens while centering their humanity, sovereignty, histories, cultures and languages in trade published literature for young people.

Traci's nonfiction books include We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga (2018); Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer (2021); and, We Are Still Here: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know (2021). Her fiction books include At The Mountain’s Base (2019); Indian No More (2019); and Powwow Day (2022).

Traci earned a JD from the University of Wisconsin, a MA from the University of Arizona and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. A first generation college graduate and former federal Indigenous law and policy advocate, she now serves as a 2021-22 Tulsa Artist Fellow, focusing on writing in formats new to her.

Sarah Hartman

Professional Activities Officer - IACRAO (Illinois)

I have been a member of IACRAO for over 4 years and during that time I have presented at conference, held the position of East Central District Chair, and currently hold the title of Professional Activities Officer. I have been working in higher education for ten years and I am currently the Interim Associate Director of Admissions at Parkland College. Previous to my current position I have worked on both the recruiting side as an Admissions Advisor and the records side as a Student Records Advisor. I am a huge proponent of professional development and along with being an IACRAO member I have been an IACAC member and have served on their board for the last 4 years. When I am not working I like to spend time with my dog Pearl, listening to true crime podcasts, and obsessing over Christmas!

Maura Dicolla

Immediate Past President - CACRAO (Carolina)

Executive Director at Cooperating Raleigh Colleges |
CACRAO Past President

Sara Sullivan

Associate Registrar, University of Iowa

Sara is currently an Associate Registrar at the University of Iowa and serves as the President of the Upper Midwest Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (UMACRAO). Sara has served in a variety of other capacities for UMACRAO since 2016. Sara earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa as well as a Master’s in Education from Upper Iowa University. She is currently a Doctoral candidate at Maryville University studying Higher Education Leadership.