Regarded as one of the nation’s preeminent lawyers for institutions of higher education, as well as large corporations and organizations facing issues related to the diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, Ishan is a go-to lawyer for universities, companies, and organizations facing their most difficult and challenges. He is a Co-Chair of the firm’s Education Practice, a leader of its Technology Practice, and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. In his TED Talk, viewed more than 1.4 million times, he discusses how organizations can foster productive and responsible debate while protecting free speech. His work has been featured in numerous publications including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Fortune. 

Large institutions and companies turn to Ishan when they face complex challenges with significant financial, operational, or reputational consequences. He specializes in commercial, constitutional, and regulatory law and has successfully litigated cases in numerous state and federal courts, including the US Supreme Court. He has substantial arbitration experience and also represents his clients before administrative agencies and in government investigations. Ishan frequently advises public company boards on critical issues of ethical and regulatory risk, including most recently the risks companies face as a result of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Through the firm’s CLE Relay, Ishan and Lauren Hartz provide clients with the latest legal developments since the Court ruled in SFFA that race-conscious admission policies are unconstitutional. In 2023, they presented DEI Programs: Risks and Strategies in a Changing Legal Landscape."

 In 2024, they will offer a retrospective that describes the landscape one year after the SFFA decision Ishan’s clients include leading educational institutions and major technology companies. Ishan has counseled numerous colleges and universities on issues ranging from free speech and admissions to athletics, Title IX, and research funding. He has represented various institutions in large-scale class actions with multibillion-dollar potential liability and is also a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA). Likewise, Ishan has advised and defended technology companies on free speech issues, commercial litigation, and government investigations. He regularly consults on how disruptive technologies will be assessed under existing regulatory structures.

 Ishan is a member of the Legal Advisory Council for the McArthur Justice Initiative, the Legal Council for the President’s Alliance for Immigration and Education, and Law360’s Diversity and Inclusion Editorial Advisory Board. He was recognized by both Bloomberg Law and the National Law Journal as one of the 40 best lawyers under 40 in the United States. Prior to joining Jenner & Block, Ishan worked at the US Department of Justice and the Boston Consulting Group. 

Dr. Jessica Elmore, a dynamic scholar-practitioner, and expert in educational advancement and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), is dedicated to transforming and elevating the landscape of philanthropic engagement through innovative DEIB strategies. With over a decade of experience, Dr. Elmore's work bridges the gap between cultural community engagement and educational advancement, ensuring that all voices and experiences are heard and valued.

Dr. Elmore joined CASE as the Senior Director of Cross-Cultural Learnings within the CASE OIC: Opportunities and Inclusion Centerᵀᴹ. In this role, she has been instrumental in developing CASE’s first online DEIB course, "The Journey Starts with You: DEIB in Advancement," and delivering bespoke training through CASE@Campus. Jessica is responsible for developing the training and content vision for upskilling, enhancing job performance, boosting organizational culture and contributing to the overall growth of an organization's outreach and engagement with their diverse alumni, donors and stakeholders.   

Previously, the California native relocated to the Midwest and served as the point person and leader for community relationship building and engagement programming for diverse domestic and international alumni and students for the Kansas State University Alumni Association. In Dr. Elmore’s progressive role, she cultivated over $600,000 from diverse donors and organizations; established a successful diverse volunteer leaders board pipeline, executed over 300 cultural-affiliated alumni and student events, garnering national recognition and professional organization industry awards; served as co-editor for the Association’s first diversity-devoted alumni magazine issue, and was a steadfast campus connector who accumulated an immense amount of social capital resulting in successful collaborations with various campus entities including but not limited to, international programs, athletics, and campus administration.

Jessica's expertise lies in creating award-winning external programming and cultivating relationships with domestic multicultural and international alumni and students. She is an interactive trainer and communicator with a proven track record of helping individuals grasp complex concepts through engaging and approachable methods. Her ability to create environments where people feel confident to navigate new spaces and contribute meaningfully sets her apart in the field of educational advancement. Jessica excels in breaking down intricate ideas into easily digestible insights, empowering participants to not only understand but also apply their knowledge in impactful ways.

