Publisher's Section
The 2026 Trailblazers in Higher Education
Leaders of postsecondary education in New York
Lynn Ortale, Michael A. Lindsey & Dee Dee Mozeleski Maria College; NYU Silver School of Social Work; Leslie Kahan
Higher education isn’t as straightforward as it used to be. These days, students and their families are weighing more carefully than ever the upfront costs against the long-term value of a college education. The COVID-19 pandemic sped up the transition to remote learning, bringing benefits as well as new challenges. And the advent of artificial intelligence has forced college and university leaders to react to a rapidly advancing technology, minimizing the risks while capitalizing on the rewards.
This uncertain new environment favors the bold – administrators deftly adapting curricula to new realities, visionaries rebuilding and reshaping campuses, and academics tackling the toughest issues of the day. City & State’s Trailblazers in Higher Education features a select group of individuals in this arena who are already a step ahead. The list features officials at schools large and small as well as public officials, advocates, organizers and others who are reimagining higher education in New York.
Alexis Abramson
The Columbia Climate School is educating future environmental leaders and developing solutions to address climate change. Alexis Abramson became the school’s dean in 2025, with a focus on growing the school as an interdisciplinary educational hub, expanding its graduate degree offerings and positioning the institution as a global leader in climate and energy research and policy. She is a former dean of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College and worked in the U.S. Department of Energy in the Obama administration.
Heidi Aronin
With Gov. Kathy Hochul investing $1.1 billion to modernize SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University Hospital in Brooklyn, Heidi Aronin will be part of the team implementing the overhaul. As the university’s chief administrative officer, Aronin led the development of a new strategic plan to serve as a road map for modernization. Aronin has been focused on updating the hospital’s technology, overhauling parking facilities and negotiating with labor unions. Aronin also oversees key administrative functions related to the university’s research enterprise.
Heather Barry
At St. Joseph’s University, Heather Barry oversees academic affairs and the creation of new programs as the Long Island and Brooklyn school’s provost and vice president for academic affairs. Barry, who has been at St. Joseph’s in various roles since 2002, has been refreshing its offerings, including new undergraduate degree programs in cybersecurity and finance as well as a graduate program for family nurse practitioners and a low-residence master of fine arts program. A history professor, Barry’s own scholarship has focused on religious groups in colonial America.
Kurt Becker
Kurt Becker is preparing his students for the future of engineering – and positioning them to transform engineering today. In 2023, he encouraged two graduates at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering to use their master’s thesis as the base to launch CARA Systems Inc., which commercializes an AI-enabled neurovascular intelligence platform to transform aneurysm treatment. Prior to his retirement, Becker was the school’s vice dean for research, innovation and entrepreneurship, and he quintupled research expenditures in less than a decade and helped establish the Tandon Future Labs program for business incubation.
Lola Brabham
Lola Brabham is fighting to save New York’s smaller private colleges and help them flourish. The influential advocate, who represents more than 100 private, nonprofit colleges and universities across New York, has been seeking increased government funding for smaller schools, citing the strain placed on them by a number of factors, including a shrinking high school population. The former president of the state Civil Service Commission also teamed up with state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli on an op-ed to warn that federal changes to student aid could hurt private colleges.
Seamus Carey
At Iona University, Seamus Carey has been building partnerships, improving the physical campus and delving into the digital world. The seasoned higher education leader presided over a renovation of the dining hall, opened Iona’s first residence hall in Bronxville and launched the Gabelli Center for Teaching & Learning. He announced plans for a new media center to bring together programs in broadcasting, podcasting, esports and digital media. Iona is also pioneering a summer program on artificial intelligence and is partnering with NewYork-Presbyterian on the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Nursing & Health Sciences.
Cinnamon Carlarne
Since Cinnamon Carlarne became the 19th president and dean of Albany Law School in 2023, she has led the recruiting of some of the institution’s best credentialed classes, and it has been recognized as a top law school for government law and for women in leadership. She launched the school’s primarily online Flex Juris Doctor Degree Program and is overseeing the expansion of the Edward P. Swyer Justice Center, which includes a housing justice clinic. She’s also a professor of law, specializing in environmental and climate change law and policy.
Tim Cecere
Tim Cecere is cultivating the next generation of leaders at St. Francis College, adopting a “better, faster, fairer” mantra while maintaining the school’s Franciscan mission. He’s boosting student enrollment, revamping the curriculum and improving the college’s financial outlook. He has expanded workforce-focused programs in nursing, radiology, education, engineering, computer science and cybersecurity, along with launching the Graduate School of Advanced Studies. He took over as president in 2024 after a stint as the school’s chief operating officer.
Michael Christakis
At the University at Albany, Michael Christakis oversees many nonacademic aspects of a student’s lifecycle, from enrollment and transfers to making sure every box is checked in order to graduate. He takes a data-driven approach, incorporating student feedback, graduation rates and job placement information. Christakis is a national leader in student affairs, having recently completed a term as board chair of NASPA, formerly the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. While leading NASPA, he focused on student health and well-being.
Melissa Clarke
A dedicated leader with a focus on lifting up underserved New Yorkers, Melissa Clarke is on a mission for increased equity across higher education through her work at uAspire, which opens pathways to college for underrepresented students. Clarke recently authored a series of policy recommendations to align aid from the state’s Tuition Assistance Program with the full cost of attendance and to update eligibility guidelines for part-time and adult students. She also is also recommending ways to tie awards to enrollment patterns and reducing administrative barriers.
Daisy Cocco De Filippis
At Hostos Community College, Daisy Cocco De Filippis is blazing a trail for higher education in the Bronx and beyond. Early in her tenure she received the college’s largest ever donation, $15 million, from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, and Cocco De Filippis has gone on to launch notable initiatives. She opened the Hostos Research Center to focus on interdisciplinary teaching methods and created the $1 million Aspira-Wright Endowed STEM Scholarship. Last year, Hostos was one of only six schools to receive the inaugural Postsecondary Recognition Program Award from the U.S. Department of Education.
Cristle Collins Judd
Cristle Collins Judd is deepening the impact of Sarah Lawrence College by forging partnerships across the region, from Bronx Community College and Westchester Community College to the Yonkers Public Library, the Hudson River Museum, ArtsWestchester and Wartburg. Judd completed the largest capital campaign in the private liberal arts institution’s history, raising $200 million. The award-winning scholar also opened the Barbara Walters Campus Center and created the Institute for Genomics Education, Workforce and Leadership, in partnership with the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
Anthony Crowell
A distinguished leader in civic affairs and legal education, Anthony Crowell has positioned New York Law School as a pipeline into public service and a venue for political and policy debates. His institution’s Center for New York City and State Law is modernizing civic education with live events featuring prominent public servants. Crowell is advocating for the state to close the gaps that have come from new federal caps on student borrowing. Additionally, he’s the founding president of the National Association of Standalone Graduate Schools.
Juan de Pablo
An accomplished scholar with a deep record of research, Juan de Pablo is now transforming how New York University approaches science and technology. Since arriving as executive dean of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, de Pablo has overseen the establishment of the Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing and Data Science; established three cutting-edge research institutes; and introduced new curriculum offerings. He has also reorganized Tandon’s engineering research and education around six interdisciplinary areas. He’s also the university’s inaugural executive vice president for global science and technology.
Nolvia Delgado
Since its founding two decades ago, the Kaplan Educational Foundation has helped underserved community college students transfer to four-year institutions while developing their leadership abilities. As the foundation’s executive director, Nolvia Delgado has been focused on obtaining new grant funding and launching trailblazing initiatives to expand programs to high school students. Delgado oversees a program that reports a 92% graduation rate from four-year institutions. She’s a former Kaplan Scholar herself who graduated from the Borough of Manhattan Community College and Smith College.
Maria DeLongoria
Maria DeLongoria is dedicated to improving the academic experience at Queens College with the goal of setting up students for success. DeLongoria is the associate provost for academic and faculty affairs and also serves as dean of graduate studies, a second position that she took to support the program’s stability. She has expanded technology offerings to low-income students, and she is championing a variety of interdisciplinary academic programs. As a scholar, she has studied racial and ethnic identity, and discrimination, and she regularly provides commentary on TV.
Sharon DeVivo
Amid a national shortage of air traffic controllers and rising runway safety risks at airports, Sharon DeVivo believes Vaughn College is part of the solution. Last year, DeVivo’s institution became the first in the Northeast to receive Federal Aviation Administration approval to offer an accelerated path for students to become air traffic controllers. DeVivo worked with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to award 10 full scholarships for students living near John F. Kennedy International Airport to study at Vaughn.
Stephen Di Dio
Veteran media strategist Stephen Di Dio is having a tangible impact on Queensborough Community College and the students it serves. Among his achievements is co-authoring the community college’s first five-year strategic plan, which has led to improved student retention and fewer equity gaps. He has also increased the college’s fundraising capacity and deepened ties with donors and the local community. Di Dio, a veteran of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s political team and Patch Media, oversees a wide-ranging portfolio that includes fundraising, marketing, administrative services, communications and information technology.
Michael Ferraro
As leader of the FIT/Infor DTech Lab at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Michael Ferraro stands on the vanguard of innovation and collaboration between academia and industry within the design space. The FIT lab taps the creativity of faculty and students in developing solutions for new product development. Ferraro is well situated for the task of leading the lab, with a deep background in digital media and animation technology.
Dan Fuller
Dan Fuller is one of the most knowledgeable people in Albany when it comes to higher education policy, and he’s using that knowledge to support his clients. The Ostroff Associates lobbyist has advocated for support from Albany for higher education clients from around the state, including for multimillion-dollar capital projects and critical state support for private colleges. Fuller’s current clients include Binghamton University, Clarkson University, St. Bonaventure University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Fuller was deputy secretary for education in the Hochul and Cuomo administrations.
Matthew Giordano
Along the tree-lined streets of Cheektowaga, blocks beyond the Buffalo city limits, Villa Maria College might be overlooked among the many colleges dotting the Niagara Frontier – but Matthew Giordano won’t let that happen. In September, Villa Maria College recorded its largest enrollment of 630 students. Meanwhile, Giordano is taking a forward-thinking approach by offering new degree programs in crime scene investigation and sports management. He has also focused on retention, deploying a care team whenever faculty suspect students are struggling. This year, Giordano launched a $3 million funding campaign.
Doris González
This year, Doris González became New York’s top government official focused on easing the pathway for students from underserved communities to earn a college degree. As the acting president of the state Higher Education Services Corp., González manages $1.02 billion in funding in higher education assistance programs, including the state Tuition Assistance Program, which supports almost 300,000 students. González, an executive vice president at HESC since 2023, has focused on modernizing the financial aid system to be more user-friendly.
Carmen Renée Green
Carmen Renée Green is not just a medical school leader – she’s motivated to address New York’s health care needs. With a focus on affordability and access to medical education, the dean of the CUNY School of Medicine has seen her institution score a 98% residency match rate, with 70% of the class of 2026 doing their residency in New York state, many of them in primary care. This year, the CUNY School of Medicine saw its first graduates to match into residency programs for plastic surgery and interventional radiology, two of the most competitive residency programs.
Caroline Griffin
With 16 years of experience in state government, Caroline Griffin knows how to get results for her clients at Brown & Weinraub. Griffin, who joined the state’s top lobbying firm at the end of 2022, has focused on securing funding for higher education clients. Griffin’s most recent state job was a seven-year stint as chief of staff at the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, where she oversaw the expansion of the Higher Education Capital Matching Grant Program. Prior to DASNY, she held several jobs in the Executive Chamber.
Heather James-Zuckerman
Heather James-Zuckerman teaches political science at the Borough of Manhattan Community College – and she’s practicing politics too. As the legislative representative for the Professional Staff Congress – the CUNY faculty and staff union – she oversaw the endorsement process that led to the 30,000-member PSC being an early endorser of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani last year. She’s the campus coordinator for CUNY’s Edward T. Rogowsky Internship Program in Government and Public Affairs at BMCC and recently secured a three-year grant from The Teagle Foundation's Civics in the City initiative to create a first-year political science course.
Marc Jerome
The fourth president of Monroe University, Marc Jerome is a well-respected higher education and economic leader in the Bronx and Westchester County. He led the effort to achieve university status for Monroe in 2024. Jerome also championed a new entertainment media minor, which launched last year with the first cohort producing “Tyrone,” which won the best documentary short at the Los Angeles Film Awards, among other awards. Since 1999, Jerome has chaired the New Rochelle Business Improvement District, and he is a board member of the state Higher Education Services Corp.
