NAICU - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- President
- President of the Board
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Administration Committee
- Member of the Executive Committee
- President of the Board
- Secretary of the Board of Directors
- Member of Committee
- President / King University / Bristol, TN
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Committee
- President / Hood College / Frederick
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Committee
- President / Mount Saint Mary 's University / Los Angeles, CA
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Brenau University / Gainesville, GA
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Grinnell College / Grinnell, IA
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Reed College / Portland, or
Job Titles:
- PRESIDENT
- President of the Board
Barbara Mistick became president of NAICU in September of 2019, after being unanimously approved by its Board of Directors.
During the past two years, Mistick led independent higher education through the COVID-19 pandemic, collaborating with all sectors of the higher education eco-system to secure over $77 billion dollars in relief funds from Congress. Working together with NAICU members across the United States throughout this unprecedented crisis, she ensured fair and equitable treatment for the nation's 1,700 private, nonprofit colleges and universities and the more than 5 million students they serve.
Mistick expanded NAICU's mission to secure institutional aid, along with student aid, through the use of Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds in each of the three stimulus rounds provided by Congress. She enhanced NAICU's communication efforts and virtual tools to keep members informed of federal efforts and opportunities for assistance. These efforts were critical to ensuring the health and safety for our nation's campuses and the communities they serve.
Mistick also led the development and publication of NAICU's first-ever national economic and community impact study, Private, Nonprofit Higher Education: Shaping Lives and Anchoring Communities. The study found that the private, nonprofit sector of higher education generates nearly $80 billion in local, state and federal tax revenue, supports 3.4 million jobs while directly employing over 1 million people, and produces over 1 million graduates annually.
During the course of her 30-year career in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, Mistick has been an entrepreneur, educator and leader at institutions such as Wilson College (PA), the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the H.J. Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University (PA), the National Education Center for Women in Business at Seton Hill University (PA), and at various businesses she managed and/or founded.
Mistick's book, Stretch: How to Future-Proof Yourself for Tomorrow's Workplace, was designated as an Amazon Editor's Pick and ranked #12 on the 800-CEO-READ's Best Seller list. She is a graduate of Carlow University (PA) and the University of Pittsburgh (PA), and earned a doctor of management from Case Western Reserve University (OH).
Job Titles:
- President
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Ensign College / Salt Lake City, UT
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Moravian University / Bethlehem, PA
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / University of Pikeville / Pikeville, KY
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Xavier University
C. Todd Jones - Chief Legal Officer, President
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Tougaloo College
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Schreiner University / Kerrville, TX
Job Titles:
- Coordinator of Computer Services
Cheryl Frisby is responsible for the overall operation and maintenance of computer equipment and data systems at NAICU. She received her bachelor of science degree from Northeastern University (MA).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Associate Vice Chancellor for Federal Relations / Vanderbilt University / Nashville, TN
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Centenary College of Louisiana / Shreveport, LA
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Executive Committee
- President of the Board
- Vice Chair of the Board of Directors
- Member of Committee
Cynthia Moore provides staff assistance to the government relations staff. She attended Central State University.
Job Titles:
- General Counsel
- Vice President
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Texas Lutheran University / Seguin, TX
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- President
- Member of Committee
- President & Executive Director / Association of Independent Colleges
Job Titles:
- Director for Member Relations
- Director of Member
- Director of Member Relations, Sponsorship, and Conference Planning
- MEMBER RELATIONS & CONFERENCE PLANNING
Deborah Sykes Reilly has been NAICU's director for member relations and conference planning since 1995. She is responsible for membership recruitment and retention; manages membership activities; and plans and handles logistics for all association meetings. She has coordinated the annual meeting appearances of President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.
Reilly has been at the association since 1986, beginning as a consultant for annual meeting planning. Prior to joining the NAICU staff, she was a marketing coordinator for Reuben H. Donnelley. She earned a B.S. degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- Senior Director, Federal Relations, Washington Office
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Officers Team
- President
- Member of Committee
- President / Great Lakes Colleges Association / Ann Arbor, MI
- Secretariat Vice Chair
Job Titles:
- President
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Vice President
With 25 years of association management experience, Elizabeth Gemoets oversees a number of functions for the Association, including: research, technology, membership, meetings and events, and finance and human resources.
