Michael J. Sparrow

Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, New Jersey City University


Michael Sparrow, Ed.D., is currently an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership in New Jersey City University’s Community College Leadership Ed.D. program. His research interests include student onboarding and acclimation, student success initiatives, SEM, and equity in educational access and outcomes. Prior to joining the faculty at NJCU, Dr. Sparrow worked for more than a decade in administration in both student and academic affairs, and he most recently served as the dean of enrollment management and retention at Northampton Community College.

Supporting Adult Students with Improved Community College Enrollment Practices

Jennifer DeHaemers

Vice President of Student Recruitment and Retention, Central Michigan University.


Jennifer DeHaemers is Vice President of Student Recruitment and Retention at Central Michigan University. She has worked in higher education for more than 35 years, holding positions in domestic and international admissions and enrollment management at a community college and three public four-year institutions in Missouri, Illinois, and Michigan.

An Interview with Jeff Selingo

David R. Johnson

Associate Professor of Higher Education, Georgia State University


David R. Johnson is an Associate Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at Georgia State University. His research agenda examines how universities are shaped by changes in their institutional environments, especially as it relates to capitalism, religion and politics. His most recent work appears in Educational Researcher, Harvard Educational Review, and Innovative Higher Education.

Departure from College: The Role of the Social Network of Students

Leah Adinolfi

Dean of Student Engagement, Director of Assessment, East Tennessee State University


Leah Adinolfi is the Dean of Student Engagement and Director of Assessment in the Division of Student Life & Enrollment at East Tennessee State University (ETSU). She also serves as Adjunct Faculty in the Departments of Counseling and Human Services and Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis with ETSU’s Clemmer College. Dr. Adinolfi has more than 20 years of experience in higher education and non-profit organizations managing projects, developing resources and mobilizing young people and community volunteers. Since earning her Doctorate in Educational Leadership & Policy at Vanderbilt University in 2020, her research has continued to explore factors influencing college student persistence and success, with particular focus on the effects of relationships with faculty, staff and peers for diverse student populations and campus environments. 

Departure from College: The Role of the Social Network of Students

Photo of Angela Batista, founder of Batista Consulting Services

Angela Batista, ED.D.

Founder, Batista Consulting Services

A native of the Dominican Republic, Angela Batista grew up in Brooklyn, New York. A first-generation college student and professional, she is an experienced and successful educator and leader and the former vice president of student affairs and institutional diversity and inclusion at Champlain College. Batista has worked in K–12 and higher education institutions across the United States and held senior level positions at Oregon State University, the University of Southern Indiana, and Mills College. She also worked at the University of Vermont and Lynn University, is a former marriage and family therapist, and an experienced high school teacher, counselor, and administrator.

Batista founded Batista Consulting Services (BCS) in September 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. BCS is an international executive coaching, speaking, and consulting firm providing expertise and customized resources and services to individuals, teams, and organizations in higher education and in the private and non-profit sectors.

Photo of Dr. Robin Holmes Sullivan

Dr. Robin Holmes-Sullivan

President, Lewis & Clark College

Dr. Robin Holmes-Sullivan is the 26th President of Lewis & Clark College, the first woman and person of color to serve in that role in the institution’s 155-year history. She began her tenure as president in July 2022 after serving as the college’s vice president for student life and dean of students for three years. During her time as vice president and dean of students, Holmes-Sullivan demonstrated a commitment to creative leadership, secured funding for an improved student experience and developed a comprehensive plan for the division of student life.

Holmes-Sullivan came to Lewis & Clark from the University of California, where she served as vice president for student affairs with responsibilities across the 10-campus, 200,000-student system. Prior to that, she spent 25 years at the University of Oregon, ultimately serving as vice president of student life, a position she held for nine years. Holmes-Sullivan has also maintained a private clinical psychology and consulting practice for more than two decades.

