2024 Speaker Bios

Dr. Mike Casey is an Assistant Professor of Computer Information Systems and Analytics at the University of Central Arkansas. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer and Information Science in 2019. Dr. Casey is an active researcher with numerous publications focusing on artificial intelligence, business pedagogy, online learning, software and technology adoption, and environmental and social governance. He teaches online and traditional face-to-face courses in various areas, including systems analysis, programming, computing, and business statistics. Through his teaching, Dr. Casey prepares students for technology-driven workplaces by equipping them with the skills needed to effectively implement artificial intelligence solutions to solve complex problems.

Natalie Furlett is the Senior Director of Member and Student Engagement for Campus Compact, the nation’s largest national organization dedicated to higher education civic and community engagement. Campus Compact centers its work on higher education’s responsibility to create a just, equitable, and sustainable future through community-based learning, advocacy, transformational initiatives, research and publications, strategic partnerships, and professional development. In this role, Natalie leads the organization’s efforts to strengthen campus engagement with their local communities and the Campus Compact network.

Before joining the national Campus Compact office, Natalie was the Executive Director of Campus Compact for Illinois, where she spearheaded campus Census 2020 efforts, created the Campus Meets Community program to support healthy campus partnerships, and networked campuses throughout Illinois. Prior to Campus Compact, Natalie spent time building student-community ties at Northwestern in the office of Student Community Service before taking on the role of Associate Director of the Norris Center for Student Involvement. She holds an MBA in Nonprofit Management from the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, CA, and a BA from the School of Public Administration at American University in Washington DC.  Natalie currently serves as the chair of the Governor-appointed Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service.

Lesley Graybeal is the Director of Living Learning Communities at the University of Central Arkansas. Lesley earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English and PhD in Social Foundations of Education from the University of Georgia. Prior to her time at UCA, Lesley taught first-year writing and American literature and coordinated the service-learning program at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, North Carolina. Lesley has led university-wide efforts around community-engaged teaching and learning, civic engagement, constructive dialogue, and high-impact practices.

Dr. Joel Johnson is the Interim Provost and the Sanford Peter Schotten Distinguished Professor of Government at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, SD. He received his Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University, where he also served as a lecturer in the Government Department. Since 2003 he has been a professor in Augustana’s Government and International Affairs Department, overseeing the department’s honors program and teaching courses in political philosophy, American political thought, politics and literature, and East Asian politics. In 2010-11, Johnson was a Senior Fulbright Scholar in American Studies at the University of Marburg in Germany. From 2013 to 2016, he was appointed Augustana’s Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values. The primary focus of his research is 18th and 19th-century American political thought. He is the author of Beyond Practical Virtue: A Defense of Liberal Democracy through Literature (University of Missouri Press), in addition to numerous articles and book chapters. Before serving as interim provost, Dr. Johnson was a department chair, the chair for the social sciences division, and the co-leader of the task force devoted to safely modifying academic operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anne Katherine Jones is Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor in the School of Molecular Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University. As vice provost, she collaborates with units across the university to provide leadership for university-wide curriculum and student success projects. Ongoing projects include AI literacy and incorporation of AI into teaching and learning; implementation of new ASU general education requirements; creation of unique partnerships with external colleges and universities including the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, the US Navy Community College, and California College of ASU; expanding and improving the ASU curricular offerings to prepare the broadest possible collection of students for life and career success; and student success initiatives to realize ASU’s mission and goals.

 Adam Kissel is Visiting Fellow, Higher Education Reform at the Heritage Foundation and Senior Fellow with the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy. He served as deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs at the U.S. Department of Education, where he overall a $2 billion budget and a nearly $2 billion loan portfolio. He is a national leader on higher education policy and long-time advocate for academic freedom and individual rights.

Dr. Jennifer Latino is a Senior Director for EAB’s Research Advisory Services and serves as an expert in Student Success and Institutional Strategy and Planning. Jennifer enjoys engaging with EAB partners around topics such as Mental Health, DEIJ, and Strategy and Planning. She is a facilitator for EAB’s Mental Health Collaborative.

Jennifer built her career through experiences at a diverse array of institution types including large-research, women’s college, community college, and faith-based institutions. After seventeen years as a college administrator, Jennifer entered the field of educational consulting.

Dr. Latino is also an adjunct faculty member in a doctorate for higher education leadership program and a published author and national presenter on a variety of topics including effective student engagement practices, faculty development, and effective institutional governance structures.

Dr. Marisol Morales is the executive director of the Carnegie Elective Classifications and Assistant Vice President  at the American Council on Education. In this role, she provides conceptual leadership and operational oversight to the elective classifications’ work in the United States, Australia, and Canada. This includes the collaborative development of and responsibility for all initiatives; oversight and facilitation of relevant national and international advisory committees; conceptualizing and implementing extensive data archives; and developing and enacting a shared vision regarding access to and use of the knowledge produced by the Carnegie Elective Classifications to beneficially guide research, policy, and practice.

Prior to this role, she was the vice president for network leadership at Campus Compact from 2018 to 2022. Morales was the founding director of the Office of Civic and Community Engagement at the University of La Verne from 2013 to 2018 and the associate director of the Steans Center for Community-Based Service Learning and Community Service Studies at DePaul University from 2005 to 2013.

Terri M. Petzold, Director of Counseling Services, joined Kentucky Wesleyan College in 2018 and established the first-ever office of counseling services for students on campus. Her primary goal has been to decrease the stigma behind mental health while increasing awareness of mental health wellness throughout the campus community. Through clinical services she helps students discover values and skills needed to relieve stressors, promote healthy relationships, and make good decisions. In addition to offering individual, couples, and group sessions, Terri promotes a campus of care culture by offering various mental health programs and training opportunities to students, faculty, coaches, and staff.

Terri is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker through the Kentucky Board of Social Work, a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor with the Kentucky Board of Alcohol and Drug Counselors, a certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor, a certified QPR Gatekeeper Instructor, and is certified in Choice Theory/Reality Therapy. She is also a Clinical Social Worker-PRN at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital. Terri is married, has 2 children and 3 grandchildren, and enjoys spending time with her family, reading, horseback riding, and needlework.

Glenn Allen Phillips is a Senior Insights Consultant at Watermark, based in Austin, Texas. In his role, he works directly with client colleagues to discuss good practices in assessment and accreditation, and suggest the use of integrated technology as appropriate. Prior to Watermark, Phillips served as the Director of Assessment at Howard University and the Acting Director of Assessment at The University of Texas at Arlington. His research interests include assessment and accreditation across institutional types, equity and assessment, the use of AI in assessment and accreditation, and the experiences of veterans in higher education. Phillips earned his Ph.D. at Texas A&M University and splits his time between Texas and Washington, D.C.

Dr. Sarah Root is a licensed psychologist providing mental health counseling and evaluations for children and young adults. She served as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the department of Psychology and Counseling at UCA during her postdoctoral year and continues to teach courses as an adjunct faculty member. Most recently, she taught the BearsThrive pilot course offered to students at UCA to promote wellness practices on campus. Dr. Root recently accepted a faculty position at Hendrix College and will shift to teaching fulltime in the upcoming fall semester.

A native of Little Rock, Arkansas Charlotte Strickland earned a Business degree from the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) and a Master’s degree in Higher Education from the University of South Carolina. For forty-three years Charlotte has worked in Higher Education coordinating Orientation, Ethics and Leadership academic courses, Greek training and Leadership training seminars. In 1989 Charlotte was invited to join the company, Designs for Development, specializing in training student leaders across the United States. In 2002 Charlotte founded her own company, Strickly Speaking, providing educational and compliance training to businesses, higher education institutions, communities, state/federal agencies, and organizations. Charlotte also serves as a speaker for “Speakers of Significance” – a company based out of San Antonio Texas – which offers the speaking services of twelve dynamic speakers to companies, higher education institutions, and communities across the United States. 

Since 2004, Charlotte has served as UCA’s Director of Employee Engagement and Enrichment. She provides campus-wide seminars on subjects such as Inclusion, Service Excellence, Communication, Workplace Behavior, and Supervisory Skills. She has served as adjunct faculty teaching the graduate course, Cultural Differentiation and Outreach. Charlotte enjoys speaking immensely and approaches each audience with energy, enthusiasm, and sincerity. Her goal is for each person to leave a presentation with personal value and a refreshed vigor for professional and personal challenges.

Dr. Eric Wood currently serves as the Director of Counseling & Mental Health at Texas Christian University. He has over 16 years of experience in college mental health, including serving as president of the Texas University and College Counseling Directors Association (TUCCDA) and being elected as a current executive board member of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD). Dr. Wood is a frequent presenter at national conferences and has trained over 100 universities on various aspects of college mental health. He’s the author of the award-winning eBook, A New Narrative for College Mental Health: Four key objectives that every campus counseling center should obtain. Throughout his career, he has been mentioned in publications such as the Texas Tribune, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, US News & World Report, The Chronical of Higher Education, Insider Higher Education, Harvard Business Review, and The New York Times.