NACUBO 2024 Annual Meeting (Recordings)

Second City has a unique way of fostering talent, and when non-comedians and actors give their methods a try, the results are undeniable. Second City will share the very fundamentals that create stars on stage—and on campus and in the business world. They offer fun, interactive, and unconventional approaches to learning.

Tamara J. Britt is vice president and general counsel at Teachers College, Columbia University (TC). Britt is the chief legal officer of TC and is a key member of the President’s Cabinet, contributing to the resolution of many of the most important issues that affect TC. She also provides counsel to the Board of Trustees on legal and governance issues. Britt and the Office of the General Counsel provide day-to-day legal counsel on issues, policies, technology, transactions, claims, litigations, proceedings, and risks that concern TC. 

Britt served as the inaugural VP, GC, and Chief of Staff at Manhattan College (MC). Prior to that, she was associate general counsel at Rutgers University and counsel to the RU Foundation. Britt was also a practicing attorney with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP where she had responsibility for a broad range of matters, including work with multinational corporations on regulatory, governance, compliance, bankruptcy, and white-collar defense issues. 

Britt received her BA from Hampton University, an MPA from George Washington University, and a JD from Rutgers University, where she was an editor of the Rutgers Law Review and an Eagleton Institute of Politics Fellow.

Bronté Burleigh-Jones is the CFO, vice president, and treasurer at American University. Burleigh-Jones has more than 30 years of experience in financial and facilities management in higher education. She previously served as the vice president for finance and administration at Dickinson College where she oversaw all areas of finance and campus operations. Before joining Dickinson in 2013, she served as treasurer of St. John’s College and vice president for administration and finance and dean of enrollment management at Huston-Tillotson University. Prior to her roles in higher education, she served as senior project manager at the Texas State Auditor’s Office and assistant controller at the National Headquarters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance, an MBA from American University, and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Texas, Austin. She is a graduate of the Harvard Institute for Higher Education and the HERS Institute at Wellesley College.

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.

After a near 10-year commitment within the K-12 industry, Lucien Costley acquired a doctoral degree and fused educational leadership with administrative experience in higher education. Costley presently serves as the chief financial officer and vice president for planning and finance at Schreiner University.

Gerald Hector is the senior vice president for administration and finance at the University of Central Florida. He oversees accounting, finance, human resources, campus safety, auxiliary enterprises, and all aspects of facilities management.

Before joining UCF, he was the executive vice president and chief business officer for Morehouse College, and prior to that, vice president for financial affairs and university treasurer for Cornell University. He has also held similar leadership roles at Ithaca College and Johnson C. Smith University. Before joining higher education, he was the Corporate Controller for the United Negro College Fund and a public accountant with then Deloitte and Touche.

As an author, his first published work has birthed a podcast series (It's Easy Son) where he engages thought leaders on matters of early career paths and where they are today. He has worked to launch the $1 billion plus Gates Millennium Scholars program while at UNCF and most recently led the efforts at Morehouse College to assist students through the generous gift of Mr. Robert Smith.

Hector is an honors graduate from Howard University where he majored in accounting and holds a Master of Christian Thought degree from the Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary.

As the associate vice president for human resources, Rich Holcomb exercises comprehensive leadership across the University of Michigan's human resources operations, encompassing the Ann Arbor, Flint, and Dearborn campuses and Michigan Medicine. He is responsible for guiding key central HR functions, and his leadership strategies focus on nurturing partnerships in the workplace and fostering diverse cultures.

With a career spanning more than 25 years, Holcomb has experience in human resources from higher education, industry, and health care sectors. His tenure at University Human Resources and Michigan Medicine includes several leadership roles, including serving as interim chief human resources officer for Michigan Medicine.

Holcomb holds a bachelor's degree in employment relations and a master's degree in labor relations and human resources from Michigan State University.

Tyler Kearney currently serves as the vice president and chief business officer at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, an institution focused on providing STEM education in an environment of individual attention and support.  Kearney's esponsibilities include overseeing the physical infrastructure and financial operation of the institute. Prior to serving at Rose-Hulman, Kearney spent 20 years working in higher education in various finance and administrative roles. 

