Sa Voices From The Field

We are taking a few weeks break this season as Jill Creighton and Christopher Lewis will be heading to Boston to meet those of you that are going to be attending NASPA's Annual Conference. We have a number of additional amazing guests coming laster this season. Stay tuned as we will be back in a few weeks! Please subscribe to SA Voices from the Field on your favorite podcasting device and share the podcast with other student affairs colleagues!

This week on SA Voices From the Field, we interviewed Dr. Janelle Rahyns about her own experiences leading efforts for NASPA in international student affairs. Dr. Janelle Rahyns serves as the associate director for global initiatives and virual learning at NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. She supports the association's international initiatives such as NASPA's Global Division, the MENASA Advisory Board, the MENASA NASPA Conference, the Global Summit on Student Affairs and Services, the International Symposium, the International Exchange Program, and assists in the support of the Latin America and the Caribbean Advisory Board. Prior to joining NASPA, Janelle served as the Assistant Dean at Yale-NUS College in Singapore, and the Resident Director at the University of California Los Angeles. Her research interests focus on African American college students, comparative study abroad experiences, international student affairs, and race and ethnicity in study abroad. Janelle holds a Ph.D.

This week on NASPA'a SA Voices From the Field podcast, we interviewed WP Wahl about his own experiences working in South Africa. Dr W.P. Wahl has been involved in student affairs for 21 years, and currently serves as Director: Student Life at the University of the Free State (UFS), in central South Africa – a position he has occupied since October 2016. During the past two decades he has been involved in numerous transformation projects, involving highly diverse student communities. From 2017 to 2019 Dr Wahl directed, in collaboration with a co-director from the United States, the annual ACUHO-I Student Housing Training Institute in South Africa. During 2021 and 2022 Dr Wahl served as the principal investigator of a national research study on student-centred universities for the Transformation Strategy Group (TSG), Universities South Africa (USAf). He is well published and his scholarly focus centres around creating campus environments that are conducive to student learning, development and success, especiall

This week on SA Voices From the Field, we interviewed Baishakhi Taylor about her own experiences working in Abu Dhabi, after years working in student affairs within the United States. Baishakhi Taylor is a member of the University’s senior leadership team and oversees the Division of Student Affairs, which comprises the following departments: student life, the career development center, community outreach, spiritual life and intercultural education, the student health center, student success and well-being, and athletics.  Baishakhi holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Kentucky, a master’s degree in Women’s Studies from the University of Northern Iowa, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University in Kolkata, India. She is fluent in several languages, including Bangla, Hindi/Urdu, and German. Prior to joining NYU Abu Dhabi, Taylor served as the Dean of the College at Smith College in Northampton, MA. She oversaw academic advising, international students, s

This week on SA Voices From the Field, we interviewed Dr. Dave Stanfield about his own experiences working in Singapore, after years working in student affairs within the United States. Dave Stanfield is Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Yale-NUS College in Singapore. Dr. Stanfield oversees residential education, campus life, student services, career services, study abroad, intercultural engagement, and student well-being. Since joining Yale-NUS in 2019, Dr. Stanfield has engaged deeply with the Yale-NUS student body to enhance student life and create an innovative and distinctive residential curriculum. His leadership of the student affairs team has centered around fostering a sense of belonging for all students, enhancing student support structures, and enabling collaboration across campus units. Dr. Stanfield has extensive student affairs experience in the context of international higher education partnerships, as he also served on Carnegie Mellon University’s campus in Doha, Qatar

This week on SA Voices From the Field, we interviewed Jennifer Hamilton about her experiences working in student affairs and leading efforts to connect Canadian student affairs professionals together. Jennifer Hamilton is the first-ever Executive Director of the Canadian Association of College & University Student Services. CACUSS is a non-profit association with over 1400 members in Canada. Jennifer has served in this staff leadership role of Canada’s student affairs association since 2011. Jennifer has a BA in International Development/Agriculture from the University of Guelph. She has a MS from Colorado State University in Student Affairs in Higher Education. She is a current student in the PhD Program in Higher Education at OISE, University of Toronto. Her research is a grounded theory study to understand how Canadian Student affairs professional staff develop competencies. Prior to joining CACUSS, she worked as a student affairs professional for 15 years in the areas of leadership development and stu

This week on SA Voices From the Field, we interviewed Omneya Badr about her own experiences working in student affairs as well as directing efforts of student affairs professionals working in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Omneya Badr is the current director of MENASA NASPA. MENASA is the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia region of NASPA. She is a Student Affairs enthusiast who sees a huge potential for growth in the region. Omneya Badr holds the position of Senior Academic Advisor at Qatar University and previously was a lecturer and faculty advisor at NYIT Bahrain (New York Institute of Technology). Omneya has gained a culturally diverse experience studying, teaching, and working for over 20 years in the USA, UK, Egypt, Bahrain, and Qatar. Omneya is a frequent presenter at NASPA and NACADA conferences. Her research interest is culturally based on Academic Advising, branding higher education, MENA First-generation students, cross-cultural communication, Student Success initiatives,