Dr. Elmore holds a doctorate in educational leadership, a master’s degree in business administration from Kansas State University, and a mass communication degree from Grambling State University. Her diverse educational background equips her with a unique perspective on the interconnection and nuances of educational advancement.

Driven by a vision of inclusive excellence and social mobility, Dr. Elmore believes in the transformative power of education to create equitable opportunities for all. Her approach is rooted in empathy, collaboration, and a deep understanding of the diverse needs of alumni and donor communities.

Before joining PVAMU, Dr. LeGrande served as vice president for strategy, enrollment management and student success at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she led the development and implementation of the university’s strategic plan, priorities, and goals to influence national prominence, strategic partnerships, and student access and success. Other senior level leadership roles prior to VCU include vice president for student affairs and enrollment management at the University of Houston-Downtown, and associate vice chancellor for enrollment management at Winston Salem State University.

Throughout her career, Dr. LeGrande’s focus has been on advancing equity, accessibility, and affordability in higher education. She works to create and sustain engaging and supportive cultures for faculty, staff and students resulting in positive institutional outcomes. She has been prolific in securing resources to support innovation and accelerate progress. In all of her career endeavors, Dr. LeGrande has created “cultures of care” utilizing her expertise in strategic planning, new technology implementation, change management, and policy and business process redesign. With a personalized approach, she engages at all levels of an organization– forming, deploying and managing cross-organizational teams that find solutions to impediments that may impact university progress.

The art of leadership is Dr. LeGrande’s passion. She creates challenging yet supportive environments that embolden the pursuit of wide-ranging and future-focused goals. She embraces developing and cultivating leadership at all levels of an organization and has documented success in procuring funds to support programmatic expansion and change.

As a two-time graduate of HBCUs, and having earned a doctorate in higher education leadership, Dr. LeGrande understands the transformative power of education in helping students dismantle class, social, and cultural barriers. She believes that centered and effective leadership in higher education can amplify and accelerate the social mobility of all students, but especially of those from communities that have been underserved and underrepresented.

At the national level, Dr. LeGrande is actively engaged in issues of access, parity, higher education policy and leadership development. She is a sought-after thought leader, and a regular presenter and facilitator on the topics of enrollment management, educational equity and student success. She testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor in 2019 during a hearing on “Innovation to Improve Equity: Exploring High-Quality Pathways to a College Degree.” She was also the recipient of the Governor’s “Champion for Change Award” for the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2021.

A native of Savannah, GA, Dr. LeGrande earned a B.S. in chemistry from Savannah State University, M.S. in chemistry from North Carolina A&T State University, and an Ed.D. from Texas Tech University.

With over 41 years in higher education advancement, Jeffery L. McLain is the Senior Director of Gift Planning at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Prior to that, he served in advancement leadership positions at large, public research universities, including The University of Texas at Austin, Texas Tech University, Louisiana State University and Kent State University in. McLain began his advancement and fundraising career with Baylor University weeks after he completed his bachelor’s degree in 1982. While at LSU, he earned a master’s in mass communication.

In his time at Texas A&M-Kingsville, he was part of the team that closed the largest individual gift in the school’s history – a $27M planned gift of a working Texas ranch. Twenty months ahead of schedule and during a pandemic, the university closed the largest comprehensive $100 million campaign with gifts and pledges exceeding $114 million.

He is actively involved with CASE, The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. He served three years as CASE District IV scholarship chair and was the Chair of the 2013 CASE District IV INVINCIBLE conference in in Fort Worth. He served a three-year term on the CASE International Board of Trustees, and is now a CASE Laureate. In 2023, he was recognized by CASE District IV with the Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Active in his profession, McLain is a former CFRE, a certified fundraising executive. He has held offices in local chapters of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, including service as president of the Baton Rouge AFP Chapter and the Lubbock, Texas Chapter. He serves as the past President of the Charitable Gift Planners of Houston Board of Directors. He earned his Chartered Advisory in Philanthropy (CAP) certification in 2022. In 2011, he was honored as the Outstanding Professional Fundraiser for the Baton Rouge Area Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

A native of Plainview, Texas, his family was involved in agriculture as both cotton farmers and cottonseed delinters.

