AI4AIS26: Rewiring the Institution for AI: Aligning Work, Data, and Culture for Results

Melissa Curry is a 27-year veteran of UF with extensive experience in talent strategy, organizational operations, and higher education human resources leadership. Prior to her current role, she served as assistant vice president for Human Resources, overseeing talent acquisition, employment operations, immigration services, equal employment opportunity compliance, classification and compensation, workforce analytics, and strategic initiatives. She also previously led recruitment and staffing efforts at UF, including major HR system implementations and executive recruitment initiatives. Curry earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa and her master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Florida, and she holds the SHRM-SCP certification.

David Weil is Senior Vice President for Strategic Services and Initiatives and Chief Information Officer at Ithaca College, where he leads IT, analytics, AI, and HR. A nationally recognized leader, he frequently speaks and writes on leadership, digital transformation, and AI. His work has been featured in programs and publications by EDUCAUSE, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, and others. David is the recipient of the 2024 EDUCAUSE Leadership Award. He is passionate about leadership development and helped create the EDUCAUSE Executive Leaders Academy and the Senior Directors programs.

Kurt has worked in the higher education sector for 24 years as both an administrator and consultant. His work has spanned every major component of university business. As a co-leader of our Organization and Talent Strategy team, he focuses on higher education organizational effectiveness, including operating model design and workforce strategy. Kurt works with a broad range of higher education institutions to advance their core functions through organizational design, management practices, performance measurement, and leadership/culture. Kurt has presented on the future of work and the employment value proposition at NACUBO, was a featured speaker at Tambellini’s Future of Work summit on the intersection of AI and talent management, and has facilitated panel discussions at CUPA-HR related to technology and the future of HR. Kurt has led operating model and talent management projects at multiple institutions including the University of Rochester, University of Minnesota, the University of Utah, UT Health San Antonio, and the University of Wisconsin.

Dr. Keith W. McIntosh is Vice President and CIO at the University of Richmond, where he has served for the past 10 years, leading technology strategy and operations to support teaching, learning, research, and institutional operations. He also co-chairs the University’s Presidential Advisory Group on Artificial Intelligence (PAG-AI), guiding the university’s strategic, ethical, and operational integration of AI across academic and administrative domains. 

With more than 40 years of leadership experience, including 24 years in the U.S. Air Force, including a combat tour in Iraq, and 16 years in senior higher education roles at Ithaca College and the Pima County Community College District, he is known for cultivating inclusive, mission-aligned IT organizations and fostering a sense of belonging across campus, including founding and facilitating Intersections, a weekly cross-cultural conversation open to all students, faculty, and staff since 2017. Dr. McIntosh has contributed extensively to national higher education leadership through service on the EDUCAUSE Board of Directors (2017–2021) and the NACUBO Board of Directors (2016–2022), where he was the first CIO selected to serve. He currently serves on the NACUBO Student Success Advisory Group, the EDUCAUSE Policy Advisory Committee, and the Center for Digital Education’s Higher Education AI Council, the Leadership Board for CIO's (LBCIO), and he is a mentor for the Next Leaders Fellowship and the Leadership Lounge. His leadership has been recognized with the EDUCAUSE DEI Leadership Award, the Capital CIO of the Year® ORBIE® Award (Non-Profit Sector), the inaugural EDUCAUSE Rising Star Award, and induction into the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society.

Afia Tasneem is a nationally recognized AI strategist and higher education transformation leader with over 15 years of experience driving enterprise innovation, operational efficiency, and business growth. As Senior Director and AI Strategy Lead in Huron's Education and Research Consulting practice, she helps higher education leaders transform AI from isolated experiments to institution-wide capabilities, aligning innovation with mission, operational priorities, and responsible use. At Huron, she has led AI strategy engagements across different types of institutions, partnering with presidents, provosts, chief AI officers, CIOs, and executive leadership to design enterprise AI strategies, governance frameworks, and implementation roadmaps. Prior to Huron, Afia served as Senior Director and Head of IT and AI Strategy Advisory Services at EAB, where she managed a portfolio of 193 CIOs and guided cross-campus initiatives in AI, digital transformation, data governance, and cybersecurity for 500+ cabinet leaders. She conceived and launched an AI Strategy Product Suite equipping leaders at 300+ institutions with the practices needed to scale AI from early pilots to institution-wide adoption. A frequent keynote speaker and executive facilitator, Afia has delivered AI plenary speeches to audiences of 200+ university presidents and led immersive workshops with 100+ CIOs. Her expertise is regularly featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed.