LAPU - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Admissions Processing Specialist
Job Titles:
- President of Azusa Pacific University
In 2022, Adam Morris was appointed as the 18th president of Azusa Pacific University. With an extensive history as a senior administrator in Christian higher education, Morris brings his heart for students and passion for an engaged faculty to his role as an agent of transformation.
Prior to his appointment at APU, Morris served as executive vice president, chief transformation officer, and chief institutional advancement officer at Biola University. As chief transformation officer he steered university-wide transformation efforts in order to help the institution thrive missionally, academically, and financially. Morris holds a B.A. from Biola University, an M.A. from Talbot School of Theology, and a Ph.D. from Biola University.
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President, Marketing and Outreach
With over 20 years of marketing and communications management experience, Andy Benis was named Associate Vice President of Marketing and Outreach in August 2019. He previously served as Director of Marketing.
Prior to LAPU, Benis served as a national director of high school marketing programs for DeVry University, as well as senior leadership roles in marketing and communications in the technology and real estate sectors. Benis holds a bachelor's degree in cognitive science from the University of California at Irvine and a master's degree in organizational psychology from United States International University.
Job Titles:
- Director of Financial Aid
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Enrollment
Job Titles:
- Senior Enrollment Counselor
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Student Success
Job Titles:
- Director of Information Technology
Job Titles:
- Board Chair / Executive Director, Higher Education Board and Strategy Development
- Executive Director, Higher Education Board
Dr. Maggie Bailey serves as the Executive Director, Higher Education Board and Strategy Development a consultancy committed to supporting private nonprofit higher education institutions by providing services for board development, strategic initiatives, international higher education strategies, and accreditation compliance.
Previously, Dr. Bailey served as the Provost and Chief Academic Officer, St. Katherine College in San Marcos, California. Her higher education service also included twenty years with Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) where she retired in August 2015, as the Vice Provost for Program Development, Accreditation, Institutional Research, and Institutional Effectiveness. She earned her doctorate in Business at the University of Southern California and master's degree in business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Job Titles:
- Director of Student Success
Job Titles:
- Director of ELearning Operations
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Vice President
Hilda Hovsepian serves as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Los Angeles Pacific University and has been part of the LAPU team since 2015. Prior to her tenure at LAPU, Hovsepian held finance leadership roles in various industries, including media and entertainment.
Most recently, she served as vice president of finance and revenue management at Disney Interactive Media Group working in strategic planning, mergers & acquisitions, as well as new product launches. Hovsepian holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Point Loma Nazarene College and an MBA from Pepperdine University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Re - Admit Specialist
Job Titles:
- Director of Administration and Facilities
Job Titles:
- Senior Enrollment Counselor
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President of Strategy for Whiteboard Advisors
Jenna Schuette Talbot is the Senior Vice President of Strategy for Whiteboard Advisors - a communications, advocacy, and research consulting firm based in Washington D.C. She is the founding director of Whiteboard Advisors' strategic communications practice, managing teams in Washington, D.C., and Silicon Valley developing public affairs, media relations, and thought leadership campaigns.
Prior to joining Whiteboard Advisors, Talbot directed external affairs for the American Enterprise Institute education policy program, where she led media relations, oversaw Capitol Hill and state think-tank relations, and developed the program's research agenda. Talbot holds a degree in Political Science and Journalism from Azusa Pacific University.
Job Titles:
- President
- First President
Dr. Reynolds is the first President of Los Angeles Pacific University, having founded LAPU's founding institutions, Azusa Pacific Online University (2011) and Azusa Pacific University College (2014). Reynolds served as CIO and Executive Vice President for 16 years at Azusa Pacific University before being named President of Los Angeles Pacific University in 2018. Reynolds earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science and information systems, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education. His research interests in leadership, organizational effectiveness, change management, and strategic thinking have resulted in several publications in leadership and strategy, particularly relating to nonprofit organizations.
In addition to his years of experience in higher education, Reynolds has worked in the mining industry and as the global CIO for World Vision International, a large, private international relief organization (1991-2000). A regular speaker at national conferences throughout the world, he has also consulted in more than 40 countries and traveled to more than 80 countries to speak, consult, and advise national NGO leaders. He serves on several nonprofit and educational boards, including African Enterprise (USA), African Enterprise (Canada), Brewer Direct, LCC International University (Lithuania), Opportunity International, Christian Leadership Alliance, and API Educational Foundation (South Africa).
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Administration and CFO, California State
Joyce Williams-Maxwell has over 20 years of senior leadership experience providing oversight in the areas of finance, technology, human resources, and administration in both for-profit and non-profit organizational settings, including 10 years in higher education. She is currently the Vice President of Administration and CFO of California State University Los Angeles. Prior to this role she was the Chief Operating Officer of Emerson College and Executive Director of Finance of Azusa Pacific University.
Joyce serves as Vice President of the board of Hollywood Police Activities League. Past boards include the Hollywood Business Improvement District and Cardborigami. Joyce earned a DBA from Grenoble Ecole De Management, MBA from Keller Graduate School, MIS from University of Illinois, Springfield and BS from California State University, Los Angeles.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- CEO of Cryptocurrency Startup, FlyCoin
Lenny Moon currently serves as CEO of cryptocurrency startup, FlyCoin, and CFO of its holding company. Previously, he was CFO of Motorsport Aftermarket Group (MAG), a private equity backed holding company of several leading companies in the aftermarket motorcycle parts industry. Prior to these roles, Moon was the CFO of Muzik, a disruptive music technology platform, and CFO/COO of Fuller Theological Seminary, where he led the financial and operational turnaround of the institution.