Dr. Wilson Kwamogi Okello (he/him) is a transdisciplinary artist and scholar who draws on Black critical theories to advance research on knowledge production and human development. Most immediately, he is concerned with how Black critical approaches make visible the epistemic foundations that structure what it means to be human and imagining otherwise possibilities for Black being therein. He is also concerned with how theories of Blackness might reconfigure understandings of racialized stress and trauma, qualitative inquiry, critical masculinities, and curriculum and pedagogy to create conditions of possibility in the education context and society. Widely published, he has over 40 scholarly publications in leading venues such as the Journal of College Student Development, Race, Ethnicity and Education, and the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Dr. Okello is co-editor of “Trauma-informed practice in student affairs: Multidimensional considerations for care, healing, and wellbeing,” a New Directions for Student Services volume, and solo author of the forthcoming book with SUNY Press, “On Blackness, Liveliness, and What it Means to be Human: Toward Black Specificity in Higher Education.” Among other early career awards, he was selected as the 2023 Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Early Career award recipient; he received the 2022-2023 Council on Ethnic Participation (CEP) Mildred Garcia Award for Exemplary Scholarship by ASHE, and he was named a 2022 Emerging Scholar by the American College Personnel Association. Currently, Dr. Okello is an assistant professor of higher education at Penn State University, where he is a research associate at the Center for the Study of Higher Education and director of the Black Study in Education Lab—a research and praxis hub concerned with exploring the potentialities of Blackness in educational research, practice, and policy.

Sergio Rodríguez is the President and CEO of the Hector and Gloria López Foundation whose mission is to provide scholarships and persistence support to Latino students from Texas who are first in their family to pursue their baccalaureate degree. These students come from some of the most under-resourced parts of Texas, including South Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, El Paso and the Austin/Central Texas region. The Hector and Gloria López Foundation is the namesake of Sergio’s aunt and uncle, Hector and Gloria López, prominent South Texas ranchers whose ranching estate created one of the largest Latino-funded and Latino-dedicated private foundations in the country. Since its first grants in 2022, the Hector and Gloria López Foundation has granted over $25mm in scholarship support for first-generation Latino students with the goal of creating educated, economically mobile students to be the future leaders of Texas.

In his role as CEO of the Foundation, Sergio manages the endowment as well as 35,000 acres of South Texas ranches and mineral interests in 6 counties of South Texas. He also provides the philanthropic and grantmaking leadership to his team members in Austin and South Texas. Prior to this, Sergio spent 7 years managing GALO OPS, LLC (formerly GALO Land & Cattle Co.), the ranching business begun by his aunt and uncle in 1951. Sergio was also a Vice President and Account Executive for 20 years at CGI Technologies and Solutions, an international professional consulting and technology firm. In this position, Sergio sold and managed complex IT systems integration projects with federal, state, municipal and commercial clients in Washington DC, London, Denver and Austin.

Sergio is a native of Alice, Texas, but grew up in Austin, where he resides with his wife Louise and three daughters. Sergio currently sits on a number of boards, including serving as the Development Committee Chair of the Austin PBS Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees at St. Edward’s University. In the past, Sergio has also served on the boards of Con Mi MADRE, Breakthrough Central Texas and the Austin Community Foundation where he helped to found the Hispanic Impact Fund. He is also currently a member of the Philosophical Society of Texas, the Austin Area Research Organization (AARO) and the University of Texas Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee.

Sergio holds a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University in Architecture and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. 

Dr. Robert H. Vela Jr. began serving as the 22nd president of Texas A&M University-Kingsville on June 15, 2022. His career has been dedicated to promoting access and opportunity to higher education across the state. Dr. Vela previously served as President of San Antonio College—one of the largest community colleges in the nation— from 2014-June 2022. Under his collaborative leadership, Dr. Vela developed a strategic plan that advanced the Alamo Community College District's goal of transforming San Antonio College into the best community college in the nation.

In 2021, the college earned the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence--the nation’s premier recognition of achievement and performance among America’s community colleges. He has also served in leadership roles at San Jacinto College and Coastal Bend College.

Dr. Vela launched his career in higher education at Texas A&M University-Kingsville in 1997 and served in various roles at the university, including as Upward Bound Program Coordinator and Director of the Teacher Development Center. In 2021, Dr. Vela joined the Board of Directors of Excelencia in Education, an organization accelerating Latino student success in higher education to address the U.S. economy’s need for a highly educated workforce and civic leadership.

A nationally recognized leader in higher education, Dr. Vela has also served as the President of the National Community College Hispanic Council and on the American Association of Community Colleges Board of Directors. In 2018, he received the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce. He has taught courses in higher education administration and leadership and educational leadership and counseling throughout his 20 years in higher education.

A native of Alice, TX, Dr. Vela earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Texas A&M-Kingsville. In 2015, he received the Javelina Distinguished Alumni Award.

Ivan Adames is a seasoned advancement leader with experience managing fundraising shops for higher education and academic medicine institutions, arts & culture, and national non-profits programs.

Adames is currently the Chief Development Officer at the Chicago Botanic Garden. He previously served as a Senior Consultant with the Aspen Leadership Group. Adames also held executive positions at the Food Bank for New York City, Northwestern University, DePaul University, and Johns Hopkins University where he led the international programs working closely with faculty, physicians, alumni, and grateful patient benefactors. He has held early-career professional positions at Imperial College London and the Ohio State University.

A former Fulbright Scholar (Germany) and Council for the Advancement & Support of Education Fellow, Adames has been an active CASE volunteer, having served on the CASE Commission on Philanthropy, district leadership boards, and on multiple conference faculty. He is a contributor and chapter author for the book Advancing Higher Education: New Strategies for Fundraising, Philanthropy, and Engagement. He is a past board member of the Science of Philanthropy Initiative at the University of Chicago and currently serves on the board for Children’s Place International.

Julie Barry, MBA, is Senior Development Officer at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine. She has spent 25 years in fundraising, in areas such as education, health care, and social services. Previously she worked at Columbus State Community College and Franklin University. The common thread throughout her career has been working with diverse populations to encourage involvement and giving. Most recently, Julie led a capstone project for The Ohio State University Inclusive Excellence Team Certificate Program to educate the advancement team on diverse philanthropy. This initiative kickstarted a plan to diversify portfolios and open conversation with leadership on how to accomplish this work. In her spare time, Julie loves to spend time with her husband, two children, 2 dogs, and a cat (not necessarily in that order!).

Emili Bennett joined Bryant Group in 2022 as the first VP of Leadership Development, leading executive coaching and talent development for the firm that positions Bryant Group as a long-term talent consultant throughout the talent life cycle. She brings a wealth of subject matter expertise in executive coaching, talent strategy & development, leadership development, employee engagement, change management and organizational development in higher education, non-profits, healthcare and corporate. She has been featured as a keynote speaker for CASE Strategic Talent Management and has participated as a subject matter expert and presenter in multiple CASE conferences, including CASE Summit. 

Emili came from the Indiana University Alumni Association where she led career and professional development strategy and programming for 760,000+ alumni, served as a talent strategy partner to the CEO and executive team and led the training and development efforts for staff and high-level volunteers in the area of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (by implementing a version of the CASE DEI Maturity Model). She also founded her own executive coaching and talent development consulting firm, coaching hundreds of leaders through the lens of positive psychology and authentic leadership. She is a Professional Certified Coach, recognized by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), an Advanced Gallup CliftonStrengths Coach and a certified facilitator of the Leadership Circle 360-degree tool. 

Emili graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with a BA in Spanish and from Purdue University with an MS in Organizational Leadership and Human Resource Development.

Nell Bent works in Advancement as the Director of Development for the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto. In her current role Nell is responsible for a team that focuses on Major, Corporate and Annual Leadership Giving, and Research. Nell is currently serving as the Co-Chair for the University of Toronto, Division of University Advancement, EDI Community Advisory Council.

Nicholas Campisi, PhD currently serves as CASE’s Director of Data Science, where he uses R to develop benchmarking reports for CASE survey participants. He trained at top institutions in the United Kingdom and Germany, where he served as the department expert in R programming and taught introductory and advanced statistical analysis in R to university students. In his roles working with government bodies in the United States and United Kingdom, he integrated analysis in R with SQL databases and higher education data products.