Photo of Dr. Sumun Pendakur, a woman activist

Dr. Sumun L. Pendakur

Dr. Sumun L. Pendakur (Sumi) believes that we have infinite capability to imagine and enact a more just, equitable, and compassionate world. Pendakur is a scholar-practitioner, an activist-educator, a skilled facilitator, and a mom. With nearly 20 years in the field of higher education and a decade as a DEI speaker and trainer, Pendakur's work and research focuses on helping campuses, corporations, non-profits, and other organizations build capacity for social justice and racial equity by empowering individuals at all levels to be transformational agents of change in their spheres of influence. Most recently, Pendakur was the Chief Learning Officer and Director of the USC Equity Institutes at the USC Race and Equity Center, dedicated to advancing racial justice in higher education and other sectors. Prior to that position, Pendakur held roles as the assistant vice president for diversity and inclusion at Harvey Mudd College, serving on the President’s Cabinet and directing the Office of Institutional Diversity, and as the director for USC Asian Pacific American student services.  

Deborah Everhart

Deborah Everhart

Chief Strategy Officer, Credential Engine

Deborah Everhart serves as the Chief Strategy Officer at Credential Engine, leading the expansion of credential transparency initiatives that enable more effective connections between education and career opportunities.

Previously she has served as a strategic advisor with the American Council on Education, leading research groups of nationally-recognized experts authoring “Quality Dimensions for Connected Credentials,” “Communicating the Value of Competencies,” and “Clarifying Competency Based Education Terms: A Lexicon.” She has long been a leader in the development of open technology standards, including leading IMS Global workgroups for competency-based education, comprehensive learner records, and digital credentials. She chaired the Badge Alliance workgroup that defined a conceptual framework and technical standards for Open Badge endorsements. Her business expertise includes leadership roles in technology architecture and product strategy at Cengage and Blackboard. Deborah’s thought leadership has evolved through numerous white papers, book chapters, presentations, and blogs on innovations in education, emerging technologies, portfolios, badges, digital credentials, and competency-based learning.

Deborah holds a Ph.D. in English, critical theory, and interdisciplinary medieval studies from the University of California, Irvine. She teaches as an adjunct at Georgetown University. She lives and works in Washington, DC, where she contributes to federal strategy papers and national initiatives.

Art Coleman headshot

Art Coleman

EducationCounsel Managing Partner

Art Coleman is Managing Partner and co-founder of EducationCounsel LLC.  He provides policy, strategic, and legal counseling services to national non-profit organizations, school districts, state agencies, and postsecondary institutions throughout the country, where he addresses issues associated with: 

  • student access, diversity, inclusion, expression, and success;
  • faculty diversity,  inclusion and expression; and 
  • institutional accountability and accreditation.

Mr. Coleman previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, where, in the 1990s, he led the Department’s development of the Department’s Title VI policy on race-conscious financial aid, as well as OCR’s first comprehensive Title IX sexual harassment policy guidance.      

Mr. Coleman was instrumental in the establishment of the College Board's Access and Diversity Collaborative (ADC) in 2004, which he has helped lead since its inception.  With a focus on issues of diversity and inclusion, he has authored amicus briefs in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), Gratz v. Bollinger (2003), and in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (I and II, 2013 and 2016).  His advocacy work also includes the development of a federal amicus strategy and numerous briefs on behalf of transgender students in federal court litigation throughout the United States. 

A former litigator, Mr. Coleman is a 1984 honors graduate of Duke University School of Law and a 1981 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Virginia.  He has testified before the U.S. Senate and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network); the Lab School of Washington, which serves students with learning differences; the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA); and a past chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Higher Education Policy.

Mr. Coleman is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, where he teaches a course on enrollment management law and policy.

Melissa Goldberg headshot

Melissa Goldberg

Director of Competencies & Credentials, CSW

Courtesy of a Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

Melissa Goldberg is the Director of Competencies & Credentials leading CSW’s portfolio of work focused on dramatically expanding the use of competencies and non-degree credentials within learning and talent management systems to increase economic mobility for low-wage workers and address racial disparities. Melissa will continue to position CSW as a leader in a growing national movement to advance the use of competencies as essential currency within education and labor markets through the use of tools such as CSW’s CompXchange, by building systems of incremental credentials, and ensuring competencies and nondegree credentials increase equity and worker advancement.