Eno Oregbesan is the director of risk management at Rice University. She supports the university's mission by providing faculty, staff, and students risk management services while encouraging and supporting practices that mitigate the risk of adverse events. Prior to her role at Rice, Oregbesan worked at a multinational risk management, insurance brokerage, and advisory firm; worked as an assistant director for risk management at a Houston-based public research university; and held various positions at the third largest property and casualty insurer in the United States. 

Oregbesan earned a bachelor's in business administration with a concentration in finance from The University of Houston and a master's in business administration from Texas Women's University. She also holds an associates in claims (AIC) and certified school risk manager (CSRM) designations.

Patty Petrowski currently serves as associate vice president and deputy general counsel in the office of the vice president and general counsel at the University of Michigan.  In that role, Petrowski  oversees 15 attorneys and five paralegals and provides legal support to the university on a broad range of issues including Title IX, the Clery Act, children on campus, and conflicts of interest. Prior to joining the office of the vice president and general counsel, Petrowski was a partner with a large Chicago law firm, where she worked from 2000-2014. As a partner in the firm's complex litigation group, she litigated, arbitrated, and tried cases involving a variety of subject matters, with significant experience representing major research universities and academic medical centers. 

Petrowski received a J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School. She received a bachelor's degree with high honors in political economy from Michigan State University and was elected Phi Beta Kappa.

Curtis Reynolds began serving as the vice president of business and finance and the chief financial officer at Baylor University in March 2024. In this capacity, he is responsible for effectively ensuring the university's financial strength and operating efficiency by initiating and maintaining progressive systems of financial planning, reporting, business development, and reliable revenue streams that enable university leadership to make informed and fiscally responsible decisions in fulfillment of Baylor's Christian mission. 

Reynolds previously served as vice president for business affairs for the University of Florida, where he was responsible for the leadership and strategic direction of a diversified portfolio of campus business and support services. He established Florida's campus master plan and negotiated development agreements with city and county constituencies for the 16 colleges, 2,000-acre main campus in Gainesville, and support facilities extensions across 67 counties in the state.

Reynolds earned a BS in electrical engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and an MBA from the University of Alabama.

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. 

Matt Skinner is the senior associate vice president for finance and administration and deputy CFO at Washington State University (WSU). He is responsible for business and financial services, including accounting, treasury, finance, Workday systems, sponsored research accounting, real estate, student accounts, payroll, purchasing, payments, and contracts. Since joining WSU, Skinnert has served in progressively responsible roles such as university budget director, assistant vice provost for budget and planning, and associate vice president for enterprise systems. He also served as the interim vice president for information technology alongside his Deputy CFO duties.

Before joining WSU, Skinner worked at a Big Four accounting firm, providing financial assurance and advisory services. He holds a degree in accounting, an MBA, and is a licensed CPA and certified change management practitioner. He is a graduate of the NACUBO Fellows Program and serves on the WACUBO board.

As the chief financial officer and senior vice president of administration and finance, Noel Sloan partners with university leaders to support growth and strategic initiatives while ensuring accountability for financial operations is maintained and risk is minimized. She is also a member of the President's Cabinet.

Sloan came to Texas Tech University in 2006. Prior to being selected as the chief financial officer in January 2014, she served in the role of managing director for financial services and tax. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member in the Rawls College of Business teaching income tax and managerial accounting.

Before shifting to higher education, Noel practiced law at Michael, Best Friedrich and worked in public accounting at Arthur Anderson in Wisconsin.

Aaron Slocum, Ph.D., has been named associate vice president for student affairs at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC). Slocum most recently was the director of equity, access, retention and mentoring at Indiana State University (ISU). During his 11 years at ISU, he held positions ranging from area coordinator of residential life, program coordinator for 21st Century Scholars, director of the mentoring center, and interim director of equity and inclusion. He was awarded his Ph.D. in educational leadership and higher education from ISU in 2020, his master’s degree in student affairs and higher education from ISU in 2011, and a bachelor’s degree in sports management from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in 2009.