As co-principal and chief executive officer of ECG, Dr. Robiaun Charles has more than 25 years of experience maximizing philanthropic support for institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations. Previously Dr. Charles served as vice president with Grenzebach Glier and Associates (GG+A), a leading global philanthropic management consulting firm where she led and supported projects with more than a dozen universities including Boston University, the National Cathedral School, the University of Cape Town, the University of Virginia, Vanderbilt University, and Wellesley College. Before joining GG+A, Dr. Charles served as vice president for college advancement at Agnes Scott College. Through her leadership, Agnes Scott exceeded the goal of the College’s largest ever comprehensive campaign, raising $116 million against a $100 million goal.

Dr. Charles has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions. She is president-elect of the Rollins College Alumni Board and national co-chair of the Rollins Fund. Dr. Charles earned her Ed.D. in higher education and policy from the Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, an M.P.A. in nonprofit administration from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, and a B.A. in Philosophy from Rollins College.

Benjamin R. Fiore-Walker, Ph.D. (He/Him) is originally from Southampton, PA in suburban Philadelphia. Ben received a Ph.D. in neuroscience (psychobiology) from the University of Virginia, and has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. His research area of focus was in the development of brain circuitry as they relate to epilepsy and autism.

Ben comes to his position as the senior director for the Opportunity and Inclusion Center (OIC) after close to 25 years working in the diversity space. Before coming to CASE, Ben was the manager of the Office of Diversity Programs at the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Washington, DC, where he had a broad mandate to develop strategies to build out relationships and initiatives from across the society in order to help ACS live into its core value of diversity, equity, inclusion and respect.   Before ACS, he served as a senior managing director for diversity and inclusion at Teach for America (TFA), where he was responsible for devising and quantifying diversity metrics for TFA for the development of initiatives to diversity staff and corps member populations. Prior to TFA, he spent 19 years at the Georgetown University School of Medicine where he was the Associate Dean for Diversity & Inclusion. This work has taken Ben into many elementary and middle schools in underserved areas of the D.C. metro region, where he uses neuroscience to get kids excited about STEM fields and higher education.

Ben has written on and studied diversity climate in higher education and the workplace and is a firm believer that diversity & inclusion matters.  Ben believes that even though heterogeneity is the key ingredient to success—with diverse teams being more productive and creative than non-diverse teams, it’s all for not if the members of those diverse teams don’t feel their differences are celebrated or valued.  We need both, diversity and inclusion to reach our full potential.

Jacqueline M. Gatson, serves as the Assistant Vice President of Advancement for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Purdue for Life Foundation. In this role, Dr. Gatson designs, leads, and directs a broad range of Advancement initiatives that support engagement and development strategies to fulfill the University’s diversity, inclusion and belonging priorities. Prior to joining the Purdue for Life Foundation, Dr. Gatson was the Associate Director for Purdue University’s Minority Engineering Program (MEP). Dr. Gatson has nearly two decades of experience in higher education, specializing in university and industry engagement, STEM programs, and strategic partnerships. She directly oversees and supports Purdue's DIB fundraising activity, community and industry partnerships and alumni engagement to strengthen advancement opportunities for the university.

Dr. Gatson is recognized as a STEM diversity and inclusion thought leader and advocate. She is a former national executive board member of the National Association for Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates. Gatson is the recipient of the 2020 New Employee Award from the College of Engineering at Purdue University.  She is also the 2021 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes individuals or organizations who have made significant and sustained contributions to Black Higher Education within the State of Indiana, from the Purdue Black Graduate Student Association. In May 2023, she was recognized as the cover feature for the CIO Views publication, Most Inspiring DEI Leaders to Follow in 2023.

Sherrica Davis-Hunt is the assistant vice chancellor for anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and corporate partnerships/foundations at the SIU Foundation. She is also the chief diversity officer, providing leadership and strategic direction for ADEI initiatives to support the institution's mission and philanthropic goals. Sherrica joined the SIU Foundation in 2022 as the inaugural development director for ADEI. She previously served as the inaugural Director of Institutional Advancement at Bishop State Community College in Mobile, Alabama.

She has over 18 years of experience in business development, marketing, investment banking, IT, nonprofit, and higher education. Sherrica has gained perspicacity in fostering and sustaining business relationships and advancing initiatives across the globe in Atlanta, New York City, Rome, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Alabama, and Illinois.

