NASH - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Senior Client Coordinator

Adrienne is a budding communications professional passionate about quality storytelling. She comes from the corporate side of the entertainment industry and is excited to bring her experience and perspective to NASH. Adrienne was most recently on the communications team at Netflix where she got a crash course in content comms, external affairs, executive handling, and crisis management. Before that, she worked for E! News after getting her foot in the door with the NBCU Page Program. Originally from Southern California, she now calls New York home. In her free time she enjoys trying new restaurants, cooking, traveling, and listening to an array of podcasts.

Job Titles:

• Chairman

Job Titles:

• Senior Research Advisor

Ashish Vaidya serves as a Senior Research Advisory to the National Association of System Heads (NASH). Working with the Director of Power of Systems and other staff members, on the development of the Systems Center for State Policy. The Center is being developed explicitly for state public higher education leaders (board members, system leaders, campus leaders, policy makers and funders) as they assess and redesign state infrastructure (policies and the roles, functions and practices of systems) to maximize the power of those systems in service to their students, institutions and states. He also serves as a Senior Fellow for AASCU, working with the President of AASCU and members of the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges (ARRC), on the project - Recommitting to Stewardship of Place. The project has resulted in an updated framework for stewardship of place that acknowledges the new postsecondary landscape while demonstrating why recommitting to being a steward of place is more important now than ever. It also produced a practice-oriented brief that illustrates possible actions and examples that campuses might take to implement regional stewardship and a policy brief, which makes the argument for federal and state policies and funding strategies that will support AASCU institutions in enacting their stewardship mission. He served as Northern Kentucky University's president from July 2018 to December 2022. Prior to that he served a two-year term as interim president of St. Cloud (Minn.) State University (SCSU). Prior to his tenure as interim president at St. Cloud State, he served as the university's provost and vice president for academic affairs. Before SCSU, Vaidya served at two different campuses in the California State University system, where his last appointed role was special advisor to the president for regional economic development at Cal State Los Angeles. From 2010-2014, he served as Cal State L.A.'s provost and vice president for academic affairs. Prior to his tenure there, he was dean of faculty at Cal State Channel Islands, where he helped to build a new institution from the ground up. Vaidya has published numerous books and articles, including serving as an editor of "Operationalizing Stewards of Place: Implementing Regional Engagement and Economic Development Strategies," a 2015 publication of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. His extensive community work includes service on the boards of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), Cincinnati, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce, REDI Cincinnati, Tri County Economic Development Corporation, Northern Kentucky Regional Alliance and United Way of Greater Cincinnati. He also served on the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland's Cincinnati Branch Board of Directors from 2020 to 2022. Dr. Vaidya holds a PhD and M.A. in Economics from the University of California, Davis. He also holds an M.A. in Economics from the University of Mumbai, India and a B.A. in Economics, Political Science, and Statistics from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, India.

Job Titles:

• Executive Assistant

Job Titles:

• Director, RISE UPP
• Program Director for the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs

Blessing Enekwe is the Program Director for the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at the University of Maryland-College Park, helping to establish the office in 2016. In her role, she serves to support professional skills development and community engagement through implementing programming and events. Blessing helps to support mentoring initiatives for graduate students, postdocs, and faculty through mentor training. She manages two diversity focused fellowship programs at UMD, the President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program and the NSF AGEP Promise Academy Alliance Fellowship, and is the Executive Director for the NSF INCLUDES ReImagining STEM Equity Utilizing Postdoctoral Pathways (RISE UPP) Alliance. Blessing received her PhD and BA in Government & Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Job Titles:

• Founder and Director, Refugee Resettlement Initiative

Job Titles:

• Director of the Institute for Systems Innovation
• Director, Institute for Systems Innovation and Improvement

Daniel Knox is the Director of the Institute for Systems Innovation and Improvement (‘the Institute'), which aims to improve coordination and performance of NASH member systems to advance equitable student outcomes. Under Dr. Knox leadership, the Institute was among the first organizations to apply improvement science principles to the public higher education context at scale through NASH Improvement Communities (NICs), which currently includes over 15 systems, 36 campus teams, and approximately 340 individuals solving problems of practice related to transfer, course sharing, and equitable degree completion. In addition, Dr. Knox led the Systems Metrics Task Force, which developed a novel baseline study of public higher education system impact related NASH's key metrics, Degree and Credential Completion, Social Mobility, and Student Debt. Dr. Knox is also working on applying AI to transfer student advising in collaboration with UC Berkeley's Computational Approaches to Human Learning Lab. Previously, Dr. Knox held the position of Assistant Provost at the State University of New York, where he engaged in developing, implementing, and assessing broad-scale policy, research, and technology initia¬tives aimed at supporting student success and closing equity gaps, with a particular focus on transfer policy. He holds a B.A. in English Language & Literature from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Leadership from the University at Albany, SUNY.

