Keynote Speaker:

Dr. Elizabeth Hardin

Executive Strategy Consultant

Elizabeth A. Hardin is a strategist who links private and public systems to create sustainable social impact. She is focused on affordable housing, public education, and healthcare accessibility. Her higher education experience includes academic and student affairs leadership, research strategy and acceleration, information technology master planning, and finance and administration leadership.

Hardin's higher education experience includes roles as director of MBA Program Administration for Harvard Business School, leader of the Millennial Campus Project and start-up of the Charlotte Research Institute for UNC Charlotte (1999-2002), co-sponsor of UNC Charlotte's first Housing Master Plan (2006+), co-chair of UNC Charlotte's Research Administration Project (2008+) and Information Technology Master Plan (2011+). From 2006 until 2021, she was the vice chancellor for business affairs at UNC Charlotte. Following her retirement from UNC Greensboro in 2021, she was a fellow in the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative, designed to deepen and broaden the social impact of executive leaders.

Hardin is a member of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, was recognized by the Charlotte Business Journal as CFO of the Year for large non-profit/government entities, and was awarded the Loy Witherspoon Award by the Cooperative Christian Ministry. Nominated by University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans, UNC Charlotte Chancellor Emeritus Phil Dubois, and UNC Greensboro Chancellor Frank Gilliam, she received the National Association of College and University Business Officer's Distinguished Business Officer Award in 2022.

Executive Leadership Panel:

Dr. Loury Floyd

Assistant Provost for Academic Operations

Lenoir-Rhyne University

Dr. Loury Ollison Floyd began her tenure as assistant provost for academic operations at Lenoir-Rhyne University in July 2023. In this role, Dr, Floyd collaborates with faculty and staff on external grants to enhance academic affairs initiatives; serve as SACSCOC liaison; partner with the provost on all accreditation efforts on campus; and enhance and provide faculty development with respect to scholarship, leadership and mentoring.

Prior to this role, Dr. Floyd served as professor and dean of the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. During her time at UNC Pembroke, Dr. Floyd worked to secure funding from the United States Department of Education Office of Indian Education, Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity. and the Anonymous Trust. These initiatives total 4.5 million and are focused on creating culturally responsive curricula and diversifying the teacher workforce. She also reorganized her unit, increased partnerships, and led the Educator Preparation Program through a successful CAEP accreditation cycle.

Dr. Floyd has also held leadership positions as an interim dean, associate dean, and department chair in the College of Education at North Carolina A&T State University. She has been honored as a Rookie Researcher of the Year and a Leadership Fellow during her tenure at NC A&T. During her time at NC A&T she collaborated with colleagues to secure funding in excess of $2.5 million to enhance teacher quality in low-performing school districts. Dr. Floyd has written numerous mini-grants and collaborated with students to create Home Learning Tool- Kits for families. 

Dr. Floyd has also co-authored articles published in Teacher Education and Special Education, Intervention in School and Clinic, Academic Exchange Quarterly, The Educational Forum, and The Clearing House and Centroid. Dr. Floyd has also co-authored two book chapters Relationships In and Outside the Inclusive Classroom and Response to Intervention and Inclusion: Facilitating Collaborative Arrangements. 

A first-generation college graduate, Dr. Floyd has a bachelor’s degree in special education from North Carolina A&T University, a master’s degree in special education at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and a Ph.D. in educational policy, planning and leadership from the College of William & Mary.

Dr. Bethany Meighen 

Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs

UNC System

Bethany Meighen, the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, is the chief student affairs officer at the UNC System and serves as the liaison between the System and the 17 institutions on matters related to student success, financial aid, admissions, student development and behavioral health. She also oversees access programs and works closely with committees and educational agencies on policies related to minimum admissions and course requirements. Meighen received an undergraduate and master’s degree from the University of Charleston and an Ed.D. from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Ms. Tamara Williams

Chief Academic Officer

Forsyth Tech Community College

Tamara Williams is Chief Academic Officer at Forsyth Technical CC. Prior to arriving at FT, Tamara served as Vice President of Workforce Solutions at Tidewater CC in Norfolk, Virginia as well as Dean of Academic Affairs at Central Piedmont CC, where new certification and middle college programs she implemented appreciably increased enrollment. Williams has more than twenty years of higher education experience, most of it spent serving community colleges. She has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Lake Norman and is actively involved in her community, serving on the Hampton Roads Workforce Council Executive Steering Committee, the Hampton Roads Alliance Women in Offshore Wind, and lends her expertise to many other organizations. She holds a Master of Education and will soon earn her Doctor of Education focused on Community College Leadership. Tamara is also a Leadership North Carolina alum.

 

Facilitator:

Dr. Connie Gores

Partner

The Success Associates

Dr. Connie J. Gores is Partner in the Success Associates, where she provides executive coaching, leadership training, and consulting for individuals and organizations. For six years, she served as President of Southwest Minnesota State University (the only woman to serve in that capacity) and was granted President Emerita status. Connie has a deep and enduring commitment to women’s leadership, including currently serving on the NC ACE Women's Network Executive Board and previously serving as Chair of the national ACE Women’s Network Executive Council; Chair of the Virginia ACE Network Board; and Chair of the Senior Leadership Seminar in Virginia. She earned her B.A. from North Dakota State University, her M.Ed. from Colorado State University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Washington. She is delighted to live near her two adult daughters and three wonderful grandchildren in North Carolina.

Session Speakers:

Dr. Crystal Renée Chambers 

Professor of Educational Leadership

East Carolina University

Dr. Crystal Renée Chambers, J.D., Ph.D. chambersc@ecu.edu is a Professor of Educational Leadership at East Carolina University where she examines matters of race and gender equity in higher education, particularly the areas of college choice and faculty advancement. Dr. Chambers is the author/ co-author of over 50 peer reviewed articles, book chapters, and monographs as well as the editor of eight book and journal volumes, including the forthcoming Black Women’s Pathways to Executive Academic Leadership: Lessons from Lived Experiences (UWP, 2023). Dr. Chambers is a 2018 Carnegie Fellow and is a co-PI on THRIVE@ECU, an NSF ADVANCE Adaptation grant and has served as a Coach and faculty expert with the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity. She is a 2016 ECU Graduate Faculty Mentor and East Carolina University Women of Distinction Award recipient, and a fellow of the BRIDGES Leadership for Women (2020) and UNC System Executive Leadership Institute (2021-2022).

Dr. Sandra Dika

Associate Professor

UNC Charlotte

Sandra L. Dika, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Research Methods in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has served as the graduate program director of the Ph.D. in Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation since 2018. Other service leadership roles include President of the North Carolina Association for Research in Education (2016-17), Executive Committee member of the UNC System Faculty Assembly (2018-20), and the Chair of the Cato College of Education Committee for Equity, Justice, and Belonging (2022-24). Sandra's scholarship is focused on the experiences and outcomes of marginalized and minoritized student groups in U.S. higher education, and she enjoys mentoring doctoral students to develop and publish their research.

Ms. Heidi Echols

Instructional Designer & Technologist II

UNC Charlotte

Heidi Echols, MFA is an Adaptive Learning Specialist / Instructional Designer & Technologist II for the Center for Teaching and Learning at UNC Charlotte. Heidi has more than 23 years of experience in higher education and has held numerous positions including Director of a Center for Teaching 

Excellence and Innovation, Full Professor, Department Chair, and QEP Co-Chair. Her primary expertise lies in Instructional Design, where she specializes in adaptive learning and the development of holistic learning experiences across the campus.

Heidi holds a Master of Fine Arts from UNC Greensboro. She is actively involved with educational technology organizations, presenting and writing about her scholarship as an Instructional Designer.

Dr. Melanie Escue

Assistant Professor

UNC Pembroke

Dr. Melanie Escue (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. She also serves as a Research Associate for the Im/migrant Well-Being and Research Center at the University of South Florida. Melanie earned her B.S. in Psychology and M.S. in Criminal Justice (University of Central Florida), and her Ph.D. in Sociology (University of South Florida). During her Ph.D. studies, she grew interested in the ever-changing immigration landscape and found herself drawn to learning more about im/migrant populations and strategizing ways to support the community. 

Over the past few years, Melanie has worked on National Science Foundation projects focused on im/migrant lives and well-being, served as an executive board member of an undocumented student organization, and served as a facilitator for a training program that raises awareness of im/migrant student issues and equips student/staff/faculty allies with the tools to best serve the needs of students navigating precarious legal positions. Moreover, her recent work exploring the health and well-being of im/migrants has been published in the American Behavioral Scientist, Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, Journal of Cultural Geography, and Latino Studies. 

To learn more about her work, please email melanie.escue@uncp.edu.

Dr. Tina Heafner

Professor

UNC Charlotte

Tina L. Heafner, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Middle, Secondary, and K-12 Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her administrative responsibilities include directing the Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction. Tina is the 2019-2020 National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) President and NCSS College and University Faculty Assembly (CUFA) 2015-2016 Chair. Tina’s publications include seven co-authored books and six edited books including recent titles such as: The divide within: Intersections of realities, facts, theories, and practices, and the Handbook of research on emerging practice and methods for K-12 online and blended learning.

Dr. Cathy Howell

Clinical Assistant Professor

UNC Charlotte

Cathy D. Howell, Ed.D. is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is the Ed.D. and M.Ed. in Higher Education Graduate Program Director. Cathy has been a collaborator on multiple research teams, publications, and presentations. Her scholarship includes efforts focused on centering intersectional identities of gender and race in higher education, underscoring issues of (1) access, (2) mentorship, (3) leadership, and (4) cross-disciplinary inquiry.

Kim Jones

Assistant Professor

UNC Charlotte

Kim Jones is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a choreographer and dancer born and raised in NYC. February 2024, she garnered significant recognition for her choreographic work at the Maritime Museum in London, U.K.. In 2023, she presented her dance re-imagining of Martha Graham’s “Adorations," created originally in the mid-1970s for a PBS film, at the Joyce Theater in NYC. Jones is a two-time NEA recipient, a Régisseur for the Martha Graham Resource Center, and founder and Artistic Director of Movement Migration, a dance company based in Charlotte, NC. Her career includes dancing with the Martha Graham Dance Company and The Metropolitan Opera Ballet. Jones is a 2023-2024 Research fellow with the NY Public Library‘s Jerome Robbins Dance Division. Her research explores the life of Korean dancer/choreographer Choi Seung-Hee (1911-69). Choi, widely regarded as Korea’s first modern dancer, lived a remarkable life through the Japanese occupation of Korea and the Korean War. Jones's dance research has also led her to re-imagine renowned American choreographer Martha Graham’s Imperial Gesture (1935) for the Graham Company and reconstruct Paul Taylor’s Tracer (1964) with permission from Mr. Taylor. In July 2022, Jones was invited to Chicago for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute: Making Modernism: Literature, Dance, and Visual Culture in Chicago, 1893-1955, at the Newberry Library.

Dr. Kristie Opiola

Associate Professor

UNC Charlotte

Kristie Opiola, Ph. D., LPC (Texas), RPT is an Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She began her professional career as a certified child life specialist working with acutely and terminally ill children in hospital settings. She currently directs the Ph.D. program in Counselor Education & Supervision. She was selected as the 2019-2020 Engagement Faculty Fellow for the Cato College of Education, and currently serves as the President of the North Carolina Association for Play Therapy. Her areas of teaching interest include play therapy, filial therapy, skill development, and expressive arts. Research interests include play therapy and filial therapy with children who have experienced a variety of traumas (medical, relationship, adoption), community based play therapy interventions, and counselor-in-training skill development.

Jordan Register

Faculty Development Specialist

UNC Charlotte

Dr. Jordan Register is a Faculty Development Specialist at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's Center for Teaching and Learning. She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, a Master's Certification in Data Science, a MAT in Teaching Secondary Mathematics, and a B.S. in Mathematics from the same university. Jordan is also a certified instructor in Foundational Mathematics and the Journal Manager for the TEEM Academic Research Journal. Previously, Jordan taught high school math in Charlotte, was a STEM Education Specialist, and taught undergraduate mathematics at UNCC. Her expertise includes Critical Mathematics Education, Data Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Ethics. Her research focuses on designing educational resources that enhance students’ critical and ethical reasoning in STEM, resulting in the development of ethical data science curricula published and presented internationally. Currently, Jordan focuses on developing faculty programs on generative AI, learning analytics, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at UNCC.

Kristin Walker

Senior Associate Director

Elon University

Kristin Walker is a Senior Associate Director at the nationally ranked Student Professional Development Center at Elon University. In this role, she focuses on department strategic planning, professional development of department staff, and major department events throughout the academic year. Kristin has been working in career services since 2013. 

Her experiences prior to Elon University include Elon University School of Law and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). At UNCG, she was proud to manage hundreds of domestic and international students participating in the Disney College Program internship partnership with the University, having participated in this program herself during her undergraduate tenure.

Kristin holds an MBA from Elon University and a BA in Dance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Amy Wartham

Director of Corporate and Custom Training

UNC Charlotte

Amy Wartham is the Director of Corporate and Custom Training at UNC Charlotte and works with some of Charlotte’s largest organizations assessing and managing their specific workforce training needs. She has been at UNC Charlotte for over 24 years. Amy has previously served as a lecturer and academic advisor in the Belk College of Business at UNC 

Charlotte and as a Marketing and Management instructor at Central Piedmont Community College. Owing to her significant experience in various aspects of adult learning and corporate training, Amy has mastered the ability of establishing and building positive relationships with corporate clients and all levels of management, through her excellent communication skills along with successful negotiations, presentations, effective training methodologies and written communications. Amy’s keen business insight and expertise in ascertaining and analyzing needs, streamlining operations and envisioning future goals and processes, have played a pivotal role in the success of her department. 

Amy completed her BS and Masters in Business Administration from Winthrop University and specializes in the areas of business communications, emotional intelligence, organization development, teambuilding, leadership and change management. 

Amy is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2023 Governor’s Award for Excellence and a 2020 Charlotte Business Journal Charlotte’s Top 25 Women in Business leaders. Charlotte Business Leader Magazine named Amy as one of Charlotte’s “Mover and Shakers” in 2008 and in 2009 she was named as one of Charlotte’s “Women Extraordinaire.” In addition, in 2011 and in 2014, the Mecklenburg Times named Amy as one of Charlotte’s “50 Most Influential Women.” Amy is a member of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce Workforce Development and Talent Committee, a member of the Charlotte Chapter of the Association of Talent Development (ATD) and the University Professional Continuing Education Association (UPCEA).