Sherrica is a graduate of Talladega College with a BA in biology; St. John's University Tobin College of Business with an MBA in marketing and finance; New York University with a professional certification in human resource management; and a current doctoral student at SIU studying higher education administration.

Sherrica is a graduate of Leadership Alabama Initiative, Leadership Mobile, and, most recently, the St. Louis FOCUS Women in Leadership program. She was honored in Mobile Bay Magazine as a 2019 Class of 40 under 40 member and a Women's Policy Institute Fellow for the Women's Foundation of Alabama. She is an advisor to the SIU Women's Leadership Council Student Organization; she serves on the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Illinois and the Jackson Country CEO program. She also serves as a commissioner on the Human Relations Committee for the City of Carbondale, IL.

She published a book titled Networking and Lattes: 10 Steps to Effective Networking. She is a proud wife and mother to 4 beautiful children.

Since moving to Boston, I have been privileged to serve as a fundraiser, raising tens of millions of dollars for the city's leading cultural and educational institutions, including Harvard Kennedy School, WGBH, Jumpstart for Young Children, New England Aquarium, and Boston Public Schools. As an executive search consultant for Lindauer Global, I've placed development leaders across the country and across the sector that collectively have raised hundreds of millions more to advance education, the arts, health care, and social and environmental justice. While mission is my “North Star,” successful navigation is predicated on my abilities to build genuine relationships and recognize connections and commonalities that lead to high-impact matchmaking in fundraising, recruiting, and talent management.

Dr. Shalonda Martin is an Advancement Services professional and DEI strategist with over 19 years of experience. She has led teams at Pepperdine University, UCLA, USC, and currently at Pomona College. She specializes in designing quality assurance programs, leading change efforts, developing and curating DEI content, and developing comprehensive strategies grounded in equity. Dr. Martin is the Sr. Director of Advancement Services at Pomona College and is also the co-founder of Advancing Belonging Consultants (ABC). She has a BS and MS from Pepperdine University and an EdD in Org Change and Leadership from USC, where her dissertation examined the paucity of women of color in higher education leadership. Dr. Martin serves as a member of the programming committee for the Association for Advancement Services Professionals (AASP) and is the Chair of the planning committee for the 2024 Case DRIVE conference. She has also served as a faculty member for the Case Summer Institute for Advancement Services, and the Case Gift and Records Workshop. Additionally, she served as a graduate student coach, guest lectures, and engages in public speaking on various topics.

Chandra Montgomery is a senior consultant and Director of Equity and Inclusion Practice at Lindauer Global. Her background in philanthropy spans academic medicine, higher education, public media, and social services. Chandra is an alumna of CASE’s Minority Advancement Institute and a previous Apra volunteer leader having served as chair of the Advocacy Committee and a founding member of the organization’s inaugural DEI Committee. Prior to Lindauer, she was founding co-chair of the Advancement DEI Council at the University of Southern California where she was the director of pipeline and prospect development for Health Sciences. She has also led prospect developm ent teams at National Public Radio and Virginia Commonwealth University. Chandra holds a BA from Hampton University and a master’s degree and graduate certificate in HR Law & Compliance from USC’s Gould School of Law. She will earn a professional doctorate in Philanthropic Leadership from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University in 2027. Chandra also holds certifications in diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Faith Montgomery, Vice President, Managing Director, and equity partner, is a member of Lindauer’s executive leadership team. She brings nearly 30 years of deep experience, passion, and expertise in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors to Lindauer and our clients. Prior to joining Lindauer in 2014, Faith held senior leadership positions across the nonprofit sector. She is currently focused on executive level search, talent management initiatives, and coaching for client partners and individuals. Faith brings extensive organizational and operational expertise to clients, with experience in strategic planning, process integration, team building, mitigating bias in hiring and other DEIB principals.

With an extensive background in leadership-level fundraising and building and managing teams for nonprofit organizations, Faith is well-versed in search and talent management across the sector. As a practice area leader for Lindauer, she develops search strategy for higher education and K-12 organizations, while also leading executive level searches for healthcare, think tanks, arts and culture, and social service organizations. Faith is currently engaging and has successfully completed major executive level searches for over 100 reputable institutions such as Fenway Health, Duke University Health, Howard University, Xavier University, George Washington University, University of Southern California, Stanford University, Harvard University, Sidwell Friends, National Cathedral School, Petersen Institute for International Economics, Joint Center for Economics, Measures for Justice, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Princeton Museum of Art, Eastern Bank Foundation, and many more.