Job Titles:

• Chief Communications Officer
• Founder & CEO of the Public Relations Agency Good Rebellion

David is Founder & CEO of the public relations agency Good Rebellion, and serves as NASH's Chief Communications Officer. He offers unique experience in communications strategy and public relations for purpose-driven organizations. For nearly a decade, David drove integrated marketing and communications at The State University of New York, the largest higher education system in the United States. He successfully implemented a new brand across 64 campuses, helping to establish the system and its chancellor as national thought leaders. While at SUNY, David maintained a wide-ranging portfolio including media and government relations, advertising, social media, executive speechwriting, crisis communications, alumni engagement, student leadership, and supporting the Board of Trustees. He then joined The Fund for Public Schools at the NYC Department of Education, where he built a newly created communications department from the ground up. David was responsible for developing and implementing strategies for fundraising, donor engagement, content creation, partner relations, reporting for the Board of Directors, and liaising with City Hall. Before founding Good Rebellion, David was managing director at a creative agency in downtown Manhattan where he oversaw both client strategy and growth. David is a native New Yorker, born and raised in Queens, and now living in Brooklyn. He attended NYC public schools, earned his BA in Political Science from Binghamton University, and MPA from the University at Albany.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board

Job Titles:

• Associate Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs for the University of Wisconsin System
• Chief Academic Officer, Institute for Systems Innovation and Improvement
• Member of the Peer Review Core of the Higher Learning Commission

Dr. Carleen Vande Zande began serving as Associate Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs for the University of Wisconsin System in May2017. As leader of the UW System's Office of Academic Programs and Faculty Advancement, her areas of responsibility include all academic programs actions, accreditation, policy development and analysis, faculty professional development, international education, articulation agreements, curriculum transfer, and collaborative language programs, high impact practices, educational innovation, and applied research. She also provided leadership in program planning and the development of academic proposals on behalf of the system's 13 universities. Significant initiatives led by Carleen include implementation of the equity-minded high impact practices program and a full review of Regent and System academic policies. She also was instrumental in the approval by the Higher Learning Commission of the recent restructuring of the UW Colleges. Dr. Vande Zande has been an active member of the peer review core of the Higher Learning Commission since 2005 and serves on the Institutional Actions Council of the HLC. She also serves on the National Association of System Heads Steering Committee and has worked on initiatives related to transfer and high impact practices at the national level. Dr. Vande Zande has held numerous administrative and tenured faculty positions at institutions across Wisconsin. She has served as Associate Vice Chancellor for Curricular Affairs and Student Academic Achievement at UW-Oshkosh, where she is a tenured professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. In addition, Dr. Vande Zande served as Associate Dean and Interim Dean of the School of Education and subsequently as Dean of Graduate Studies at Marian University, Fond du Lac, Wis. While in her leadership role in education, she was elected to the boards of the Association of American of Colleges of Teacher Education as well as the Association of Independent of Liberal Arts Colleges of Teacher Education and participated in the design of innovative approaches to accredit teacher education programs. She is a past president of the Wisconsin Association of Colleges of Teacher Education and has collaborated on several Department of Public Instruction program approval initiatives. Dr. Vande Zande was also appointed the Director of Assessment and has done several national presentations on assessment. Carleen received her B.A. in Spanish at Daemen College, Amherst, N.Y., and completed studies at the University of Valencia, Spain; the Conservatory of Music Valencia, Spain; the National Catholic University of France in Angers, France; and at the Cuauhnahuac Language Institute in Cuernavaca, Mexico. She earned an M.S. in Spanish and Education and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Policy Studies at UW-Madison.

Job Titles:

• Education to Workforce Consultant

Job Titles:

• Fellow
• Program Manager for the NASH Refugee Resettlement Initiative
• Program Manager, Refugee Resettlement Initiative

Jane Roche is Program Manager for the NASH Refugee Resettlement Initiative (RRI), where she helps mobilize public university systems to sponsor refugee students and families. For example, she is leading efforts to multiply Every Campus A Refuge (ECAR) Chapters across NASH systems. Prior to this role, Jane has worn many "hats," from supporting the design of ECAR's implementation fidelity plan to serving as a program associate for the University Alliance for Refugees and At-Risk Migrants. In addition to her role at NASH, Jane is a PhD candidate at the Rutgers University-Newark Division of Global Affairs, where she hopes to advance knowledge about the role of State and non-State actors - including universities - in the implementation of resettlement policies. In 2016, she received an MA in Peace and Conflict Studies with a concentration in peace psychology at the University of Tampere in Finland. She received her BA from New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study. Passionate about building inclusive systems for all populations, Jane is also a Fellow-In-Residence at CoHome, which provides inclusive housing for neurodiverse individuals in Morristown, New Jersey.

