Profiles

Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill joined CIC in 2024 and is the senior director of civic learning and free expression projects. Earlier in her career, she was on the faculties of College of William & Mary (VA) and St. John’s College (MD). She has also taught at the University of Calgary (Canada), Humboldt Universität zu Berlin (Germany), and […]

Amanda Ripley is a New York Times bestselling author, a Washington Post contributing columnist, and the co-founder of Good Conflict, a media and training company that helps people reimagine conflict. She has written three award-winning, nonfiction books about three very different subjects: High Conflict, The Smartest Kids in the World, and The Unthinkable. Her work […]

Richard Guarasci served as the 18th and longest serving president of Wagner College (NY) and currently serves as principal of Presidential Partners, a higher education consulting form specialized in creating inclusive, thriving, and sustainable communities. Earlier, Guarasci was the dean of the college at Hobart and William Smith (NY) and before that served as associate […]

Dr. Mary Dana Hinton is the 13th president of Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, and President Emerita of the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota. An active and respected proponent of the liberal arts and inclusion, her leadership reflects a deep and abiding commitment to educational equity and the education of women. Hinton […]

Michael Porter is a partner at Miller Nash LLP and is a member of the firm’s employment law and labor relations and education law practice teams. He works with public and private employers in all areas of labor and employment law, providing strategic advice and counsel to address and reduce risk of employment claims in […]

Jeff Musellleads the sales efforts for Multiple Employer Plans (MEP) at TIAA. He helps clients in the nonprofit, education, government, and healthcare market segments define their MEP strategy and narrative. He often serves as a front-line product expert for the TIAA community. Prior to joining TIAA, Jeff helped educate shareholders and participants on mutual funds […]

Shawn M. Hartman joined Academic Search in 2014. In his current role as senior vice president and chief operating officer, he oversees the day-to-day operations of the firm. As part of his broad responsibilities, he has supervised hundreds of searches across the country, ensuring that the proper resources are dedicated to each partnership and serving as an additional resource […]

Emma Jones serves as executive vice president for leadership with Carnegie, guiding the agency’s commitment to be a trusted resource for practitioner-informed thinking about higher education. She nurtures partnerships with colleges, universities, and higher education organizations around the country. Jones contributes to the national conversation on higher education leadership through her ongoing work on how […]

Cara Giacomini is the vice president of data, research, and technology for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). In this role, she leads CASE Insights—a primary resource and service provider for data, benchmarking, analytics, and original research to the educational advancement community worldwide—launched by CASE in 2018. Before starting at CASE, she […]

Eden Wales is academic vice president, dean of faculty, and professor of arts and science at Colby-Sawyer College (NH). Previously, she served as vice president for academic affairs, dean of faculty, and professor of English at Clarke University (IA); vice provost for academic affairs and associate professor at Saint Mary’s University (MN); and dean of […]