2022 Speaker Bios

Professor David Katz taught Political Science for 32 years; was a head college basketball coach for 10 years; taught Social/Ballroom dancing professionally; and was a life guard/swimming instructor. Most recently David was Executive Director of Organizational Development at Mohawk Valley Community College, NY (SUNY). He now mentors faculty, staff, and leaders on pedagogical, motivational, and leadership issues at college campuses; at national conferences; and to public and corporate audiences throughout the United States (davidkatzpresents.com). David’s goal when he presents is “to be useful, helpful, and affirming, to touch people in a manner that is meaningful, memorable, and relevant to them.”

Susan Robison, Ph.D. is a psychologist, author, and faculty development consultant. Her book, The Peak Performing Professor: A Practical Guide to Productivity and Happiness, published by Jossey-Bass, has been selected for faculty book clubs all over North America. A former academic department chair and professor of psychology at Notre Dame of Maryland University, Susan has provided leadership workshops and consultation work with non-profits and colleges. She authored a leadership series (Discovering Our Gifts and Sharing Our Gifts) for non-profits and a recent leadership book for academic leaders, Coaching Skills for Academic Leaders: Bringing Out the Best in Yourself, Your Faculty, and Your Staff, soon to be published by Stylus Publishing. In 2017, she served as a co-editor of a special issue on Coaching and Leadership of the Journal of Excellence in College Teaching. Susan is a frequent workshop presenter at higher education conferences and colleges/universities on “The Peak Performing Professor,” “The Academic Leader as Coach,” and “Resilience and Emotional Labor.”

Dr. Patricia Gonzalez serves as Assistant Dean for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the University of Colorado Boulder, College of Arts & Sciences. As a member of the Dean’s leadership team, Dr. Gonzalez’s primary responsibilities are to purposefully design and implement inclusive practices centered on student, faculty, and staff recruitment, development, retention, practices, and programming that result in an effective, welcoming, and equitable environment for students, staff and faculty success. Dr. Gonzalez holds a doctorate of education in Organizational Change and Leadership from the Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, an M.A. in Higher & Postsecondary Education and Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a B.A. in Government and Philosophy from Franklin & Marshall College. As a first-generation graduate, Dr. Gonzalez is committed to using social justice as a platform to increase equity, diversity, and inclusion on college campuses, uplifting and empowering students beyond their circumstances, maximizing individual student performance; efforts to increase retention and persistence, and instilling self-worth and a sense of belonging among all students.

Anne Reed is the founding Director of the Office Micro-credentials at the University at Buffalo (UB). She developed a process to propose, review, develop, and implement new micro-credentials at the university. She currently serves on multiple advisory boards, including the leadership team for UPCEA, Council for Credential Innovation, and the national advisory council for Credential as You Go. Anne has authored, co-authored, and contributed to numerous articles, book chapters, and reports, including the recently co-authored chapter “Using Digital Badges to Design a Comprehensive Model for High-Impact Experiential Learning” published in Credential Innovations for Inclusive Pathways to Professions (2022). She has also served as principal or co-investigator on state and federal grants, including as Co-PI on the National Science Foundation (NSF) Convergence Accelerator project: A Universal Framework of Micro-Credentials for Nation-Wide Employment.

Dr. Mark Taylor is an award winning speaker recognized internationally as an authority and educator on the forefront of transformations in educational practice and workplace management. The President of Taylor Programs since 2006, he works with colleges and professional educators on better understanding the generational cohorts of learners and in moving to best practices in research based instruction, and with businesses and organizations around issues of multigenerational and positive developmental leadership. Building on experience as a psychotherapist, professor, and in medical, academic and student services administration, Dr. Taylor has offered over 1000 events for organizations, businesses and schools. He holds graduate degrees from the University of Arkansas and academic appointments at Arkansas State University and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Graduate School.

As Dean of Rutgers School of Business-Camden, Rutgers University, Dr. Monica Adya steers the direction of the school through strategic growth of undergraduate and graduate programs, an executive education unit, as well as Centers of Excellence. Her current priorities include developing and implementing strategies for bridging academic scholarship with industry, and developing the school as a model for access to high-quality business education. She previously served as Chair of Management at Marquette University. As a scholar in information systems, currently her research interests include the design and use of decision aids, as well as the participation and experiences of girls and women in information technology careers.

As Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Dr. Marcela Kostihova establishes the College’s academic priorities, oversees resource allocation, and coordinates strategic and long-range planning, as well as the day to day work with recruitment and development of faculty and staff. She’s co-directed Hamline’s Collaborative Research Program, and served as Associate Dean prior to her appointment as Dean. As Dean, she’s led administrative restructuring of new College units, collaborated with faculty on two holistic program reviews and subsequent implementation, facilitated future-oriented strategic planning, and led general curriculum reinvigoration.

Dr. Lupita Murillo Tinnen began her career at Collin College as a Professor of Photography over seventeen years ago. She was a past department chair and associate dean before serving as Dean of Academic Affairs and Workforce at Collin College. She provides leadership and serves as an advocate for the Fine Arts with departments in Art, Dance, Music, and Theatre as well as Education. Additionally, she oversees four workforce programs in Commercial Music, Commercial Photography, Communication Design, and Early Childhood Education. Dr. Murillo Tinnen earned a doctorate in Humanities with a major in Aesthetic Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas, a Master of Fine Arts degree in Photography from the University of North Texas, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Photography from Texas A&M-Commerce. As a practicing artist, her work deals with her experiences as a first-generation Mexican American and has been exhibited in hundreds of exhibitions nationwide.