Faith serves on the national board of the African American Development Officer’s Network (AADO) and on the local Boston chapter board of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. She is a member of Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy (WOC) and a leader presenter for Women in Development (WID), among others.

Faith holds a BA in Communications/Business from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and an MA in Interpersonal Communications from Purdue University. She is an experienced conference public speaker and presenter, C-suite advisor, and executive level thought partner.

Faith is also Boston Chamber of Commerce DEI certified and is in pursuit of International Coaching Federation ACC/PCC credentials as well as Boston’s YWCA DEI certification.

Eric Rosario serves as Search Director for Aspen Leadership Group, leading talent searches in philanthropy with a focus on building teams for higher education and the entire nonprofit sector.

A seasoned higher education development professional with 30 years of distinguished experience, Eric recently served as a Senior Development Officer at Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences. Earlier in his career, he was a development officer at Cornell University for over 16 years, including serving as Director of Development for the College of Veterinary Medicine and Director of Leadership Gifts.

Additionally, he served Ithaca College for close to a decade.  As Associate Vice President of Individual Giving, he led a team comprising Major and Leadership Gifts, Family Giving, and Planned Giving. He revitalized the college’s leadership annual giving program, setting new membership records as Director of the President’s Associates giving society.  As Senior Director of Prospect Development and Leadership Gifts, Eric established the college’s first prospect pipeline and an individual giving program that exceeded its goals.

Eric has a strong commitment to public service, becoming the first Latinx to serve as Alderman and Acting Mayor for the City of Ithaca, New York.  He was recognized in 2022 by the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency for his “pivotal role in shaping the Agency’s community development work, including construction of over 1,000 affordable housing units during his term.” 

He is co-founder of the award-winning Latino Civic Association of Tompkins County and Trustee for Ithaca’s nationally recognized Sciencenter.

The first in his family to attend college, Eric earned a B.A. in History at Cornell, where he is active alumnus. His service was recognized with a second appointment by the Board of Trustees to the University Council.

Nikki Samuel assumed her role as the inaugural Director, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Division of University Advancement at the University of Toronto. She holds a Master of Arts in Equity Studies from Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), and is an experience diversity leader who has dedicated her career to building inclusive cultures by operationalizing DEI within organizations. Prior to working in higher education, Nikki has worked in the areas of community development, youth justice and mental health creating culturally responsive programming for Black and racialized communities. She is an active member of her community and serves as Chair of the Region of Du rham Anti-Racism Taskforce where she works collaboratively with community stakeholders, and members of Council to foster healthy and inclusive communities.

Raj Sharda is the Chief Operating Officer for the Division of University Advancement at University of Toronto. He is the inaugural co-Chair of the Advancement Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Community Council and is the executive co-lead responsible for implementing the Advancement EDI Task Force recommendations to diversify the Advancement Organization. Raj is also a member of the ALF Public DEIB Working Group.

Kathryn Sime, CFRE, is assistant vice chancellor for major and planned giving for the SIU

Foundation. She has previously served as senior director of gift planning and a development director for the SIU Foundation. Before joining the SIU Foundation in 2018, Kathryn served as director of advancement for Centerstone of Illinois, directing fundraising initiatives at the mental health agency for eight years. Additionally, Kathryn worked in the Chicago area as a consultant for The Alford Group and The Alford Group Executive Search and served as development director for the ELCA World Hunger Appeal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Kathryn received a bachelor’s degree from Luther College and a master’s degree from DePaul University.

A strategic, fundraising leader, Miriam A. Smith brings nearly twenty years of development and alumni relations experience, working at some of the most highly regarded institutions and organizations in the country.

Smith is currently the Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations at Columbia College Chicago where she is part of the president’s cabinet and leads a team of development and fundraising professionals to oversee operations and strengthen productivity in the areas of development, alumni relations, major gifts, corporate and foundation relations, donor stewardship, and campaign planning and implementation.

