Chad Sartini is the Director of Financial Aid, Veterans’ Affairs, and Records at Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke, Virginia. He has financial aid and SEM experience at both the community college and university level. He served as president of the Virginia Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and is actively involved on the board of the Southern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Chad holds a Ph.D. in Community College Leadership from Old Dominion University, a master’s degree in social studies education from Teacher College, Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree in political science and Russian studies from Washington and Lee University.
Review of: Financial Aid Leadership in Strategic Enrollment Management
Ashley Miller is the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management at Old Dominion University. She has been in the research and insights industry for nearly 20 years spanning consumer packaged goods, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and academia. Miller was previously at Purdue University as the principal of marketing insights and analytics. She was the inaugural leader for a new office created in the Division of Enrollment Management at IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis), the Office for Enrollment Strategy & Insights. Prior to this, she held leadership positions at Indiana University (IU) and oversaw marketing research and insights for all seven IU campuses. Miller has a B.S. in marketing and a M.S. in data science, both from Indiana University, where she also is an adjunct professor for data science courses.
Delivering the Right Message for Maximum Impact in the Student Enrollment Journey
Christina Alcena (she/her/hers) is an innovative and strategic higher education leader with extensive experience working and learning within Canadian post-secondary institutions. She is an avid champion of student and employee recruitment, retention, and success, with a strong commitment to decolonization, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Christina has over a decade of experience in the field, where she has worked in progressively senior roles within student affairs and enrolment management.
Christina joins us from the Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning located in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, where she holds the position of Director, Division of Students as part of the Vice Provost, Student Experience & Enrolment Management senior leadership team. Within this inaugural role, she directs divisional leadership capacity for talent development, assessment and evaluation, integrated planning and resource management, special projects, channeling student voice into decision-making, and supporting leadership communications.
Christina previously worked at the Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, where she held the leadership positions of Associate Director, Advising & Career Services, and the inaugural Manager, Equity & Student Life. Within both dynamic portfolios, she led large strategic and operational projects, and successfully advanced new initiatives amidst the global pandemic, and the changing Canadian College-sector landscape. Christina has also worked in various student affairs roles at the University of Toronto (Woodsworth College, and Victoria University in the University of Toronto) and the University of Windsor.
Christina earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree (with Distinction) from the University of Windsor, a Master of Education in Curriculum, Teaching & Learning (Arts in Education) from the Ontario Institute for Students in Education, University of Toronto, and a certificate from Seneca College, in Student Affairs & Services. She is a doctoral student at the University of Toronto, where she is pursuing an EdD in Social Justice Education.
As a Black, Chinese-Bahamian first-generation Canadian settler, Christina is passionate about representing and giving back to her diverse communities and has the long-term goal of seeking out progressively senior executive opportunities within the College-sector, with the goal of becoming a President & Vice-Chancellor.
Outside of work, she strives to live a healthy lifestyle through therapy, fitness, and nutrition, and enjoys spending time with her partner and connecting with her family and friends.
David Burge has served as Vice President for Enrollment Management at George Mason University since July 2015.
Before coming to Mason, he served as Executive Director of Admission Services at Arizona State University and oversaw the execution of a new student enrollment strategy for undergraduate and graduate, domestic and international students.
Other professional experience includes the University of Kansas and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, holding senior leadership roles within each institution’s Office of Admissions and Scholarships.
He is currently the immediate past-president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), a professional organization of more than 15,000 school counselors and college admission professionals. Prior to serving in the NACAC Presidential Cycle, Mr. Burge served as President of the Great Plains Association for College Admission Counseling, an affiliate of the national organization.
He has recently served on a number of panels/sessions focusing on the role and impact of public higher education – the Social Mobility Symposium, TargetX User Conference, and as the welcome speaker at the annual meeting for NACAC.
A native Kansan, his academic background includes two degrees from the University of Kansas: an undergraduate degree in English Literature and a master’s degree in Educational Policy and Leadership.
Joshua Childs, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Educational Policy and Planning program in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at The University of Texas at Austin. His research examines the role of interorganizational networks and cross-sector collaborations to address complex educational issues.
