AM24: Addressing the Childcare Crisis: Leveraging University-Owned Land to Attract Talent

Hara Cootes has a master’s degree in early childhood education and has been involved in setting up, promoting and expanding child care services at The University of Texas at Austin since 1992. As the executive director over three child development centers, she has overseen daily operations, budgets, and supervising personnel and took a leadership role in developing a child care center that is partnered with the State of Texas.  She is an adjunct faculty with Austin Community College and consults on projects with higher education, municipalities, and businesses to create child care solutions with a focus on supporting a workforce.

Jessica Robertson is the chief operating officer for auxiliary services at Purdue University. In this role, she oversees a team committed to driving operational efficiency and cost savings opportunities across the Purdue campus helping drive the vision to provide higher education at the highest proven value. She also serves as the senior director of procurement, managing the university’s sourcing and category management teams, travel department, procurement and travel cards, and supplier diversity. Before joining Purdue, Robertson served as the Indiana department of administration commissioner. 

Robertson earned a bachelor's degree in finance and a master's in business administration from Indiana State University. 

Maureen Weber is the president and CEO of Early Learning Indiana. Weber started their career as a grant manager for the City of Indianapolis and then worked as an associate at Barnes & Thornburg LLP before joining the Indiana Department of Education as Chief Operating Officer. In 2005, Weber joined the Indiana Department of Workforce Development as deputy commissioner. Weber then served as deputy commissioner, strategy and operations for the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles from 2006 to 2008. In 2009, Weber became vice president of customer experience for Indiana University Health. Weber served in this role until 2015 when they joined Project Lead The Way as chief strategy officer. Weber remained with Project Lead The Way until 2018 when they assumed their current role as president and CEO of Early Learning Indiana. 

Weber received their J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and their B.S.F.S. in international affairs from Georgetown University.

Nina Farrell, CCIM, is a vice president within JLL's government, education and non-profit advisory practice. With a focus on higher education institutions and state and local government entities, Farrell is a trusted advisor and representative for clients across the country. She specializes in strategic planning, portfolio review, development advisory, and transaction services, all with the goal of maximizing value while enhancing the agency's mission.

With over 12 years in commercial real estate, Farrell has dedicated her career to serving mission-based clients. Prior to her role at JLL, she oversaw CBRE's public institutions practice in the Southwestern region and served as the company's higher education specialist. Earlier, she gained invaluable experience at the UT System real estate office, advising and transacting with University of Texas medical and academic institutions throughout Texas, including The University of Texas System Administration.