Peter Grant Jordan
At Dutchess Community College, Peter Grant Jordan has been winning support for initiatives to fuel the growth of the SUNY school and undergird student success. The community college, which has more than 7,000 students and a campus in Poughkeepsie, is a leader in workforce development in the broader region, with expanded offerings in avionics, mechatronics and other in-demand skills benefiting local employers. In April, Central Hudson Gas & Electric gave the school $200,000 for clean energy workforce training. The school also received $100,000 from SUNY in January to support childcare for students with children.
Rita Joseph
New York City Council Member Rita Joseph traded the gavel of the City Council Education Committee this year for a new job chairing the Higher Education Committee. With her shift from K-12 education policy to the world of colleges and universities, Joseph has outlined an agenda focused on college affordability, workforce development and expanding access to higher education. Her tenure atop the Education Committee earned praise from education advocates, who pushed for the former public school teacher to stay in place, citing her success restoring education cuts and supporting students in foster care.
Alan Kadish
As the president of both Touro University and the affiliated New York Medical College, Dr. Alan Kadish is a true Renaissance man. Kadish is a physician, scientist, researcher, educator and academic administrator who’s positioning Touro as a national leader in medical education, with a dedicated focus to aligning the curriculum and expansion to meet society’s health needs. Touro now has six medical schools – New York Medical College joined the system in 2011 – plus a podiatry school and has formed partnerships focusing on research in cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and traumatic brain injuries.
John King
John King’s trailblazing education career has included high-profile posts as New York’s education commissioner and as U.S. education secretary. Now ensconced in SUNY’s imposing riverfront headquarters in Albany, King is leading the university system in realizing historic operating aid increases from the state. He has launched initiatives to retain students and champion civic engagement while doubling down on diversity, economic mobility and world-class research. He is also implementing Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Empire AI initiative, which is a consortium of SUNY’s four university centers and various private universities statewide.
Gowri Krishna
An expert in economic, social and racial justice, Gowri Krishna is focused on issues related to low-wage immigrant workers. As a clinical professor of law at the Fordham School of Law, Krishna has centered her research and teaching on community economic development, including in her specific expertise of immigrant-owned worker cooperatives. This year, she was awarded the inaugural Susan Jones Paper Competition Award from the Association of American Law Schools’ Section on Clinical Legal Education for her paper: “Scaling the Solidarity Economy: Reimagining Franchising for Worker Ownership.”
Carolyn Kube
As statewide vice president for professionals at United University Professions, Carolyn Kube is focusing on representing those in higher education. Last year, she became a member of the steering committee of the national Higher Education Labor United. She’s also a co-chair of HELU’s Outreach Committee, where she is part of a team building a national coalition of higher education unions. A medical technologist, Kube’s work in New York includes advancing UUP’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Charles Lindsay
As Charles Lindsay approaches his June 30 retirement date after nearly a decade leading Elmira College, he has made his mark on the Southern Tier higher education institution as an innovative leader and administrator. He has reduced the college’s debt and launched a partnership with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine as well as international partnerships and a plethora of new programs. He opened the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School with the Elmira native – an innovative degree program that also includes a pathway for students to seek a graduate degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Michael A. Lindsey
Amid the rise of artificial intelligence, Michael A. Lindsey has found ways to integrate the technology at the NYU Silver School of Social Work. He’s implementing AI, data science and online learning into the school’s curriculum and research, and he has partnered with other NYU schools on an AI-driven virtual reality counseling experience for social work students. Lindsey, a national expert on child and adolescent mental health, launched the School Social Work Training Academy in partnership with New York City public schools and leads a federally funded WeCare study that screens Black youths for suicide risk.
