Guest Speakers
Dennis Barden
With 40 years of leadership and recruiting experience, Dennis Barden is one of the most respected and accomplished consultants in the field of higher education executive search. Dennis has played a central role in some 400 searches across higher education as well as in the nonprofit sector and in healthcare philanthropy.
A former managing partner of WittKieffer’s Education Practice, Dennis supports boards and search committees in searches for presidents and chancellors as well as institutional leaders in the recruitment of leadership at the vice presidential and decanal levels.
Deeply immersed in the marketplace dynamics impacting colleges and universities, Dennis’ reputation as a “truth teller” derives from his direct style and his strategic orientation. Before joining WittKieffer in 1998, he spent 20 years in increasingly responsible leadership roles at his alma mater, St. Lawrence University, as well as with Northwestern and Georgetown Universities and the University of Chicago.
Suzanne Hilser-Wiles
Suzanne Hilser-Wiles, President of GG+A, has more than 25 years of experience in advancement, program building, and campaign planning and implementation. Her work has benefited a wide range of nonprofit organizations including those in higher education, healthcare, and the artistic and cultural sector. Suzanne joined GG+A in 2011, became a member of the firm’s executive committee in 2013, and oversees the firm’s practice in higher education, arts and culture, independent schools, and Europe and UK. In 2016, she was appointed GG+A’s third president, and its first woman president in the firm’s 55-year history.
Suzanne has partnered with GG+A clients across every sector, providing strategic counsel to Development teams as well as institutional leadership. This vast array of clients include Aalto University, the Barack Obama Foundation, Georgia State University, INSEAD, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, New York Philharmonic, Pennsylvania State University, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum, and William Penn Charter School.
Prior to joining the firm, Suzanne served as Vice-Chancellor for Advancement at University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), where she also served on an executive team advising the university Chancellor on all major policy decisions and as the primary staff member for the Advancement Committee of the Board of Trustees. Suzanne joined UNCSA from CancerCare, a national healthcare nonprofit based in New York City, where she served as Director of External Affairs, overseeing fundraising and marketing and communications.
Before joining CancerCare, Suzanne served as Senior Development Officer for Corporate Annual Programs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Associate Director of Individual and Leadership Giving at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Suzanne began her career in institutional advancement with Pets are Wonderful Support in San Francisco, where she served as Director of Development.
Her extensive previous professional experience includes fundraising, communications, and marketing development, specifically admissions marketing, alumni relations, and press office management. She has developed and implemented individual major giving programs and designed training and support programs to engage executives, deans, and trustees in fundraising.
Joseph Glover
Joe Glover has been provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at the University of Florida since July 2008. Dr. Glover arrived at UF in 1983 as an assistant professor in mathematics. He chaired the Mathematics Department from 1993 to 1998 and served as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences from 1998 to 2001. Beginning in 2001, Dr. Glover served as Associate Provost for Academic Affairs for six years and as Interim Provost for nine months. Dr. Glover chaired the Task Force on the Future of the University of Florida, helped develop the university's strategic plan, and represented the university on the executive board of the New World School of the Arts. He served as Interim Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2007-2008.
Dr. Glover received his bachelor's degree in mathematics from Cornell University and his master's and doctoral degrees in mathematics from the University of California, San Diego. He taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Rochester before joining the University of Florida faculty. He held a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship at UCSD in 1982. His awards include an NSF-CNRS fellowship held at the Universite de Grenoble II, a CLAS Teaching Award and a mentoring award from the McKnight Foundation. His research in probability theory, stochastic processes, and potential theory has been supported by the NSF, the AFOSR, and the NSA.
Tom Mitchell
Thomas J. Mitchell joined the University of Florida on June 1, 2010. He leads an organization of 346 employees with annual private support commitments of $402 million. In October of 2012, the "Florida Tomorrow" campaign exceeded its $1.5 billion goal, finishing at $1.7 billion, firmly securing its position as the sixth largest fundraising campaign in public university history. In February of 2014, the university announced the largest gift in UF history: $75 million. The University of Florida endowment currently totals more than $1.56 billion.
Mitchell recently spearheaded a university-wide pre-campaign planning process to launch UF's fourth campaign, "Go Greater." The campaign is an eight-year, $3+ billion effort focused on big ideas, multidisciplinary initiatives and strengthening the endowment. The quiet phase of the campaign was launched in July 2014 and more than $1 billion has been committed to date.
He is active in national organizations including CASE and the Association of Governing Boards and is a frequently sought-after speaker. He has received the CASE IRF Commonfund Award in recognition of his significant contributions to the field of institutionally related foundations and has chaired the 2012 CASE IRF International Conference, the 2013 CASE IRF National Committee and the CASE 50 National Talent Management Task Force. Mitchell has also served on the CASE 50 Steering Committee since 2015. He has authored more than 300 papers on institutional advancement and managing institutionally related foundations.