Gemoets joined NAICU in November 2021 after serving as the chief operating officer at the Association of Academic Health Centers, where she was responsible for comprehensive day-to-day management of the organization. She also served as Secretary/Treasurer for AAHC with fiduciary and corporate governance oversight.
Previously, she worked on Capitol Hill as the director of meetings and communications at the National Council of State Housing Agencies, and served for ten years at the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), most recently as the vice president for operations.
Gemoets earned a bachelor's degree in music and business from Skidmore College (NY) and did graduate work in nonprofit management at American University (DC).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Nazareth College / Rochester, NY
Job Titles:
- Director of Student and Institutional Aid Policy
- Director of Student and Institutional Aid Policy / National Association of Independent Colleges & Universities / Washington, DC
- Lead Policy Expert
- Member of Committee
Emmanual Guillory serves as NAICU's lead policy expert on Title IV federal student assistance programs and institutional aid programs found in Titles III and V of the Higher Education Act (HEA). He is responsible for developing NAICU's policy positions on student and institutional aid along with the association's membership. Guillory also represents NAICU to Congress, the White House, the Department of Education, and other federal agencies.
Previously, Guillory served as the director for public policy and government affairs at UNCF (United Negro College Fund, Inc.) where he advocated on the behalf of low income, first generation college students and the needs of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In addition, he served a decade in the House of Representatives most recently as a professional staff member for the Committee on Education and the Workforce working on higher education policy and HEA reauthorization.
Originally from Lufkin, TX, Guillory earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology and a certification in leadership studies from Texas A&M University. He also earned a master's degree in College Student Personnel (Higher Education Administration) from Bowling Green State University (OH).
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Executive Committee
- President / University of Dayton / Dayton, OH
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Rockford University / Rockford, IL
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Allen University / Columbia, SC
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Pomona College / Claremont, CA
Job Titles:
- Integrated Media Coordinator
Galen Vandergriff plays a leading role in the management of NAICU's social media channels. Vandergriff also runs NAICU's annual Tuition Survey as well as the University and College Accountability Network website (UCAN).
Prior to joining NAICU, Vandergriff worked in the San Francisco Bay Area for Lindquist LLP where he performed audits to ensure companies were paying their union pensions and health care benefits.
Vandergriff earned a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in Global Economics. Vandergriff joined NAICU in early 2012. He is fluent in Spanish and French and is a native English speaker. Vandergriff is an accomplished public speaker.
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Saint Elizabeth University / Morristown, NJ
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Wheeling University / Wheeling, WV
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President & CEO / Webber International University / Babson Park, FL
Job Titles:
- President
- President of the Board
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Marymount University / Arlington, VA
Job Titles:
- Member of the Administration Committee
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Executive Committee
- President
- President of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / University of Puget Sound / Tacoma, WA
Job Titles:
- President
- President of the Board
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Drury University / Springfield, MO
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Albright College / Reading, PA
Job Titles:
- Member of the Administration Committee
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Committee
- President / Juniata College / Huntingdon, PA
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Bluffton University / Bluffton, OH
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Legal Affairs & General Counsel
Job Titles:
- Director of Research & Policy Analysis
- Director of Research and
- RESEARCH & POLICY ANALYSIS
Jason Ramirez came to NAICU in 2015 with nearly 15 years of experience in education research. Working as a research analyst with the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TG) and senior research analyst and manager at the Texas Education Agency, Jason and his teams produced numerous reports, databases, and web sites documenting various topics such as secondary school completion, higher education access and indebtedness, and state and federal education and financial aid policies. Prior to becoming involved in education, Jason spent two years working as a strategic planner. Jason holds a bachelor's degree in government from the University of Texas and a master's degree in political science from Texas A&M University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Claremont School of Theology / Claremont, CA
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Adrian College / Adrian, MI
Job Titles:
- Director of Accountability and Regulatory Affairs
- Member of Committee
Jody Feder is responsible for topics related to accountability and regulatory issues, including accreditation, state authorization, Title IX, and educational privacy.