Terry McGovern
Terry McGovern helps oversee academic and student affairs at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy. An expert in HIV issues, McGovern spearheaded the creation of Byllye Avery Sexual and Reproductive Justice Endowed Professorship, the first endowed faculty role in a public health school focused on sexual and reproductive justice. McGovern formed a Sexual and Reproductive Justice and Health graduate program and coordinated an interdisciplinary Sexual & Reproductive Justice Hub. She previously chaired the Department of Population and Family Health at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
Ana Mendieta
Ana Mendieta is focused on deepening the impact of Bronx Community College by securing the necessary resources to expand access to higher education. She helped to lead a Giving Tuesday campaign that raised over $265,000 and saw an increase in donor participation. She is part of the team planning the 48th Annual Run the Bronx, a signature event for the college that brings together over 2,000 participants to raise money for student scholarships. Mendieta previously directed the Blackstone LaunchPad program, which supports career mobility for students.
Joshua Meredith
An experienced university administrator and educator, Joshua Meredith now advises higher education officials across New York state through his work at Deloitte. An expert in developing innovative solutions for higher education institutions on technology and strategy, Meredith recently finished a national tour with Adobe Higher Education on student engagement with artificial intelligence. A former assistant dean at Georgetown University and senior director of career strategy and technology at Yeshiva University, he is currently an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown and Muhlenberg College.
Dee Dee Mozeleski
Dee Dee Mozeleski has many responsibilities at the City College of New York, and one of the biggest ones is ensuring the success of a fundraising initiative to bring City College’s endowment to $1 billion by 2032, a goal that CCNY is almost halfway to completing. The seasoned higher education executive also oversees a wide-ranging portfolio that includes government affairs and community engagement. Officially, she’s the senior vice president of the Office of Institutional Advancement, Communications and External Relations; executive director of the Foundation for City College; and senior adviser to the college president.
Mike O’Leary
An experienced lobbyist with a wealth of experience in the state Senate and the state comptroller’s office, Mike O’Leary is now playing a key role in growing Empire AI, the signature higher education consortium focused on artificial intelligence research in New York. O’Leary has also had a hand in helping the University at Albany and Farmingdale State College obtain over $100 million in state capital funding. These funds have helped to support a plethora of research, science and engineering projects and to procure the University at Albany’s AI supercomputer.
Lynn Ortale
Maria College is a private Catholic college in Albany known for its emphasis on training the next generation of health care workers. Since becoming president in 2022, Lynn Ortale has established the Transitional Care Clinic in partnership with Albany Medical Center, with her nursing students serving the community. Ortale has boosted enrollment, launched a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling as well as associate degree programs. Maria College recently partnered with Albany County to help nurse retention at the county nursing home and won a state grant of nearly $5 million to address the nursing workforce shortage.
Anand Padmanabhan
As Fordham University’s chief information officer, Anand Padmanabhan is at the forefront of integrating artificial intelligence into higher education as he supports the school’s growth in New York and London. He has been exploring ways to apply agentic AI in higher education operations and has overseen the design of a holistic technology architecture in supporting student success, making a positive impact on students at the center of this work. He is also a leader of Fordham’s AI Business Hub and drives the school’s information technology strategy.
Susan Parish
As it marks its 75th anniversary, Mercy University is looking back and looking to the future. Susan Parish, an expert in public health and social work research, has been making strides in on-time graduation, student enrollment and retention, and career opportunities for graduates while keeping costs in check. Mercy, which has more than 9,000 students at locations in Dobbs Ferry, in the Bronx and in Manhattan, has been a national leader in social mobility. Parish also serves on the boards of the Business Council of Westchester and the Westchester County Association.
Heather Perfetti
When students go to college, they must meet high standards in order to excel. The same goes for institutions of higher learning, which are accredited by entities such as the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. That commission, led since 2020 by Heather Perfetti, assesses the educational quality of hundreds of colleges and universities, many of them in New York. Perfetti, who also chairs the Council of Recognized Accrediting Commissions, has taken a student-center approach to her work. She has also represented accreditors on the federal rulemaking Student Loans and Affordability Committee.
Susan Poser
Hofstra University’s men’s basketball team won a conference championship and made it to the Big Dance this year, boosting the Long Island institution’s visibility to donors and prospective students. But success on the court is just one of many victories for Susan Poser, who has steadily improved retention and four-year graduation rates. She recently launched the Hofstra 100 10-year strategic plan leading up to its 2035 centennial, unveiled a new brand identity, secured Carnegie R2 research status and celebrated the school’s first Rhodes scholar. Personally, she saw the Hofstra board extend her contract through 2031.
