When students’ sense of belonging lives in the classroom: a discussion of pedagogy: Dr. Paul Hernandez

Dr. Paul Hernandez is senior adviser to the president at Achieving The Dream. Dr. Hernandez is a community college leader and practitioner and an Aspen Rising Presidents Fellow, serving most recently as vice president for academic and student affairs at Mount Wachusett Community College. Previously, he was chief diversity officer at Lansing Community College. Dr. Hernandez is a nationally recognized leader in college access and success, community outreach, and pedagogy, a former faculty member and non-profit administrator.

Future-Proofing academic programs: what is the look ahead?: Dr. George Timmons

Dr. George Timmons serves as the provost and senior Vice president of academic and student affairs at SUNY Columbia-Greene Community College. With nearly three decades of higher education and corporate experience, Dr. Timmons has been at the forefront of academic excellence and program development; innovative enrollment management; shared governance and transparency; strategic planning; financial oversight; accreditation; institutional effectiveness; and diversity, equity, and inclusion implementation.

Technology + Personal Touch = Increases with Retention and Completion: Lauren Foss Goodman

Lauren Foss Goodman (she/her), MFA, MEd, is a Learning Designer with Moodle and a doctoral student in the Mathematics, Science, and Learning technologies concentration in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Goodman formerly served as the Dean of Teaching and Learning Innovation at Berkshire Community College, has worked as a teacher and consultant in China and Japan, as well as an adjunct faculty member in the US. She is committed to open education and equity-minded online course design, and loves helping others achieve their teaching and learning goals.

The Culture of Change: Driving Innovation at a Technical Community College: Robert LePage 

Robert LePage has over 30 years of experience in education. He has served as community college faculty, Senior Administrator. For a decade he worked as a national consultant assisting colleges, state systems, and agencies on development of industry sector workforce programs and partnerships. Currently he serves as Assistant Secretary of Career Education in the Executive Office of Education (EOE). In his role he is primarily focused post-secondary and higher education career education and training program strategies to meet the talent and workforce needs of employers in the Commonwealth. He supports EOE’s Workforce Skills Cabinet initiatives in collaboration with Labor and Workforce Development and Housing and Economic Development.