PASSWORDMANAGEMENT
Webinar Speaker Bios
Welcomes and Introductions
Ellen J. Neufeldt, Ed.D.
President, 大发
Since becoming the fourth president of Cal State San Marcos in July 2019, Dr. Ellen Neufeldt has focused on engaging, interacting, listening and building relationships with students, faculty, staff, alumni and community constituents. A champion of innovation and entrepreneurship, President Neufeldt oversaw the opening of 大发鈥檚 Innovation Hub, an on-campus home for meeting societal needs, less than a year into her tenure. But her commitment to innovation goes beyond a physical space, encompassing an entire ecosystem that includes a critical focus on social innovation. President Neufeldt is also firmly committed to ensuring that 大发 is a diverse, inclusive and welcoming home for students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members. Focusing throughout her career on student success and social mobility, she cares deeply about helping create pathways for students to achieve their dreams.
Each day she works toward making 大发 a national model for guiding students throughout the student life cycle so that they become engaged and active alumni in the community while fueling the needs of the region. 大发 ranks in the top 1% nationally out of nearly 1,200 colleges and universities in the Social Mobility Index, which measures the extent to which a university educates more economically disadvantaged students at lower tuition and graduates them into good-paying jobs.
Wenda Fong
Trustee, California State University
Wenda Fong began her 40-plus-year career in television as the producer and host of her own live talk-show series in Los Angeles. Fong is the producer and director of music and variety specials, awards shows, reality specials, sitcoms, talk shows, documentaries and live events. She holds the dual distinction as being the first person of color and only woman to have produced the Emmy Awards. She has launched productions across the United States and around the world, including China, Canada, Europe and Africa.
Michael Wiafe
Assistant Deputy and Cabinet Secretary for the Office of California Governor
An immigrant raised in the Inland Empire, Michael Wiafe is a graduate student in UC Berkeley鈥檚 Goldman School of Public Policy and a recent political science graduate of San Diego State University. He is a project assistant at the Public Policy Institute of California and former president of the Cal State Student Association, which represents all students on the 23 campuses of the California State University. He is a member of California Forward鈥檚 Young Leaders Advisory Council and Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 Recovery with Equity higher education task force, and co-host of the podcast 鈥淧olicyWise.鈥 Wiafe serves on several other regional committees, including the Inland Economic Growth & Opportunity (IEGO) strategic development collaboration. He wants to impact policy by advancing California鈥檚 socioeconomic upward mobility pathways
Keynote Speaker and Q&A Facilitator
Don Heller, Ed.D.
Higher Education Consultant and Past Provost of the University of San Francisco
Donald E. Heller is the retired provost and vice president of academic affairs at the University of San Francisco, where he was responsible for five schools, libraries, academic affairs, student life, enrollment management, online programs, branch campuses, international relations, and diversity and community outreach for the university鈥檚 10,000 students, 1,000 faculty and 1,000 staff. He now works as an independent higher education consultant. His teaching and research are in the areas of educational economics, public policy and finance, with a primary focus on issues of college access, choice and success for low-income and minority students. He has consulted on higher education policy issues with university systems and policymaking organizations in California, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Washington state, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia, and he has testified in front of congressional committees, state legislatures, and in federal court cases as an expert witness.
Social Mobility Panel
Jasmine Haywood, Ed.D.
Strategy Director, Student Success for Lumina Foundation
Dr. Jasmine Haywood is a strategy director at Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. In that role, she leads a portfolio of work that focuses on increasing student success outcomes at four-year institutions. Before joining Lumina, Haywood was a visiting faculty member in the Department of Educational Leadership at Indiana State University. Prior to joining ISU, she was the managing editor for the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, a research assistant at IUPUI鈥檚 Center for Urban and Multicultural Education, and an admissions counselor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Haywood has published peer-reviewed scholarship in the areas of minoritized students in higher education and faculty of color. She holds master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees in higher education and student affairs from Indiana University.
Angela E. Batista, Ed.D.
Founder and CEO of Transformation by Design
A native of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Angela Batista grew up in Brooklyn. A first-generation college student and professional, she is an experienced and successful educator, leader and the former vice president of student affairs and institutional diversity and inclusion at various U.S. colleges and universities. She founded Transformation by Design as an international executive coaching, speaking and consulting firm that provides expertise and customized resources and services to individuals, teams and organizations in higher education, health care, and private and nonprofit sectors. She is experienced in working with leaders, teams and organizations at all stages of their leadership journey and offers decades of service and expertise.
Caroline Gonz谩lez Scott
Senior Vice President, Programs and Alumni Affairs for Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
Caroline Gonz谩lez Scott leads a team that manages and develops leadership and professional development programs for emerging Latinx leaders. For nearly 20 years, her career has centered on education, advocacy, community engagement and supporting the leadership and professional development of BIPOC communities. This includes training and coaching political candidates, organizers and advocates, as well as supporting parents and paraprofessionals with early childhood language and literacy activism, and serving as a public middle school teacher. She grew up In Santa Ana and is a very proud Uruguayan-American 鈥 don鈥檛 get her started on all things f煤tbol! A graduate of American University and George Washington University鈥檚 Graduate School of Education and Human Development, she resides in the Washington, D.C., metro area.
Akil Bello
Senior Director of Advocacy and Advancement for FairTest
With three decades in test preparation and college access, Bello has been intimately involved in the management of almost every element of the business of helping students gain access to educational opportunities from high school to graduate school. He helped launch two companies, developed preparation programs for more than 10 different high-stakes tests, managed dozens of employees, trained hundreds of instructors and helped thousands of students achieve success. Bello is focused on building stronger relationships and providing greater support for low-income students, underrepresented minority groups, public schools, nonprofit organizations and community-based organizations.
Jean H. Shin, Ed.D.
Deputy Director, Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity for National Institutes of Health
In his role with the NIH, Dr. Jean H. Shin provides administrative oversight and subject matter expertise for data-related projects, communication tools, scientific programs, virtual conferences and events, and DEIA-oriented committees and working groups. Prior to NIH, he served as director of diversity and inclusion at the American Sociological Association (ASA). He joined the ASA executive office from McDaniel College, where he was associate dean for first-year students and an associate professor of sociology. He has been a co-principal investigator for National Science Foundation-funded research projects on the links between teaching innovation and social networks as well as the impact of mentoring on the trajectories of early-career faculty in STEM. Shin received a bachelor鈥檚 degree from the University of Virginia and a master鈥檚 and doctorate from Indiana University, all in sociology.