AACRAO Public Policy Advisory Group Introduces New Members

Introducing AACRAO's newly selected Public Policy Advisory Group (PPAG) members.

The Public Policy Advisory Group provides an expert practitioner perspective on emerging legislation and public policy matters. This group also provides AACRAO’s Executive Director and Government Relations staff with key insights when engaging with proposed legislation or regulation.

Meet Our New PPAG Members:

Public Policy Advisory Group Chair: Charlie Couch

Mr. Couch currently serves as the University Registrar at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) in Greeley, CO. 

“I’ve had the pleasure of working in higher education for over 25 years, with experience in finance/accounting, institutional research, and academic records. I’ve worked at both private and public institutions. 

In the Registrar’s role at UNC, I’ve had the opportunity to significantly improve student record-related services, enhance campus-wide relationships with academic/administrative units, streamline operational efficiencies related to academic record processing, create a student-oriented service structure, and lead staff through significant operational change initiatives.”

Mr. Couch has previously served on AACRAO’s Public Policy Advisory Group and looks forward to contributing as the PPAG Chair going forward. 

New PPAG Member: Marc Booker

Mr. Booker has nearly two decades of experience working with online and distance education students at the post-secondary level in admissions, registrar, and academic administration roles. Mr. Booker brings a unique perspective on the trends in higher education from a non-traditional student lens. 

As Vice Provost for Strategy at the University of Phoenix, Mr. Booker oversees critical path academic initiatives to improve the student experience such as learning platform implementations, curricular enhancements, and developing empathetic solutions to drive improved student outcomes through data.

Mr. Booker is also actively engaged in the higher education community and, in 2016, served as the President for the Pacific Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, and is currently a faculty member for the Association’s Leadership Development Institute.

New PPAG Member: Dr. Wendolyn Davis

Dr. Davis leads the Transfer Center with combined teams of Transfer Student Recruitment and Transfer Evaluation and Operations. Dr. Davis is responsible for developing and implementing a transfer recruitment and enrollment management strategic plan to increase enrollment of undergraduate transfer students and add to the cumulative enrollment management strategic plan including close collaboration with International Recruitment. Additionally, she teaches TRNS 201 – Transitioning to Rocky Top, a transfer transition course led by the Office of Academic Success First Year Programs. She also serves as an Intercultural Diversity Inventory (IDI) Advisory Board Member and Qualified Administrator (QA).

Dr. Davis is inspired by her work with transfer students. “It’s not only those who enroll each semester, it is also those we have the opportunity and privilege of showing that they belong at a 4-year institution and they belong at this institution.” Dr. Davis will always be a champion for those who feel forgotten. Her work allows her to show students how they are important to us and how much we believe in them.

New PPAG Member: Samantha Marquez

For over 13 years, Ms. Marquez has worked in the Office of the Registrar at USC to build, develop and manage VA funding program-related processes and teams to support student veteran initiatives. She obtained a Master's degree in Public Policy and Management from the University of Southern California. 

Through PACRAO Leadership Development Institute Training she has strengthened her leadership experience in order to continue to work with and guide teams to achieve common goals. Ms. Marquez constantly strives to make a larger impact within the Higher Education community. As a Mexican-American, she values representation in leadership roles and is grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with AACRAO’s Public Policy Advisory Group.

New PPAG Member: Doug Swink

Mr. Swink is the Assistant Vice Provost for Enrollment Management at the University of Missouri—Kansas City.  In this position, Doug serves as campus lead for enrollment management initiatives which include strategic planning and development of a strategic enrollment management plan.  In addition to providing executive leadership to the offices of Admissions, Financial Aid, and UMKC Central (one-stop), Doug coordinates campus-wide best practices in the areas of recruitment, retention, persistence, and student success to positively impact the student experience at UMKC.

Doug has served in higher education for 25 years, including 10 years as Registrar at UMKC, during which he was the Campus Solutions Manager for the university’s implementation of PeopleSoft.  Other significant achievements include the implementation of Ad Astra scheduling software, u.achieve degree audits, development of UMKC Central (one-stop), and serving on the University’s Strategic Plan Development Committee.  Doug has served as both president and vice president of technology and web services of the Missouri ACRAO.