She joined the NAICU staff in March 2017 after more than 14 years as a legislative attorney with the Congressional Research Service. At CRS, she provided nonpartisan advice and analysis to Members of Congress and their staff on civil rights and education law. Prior to attending law school, she wrote about federal education issues as an editor for Thompson Publishing Group. Feder earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Government from Brown University (RI) and a law degree from Yale University (CT).
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Carroll College / Helena, MT
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Midway University / Midway, KY
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Carthage College / Kenosha, WI
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Milwaukee School of Engineering / Milwaukee, WI
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Susquehanna University / Selinsgrove, PA
Job Titles:
- President
- President of the Board
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Saint Anselm College / Manchester, NH
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Director of Tax Policy
- Director of Tax Policy / National Association of Independent Colleges & Universities / Washington, DC
- Member of Committee
Karin Johns was appointed NAICU's director of tax policy in 1998. She is responsible for developing the Association's strategies on tax policy issues, and monitoring NAICU's interests in immigration, health care, and labor issues.. In addition, she serves as the association's liaison to the NAICU Secretariat.
Before joining NAICU, Johns was legislative director for Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.). She managed his legislative staff and was responsible for overseeing Ways and Means Committee issues, including tax policy, human resources, health care, Social Security, and trade. From 1990 to 1994, she worked for Rep. Fred Grandy (R-Iowa), including two years as a legislative assistant. Johns graduated from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, with a B.A. in Information Arts, and a concentration in political science. After graduation, Johns attended the Fund for American Studies Institute on Political Journalism at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
Job Titles:
- Director of Global Education and Clergy Development / Global Ministry Center
Job Titles:
- President
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Executive Committee
- President
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- President
- President of the Board
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director, Government & Community Relations, Montgomery County, and Federal Strategy / Johns Hopkins University / Bethesda
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / DePauw University / Greencastle, in
Job Titles:
- Member of the Administration Committee
- Member of the Executive Committee
- President
- President of the Board
- Treasurer of the Board of Directors
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Research & Policy Analysis Staff Assistant
Marcia Brooks provides staff support to the research and policy analysis staff, and is responsible for publication order fulfillment. She attended Prince George's Community College (MD).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Hollins University / Roanoke, VA
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Bellevue University / Bellevue, NE
Job Titles:
- President
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- President
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Lasell University / Newton
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Wittenberg University / Springfield, OH
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- President
- President of the Board
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / St. Francis College / Brooklyn, NY
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Linfield University / McMinnville, or
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / St. Edward 's University / Austin, TX
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Fontbonne University / St. Louis, MO
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Coker University / Hartsville, SC
Job Titles:
- President
- Member of Committee
- President / Consortium of Hospital Affiliated Colleges and Universities / Peoria, IL
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Committee
- President / York College of Pennsylvania / York, PA
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Augsburg University / Minneapolis, MN
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications and Marketing
- Director of Communications & Marketing
Paul Hassen has more than 30 years of experience in higher education and association communications and marketing, including strategic communications management, media relations, branding, crisis communications, issues management, executive communications and publications.
Prior to joining NAICU, Hassen served for five years as vice president, public affairs at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, where he managed the association's communications program including media relations, publications, website and social media.
Previously, he spent six years as assistant director of public affairs at the American Council on Education and led the communications departments at ORBIS International, New Jersey Institute of Technology and the National Association of Purchasing Managers (now the Institute of Supply Management).
He earned a master's degree in management at New Jersey Institute of Technology and bachelor's degree in mass communications at St. Bonaventure University (NY).
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Shaw University / Raleigh, NC
Job Titles:
- in 2013 As Vice President of Public Affairs
- Member of Committee
- PUBLIC AFFAIRS
- Vice President for Public Affairs
- Vice President for Public Affairs / National Association of Independent Colleges & Universities / Washington, DC
Pete Boyle joined NAICU in 2013 as Vice President of Public Affairs. Prior to joining NAICU, Boyle spent nearly 15 years working on national higher education policy issues and directly with colleges and universities for two Washington, DC-based public relations and communications agencies. At NAICU, Boyle oversees the Association's internal and external communications activities, including media relations, publications, the website, and social media strategies.
