Zach Mercurio
Organizational Development Consultant, Author & Instructor at Colorado State University
Zach empowers purposeful leaders and helps build purposeful organizations that inspire meaningful work. He is an organizational development consultant, transformational speaker, and instructor at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO USA where, as a PhD candidate, he researches meaningful work and teaches courses on purposeful and organizational leadership. He is the founder of PurposeSpeaks.com, the popular blog on purposeful leadership and is a regular contributor for The Huffington Post and other international media outlets. Zach serves as a co-founder of the Foundation for Purposeful Organizations, a non-profit dedicated to promoting and teaching purposeful leadership and management. His research has been featured in the Human Resource Development Review and at the Academy of Human Resource Development International Research Conference. He is the author of the forthcoming book, "The Invisible Leader" which focuses on the Science and practice of purpose in leadership and organizations.
Sarina Loeb
Beyond Politically Correct: The Importance of Inclusion
Sarina has worked at the University Student Union at California State University Northridge (CSUN) for over 5 years. She started as the Coordinator for Diversity Initiatives and worked on the development of the Pride Center and Veterans Resource Center. She is currently the Coordinator of the Pride Center and LGBTQ Initiatives. Through her outreach and advocacy, she received CSUN’s first annual award for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award in 2014. She has presented on LGBTQ topics at national conferences, including the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) 2014 Annual Conference and the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) 2015 Annual Conference.
Steve Hinton
SOCIAL ENGINEERING: Identification, Mitigation, Impacts, and Response
Steve serves as StratumPoint’s Principal of Intelligence Operations and primary business contact. His relevant experience includes almost a decade of operational military, Federal, State, and local intelligence experience with a focus on adversarial tactics, intent, and characterization of threats across the physical and cyber landscapes. His multiple operational deployments with Naval Special Warfare as an Intelligence Officer combined with his domestic intelligence roles led him to be recognized for his ability to fuse conventional, unconventional, cyber, HUMINT, and technical data to determine adversarial intent. His ability to identify and operationalize adversarial likely courses of action mitigates risk against legitimate threats to critical data and infrastructure. A visionary in operationalizing the nexus of the cyber and physical threat landscapes, Steve continues to provide his expertise to efforts ranging from innovative assessment methodologies to advanced Federal research initiatives.
Angie Di Claudio
Rethinking Student/Customer Service
Angie has served as the Director of One Stop at Azusa Pacific University since the department's inception and launch in 2012. After more than 20 years in the private vocational education sector serving in positions such as Campus Director, Associate Dean of Student Services, Career Services Director, Human Resources, and Compliance, she was able to bring her experience navigating complex regulations and a penchant for team building back to APU, her alma mater.
Naomi Spinella
Rethinking Student/Customer Service
Naomi has been a part of the Azusa Pacific University community for the last eleven years starting her time as a student in both the undergraduate and graduate programs. She began working at APU in Student Financial Services and continues in this arena as the Interim Assistant Director of Student Accounts in One Stop serving APU's undergraduate population. Her years of experience both as a student and a professional at APU have given her a unique perspective on the student experience. Understanding the importance of providing comprehensive and meaningful financial services for students as they navigate the complexities of their financial journey is instrumental in progressing the Student Account department.
Brandon Hawkins and William (Jim) Jones
Understanding the VA Process from a Veterans Affair Representative.
Brandon Hawkins, Education Liaison Representative (ELR), Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). Born in San Diego CA but raised in Chicago, IL, Brandon enlisted in the United States Navy shortly after September 11, 2001. He completed two tours in Kuwait as a Second Class Quarter Master Navigator. Brandon was honorably discharged from the Navy in 2006. Brandon earned his Bachelr’s degree in Intelligence Studies from American Military University. Prior to becoming an ELR, Brandon worked for the Postal Service as well as a Veteran Services Representative for the DVA. Brandon has served at his current capacity as an ELR for 15 months.
William (Jim) Jones, Education Liaison Representative (ELR), Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). He grew up in Virginia where he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps while in his senior year of high school. During his multiple tours in the Marines, Jim has served as a performing member of the United States Marine Corps Band for majority of his tenure and also served as a Marine Recruiter. After his Honorable Discharge from the Marines, Jim attended San Diego State University and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Prior to becoming an Education Liaison Representative for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Jim worked for Southwestern Community College in Chula Vista, CA as a School Certifying Official for Veterans Educational Benefits retiring in 2015. After retiring from a CA Community College, Jim worked as an Educational Services Representative for Navy College at Naval Base San Diego untik he was offered his current position in November of 2016.