Tara Smith is the vice president for finance and CFO at the University of Arkansas System where she serves as a member of the president’s senior leadership team with responsibilities for budgetary and financial accountability, optimization of fiscal resources across the university system, and creating financial strategies to support and enhance institutional and strategic priorities.  She graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a BBA in business and master of business administration (MBA). She has 19 years of experience in higher education finance. Prior to serving as the CFO, Smith has served as the finance/procurement lead for the implementation of Workday financials for the UA System,  vice chancellor of finance and administration for the University of Arkansas at Pulaski Technical College as well as the deputy director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education where she provided key leadership in research, analysis, and recommendations for all statewide financial policies and funding models for all public institutions of higher education.  

Karen R. Stubaus, Ph.D., is vice president of academic affairs emeritus at Rutgers University. During her 40 years at Rutgers, she had significant responsibility for academic labor relations, collective bargaining, faculty conduct and misconduct, Title IX, sexual harassment, and expanding women's leadership and faculty diversity. She taught frequently on both the undergraduate level in the departments of American studies and women's and gender studies and on the graduate level in the Ph.D. program in higher education administration. 

She is currently an affiliated researcher and visiting scholar at the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions at Hunter College in the City University of New York. She is currently researching the interface of sexual harassment, graduate student activism, and collective bargaining, and the movement of contingent faculty towards de facto tenure.

Dr. Barbara von Brandt, assistant professor of accounting, spent her career practicing and teaching accounting. von Brandt started her career in her native Germany where she worked in public accounting. After moving to the United States, von Brandt started working for Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas, and served for twelve years in administrative positions as budget coordinator, controller, and assistant vice president for finance and controller. In 2015, she joined the faculty of Schreiner University and is currently teaching introductory financial and managerial accounting, intermediate, advanced, and regulatory accounting. Her research has been published in the Global Journal of Business Research and the International Journal of Business and Applied Social Science.

Nakeschi Watkins is the director of risk management and insurance at Cornell University. Additionally, Watkins continuously works with local and state government agencies to keep abreast with changes impacting risk management in higher education and the risk management community. Watkins served on the RIMS New York Chapter Board of Directors. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama, where she earned her bachelor's of science in commerce and business administration management. She also severed in the US Army Reserve and Alabama Army National Guard for 12 years.

Erick Winger is the associate vice president finance/controller for the University of Washington and is a customer support manager and project manager in financial management at the University of Washington. He is involved in supporting customers with change and new tools and project management within financial management. Recent projects include the customer support of a new, internally developed, departmental financial reporting system; involvement with data analysis with a new exploration data warehouse; and the beginning phases of a travel reimbursement vendor package evaluation.

Dr. Curtis Wiseley has served as a counseling center director for the past 17 years and is currently the executive director of MINDful College connections, a consortium of counseling centers from three institutions of higher education (DePauw University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College).  He has extensive experience working with campus stakeholders to develop treatment facilities across multiple higher education institutions and extended campus sites and served as an assistant/associate professor in a mental health counseling program for nine years. He has also served as vice president of the Intercollegiate Counselors Consortium and as a member of the Advisory Board for the Center for Collegiate Mental Health.  

Wiseley, a U.S. Army veteran, earned his doctoral degree from Wright State University’s School of Professional Psychology after receiving his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Eastern Kentucky University.

Andrea Young is the vice president for finance and administration and associate professor of mathematical sciences at DePauw University.  She earned a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s degree in math, with a minor in Italian, from Pennsylvania State University. Young was a tenured member of the mathematics faculty at Ripon College and held a variety of administrative roles during her 11 years there including: interim president, vice president for finance and director of strategic initiatives, and acting vice president and dean of the faculty.