For more than 20 years, Melissa has advised state policy makers, industry executives and college leaders on leveraging the strengths of these sectors to improve outcomes for students, workers, and businesses. She has counseled community college workforce leaders on improving student outcomes, facilitated state and regional strategic planning efforts, authored studies of effective workforce development practices, and provided technical assistance to foundations, federal agencies, businesses, and community colleges across the country.

Prior to joining CSW, Melissa’s work has taken her to national consulting organizations, Volta Learning Group and Workforce Strategy Center, as well as higher educational institutions. At Southern New Hampshire University she leveraged her research to inform the development of College for America, a set of online, competency-based certificate and degree programs targeted to working adults. She also spent eight years leading workforce development and business outreach at community colleges in the New York metropolitan region. Melissa received her master’s degree in public policy analysis from New York University’s Wagner School for Public Service and her bachelor’s degree in international affairs and Spanish from the University of Maine.

Zachariah John

Student at Georgetown University

Zachariah is a current student at Georgetown University majoring in Science, Technology, and International Affairs. Zachariah currently serves as Advocacy and Communications Director for No Lost Generation Georgetown, an organization designed to support refugees by educating, fundraising, and promoting awareness on the university campus. Zachariah has spearheaded the development of the Welcoming Campus Initiative at Georgetown, a scholarship and support program built to increase access to higher education for refugee-background students. In collaboration with NLG George Washington, Zachariah has worked with students, faculty, and existing support structures at the university to begin developing a program that would work with local resettlement organizations in Washington D.C to aid such students.

Katherine Hawes

Student at Georgetown University (Class of '25)

From Tuscon, AZ, Katherine Hawes is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University planning to major in Culture and Politics with a concentration in survival migration, and minor in Spanish and Journalism. Besides No Lost Generation, other Georgetown organizations Katherine is involved in include the Migration and Refugee Policy Initiative, Hoyas for Immigrant Rights, and running club!

Sean McCarthy

Student at the George Washington University (Class of '25)

Sean McCarthy is a Sophomore studying Political Science at George Washington University. He is the Office Relations Chair for the Welcoming Campus Initiative. His role as Office Relations Chair focuses on building support for the Welcoming Campus Initiative across a broad range of schools and offices within GW through initiating dialogue with GW faculty and administration members.

Emmanuelle Dyer-Melhado

Student at George Washington University (Class of '24)

Emmanuelle Dyer-Melhado is a Junior studying International Affairs and Journalism at The George Washington University. She is the Outreach Chair for the Welcoming Campus Initiative. Her role is to build and maintain professional partnerships that support the goals of the WCI: the sponsorship of domestic and international refugee students on the George Washington University (GWU) campus through a scholarship and mentorship program, and the encouragement of flexible admissions practices to remove some of the barriers to refugee access to higher education.

Tashana Curtis

Tashana Curtis

Associate Registrar for Enrollment Administration, University of Maryland Baltimore

AACRAO Elections Position Statement (2024-2025 Nominations & Elections Committee)

If I'm elected to the Nominations and Elections Committee, I will use it as an opportunity to learn, network, and provide my experience and resources to the mission of the committee. My goal as a committee member is to increase access to information and resources and be a steward to the association. With this opportunity I hope to expand my knowledge, learn new things and network with other higher education professionals.

AACRAO Bio

Tashana Curtis’s twenty plus career in higher education has included work in various administrative and registrar roles in academic and student services at different institutions, and most recently the University of Maryland Baltimore where she is currently serves as the Associate Registrar for Enrollment Administration. Throughout her career, she has assisted in implementing student information systems and other programs to ensure student success. Tashana is student centered and focuses on student success. Tashana holds a bachelor's degree in Social Science from Troy University, and she is currently completing her master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

Ingrid Nuttall

Ingrid Nuttall

Deputy Registrar, Northeastern University

Ingrid Nuttall is the Deputy Registrar at Northeastern University. In this role, she works with all things records, student systems, and data. Ingrid is also co-founder of Just Education, a University of Minnesota research and outreach collaborative exploring how to reverse the ripple effect of incarceration in the state. She holds a bachelor's degree in history, a master’s degree in Mass Communication, and is currently finishing her master’s degree in public affairs (all at the University of Minnesota).