Job Titles:

• Director
• Professor of Higher Education and Dean of the School of Education

Jason E. Lane is Professor of Higher Education and Dean of the School of Education at the State University of New York at Albany. An award-winning scholar and accomplished public higher education leader, Dr. Lane is an expert in higher education leadership development, university global strategy, data analytics for student success and systems thinking. In his role as the Director of the Systems Center, a think tank focused on fostering systems thinking and continuous improvement in educational settings, Dr. Lane has been a leading voice in the development of multi-institutional approaches to student success. He is a founding member of the Taking Student Success to Scale (TS3) initiative as well as co-leader of the Systems Leadership Academy, both of the National Association of System Heads (NASH). As Vice Provost of SUNY system, Dr. Lane advanced the concept of "Systemness", managing several ground-breaking collaborative projects such as Seamless Transfer (student success), Open SUNY (online learning), START-UP NY (economic development), Networks of Research Excellence (multi-institutional collaborations), and a Student Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) for NY. The lessons learned in these efforts led to several national convening's and two edited books on the topic, Higher Education Systems 3.0 and Higher Education Systems Redesigned. He is also committed to the development of the next generation of higher education leaders. In 2016, he founded SUNY's Academic and Innovative Leadership (SAIL) Institute. He co-led the creation of the Hispanic Leadership Institute, a state-funded initiative designed to support the development of Hispanic leaders in the SUNY system and serves as the founding co-director of the Association of Governing Boards' (AGB) Institute for Leadership and Governance for aspiring university presidents. Dr. Lane has been PI on more than $20 million in grants from funders including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Foundation, and the US Department of Education. He has published more than 75 papers and 10 books focused on the changing role of colleges and universities and has served on several boards, including the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), STINT (Swedish Foundation for International Higher Education), SUNY Korea, and the Tech Valley High Foundation.

Job Titles:

• Chief Operating Officer
• Deputy Director

Job Titles:

• Development Manager

Kate Alcorn oversees fundraising and business development for NASH/The Power of Systems. Kate's career has focused on multiple aspects of strengthening public systems; she brings expertise in building philanthropic partnerships, program design, and managing progress across multiple projects. Previously, she held senior positions at the Fund for Public Schools, New York City Department of Education, Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University, and The Robertson Foundation. Currently based outside of Chicago, Kate holds a Masters in Urban Planning and Policy from New York University's Wagner School of Public Service, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Lewis and Clark College.

Job Titles:

• Senior Fellow

Kim Hunter Reed, Ph.D., is Louisiana's Commissioner of Higher Education. She is the only female in the country currently serving as a state higher education lead who has led higher education in more than one state. Reed was recently recognized nationally with the 2020 Exceptional Leader Award by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO). Working with the Louisiana Board of Regents, Reed is leading the state's efforts to increase educational attainment by developing its talent base to result in a more prosperous Louisiana. To reach the state's goal of doubling the number of credentials awarded by 2030, she focuses on collaborative efforts that increase access, equity and completion in line with the Regents' talent imperative. Reed is a nationally recognized student advocate with extensive higher education and government experience. In addition to leading the Colorado Department of Higher Education, she served in President Barack Obama's administration as deputy undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Education and led the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Collectively, Reed has served in various senior leadership roles with four governors. A Lake Charles native, Reed chaired Louisiana's higher education transition team in 2015 and served as the state's policy director. She also served as chief of staff and deputy commissioner for public affairs for the Louisiana Board of Regents, adjunct faculty member and executive vice president of the University of Louisiana System. Reed received a doctorate in public policy from Southern University, as well as a master's degree in public administration and a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from Louisiana State University. Reed is a wife, proud volleyball mom to her favorite Millsaps College student and Louisiana's chief advocate for talent development.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board

Job Titles:

• Research Associate

Maria Ishaq Khan serves as a Research Associate for the National Association of System Heads (NASH). Dr. Khan is a Fulbright scholar and a researcher of educational policy in the areas of improvement science, equity in education, student success, higher education leadership, systemness and international educational development. She has over a decade of research, teaching and project management experience in P-16 education. Dr. Khan is a Postdoctoral Associate at NYKids, a research-practice partnership housed at the University at Albany, SUNY, using improvement science approaches to inform, inspire and improve educational outcomes. Previously, as the Assistant Director of the Systems Center at the University at Albany, SUNY, Dr.Khan managed the administrative and research operations of various projects in the areas of improvement science, higher education leadership, student success, equity and community partnerships. This also included providing support for NASH's Taking Student Success to Scale (TS3) initiative, Systems Leadership Academy, and the Big Rethink. Dr.Khan has also briefly worked at the SUNY SAIL Institute which aims to support higher education leaders through programming and services throughout SUNY and beyond. Dr. Khan is action-research oriented in tackling complex problems in education policy and practice, and a believer in systemness and collective impact for a transformative social change. She is committed to engaging with people at the grassroots level to elevate voices of the harder-to-reach populations and closing opportunity gaps for students. Dr. Khan holds a PhD in Education Policy and Leadership and an MS in Educational Administration and Policy Studies from the University at Albany, SUNY. She also holds an MS in Accounting and Finance and a B.Sc in Mathematics from Kinnaird College for Women, Pakistan.

Job Titles:

• Interim Executive Director

Job Titles:

• Program Lead, Refugee Resettlement Initiative
• Researcher at the Refugee Educational Advancement Laboratory

Olivia Issa has been engaged in migrant advocacy and resettlement work in the US across Chicago, Maryland, and Washington D.C., working with a range of nonprofits and government agencies since 2015. Olivia's interest in refugee access to higher education started when she served as co-chair of the Steering Committee for the University Alliance for Refugees and At-Risk Migrants: Student Voices for Refugees (UARRM SVR) in 2020. From there, she served as Program Infrastructure Co-Chair for the Initiative on Increasing U.S. Education Pathways for Refugee Students, a national initiative across resettlement agencies, universities, and nonprofits, to build infrastructure to increase refugee access to higher education. As a college student at George Washington University, Olivia was president of the refugee-advocacy student organization No Lost Generation GWU, where she founded the Welcoming Campus Initiative in the spring of 2021. The Welcoming Campus Initiative works to increase the inclusion of refugee-background students on George Washington University's campus through a scholarship, mentorship program, and revised admissions practices - a proposal that has since been adapted at Georgetown and George Mason Universities. Olivia is currently a researcher at the Refugee Educational Advancement Laboratory at the George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development, writing chapters for a book to be published in the spring of 2023 with Lexington Books on migrant access to education in the Washington, DC-area. Prior to 2020, Olivia worked at and volunteered with a range of refugee-support nonprofits building infrastructure to serve recent arrivals, including the Hyde Park Refugee Project, RefugeeOne, GirlForward, International Rescue Committee, and AsylumWorks. Currently, Olivia is a mentor with the Immigrant and Refugee Outreach Center (IROC), and is involved in the Arab community near her home in Virginia.

Job Titles:

• Assistant Director, RISE UPP

A proven leader in developing and implementing innovative strategic initiatives, Rohit has over 20 years of experience working within the education, financial, digital, and non-profit fields. He is professionally certified in program and project management and brings a strong background in strategic planning, critical thinking, and execution to help clients identify and achieve their goals. Prior to joining edBridge as a principal, Rohit held leadership positions in program management at Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)/WNET, the College Board and at Perfect Sense Digital, LLC. As a senior member of the Advocacy & Policy Center at the College Board, he was responsible for helping define, develop and execute on the Center's strategic portfolio of initiatives, overseeing the quality and integrity of the projects and cross-functional teams to produce impactful, measurable results. In this role, he led a collaborative effort in partnership with MTV and the Get Schooled Foundation to develop an award-winning social networking financial aid tool that leveraged cutting-edge technology, educational content, and media to engage students in schools across the country. In addition, he managed the partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) to develop an online modular toolkit for educators that leverages best practices, activities, research, and technology in a forum for continuous improvement. While at WNET/PBS, Rohit led multiple strategic and operational initiatives designed to focus resources on creating and delivering the finest educational content and programming. As a digital developer at Perfect Sense, he guided clients through the challenging process of conceiving, designing and developing multi-use web portals to engage their clients, members and customers. Rohit received an MBA in International Management, with honors, from Fordham University and a B.S. in Economics from Carnegie Mellon University. He is an active, licensed member of the Project Management Institute.

Job Titles:

• Communications Coordinator