Digital Swag and College Students: Exploring 21st Century Digital Admissions, Recruitment, and Yield Collateral
Kristin Woods, Ph.D., is currently the Senior Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), which includes leadership of the Offices of Admissions, Financial Aid & Scholarships, International Engagement, and Student Success & Retention. Her professional experience and research interests include orientation and first-year programs, recruitment and college choice, community college transfer initiatives, retention and student success, co-curricular assessment, and academic and career services. She holds her Ph.D. from Iowa State University, M.A. from Bowling Green State University, and B.A. from the University of Northern Iowa. Woods was also a 2024 AACRAO Congressional Hill Day Advocate.The Impact of Interventions for Students Readmitted After Academic Suspension
Deirdre Bucher Heistad, Ph.D., has been at the University of Northern Iowa since 2000 and serves as the Executive Director of Undergraduate Studies. The Undergraduate Studies division includes the Office of Academic Advising, Community Engagement, Study Abroad, the Office of Academic Advising, Honors and Scholars Programs, UNIFI general education, academic assessment, and academic support programs. Dr. Heistad has a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, a D.E.A. degree from Paris IV-Sorbonne, and an M.A. and B.A. from the University of Iowa. The Impact of Interventions for Students Readmitted After Academic Suspension
Megan Vogt-Kostner works as the Senior Research Analyst in the Office of Institutional Research & Effectiveness at UNI, as well as teaching as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Social Work. In her primary role at UNI she works alongside campus partners to support their strategies of evaluation and assessment while making data informed decisions. Her main research interests include the assessment of first-year initiatives, student success after graduation, and campus-wide surveying. Megan has presented at many regional and national conferences on the success of peer led support programs and the effectiveness of data visualization when reporting. Megan holds a M.A. and M.S.W. from the University of Northern Iowa and a B.A. from Buena Vista University. The Impact of Interventions for Students Readmitted After Academic Suspension
Chrissy Holliday, Ph.D., is the Senior System Liaison for Rural Education and Workforce Development Initiatives at Colorado State University Pueblo. She earned her Ph.D. in higher education leadership from Colorado State University in 2020 and holds a master’s degree in education from Capella University and a bachelor’s degree in mass communication/print media from Campbell University. Her research interests focus on college access and affordability, college-going culture, and first-generation student challenges. Her published articles to date have focused on research related to first generation college-going culture, which applies directly to her work as a university administrator focused on enrollment and access.The Deciders: Understanding the First-Generation College-Going Experience in Support of Enrollment and Diversity Efforts
Sharon K. Anderson, Ph.D., is Professor of Counseling and Career Development at Colorado State University. In 1993, Anderson earned her Ph.D. from the University of Denver in counseling psychology. She became a licensed psychologist in 1995. Her experience as a practitioner includes: private practice with adults and the elderly, supervision of master’s level students and those seeking licensure, and consultation regarding ethical issues in practice. Anderson has taught the master’s level ethics course for counseling students for more than 25 years, teaching and mentoring a multitude of students. She has co-authored or co-edited other ethics books used by psychologists (Foundations of Ethical Practice, Research and Teaching in Psychology and Counseling) and life coaches (Law and Ethics in Coaching: How to Solve and Avoid Difficult Problems in Your Practice). She has contributed to more than 50 publications including books, book chapters, and refereed articles, most of them looking at the practice of professional ethics, teaching ethics, and issues of privilege.
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AACRAO Bio
Alex Underwood is the University Registrar at The University of Arizona, since May 2019. Prior to joining Arizona, Alex served as the Executive Director of Academic Systems and Student Records for City Colleges of Chicago, the largest community colleges district in Illinois serving over eighty thousand students a year. Alex’s previous roles at City Colleges included District Director of Academic Systems and Registrar of Malcolm X College. He has over 15 years’ experience in developing and implementing policies and procedures for academic operations, student records, curriculum management, and enrollment planning. Alex is someone who values the role that technology plays in the development of processes that maximize efficiencies for both students and the wider academic community. He has also served in several roles, including Registrar, at Kendall College in Chicago. He began his professional career as an Academic Advisor and believes this has rooted his life’s work in the student experience. Alex also serves as the Vice President of Professional Development for PACRAO, the Pacific Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.
Melissa Frey currently serves as the Registrar and Dean for the Department of Student Recruitment, Enrollment, and Graduation Services at Chemeketa Community College (Salem, OR). She is also the Director for the Chemeketa Accelerated Pathways to Success Title V Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions Federal Grant Program.
As the current President-Elect for the Pacific Association of Collegiate Admissions and Registrar Officers (PACRAO), Melissa is passionate about bringing forth conferences and other professional development opportunities focused on professional issues common to PACRAO’s members. PACRAO also provides an avenue for its membership base – more than 350 regionally accredited 2-year, 4-year, and graduate schools with an individual membership of 1,500 professional admissions officers and registrars – to contribute to the general advancement of higher education, their professions, and their individual careers.
Melissa holds a Master of Education (College Student Services Administration) and a BS (Business, Management, Marketing, and related Support Services), both from Oregon State University.