 

Photograph of Michel Frendian

Michel Frendian

Consultant with Spelman Johnson

Michel Frendian is a consultant with Spelman Johnson. Based in Chicago,  Michel leads searches across a range of institutional types and administrative functions, with a particular depth of practice in enrollment management,  graduate and professional education, and student affairs. 

Michel joined Spelman Johnson after 30 years in higher education. He most recently served as dean of enrollment management at the Erikson Institute in  Chicago. Previously, he served as vice president for enrollment management and student affairs at San Francisco Art Institute, as director of international affairs at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and in residential life positions at DePaul University, Elmhurst College, and Occidental College.  

Motivated by a deep belief that education and social impact organizations serve the greater public good, Michel is passionate about helping organizations recruit exceptional leaders. He develops close and effective working relationships with his clients to ensure that he thoroughly understands their mission, strategy, and culture. He is creative and meticulous in crafting searches, building deep candidate pools, and recruiting best-in-class leaders who add great value to their organizations. Clients appreciate his integrity,  thoughtful counsel, and attentiveness throughout the search process. 

Michel’s most recent board service includes two years with the National Deans and Directors of Social Work Admissions and six years with Positive Parenting  DuPage, a regional collaboration that addresses the needs of young children and their families. He has held leadership roles with numerous professional  associations, including the Association of University Housing Officers-International, American College Personnel Association, and NASPA—Student Affairs  Administrators in Higher

Photograph of Ellen Heffernan.

Ellen Heffernan

President of Spelman Johnson

Ellen Heffernan is president of Spelman Johnson, a premier executive search firm committed to serving education, advocacy associations, and social impact organizations. Ellen provides strategic and operational leadership of the firm and oversees its presidential/CEO search practice. Under her direction,  Spelman Johnson has emerged as one of the nation’s most respected executive search firms. Over the course of its 30-year history, Spelman Johnson has conducted more than 1,700 searches in partnership with institutions of higher education, independent schools, professional associations, and non-profit agencies across the country. All of the firm’s consultants have significant experience in education and non-profit administration and executive search, which enables them to understand the strategic challenges and cultures of their client organizations, deliver robust and diverse candidate pools, and provide an unrivaled level of client engagement.  

In addition to leading Spelman Johnson and working directly with clients on  search assignments, Ellen serves on the faculty of several leadership development programs, including the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education (AABHE) Leadership and Mentoring Institute, NASPA—Senior Student  

Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, and College Board Middle State’s  Mid-Level Institute professional development institutes. Ellen has published numerous articles and is valued for her thought leadership on talent acquisition, building organizational capacity, and issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. She serves as an adviser to governing boards, presidents and chancellors,  and other campus and system leaders and policymakers.  

Ellen joined Spelman Johnson in 1996, after a 10-year career in higher education that included positions at Smith College and the University of Massachu setts Amherst. A recipient of NASPA’s Pillar of the Profession Award, given for sustained professional distinction in higher education, Ellen has received many honors and awards, including the AABHE’s President’s Award and the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International’s Parthenon  Award and S. Earl Thompson Award, to name a few. She currently serves on the  board of the National Association of Executive Recruiters and is a member of  the American Council on Education  

Wil Perkins, Ed.D.

Graduate Registrar, Coordinator of Graduate and Professional Support, Harding University

Wil Perkins is Graduate Registrar and Coordinator of Graduate and Professional Support at Harding University. His career in higher education began in 2010, and he has worked in academic affairs, institutional research, and the registrar’s office. At Harding University, he provides strategic leadership and partnership to graduate and professional programs.

He is a member of ArkACRAO, SACRAO, and AACRAO and has presented at their annual conferences. His 2021 SEM AACRAO presentation won the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center Award. He also serves on the Client Advisory Board for CollegeSource and is a frequent presenter at their user conferences.

Dr. Perkins earned his B.S. from Freed-Hardeman University, his M.A. from Lipscomb University, his M.Ed. from Abilene Christian University, and his Ed.D. from Harding University.

Does Completing College-Level Work in High School Result in Baccalaureate Success for Students? 

Cassie Burns headshot

Cassie Burns

Senior Project Manager, Association for Institutional Research