Eddie R. Cole is associate professor of higher education and organizational change at the University of California at Los Angeles where his research focuses on college presidents’ historic role in shaping racial politics and practices both inside and outside of education. He is author of The Campus Color Line: College Presidents and the Struggle for Black Freedom published in 2020 by Princeton University Press. Ibram X. Kendi called the book “stunning and ambitious.” In 2021 and 2022, Cole was named by Education Week as one of “the top university-based scholars in the U.S. who did the most last year to shape educational practice and policy.” He has received awards from the American Educational Research Association, History of Education Society, and the Association of American Colleges & Universities. Cole’s scholarship and writings have been featured in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Chronicle of Higher Education, and he has appeared as an expert commentator on BBC World News and C-Span BookTV. Cole earned a BS from Tennessee State University and a MSEd and PhD from Indiana University.

Dawan Stanford is president of Fluid Hive, a design studio that helps people think about and solve problems like a designer. Fluid Hive grew out of Stanford's experience with design, design thinking, higher ed, and tech. Through innovation projects, training, workshops, and coaching, Fluid Hive helps people and organizations address their big questions and challenges and achieve outcomes that matter. He also serves as interim director of design and innovation at The Ohio State University, design studio director of Georgetown University’s program in Learning, Design, and Technology at the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship, and he hosts the Design Thinking 101 Podcast. Stanford previously served as director of design thinking at Elon University. He earned a PhD in media and communications from the European Graduate School, a JD in law from the University of California Berkeley School of Law, and a BS in business from San Diego State University.

Katie Ferrick is senior director of workplace programs at LinkedIn, the leading business and employment-oriented online service. She leads the company’s local government relations, workplace community impact, and global environmental sustainability efforts. She earlier served as LinkedIn’s director of community affairs and sustainability. Previously Ferrick was planning commissioner for the city of Menlo Park and before that deputy district director for U.S. House of Representatives district office of Congresswoman Jackie Speier. In 2019, she was named among the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by San Francisco Business Times and Housing Champion by Housing Trust Silicon Valley. She holds a BA from the University of Oregon and a MS in counseling from San Francisco State University.

​Cinthia Lopez joined Google as director of talent outreach in November 2021 after almost 20 years at Capital One. She began her career in product management in the credit card industry. After that, she worked in project management, process management, and risk management. In 2015, Lopez transferred to human resources where she held roles in diversity, equity, and inclusion; leadership development; and as a human resources business partner. In 2018, she became vice president of human resources and head of university recruiting and programs for Capital One, where her team delivered amazing recruiting and program experiences for thousands of candidates and associates. Lopez holds a BS in business administration from University of the Ozarks and a MA in Latin American studies from Georgetown University.

Van Ton-Quinlivanis a nationally recognized expert in workforce development and economic mobility. She currently serves as CEO of Futuro Health, whose nonprofit mission is to improve the health and wealth of communities by growing the largest network of allied healthcare workers in the nation. Previously she served as executive vice chancellor of the California Community Colleges system, as mediaX Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Stanford University, and as executive-in-residence at the Institute for the Future. Ton-Quinlivan is an appointee of Governor Newsom to the Health Workforce Education and Training Council responsible for coordinating California’s health workforce education and training to meet the state’s needs. Ton-Quinlivan serves on the boards of the National Skills Coalition, National Student Clearinghouse, and Silicon Valley Community Foundation. She is the author of WorkforceRx: Agile and Inclusive Strategies for Employers, Educators and Workers in Unsettled Times (2021). She earned a BSBA from Georgetown University and an MBA and MA in education policy from Stanford University.

Beck A. Taylor began his tenure as the 19th president of Samford University, in Alabama, in July 2021. He returned to Samford after serving as the president of Whitworth University, since 2010. Prior to that appointment, Taylor served as dean and professor of economics for Samford’s Brock School of Business (2005–2010), and associate dean for research and faculty development for Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business (1997–2005). As a scholar, Taylor has published in economics journals such as Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Human Resources, and Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking. Illustrating his diverse research interests and his connections to the social sciences, Taylor also has published research in public health and child developmental psychology. His research has been cited in testimony given before the U.S. Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, and the California State Assembly, and has been referenced in publications such as The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Christian Science Monitor. Taylor is a member of numerous professional and academic organizations, and he has served as a strategic business consultant for dozens of organizations. After earning his undergraduate degree from Baylor with majors in economics and finance, Taylor was employed as an analyst for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in Houston, Texas. He went on to earn his MS and PhD in economics from Purdue University. After returning to the Baylor faculty, Taylor was named the first holder of the W.H. Smith Professorship in Economics. In 2002, he was appointed as a visiting scholar by Harvard University where he spent one year in residence at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is a former member of the CIC Board of Directors.