Annetta Ramtahal
Annetta Ramtahal brings a passion for students to her efforts to improve retention at Berkeley College, where she helps run the New York and New Jersey school’s online offerings. Ramtahal, who was promoted to her current role as campus operating officer in 2021, has created a retention committee and has collaborated with her colleagues to develop a cross-college initiative to proactively identify academic, financial and personal barriers to degree completion and develop effective solutions. She has also positioned Berkeley College Online as a way to increase access to higher education.
Grant Salmon
Through its Trane and Thermo King brands, Trane Technologies is improving energy efficiency to help to achieve environmental goals. Trane’s Grant Salmon is a key point person for the manufacturer in New York City, developing workforce development strategies and partnerships with public and private higher education institutions. He is also teaming with colleges on frameworks for students and faculty to decarbonize campuses in alignment with state and local energy policies and to optimize college budgets with lower energy costs.
Frank Sánchez
Frank Sánchez is embracing innovation and shaping the future of Manhattanville University. Sánchez, who took over at the private liberal arts institution in 2023, has revamped the curriculum and expanded marketing and recruitment efforts far beyond New York. The former CUNY official has also increased Manhattanville’s applications by 65% and new student enrollment by 20%, launched workforce partnerships across industries and delivered a greater return on investment for students.
Brittany Schoepp-Wong
As the co-deputy chair of the higher education practice at Bond, Schoeneck & King, Brittany Schoepp-Wong brings over a decade of in-depth experience as an in-house counsel for top-tier universities. She has served as an attorney and senior policy adviser to the president of New York University, held legal roles at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Penn State, and has been an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School. In her current role, Schoepp-Wong has been growing the firm’s higher education practice and recruiting talent to form a deep bench of higher education attorneys.
Claudia Schrader
For Claudia Schrader, the presidency of York College is not a job but a calling. Schrader assumed the presidency on a permanent basis in September after serving for a year and a half as the interim leader of the CUNY school in Queens. Schrader’s priority as president has been to make sure that York College is preparing students for careers in the rapidly changing economy. A former president of Kingsborough Community College, Schrader is also looking to increase enrollment, add new degree programs and upgrade and expand the college’s facilities.
Matthew Shaftel
A year after Matthew Shaftel became president of Russell Sage College in 2024, he reached an agreement to merge his institution with the neighboring Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. The new entity, which will be called Russell Sage, could have some 4,000 students and become one of the largest institutions of higher education in the region if it’s approved. Shaftel also helped launch the Capitol Region Higher Ed Alliance, which he now co-chairs, to focus on cross-institutional alignment between the region’s colleges and universities. He is a trustee of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities.
Janet Silver
Janet Silver is a savvy government relations professional who can navigate the higher education policy ecosystem in New York, providing legal, regulatory and legislative insights to colleges, universities and other entities in academia. An expert in the state’s Tuition Assistance Program, Silver has been successful in getting the state Legislature to expand TAP to help low-income and minority students. A member of Hinman Straub’s education and government relations practice areas, Silver also recently guided an institution’s conversion from a for-profit to a nonprofit college.
Nick Simmons
Once a top adviser in the Biden-era U.S. Department of Education, Nick Simmons is now fueling New York’s technology sector. Last fall, Simmons succeeded co-founder Jukay Hsu as CEO of Pursuit, a tech-oriented workforce development nonprofit. Simmons is leading Pursuit as it launches an AI Jobs Institute and has been designated the nonprofit lead for Gov. Kathy Hochul’s AI Prep for Jobs program. Simmons was previously deputy chief of staff to Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, served as a Success Academy Charter Schools acting principal and ran for the Connecticut state Senate in 2024.
Donna Stelling-Gurnett
As the veteran leader of the Association of Private Colleges, Donna Stelling-Gurnett advocates on behalf of a dozen proprietary and nonprofit higher education institutions across New York, most of them family founded. A top objective for the association is expanding access to the state’s Tuition Assistance Program for the students who enroll at the member institutions that it represents. In last year’s legislative session, Stelling-Gurnett’s organization helped extend TAP eligibility to part-time students and expanded the income threshold for TAP students.