Boyle joined NAICU after leading the Education and Advocacy practice in the Washington, DC office of Lipman Hearne. There he helped publicize and advance the agendas of his clients in the media, on Capitol Hill, with key publics and constituencies, and at the grassroots level. Boyle provided expertise and counsel on message development, media relations, branding and marketing, crisis communications, market research, issue advocacy, and awareness building. His clients included colleges and universities, higher education nonprofit and membership-based organizations, as well as foundation and foundation-funded grantees working on issues of access and accountability, persistence, cost of college, and college completion.
Before joining Lipman Hearne, Boyle served as vice president and director of the higher education communications team for Widmeyer Communications. In this role, he managed public affairs and enrollment management research efforts for a diverse group of organizations and higher education institutions.
Earlier in his career, Boyle served as a political communications director providing counsel for candidates for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, and ran campaigns for the Ohio State Legislature. Boyle served as Ohio deputy press secretary for Clinton/Gore '96.
Boyle graduated from Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in business administration with a marketing concentration, and a minor in journalism.
Job Titles:
- President
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- President
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- President
- President of the Board
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- President
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Vice President for
- Vice President for Government Relations
Sarah Flanagan directs a comprehensive government relations effort focused on issues of government regulation, student financial assistance, and tax policy in coordination with NAICU's related state associations.
During her tenure at NAICU, Flanagan has been instrumental in a number of successful policy efforts, including securing sustained bipartisan political and funding support for the core federal student aid programs; creating new tax incentives for families to save and pay for college; and helping to ensure an appropriate balance between federal support for students and oversight of colleges and universities. Flanagan has an extensive background in higher education policy, education, and the federal government.
Before joining NAICU, she was the professional staff member for higher education on the Senate Subcommittee on Education, Arts and Humanities under Senator Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island, and the Staff Director for the Senate Subcommittee on Children, Families, Drugs and Alcoholism under Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut.
Flanagan received her B.A. degree from Providence College (RI) and her M.A.T. degree from Rhode Island College. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Beacon College (FL) and is a Trustee Emerita at Providence College (RI) and Mary Baldwin University (VA).
Job Titles:
- General Counsel / Swarthmore College / Swarthmore, PA
Job Titles:
- Director for Budget & Appropriations / National Association of Independent Colleges & Universities / Washington, DC
- Member of Committee
- Senior Director of Budget and Appropriations
Stephanie Giesecke is responsible for representing NAICU on budget and appropriations issues with Congress, the administration, and the higher education community.
Before joining NAICU in 1999, Giesecke was legislative assistant for the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), where she coordinated the association's legislative advocacy network, and served as liaison to Congress on budget and appropriations matters. Prior to joining ACCT in 1992, Giesecke was a legislative assistant for Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.). In addition, she has been an active member of the Committee for Education Funding and served as its president in 2006 and 2019. She earned a bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis (MO) , and a master's degree from The George Washington University (DC).
Job Titles:
- General Counsel
- Senior Vice President
Job Titles:
- President
- President of the Board
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- President / Macalester College / St. Paul, MN
Job Titles:
- Assistant Vice President for Education and Innovation
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Member of the Board
- President
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- President
- President of the Board
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- President
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Government Relations and General Counsel
Job Titles:
- Staff Assistant for Administration and Computer Services
- Staff Assistant for Administration and Computing Services
Valencia Stringfellow provides staff assistance to the association's administration, and to the Director for Member Relations and Conference Planning. She attended Howard University.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant to the President
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Director for Finance and Administration
- Director of Finance and Administration / National Association of Independent Colleges & Universities / Washington, DC
Vonda Dickson directs fiscal, operational, and personnel matters for NAICU. She joined NAICU in 2015 after sixteen years as Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration/CFO with the District of Columbia Hospital Association (DCHA), and five years as Senior School Relations Associate Manager with the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Dickson earned a Bachelor of Arts-Rhetoric and Communication Studies from University of Virginia, and a Master of Public Administration-Finance and Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of Committee
- President / Howard University / Washington, DC