Matthew P. vandenBerg became Presbyterian College’s (SC) 19th president in 2021, and at the time, was one of the youngest college presidents in the nation. He previously served as vice president for advancement and external relations at Alma College. vandenBerg planned and implemented the record-setting “Our Time is Now” campaign and worked closely with the Alma community to promote economic development, facilitate community service projects and internship opportunities, and meet with elected officials. He also oversaw and designed the launch of the Alma Ambassador Program®, a branded engagement initiative designed to organize, support, and promote all types of volunteerism benefiting the college, its students, and its host community. In five years, it became the single-largest comprehensive volunteer engagement initiative among U.S. liberal arts institutions with over 5,000 participants. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) recognized the program with 13 awards, including the prestigious Platinum Award for Best Practices in Alumni Relations. Before his tenure at Alma College, vandenBerg served as associate vice president for development at Albion College, and as assistant dean for development and alumni relations at the Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing. Prior to his work in higher education, vandenBerg served as assistant vice president at CCS Fund Raising. He also served as a foreign policy, national defense, and immigration advisor and a spokesperson for the chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence at the U.S. House of Representatives. vandenBerg’s doctoral dissertation, “The symbiotic path to mutual value: How small, private, liberal arts institutions understand and manage donor influence,” — won the 2019 John Grenzebach Award for Outstanding Research in Philanthropy for Educational Advancement, sponsored by CASE. He has conducted and presented original research at Peking University in Beijing, China, and has published in Inside Higher Education and other outlets.  A summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Alma College, vandenBerg holds a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania. He also earned a MPA degree from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, where he concentrated in nonprofit management and public policy analysis.

​Lori S. White became the 21st president of DePauw University in July 2020. She is the first woman and the first person of color to serve as DePauw’s president. Previously, she was the vice chancellor for student affairs and a professor of practice at Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to her arrival at Washington University, she served as the vice president for student affairs and clinical professor of education at Southern Methodist University, and worked at the University of Southern California; Stanford, Georgetown and San Diego State universities; and the University of California, Irvine. Active nationally in several higher education organizations, White has served on the board of directors for the Association for Sustainability in Higher Education and for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Foundation (Chair, 2016-2017); in 2009 she was named a Pillar of the Profession by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. She currently serves on the Association of Governing Board’s Council of Presidents and is a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Academic Leaders Task Force on Campus Free Expression. White is one of five founding college Presidents of the Liberal arts Colleges Racial Equity Leadership Alliance (LACRELA). Her most recent publications appear in a co-edited volume titled Transformational Encounters: Shaping Diverse College and University Leaders and another titled Keep Calm and Call the Dean of Students: A Guide to Understanding the Many Facets of the Dean of Students Role. Born and raised in San Francisco, White earned her undergraduate degree in psychology and English from the University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD from Stanford University in education administration and policy analysis, with emphasis in higher education. She also participated in Harvard University’s Management and Leadership in Education Program.

Marjorie Hass became president of the Council of Independent Colleges in July 2021, after 13 years as a college president, most recently of Rhodes College (2017–2021) and before that of Austin College (2009–2017). Earlier, she spent more than 16 years as a member of the philosophy faculty and subsequently as provost at Muhlenberg College. Hass has served on the boards of the Association of American Colleges & Universities, as chair of the board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and as a member of the CIC Board of Directors, serving on the Executive Committee. She is author of A Leadership Guide for Women in Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, August 2021). Hass earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in philosophy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

​Barbara K. Mistick is president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities; she has led the policy and advocacy organization since 2019. She previously served as president of Wilson College in Pennsylvania for eight years and before that as president of Pittsburgh’s Public Library System. Earlier, Mistick was professor of entrepreneurship and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University and director of the National Education Center for Women in Business at Seton Hill University. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Carlow University, a MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, and a doctorate in management from Case Western Reserve University.