Amy Storey
While other small upstate colleges have been facing financial headwinds or even closures, Amy Storey has Keuka College on the upswing. After a dropoff during the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment has been rising steadily. Storey has restructured college’s finances, focused on academic programs in-demand with employers and even started a weddings and events business for the Finger Lakes campus to diversify its revenue. Storey has delivered seven consecutive operating surpluses, enrollment growth and raised more than $30 million in Keuka’s largest capital campaign.
Toyin Tofade
Toyin Tofade is the first Black woman to hold the presidency of the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, which is on track to merge with Russell Sage College in 2027. During her tenure, total applications to ACPHS have increased 19%, and transfer student enrollment is up by over 700%, as of July 2024. She led the college’s largest academic program expansion, adding an undergraduate program in forensic psychology and a hybrid graduate program in cytotechnology and molecular cytology. Tofade is obtaining state approval for a clinical mental health counseling graduate program and a physician assistant studies program.
Megan Toohey
As the University at Buffalo’s director of government relations, Megan Toohey is part of the trailblazing UB team that is transforming the city of Buffalo. Toohey helped to pass NYSUNY 2020, a higher education initiative that led to the creation of the new Jacobs School of Medicine in downtown Buffalo, the centerpiece of an economic development renaissance. She helped the flagship SUNY school become the center of artificial intelligence innovation, positioning it to become the home of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Empire AI initiative. She also advocates for the university with local and federal government officials.
Allison Turcio
Faculty may make magic happen in the classroom, but it also takes some marketing wizardry to entice students to apply in the first place. As the dean of enrollment and marketing at Siena University, Allison Turcio brings an innovative mindset to marketing strategy and research at the Albany-area institution. Her marketing campaigns have won awards with her student-centered higher education marketing. She’s also a marketing professor, the host of “The Application” podcast and publisher of the Higher Education Marketer’s Digest.
Lisa Vollendorf
At Empire State University, Lisa Vollendorf takes pains to ensure that SUNY’s only fully online school remains closely connected to its workforce and student population, which includes students from all 62 counties of New York and from 50 countries. Vollendorf, who took over as president in 2022, has presided over three years of rising enrollment, which now stands at 18,000. With a rise in revenue, Vollendorf has focused investing in initiatives that support student retention and degree completion. Empire State University was also designated as the only autism-supportive institution of higher education in New York.
Kevin Weinman
Last year, Marist officially transitioned from a college to a full-fledged university, reflecting its wide-ranging academic offerings. But after ushering in that change, Kevin Weinman isn’t slowing down. He is pioneering a Marist+AI strategy, which will integrate artificial intelligence campuswide for students, faculty and staff. He’s doubling down on the school’s commitment to health sciences while also investing in other academic offerings. Weinman and his family also moved into a newly renovated campus house that is both university event space and a presidential residence.
S. David Wu
Baruch College began as a single building spun off from City College of New York in 1968, and today it’s so established that it has a subway station named after it. In October, the 23rd Street subway station for the No. 6 train was renamed “23rd Street-Baruch College.” It’s just one example of the prominence that S. David Wu is bringing to Baruch. He launched an artificial intelligence initiative governing AI integration at the college, is embarking on a new infrastructure master plan and accepted $75,000 from AddressHate for Baruch’s Antisemitism Studies Lab.
Kristine Young
At SUNY Orange, Kristine Young is raising the bar on community college education. The school has experienced enrollment growth for 13 consecutive sessions, marking a 27.5% increase since 2022. This year, SUNY Orange received the Bellwether Award in Instructional Programs and Services, one of the highest honors for such schools nationally. Among Young’s priorities as president is a focus on the role the community college plays in regional workforce development and supporting economic mobility. She recently received funding for the first phase of a three-phase, $211 million facilities master plan.
Alan Yu
Providing a pathway for children leaving the foster care system isn’t easy, but Alan Yu is charting a course as the leader of New Yorkers for Children. Yu has led the nonprofit organization through a five-year strategic planning process to identify gaps in higher education for children who go through New York City’s foster care system and identify proactive solutions. Yu’s organization is also partnering with the city Administration for Children’s Services to launch a workforce development program for children aging out of foster care.
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