Prior to her work at Columbia, Smith resided in her native city of Atlanta, Georgia where she served as Director of Corporate Relations at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, working closely with corporate donors and prospects. Smith also worked as Manager of Donor Relations at Grady Health Foundation, where she cultivated and stewarded a robust, high-level portfolio of more than 100 individual and corporate donors and prospects for major gifts. While in Atlanta, Smith was nominated to serve in the highly competitive Leadership DeKalb Program and was part of the American Jewish Committee’s Atlanta Black/Jewish Coalition’s inaugural Project Understanding Gen X Cohort in 2023.

From 2015-2019, Smith served as Executive Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving at Columbia College Chicago, where she provided leadership and guidance for the institution’s engagement efforts with alumni, students, parents, and donors to strengthen and build affinity and increase philanthropic support. In addition to her work at Columbia, Smith’s higher education experience includes positions at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City, where she led as Chair for Goal 3 of FIT's Strategic Plan: "Our Legacy, Our Future: FIT Beyond 2020," Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, and Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York.

Outside of academia, Smith has a genuine love and passion for the arts. She worked for the world-renowned classical artist firm, Columbia Artists Management in New York City, working closely with classical artists and touring attractions with more than 100 domestic and international symphony orchestras and Midwest performing arts centers. Smith is a professionally trained opera singer who holds a Master of Music in Opera degree from the State University of New York- Binghamton where she sang in various productions with Tri Cities Opera. She earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College.

Smith is currently a proud participant of the prestigious Chicago Urban League and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business’ 2024 IMPACT Leadership Development Program. She has served on the boards of Ladies of Virtue (LOVChicago), Chicago Composers Orchestra, and Sarah Lawrence College Alumni Board.

Sarah Steed, Associate Director of Advancement Communications at U of T’s Faculty of Arts & Science, drives implementation and evaluation of alumni and donor engagement through audience development, communication planning and marketing campaigns, with an acute data-drive approach.  As a proud member of the EDI Advancement Community Council, she continues her lifelong passion and commitment to fostering equity and seeking diversity in life and work. For over 25 years, Sarah has worked in post-secondary education spanning advancement, communications, external relations, recruitment, student services, and finance.

Henry W. Taylor has served as the Vice President for University Advancement at Golden Gate University (GGU) since September, 2021. He leads the Division of University Advancement (UA) including the Offices of Advancement Communications, Alumni Engagement, Annual Giving, Development and Advancement Services. Henry works closely with GGU’s president, executive team, board of trustees and Alumni Association to fulfill UA’s mission to “sustainably increase the interest, involvement and investment in the mission and impact of Golden Gate University.” Prior to joining GGU, he led the fundraising efforts as Senior Director of Development at Agnes Scott College, managing the Office of Development and secured $34M+ for FY20 & FY21 including the best fundraising year in college history of $21.1M in FY20 and highest annual fund total in college history of $2.9M+ in FY21. Henry managed theOffices of Annual Giving, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Development Research and Prospect Management, Donor Relations and Stewardship, and Leadership and Legacy Giving including supervision of 13 professional staff.

Previous to Agnes Scott College, Henry led his own advancement consulting firm, Legacy Consulting Group as Founder and Managing Partner, where he provided best practice advancement guidance and effort to support effective fundraising, constituent relations, marketing/communications and non-profit management for consulting clients. He consulted with organizational leaders regarding board development, diversity and advancement trends and serves as a professional development speaker on topics including fundraising, diversity, leadership and non-profit management.

Lisa G. Williams is an award-winning diversity strategist who shifted into this work after more than a decade as a civil rights litigator. She is the Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within Northwestern University’s Alumni Relations and Development (ARD) department. Lisa works in collaboration with staff of every organizational level on a holistic diversity plan that broadens access to and through the department, optimizes the work environment, and comprehensively integrates DEI into business goals.

Lisa arrived at ARD in September 2021 after more than a decade with the State of Illinois launching diversity programs. Prior to that, she spent six years representing the People of the State of Illinois as an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Bureau. She has presented diversity webinars hosted by the San Francisco Giants, the Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions, and the Center for Elder and Disability Law, and has been cited in national publications including Crain’s Chicago Business. She is delighted to partner with ARD’s talented staff.