Wes Huffman
Perkins Updates, including Assigning to ED vs Collecting In-House.
Wes Huffman is a senior legislative associate at Washington Partners, LLC. Since joining Washington Partners in 2006, Wes has become an expert on issues related to college costs and higher education finance, particularly the Title IV Student Aid programs and private student loans. Wes has worked with COHEAO throughout his tenure at Washington Partners and he currently serves as the organization’s Associate Director. He also works on issues affecting Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and economic and financial literacy issues at all levels of education.
Before joining Washington Partners, Wes held a variety of positions with trade associations. He worked in marketing and membership at the Coalition for Government Procurement and government relations for the National Club Association.
Chad Echols
Avoiding Collection Issues, Cease & Desist Notifications.
Chad Echols is the founder of The Echols Firm, LLC and Vice President and Outside General Counsel to Williams & Fudge, Inc. The Echols Firm focuses on business law and litigation, with an emphasis on legal compliance and defense matters involving the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Telephone Consumer Protections Act. The firm handles all aspects of creditor issues includging commercial collection actions. Chad has considerable experience in all areas of defense and compliance regarding pre-default and post-defauls debt collection. Chad is a native of Rock Hill, South Carolina, and a graduate of Clemson University and the University of South Carolina School of Law.
Matt Camino
Cashiering Checkup
Matt Camino has been with the University of the Pacific for 11 years, currently as the Director of eCommerce. He oversees a staff of 4 who handle the operations of Merchant Account Management, eCommerce Payment Processing, the University campus card: PacificCard™, and Regulatory Compliance. Matt is a 2003 graduate of Pacific’s Eberhardt School of Business and a Certified Auxiliary Services Professional (CASP) by the National Association of College Auxiliary Services (NACAS) organization.
Rosemary Martinez
Choosing a Financial Literacy Program to Meet Your Needs
Rosemary brings more the 25 years of higher education experience to Solutions at ECMC. She began her career working in financial aid at a Los Angeles Community College and then for Loyola Marymount University. Prior to joining ECMC, she worked as assistant vice president and senior relationship manager for JPMorgan Chase Student Loans for 14 years.
Ruth Sharp
Choosing a Financial Literacy Program to Meet Your Needs
Ruth is the Bursar for the California Institute of Technology. She is responsible for providing operational leadership and oversight to student financial services. Ruth has worked in finance and accounting for over 30 years. She is a member of COHEAO and NACUBO. She is the co-founder for the Southern CA Bursar’s Meeting, a quarterly working group for private universities in the Southern California area. She is also the Vice President for the PacWest SFS organization. She is a national speaker on financial literacy. She received an MBA from the University of Redlands in 2008.
Garrett Terrones
Best Practices Bursar/Cashiering – Including disenrollment/student holds, refunding policies, etc.
Garrett is in his 27th year working in higher education and has worked in both student accounts and financial aid. He is currently the Student Accounts Supervisor at Pitzer College. Prior to Pitzer, Garrett was the Assistant Student Accounts Manager at Claremont Graduate University. He has also held administrative positions at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts (Pasadena), University of La Verne and DeVry University. Garrett has also been very active at Pitzer, serving as chair of the Staff Council, member of Diversity Committee and member of their Climate Change Working Group, which led to the Colleges divestment in fossil fuel stocks. He is also currently serving on the Mt. San Antonio College Community Facility Advisory Committee.
Jared Church
Best Practices Bursar/Cashiering – Including disenrollment/student holds, refunding policies, etc.
Jared is the Assistant Director of the Student Business Services office at UCSD. He is responsible for the oversight of the Student Accounts, University Billing, Loan Administration and Campus Card operations. He has worked in higher education for 15 years dedicating himself to best in class financial and academic customer service. As a first time member of the committee he is excited to play a part in the sharing of knowledge and networking across higher education institutions.
Brian Hill
Best Practices Collections – Including: Non Federal Master Promissory Notes for AR, How UDAAP applies to the university campus
As President of General Revenue Corporation, Brian is responsible for creating, communicating and implementing the organization's vision, mission, and overall direction. He has 22 years of management experience, with 15 years of experience in the collections industry. His experience and diligence help ensure success in meeting clients' goals. His expertise includes managing day-to-day operational functions, ensuring portfolio growth, attaining recovery goals, and mitigating risk for the company.