CIIS - Key Persons

We're excited to announce that CIIS faculty member Cindy Shearer, Chair of the MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts and Writing, has a new book forthcoming in January 2026.

Collin Eyre

ce..@ciis.edu

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Academic Services Manager

Cosmin Gheorghe

cg..@ciis.edu

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Senior Adjunct Lecturer

Crystal Nohelani Erlendson

ce..@ciis.edu

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Creative Director

Danielle Drake

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Dean of Faculty Development, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Daphne Crocker White

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Clinical Psychologist, Writer, and Editor

Darren Farias

df..@ciis.edu

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Associate Director of Financial Aid

David Mariuz

dm..@ciis.edu

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Admissions Office Coordinator

Debra Ehmann

de..@ciis.edu

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Graduate Academic Advisor / Research Psychology

Dennis Spears

ds..@ciis.edu

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Admissions Counselor

Diane V. Cirincione

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Clinical Psychologist, Author, Entrepreneur Founder & Executive Director, Attitudinal Healing International

Dr. Philip McAdoo, Ed.D., TLD '08, is a CIIS Transformative Leadership alumni who is an accomplished DEI executive, facilitator, and advisor with an extensive background in the performing arts. A 1989 original Coca-Cola Scholar, Dr. McAdoo performed in the Broadway productions of The Lion King and Rent, appeared in readings of The Book of Mormon and Wicked, as well as working in television and film. Equally passionate behind the scenes, Dr. McAdoo was a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant on the cast of the Broadway musical A Strange Loop, which won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical. Dr. McAdoo has been a champion for social justice in his leadership roles in other organizations as well, including as Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Earthjustice and Director of Equity, Justice and Community at the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC. He has helped create sustainable DEI practices as well, including improving hiring and retention rates for diverse candidates, as well as supported students, teams, and leaders by creating DEI initiatives and evaluating success metrics. He makes it his goal to navigate the enormous challenges of organizational transformation with empathy, clarity, and joy. As a thought leader in the DEI space, Dr. McAdoo has moderated conversations with leading DEI professionals and thought leaders, such as Ibram X. Kendi (Center for Antiracist Research), Heather McGee (The Sum of Us), Nikole Hannah-Jones (The 1619 Project), and Kenji Yoshino (Allyship for All). Dr. McAdoo joined the late civil rights activist Congressman John Lewis in supporting the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which introduced legislation to Congress that would lower some of the barriers faced by same-sex couples trying to adopt children from foster care. He is a proud father and author of two books, Every Child Deserves and Independent Queers: LGBTQ Educators in Independent Schools Speak Out.

Dr. S. Brock Blomberg - President

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President
about President
Meet President

On September 1, 2021, CIIS welcomed Dr. S. Brock Blomberg as the University's eighth president. Learn more about his inspiring work and strategic direction and initiatives. President S. Brock Blomberg welcomes invitations to attend University events or represent the University at community events. President Blomberg is the eighth president of CIIS. A magna cum laude graduate of University of Tampa, he earned master's and doctoral degrees in economics from Johns Hopkins University. President Blomberg is focused on developing CIIS as a singular, sustainable, and spiritually grounded institution. Since assuming the presidency in 2021, he has engaged the University community in articulating a vision for CIIS' future through a strategic planning effort involving faculty, staff, students, alumni, partners, families, and friends. This effort resulted in an ambitious new 6-year strategic plan: Building On Commitment: CIIS @ 60, which includes reimagining and resourcing the University's core identity for the 21st century, including new branding and state-or-the-art website, overhauling institutional systems and structures, elevating the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to its own division, and developing a University endowment. President Blomberg is also prioritizing the well-being of the entire community through the Restoration & Reinvestment Action Plan to bring compensation equity to faculty and staff; transforming CIIS' DEI model to focus on resilience and well-being; and building bold and innovative programs for health and wellness. He is additionally committed to advancing the University's educational prominence through public outreach and conversation, which has resulted in widespread media placement of faculty and staff research in renowned publications, particularly related to psychedelic-assisted therapy, climate change, and trauma. He continues to support Public Programs and global initiatives - including a transformation accelerator with enterprise luminaries and a center for contemplative studies - that have placed CIIS at the center of essential international conversations. Prior to joining CIIS, President Blomberg served as President of Ursinus College, leading the institution through its first campus master plan in nearly a generation. Under his stewardship, the college raised more than $107 million in gifts from a single comprehensive campaign and completed a $29 million Innovation and Discovery Center with two award-winning venues. He also launched the college's Institute for Inclusion and Equity to coordinate programming and dialogue around diversity and social justice. President Blomberg has published over 30 articles and book chapters in top economics journals such as the American Economic Review, Journal of Econometrics, Journal of Law and Economics, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Public Economics, and the Review of Economics and Statistics. His research shows that terrorism has a statistically significant impact on the economy and that trade is particularly sensitive to attacks. Blomberg was dean of the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, where he also served as the Peter K. Barker Professor of Economics and the George R. Roberts Fellow. An internationally known scholar, Blomberg is a political economist with deep roots in national and global economic policy. He was on the faculty at Wellesley College and served as a visiting scholar at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. Blomberg was a senior economist for the President's Council of Economic Advisers and was the U.S. Representative to the Economic Committee for Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation. He also served at the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Blomberg served as a captain in the U.S. military for eight years.