Rachel Montgomery
Rachel Montgomery is the Vice President of Services at Blackbaud, the leading cloud software company powering social good. During her career at Blackbaud, she has served as Director of Services and Director of Support. In these roles she has engaged extensively with nonprofits, foundations, corporations, education institutions, healthcare institutions, and their supporting teams. Rachel has been recognized by her industry peers with the Innovator Award for Operational Excellence, Award for Innovation in Customer Service - Computer Industries, Best Use of Technology in Customer Service - Computer Services and Computer Software, and Contact Center of the Year (Over 100 Seats) - Technology Industries.
Scott Mory
Scott Mory will be the Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff at George Washington University, as of July 1, 2024.
Most recently, Mory served as Carnegie Mellon University’s vice president for University Advancement. He was responsible for overseeing the university’s overall advancement efforts and for building partnerships with all of CMU’s philanthropic and volunteer communities, including university alumni, parents and friends; charitable foundations; and corporate donors.
Appointed in 2015, Mory worked closely with administrative and academic leadership to develop the philanthropic support that enables CMU to fulfill its potential and continue its ascent. Under his leadership, in October 2019 the university launched its most ambitious philanthropic campaign to date — Make Possible: The Campaign for Carnegie Mellon University. In Spring 2023, the university announced that it had achieved the campaign’s $2 billion goal more than 18 months ahead of schedule. To date, the university has received philanthropic commitments exceeding $2.26 billion from more than 66,000 supporters. Among the impacts these supporters have had include the creation of 62 new endowed faculty chairs, including 4 endowed deanships; more than 420 new endowed scholarships and fellowships; and new world-class facilities like the Tepper Quad, Alan Magee Scaife Hall of Engineering, the Highmark Center for Health, Wellness and Athletics, and the planned Richard King Mellon Hall of Sciences.
Mory was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in July 2022. He is also a member of the advisory board of The Andy Warhol Museum.
Prior to joining CMU, Mory served as associate senior vice president and campaign director at the University of Southern California, managing the day-to-day activities of the Campaign for USC, a historic effort to raise $6 billion. He joined USC in 2007 as associate senior vice president for Alumni Relations, a position he held until his promotion to campaign director in 2012. Prior to USC, Mory served as assistant vice president for Alumni Relations and Annual Giving at George Washington University. He also was an adjunct professor in the university’s law school, teaching a first-year course on legal research, writing and oral advocacy.
Scott holds a bachelor’s degree from the George Washington University and a juris doctor from the George Washington University Law School. Following law school, he clerked for the Hon. John Garrett Penn of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and practiced as a litigation associate at the New York office of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP.
Danita D. Nias
Danita Nias joined FAU in October 2016 to lead the university into a new era of donor relations and to spearhead a capital campaign. Nias oversees all FAU fundraising efforts, including principal gifts, planned giving and alumni relations. Prior to arriving at FAU, she served as senior associate vice president for external affairs at the University of Florida. In that role, she was responsible for managing a portfolio of major donors and prospects while managing the university's campaign strategy and structure for volunteers.
From 1995 to 2011, Nias held numerous leadership positions at the University of Maryland, including assistant vice president for development and alumni relations. She has a bachelor's degree with a concentration in personnel and labor relations from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at Maryland and a Master of Social Science with a concentration in international relations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Teresa often says that while her husband is her true love, her alma mater was her first love. Higher education is her home. She is known for honesty juxtaposed with optimism; the two combine to provide communications counsel focused on transparent leadership and relationship building. Teresa helps higher education executives truthfully share excellence and genuinely own mistakes through their communications and actions because she knows honesty is present in all sound proactive and crisis outreach.
Previously, Teresa served as senior vice president for Widmeyer Communications and vice president for SimpsonScarborough. She counts almost 10 years of service with the University of Colorado, including an officer-level appointment as Assistant Secretary of the University.
She is co-host of the Trusted Voices Podcast, co-editor of Call to Action for Inside Higher Ed, and has numerous bylines with national and higher education media.
Teresa earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Colorado Boulder, a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado Denver, and a doctoral degree in higher education policy and leadership from Southern Methodist University. She holds accreditation in public relations from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
She lives in Longmont, Colorado, with her husband and dogs. Each year she threatens to become a runner and instead spends her time traveling with her family. Don’t get her started on how amazing her college-aged daughter is unless you have a spare hour or two. Or three. She serves on the boards of PRSA, the Colorado-based Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), and KUNC public radio and the Colorado Sound. She is a member of the Denver Ballet Guild.