Jacquie Nichole Rich Fredericks, J.D., Ed.D., joined NACUA in 2023. As the senior legal resources attorney for publications, Jacquie manages NACUA’s robust publications portfolio, serves as the staff liaison for the NACUANOTES Editorial Board, develops and presents briefings and continuing legal education webinars on significant and timely changes in the postsecondary policy and legal landscape, and supervises NACUA’s Legal Resources Research Attorney. Jacquie is also primarily responsible for managing the development and implementation of the bi-annual NACUA General Counsel Institute. Prior to joining NACUA, Jacquie served as the vice president, general counsel, and secretary to the Board of Trustees of the University of Northern Colorado.

Jacquie holds a B.A. in elementary education from Ball State University, a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis, and an Ed.D. from the University of Denver. She is admitted to the bar in the State of Colorado.

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.

Susan Basso is an innovative and transformational human resources (HR) executive, with over 30 years of experience leading clients in all aspects of human resources management. She has led large-scale business optimization projects and has expertise in strategic planning, enterprise resource planning and human capital management implementations, executive compensation, change management, leadership development, compliance, benefits administration, collective bargaining, workforce planning, and organizational design.

Before Huron, Basso served as the senior vice president of talent, culture, and human resources for The Ohio State University. Prior to that, she held the posts of chief human resources officer for The Pennsylvania State University and Seton Hall University, as well as various leadership roles for East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. Basso was granted the Pioneer Award from Leadership Pocono and was a three-time winner of the Presidential Special Performance Award from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. She was also honored with the CUPA-HR Emerging Leader Award as well as the Sol Stetin Award from the American Labor Museum. In 2023, Susan was granted the Zemsky Medal from the University of Pennsylvania Executive Doctorate for her transformational leadership in higher education.

Jay Dumphy is a leader in Deloitte’s higher education practice, focusing on Workday software and delivery of large, cross-platform (human capital management [HCM] and financials) programs. 

He brings more than 30 years of experience helping organizations drive business transformation through the effective use of technology. Dumphy has worked with most tier-1 enterprise resource planning (ERP) products, including Workday, PeopleSoft, Oracle, and Infor. He has successfully served clients in various industries, with planning, structuring, and overseeing technology enablement efforts across finance, human capital, supply chain, and student functional areas. Dumphy is PMI and Workday certified in project management, financials, HCM, and planning.

Dumphy earned his MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University and BBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

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.

Beth Kidwell is a risk management consultant. She is responsible for advising United Educators (UE) members as they develop risk mitigation tactics, prioritize risk management goals, and launch or refresh enterprise risk management (ERM) initiatives. She joined UE in June 2023. Before joining UE, Kidwell worked nearly nine years at Otterbein University — including more than seven years as its director of risk management. She also has prior experience in finance, with more than 20 years’ experience in public, private, and nonprofit accounting. She earned a BS in accounting from Otterbein University and is a certified public accountant.

Rick Strasser’s professional advisory experience includes leading a variety of strategy and technology engagements across the not-for-profit, higher education, federal government, and healthcare industries. He has extensive experience advising university executives, not-for-profit executives, senior government executives, military general officers, and Congressional staff, and directing the capture and delivery of engagements ranging from strategic, targeted projects to large, complex programs with global teams. His more than two decades of advisory experience with mission-driven organizations includes organizational strategy, university budget strategy, multi-year financial projections and modeling, strategic reserves planning, business process reengineering, IT organizational strategy, and change management and training strategy, business application of artificial intelligence, research strategy, and technology effectiveness.

Strasser received an MBA from the Syracuse University Whitman School of Management and a master's of public administration (Executive) from the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He received a bachelor's of arts in history from Wabash College.

Matt Unterman is the leader of Grant Thornton’s Higher Education and Not-for-Profit Advisory Services Practice.  In addition, Unterman leads Grant Thornton’s Higher Education Sector, overseeing our firm’s offerings and activities to colleges and universities. Unterman has served over 150 higher education institutions and not-for-profit organizations during his career at the firm.

Unterman received an MBA in strategy and finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He holds a bachelor's of arts in sociology from Haverford College.