​Steven Butschi leads the Google Cloud Education team, which works with school districts, colleges and universities, and education technology companies to adopt cloud computing products, such as the Google Cloud Platform. During his ten years at Google, he has helped universities migrate to G Suite for Education; worked on the launch team for Chromebooks, which has since become the top device in K–12 education in the U.S.; and launched Google’s efforts to bring Google Cloud Platform to researchers and universities. Butschi joined the Google Education team as a program manager in 2009, after working in IT consulting, volunteering to teach adult English language learners, and deciding to combine his interests in education and technology. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations and French from Brown University.

Phillip W. Chritton is vice president for legal at UPS, where he leads the company’s international legal group as well as its legal team supporting mergers and acquisitions, corporate strategy, government affairs, and global compliance. During his career with UPS, which began in 1999, Chritton served 11 years in Singapore as head of the Asia Pacific legal group and as the first corporate counsel for UPS Capital, the company’s insurance and finance arm. Previously, he practiced as an international corporate attorney in New York, Beijing, and Hong Kong for eight years. Earlier, he taught English at the Beijing Institute of Iron and Steel Technology. Chritton also is a member of the CIC Board of Directors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Stanford University, a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin, where he was a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellow (Chinese language), and a JD degree from Columbia University.

​Christine De Vinne, OSU, was named president of Ursuline College in 2015. She is an active and involved collegiate trustee of the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC), having served on several committees, including the founding committee of OFIC’s Women’s Scholarship Initiative that supports nontraditional female students who return to college to pursue a bachelor’s degree. De Vinne has been an advocate, advisor, and a personal donor to this initiative since its launch in fiscal year 2015–2016. Since inception, the OFIC Women’s Scholarship has raised nearly $380,000 and helped 64 students at 19 of OFIC’s 33 member colleges and universities. From 2010 to 2015, De Vinne served as vice president for academic affairs at Notre Dame of Maryland University, and from 2001 to 2010, she served on the faculty of the English department at Ursuline College. Earlier, she taught at the Beaumont School, and parish schools in East Cleveland, Lyndhurst, and Willowick, Ohio. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Ursuline College, a master’s degree in English from the University of Notre Dame, and a PhD in English from Ohio State University.

Kai Drekmeier is the founder and president of InsideTrack, a student success organization that advises higher education programs and students nationwide. Named one of the “Most Innovative People in Higher Education” by Washington Monthly magazine, Drekmeier has been featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Hechinger Report, and Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. At InsideTrack, he works with institutions, systems, and employers to create high-impact student support programs, evaluate and redesign existing initiatives, and structure partnerships between industry, philanthropy, and higher education. Before joining InsideTrack, Drekmeier co-founded SCORE! Educational Centers. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

​Richard Ekman has served as president of the Council of Independent Colleges since 2000. Previously, Ekman served as vice president for programs of Atlantic Philanthropies and as secretary and senior program officer of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Earlier, he was at the National Endowment for the Humanities, successively as director of the Division of Education Programs and the Division of Research Programs; at Hiram College as vice president and dean, where he was a tenured member of the history faculty; and at the University of Massachusetts at Boston as assistant to the provost. He currently serves as a member of many boards, including those that provide guidance to the Harvard University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, American Academic Leadership Institute, Emeriti Retirement Health, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, and Project Pericles. He has been awarded honorary degrees by Alvernia, Otterbein, St. Edward’s, and Marywood Universities, and Alderson-Broaddus, Bethany, Davis & Elkins, Georgetown, Hastings, and Ursinus Colleges, and is a recipient of the W.E.B. DuBois Medal of Harvard University. He is co-author, with Richard E. Quandt, of Technology and Scholarly Communication (University of California Press, 1999). His essays have appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education, University Business, Inside Higher Ed, Carnegie Reporter, and Washington Post. Ekman earned his AB in history and PhD in the history of American civilization from Harvard University.

Ted Eismeier is vice president of Whiteboard Advisors, a communications, research, and consulting firm that develops and implements strategies to help change-making organizations make an impact. A veteran in higher education communications, Eismeier has advised clients working to address issues of access, quality, and outcomes. His current practice centers on advising education technology companies, social impact investors, and nonprofit organizations, helping them harness the power of brand narrative, earned media strategy, public opinion research, and content creation to scale their impact and reach influential national audiences. Eismeier holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Kenyon College.

Robert Manzer is chief academic officer of Acadeum (formerly College Consortium, Inc.), an educational technology company whose platform enables intercollege enrollments to support student progress, retention, and graduation. He works directly with higher education institutions and oversees all academic matters for the company, including regulatory and accreditation affairs, faculty members, quality assessment and institutional effectiveness, curriculum, online classroom elements, and educational technology. Previously, Manzer served as provost for American Intercontinental University, where he implemented predictive analytics-based personalized learning and adaptive teaching across four programs. Earlier, he served as vice president for academic affairs at St. Edward’s University, dean of the college of arts and sciences at Ohio Northern University, and the founding dean of university college at Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Nance Roy is the chief clinical officer of the Jed Foundation and an assistant clinical professor at the Yale School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry. Previously, she served as the associate dean of health and wellness at Rhode Island School of Design and as the assistant dean of health and wellness at Sarah Lawrence College. Roy is a senior advisor for the National College Depression Partnership, and her publications have focused on effective treatment and management of at-risk students on college campuses. Through her work with the Jed Foundation, Roy has worked on mental health initiatives with the former Surgeon General, the Higher Education Mental Health Alliance, the Department of Defense, the Veteran’s Administration, the Clinton Health Matters Initiative, and college and university systems across the country. She earned a bachelor’s degree in human development, family relations, and consulting psychology from the University of Rhode Island, a master’s degree in human development and psychology from the University of North Carolina, and an EdD in counseling and consulting psychology from Harvard University.