Moon's experience is rooted in several years as an investment banker in both New York and Los Angeles at Bear, Stearns & Co. and Lazard Freres & Co.; primarily advising large publicly-traded corporations and private equity firms on strategic and financial matters. In both 2014 and 2015, he was nominated as a finalist for the CFO of the Year Award by the Orange County Business Journal. Then again in 2017, he was a finalist for the CFO of the Year Award by the LA Business Journal.
Moon holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Job Titles:
- Retired Director of Instructional Services, Superintendent 's Cabinet, Garden Grove Unified School District
Dr. Lila Rene Jenkins retired in June 2020 from 40 years in K-12 education in the Garden Grove Unified School District located in Orange County, California. She has worked as a Student Programs Facilitator as well as in the Office of K-6 Instructional Services, supporting the curriculum and instructional needs of school site personnel.
In addition, Dr. Jenkins served as Principal at the elementary, intermediate, and high school levels. Most recently, she served as the Director Instructional Services overseeing all curriculum and instructional programs for secondary education, and was a member of the Superintendent's cabinet team. Since 2015, Jenkins has also served as adjunct professor at Hope International University and San Diego State University. Dr. Jenkins earned her B.A. from Biola University, her M.A. from Azusa Pacific University, and her Ed.D. from the University of Southern California.
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President, Human Resources and Organizational Development
Lindsey Gonzales served as the Director of Human Resources for Los Angeles Pacific University since 2014. She was named Associate Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Development in August 2019 and also serves as the university's Title IX coordinator.
Job Titles:
- Senior Enrollment Counselor
Job Titles:
- Accessible Education and Resource Manager
Job Titles:
- President, the King 's University
Appointed as the fourth president of The King's University in 2013, Melanie Humphreys returned to her home country of Canada. Prior to her appointment she served as Dean of Student Care and Services at Wheaton College in Illinois. She joined Wheaton College in 2009 after serving ten years as Vice President of Student Life at LCC International University in Lithuania, Eastern Europe.
Humphreys holds a BA and an MA from Trinity Western University, and a PhD from Azusa Pacific University. Her professional affiliations include the Council of Post-Secondary Presidents of Alberta, Universities Canada, Christian Higher Education Canada, the Association of Reformed Universities and Colleges and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.
Job Titles:
- Chief
- Officer
- Vice President
- Vice President / Chief Student Engagement Officer
Merritt Robinson serves as Vice President and Chief Student Engagement Officer at Los Angeles Pacific University and has been part of the LAPU team since 2022. Prior to his tenure at LAPU, Robinson held leadership roles in higher education, as well as corporations and nonprofit organizations.
Most recently, he served as dean of enrollment services for online and professional studies at Cal Baptist University, leading the division's enrollment, student advising, operations, and data analytics functions. Robinson holds a bachelor's degree in management from Rice University, an M.A. in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Theology from Columbia International University.
Job Titles:
- Admissions Processing Specialist
Job Titles:
- Retired Vice President, WASC Senior College and University Commission
Richard (Dick) Osborn retired in 2019 from 49 years in K-12 and higher education, including 39 years in faith-based parochial schools and higher education, including president of Pacific Union College, Napa Valley, CA. He most recently served as a Vice President of the WASC Senior College and University Commission, the regional accreditation association for California, Hawaii, and several international institutions.
In volunteer roles, he previously served as Chair of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, as Co-Chair of Denominational Executives in Church-Related Higher Education, as President of the Council for American Private Education (CAPE), and as a member of the Secretariat of NAICU. He graduated with degrees in history including a B.A. from Columbia Union College (now Washington Adventist University) in Maryland and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland specializing in colonial Virginia history. His wife, Norma Keough, is a retired family ministries pastor.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President, Breyer Horses
Rick has worked in family entertainment development his entire career, including over 20 years with DreamWorks Animation. Rick is currently Executive Vice President of Breyer Horses, the industry-leading lifestyle brand for anyone who ever loved horses, and recently announced a broad content development deal with Imagine Entertainment. In 2019, Rick created and co-wrote Shapes, an original comic book series published by Cave Pictures Publishing.
Rick serves on advisory boards for the National Mental Health Innovation Center; Blueprint 1543; and the Wedgwood Circle; past boards include the Michael W. Smith Group and the Belmont University film school. A proud dad of three strong independent daughters, Rick lives in Pasadena with his wife Vicki of 27 years.
Job Titles:
- Retired CEO, Sonoco Products Company
Rob is the former CEO of Sonoco (NYSE:SON), one of the largest diversified global packaging companies. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Sonoco, with global leadership, sales and operating responsibility for all of the Company's diversified consumer, industrial and protective packaging businesses. Prior to Sonoco, Rob worked in private equity as president of Bostic Packaging/CorrFlex and president of Sterling International.
Rob also serves on the Board of Trustess for Azusa Pacific University, and is active in industry and community organizations, including chairman of the Hartsville United Way. A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Rob became a U.S. citizen in 2013. He and his wife, Val have three grown children.
Job Titles:
- Admissions Processing Specialist I
Job Titles:
- Director of Student Accounts
Wayne Herman was named Vice President and Chief Academic Officer at Los Angeles Pacific University (LAPU) in July 2018, and also serves as the university's accreditation liaison officer. He previously served as Chief of Staff and Interim Academic Dean.
Prior to his tenure at LAPU, Herman served as Chief Academic Officer at Cornerstone Institute in Cape Town, South Africa. Herman holds a B.A. in Comparative History from the University of Washington, an M.Div. from Western Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary.