Dr. Jess E. Tuck is Director of the ACCESS Program and Project Director of FAU’s U.S. Department of Education Title III Grant. He is also an Adjunct Instructor at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) with University Advising Services and Navitas at FAU. Dr. Tuck’s experience began at FAU in 2003 advising freshmen and sophomores with undeclared majors, providing guidance to students through developmental advising strategies. Dr. Tuck presents nationally on Appreciative Advising and Education. Dr. Tuck received a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership: Higher Education from FAU, where his dissertation topic was students’ preference for online versus face-to-face academic advising based on individual learning styles. He received an M.Ed. in Counselor Education, also from FAU. Dr. Tuck attended SUNY Plattsburgh and holds a B.A. in Sociology.
Cindy provides institutional leadership for the college-wide student recruitment process by executing all enrollment policies, programs, and service in assisting in the development of marketing strategies and materials for these programs. Sisson establishes and directs all admissions activities for the school’s programs, aligning them with the institution’s mission and values. These include traditional undergraduate, associate degree, degree completion, graduate and seminary programs along with some support for online programs. Additionally, Sisson oversees all student financial aid for Grace College and is directly responsible for awarding most institutional aid providing accountability for the college’s tuition revenue. She also plays a supporting role in student retention. Sisson teaches in the Department of Behavioral Science and in the GOAL degree completion program.
Dr. Carrie Yocum assists in the overall academic administration of the institution with a focus on accreditation, academic policies, compliance, institutional effectiveness, technology, and human resources. She was part of the “re-imagine” team that conceptualized the three-year program at Grace College as well as its related initiatives and subsequent implementation. She is on the senior leadership team at Grace, assisting in the development of change strategies and institutional visioning.
Jodi Schneiderman was employed for nine years in the career services department at the University of Colorado at Boulder with her most recent position as program manager for international employment. While at CU, Jodi served on the NCDA International Student Task Force, sailed as a living learner coordinator on Semester at Sea, and participated in the International Education Administrators Seminar as a Fulbright Scholar. Currently, Jodi is the coordinator of career and leadership programs at SUNY Potsdam in the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP). She possesses master’s degrees in industrial/organizational psychology and community counseling.
Mike Frantz has served in enrollment and admissions positions for over two decades. He came to Buena Vista University (BVU) from Robert Morris University, where he served as vice president of enrollment for two years. Previous to his time at Robert Morris, Frantz lead the enrollment program at Wilkes University. From 1989–1998, Frantz was a part of the admissions team at Buena Vista University. He began his time in this office as a counselor and advanced to director of admissions, a position he held for four years. While serving as director, he helped lead the recruitment of four of the five largest freshmen classes in BVU’s history and set BVU’s all-time freshmen class record. During his career, Frantz has also done enrollment consulting work at a number of universities across the central and eastern regions of the United States.
In addition to holding her current position at Colorado State University, Jenn Long is the editor of NCDACareer Developments magazine and a consultant with Rich Feller & Associates. Jenn served as a team lead on the NCDA International Student Task Force and a team member of the NCDA International Student Work Group, presenting on findings and research surrounding international students during the NCDA 2013 annual conference. Jenn Long is a National Board certified counselor and licensed professional counselor candidate. She has previously been published in the Career Planning and Adult Development Journal (2013), NCDA’s Career Developments Magazine, and NCDA’s Career Convergence (online publication). She has also contributed numerous conference presentations at a national level.
Stout joined as one of nineteen principals of the acclaimed international design consultancy Pentagram in 2000. Recently, Stout was selected by American Photo magazine as one of the “100 most important people in photography.” In 2004 International Design magazine selected Stout for “The I.D. Fifty,” it’s annual listing of design innovators. In 2010, The Society of Illustrators honored him with the national Richard Gangel Art Director Award. DJ Stout was recognized as an AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) Fellow award recipient in 2012 for his exceptional contributions to the field of graphic design. DJ and his team specialize in the creation of brand identity and strategy, publication design, packaging, and interactive solutions. He’s done work for companies and institutions like Microsoft Windows, Ruby Tuesday, Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen, Walgreens, Lands’ End, L.L. Bean, Southwest Airlines, The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, The Perot Museum of Nature and Science, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, The Contemporary Austin, World Wildlife Fund, SkinCeuticals, Advanced Nutrients, Northwestern University, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Middlebury College, Loyola Marymount University, UC Berkeley, The University of Colorado, Drexel, Lehigh University and the University of Southern California.
Rhonda Beassie is a cum laude graduate of the University of Houston Law Center, holds a BA in Criminal justice from Hawaii Pacific University and earned an AA in Paralegal Studies from Honolulu Community College. Rhonda has fifteen years of higher education experience having served as supervisor of internships, director of student legal services, clinical faculty, and assistant dean of career development prior to transitioning to representing universities.
Deborah Nikkel has over 25 years’ experience in helping organizations transform their business operations through organizational restructuring, business process improvement, and the introduction of new technology. Since 2010, she has served as a Senior Program Manager of the Program Management Office at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). A key focus area for her since joining UCSF has been the implementation of consolidated administrative functions through shared services in Human Resources. Prior to joining UCSF, Deborah was an independent project manager/change management consultant, analyst and writer for a diverse set of clients including Aerojet, Advanced Micro Devices, UC Office of the President, Bank of America, Bank of California, Chevron, East Bay Municipal Utilities District, BayGroup International, Cayuse, Inc., Prime Computer, Inc., and Syntex Corporation.
After fifteen years in corporate marketing, Paige Booth began her work in the higher education industry in 2000—about the same time higher education was discovering marketing. She joined St. Edward’s University as associate vice president of marketing. Today she is VP for Marketing and Enrollment Management, supervising and integrating the marketing, admissions, and financial aid offices. The powerful collaboration between the marketing and admission teams has resulted in fifteen years of enrollment growth and a 2014 CASE Gold Award for undergraduate recruitment communications. Before coming to St. Edward’s, Paige worked in advertising, banking, and technology marketing.