This week on SA Voices From the Field we interviewed Dr. Raphael X. Moffett about his own experiences working in China after many years working in student affairs within the United States. A native of Washington State, Dr. Raphael X. Moffett began his career in higher education working in Residence Life at Clark Atlanta University in 2002. He was inspired by working with college students and made the decision to pursue a career in student affairs. During the past 20 years, he has gained valuable experience serving in progressive leadership roles at Clark Atlanta University, Georgia State University, Morehouse College, and Trinity University. Known as an inspirational leader, Dr. Moffett has also served in senior leadership positions as the Vice President for Student Services at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas and the Vice President for Student Affairs at Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, and Dean of Students at Duke Kunshan University in Kunshan, China. Currently, Dr. Moffett serves as th

This week on SA Voices From the Field we interviewed Melanie Buford and Dr. Michael J. Stebleton, editor and authors of an upcoming new book Mapping the Future of Undergraduate Career Education. Melanie Buford is an Author, Career Consultant, and Teaching Specialist for the Leadership Minor at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. She is lead editor of the recent release Mapping the Future of Undergraduate Career Education - an international effort to  evolve career preparation in higher education . Her work has been featured on EdSurge, Puttylike, Truity, and Happen to Your Career. Melanie received the Ralph W. Tyler Award  for outstanding research and the Kenneth B. Hoyt Career Education Practitioner Award for innovative practice. She earned her Ed.M. in Human Development from Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dr. Michael J. Stebleton is Professor of Higher Education in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, USA. His research and teaching i

Happy 2023! We are very excited to be preparing for Season 8 of SA Voices from the Field. This season we will be doing something different. Take a listen while Jill Creighton and Chris Lewis talk about the new season. Please subscribe to SA Voices from the Field on your favorite podcasting device and share the podcast with other student affairs colleagues!

We are currently on a break as we prepare for Season 8 of SA Voices From the Field that will be coming in February 2023. We look forward to speaking with you again soon and look forward to new topics, new guests, and more. In the meantime, have a question for the show? Email us at savoices@naspa.org! Please subscribe to SA Voices from the Field on your favorite podcasting device and share the podcast with other student affairs colleagues!

This week on SA Voices From the Field we brought back Dr. Amelia Parnell as we talked about the outcome of the midterm elections and the future of public policy as we end our public policy season. Amelia Parnell is vice president for research and policy at NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, where she leads many of the Association’s scholarly and advocacy-focused activities. Amelia’s policy and practitioner experiences include prior roles in association management, legislative policy analysis, internal audit, and TRIO programs. Amelia Parnell writes and frequently speaks about topics related to student affairs, college affordability, student learning outcomes, leadership in higher education, and institutions’ use of data and analytics. She is the author of the new book; You Are a Data Person: Strategies for Using Analytics on Campus, and host of the new podcast, Speaking of College. Amelia currently serves on the board of directors for EDUCAUSE and is an advisor to several other high

This week on SA Voices From the Field we interviewed Andy Cofino and Em Huang from the Gender and Sexuality KC about LGBTQ+ Public Policy. Andy Cofino (he/him) is a passionate consultant and educator with over a decade’s worth of experience in higher education. He is currently the Director for the UCLA LGBTQ Campus Resource Center after previously serving roles at Princeton University, New York University, and on the Executive Board of the National Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals. Along with Em Huang, Andy is the Co-Core Member for Trans Inclusion of the NASPA Gender and Sexuality Knowledge Community. Andy also runs his own independent consulting firm serving clients across industries as a strategist, advisor, and facilitator of equity, diversity, & inclusion efforts related to gender and sexuality. Andy holds a BA in English and Women’s and Gender Studies with a minor in Italian from Pace University; a MA in LGBTQ Studies, Social Justice, and Creative Writing from New York Univ

This week on SA Voices From the Field we interviewed Jeremy Young on what is happening throughout the US currently as it comes to legislating CRT. Jeremy C. Young is the senior manager of free expression and education at PEN America, where he advances PEN America’s advocacy for academic freedom in higher education and against educational censorship in colleges, universities, and K-12 schools. A former history professor and director of the Institute of Politics and Public Affairs at Utah Tech University, Young holds a Ph.D. in U.S. history from Indiana University and is the author of The Age of Charisma: Leaders, Followers, and Emotions in American Society, 1870-1940 (Cambridge University Press, 2017). Please subscribe to SA Voices from the Field on your favorite podcasting device and share the podcast with other student affairs colleagues!

This week on SA Voices From the Field we interviewed Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield and Gina Plata-Nino about SNAP and TANF benefits for College Students.  Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield is Managing Director of Policy and Advocacy at Higher Learning Advocates.  She is an advocate with over 20 years of leadership in developing and expanding state and federal policies to increase postsecondary access and success for students with low incomes and students of color.  Prior to joining Higher Learning Advocates, Amy Ellen was a Senior Director for Advocacy and Policy at the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice. Amy Ellen also served as a Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy for over 15 years, where she analyzed and advocated for federal and state higher education policies to better serve adults with low incomes and others. She developed and advocated for a comprehensive student aid framework that combines financial aid, public benefits, and refundable tax credits to increase postsecondary acce

This week we are taking a break to celebrate Thanksgiving and Indigenous Peoples Day. We will be back again next week with another great episode as we talk about food insecurity and SNAP and TANF benefits and policies imapacting our campuses and students around these issues. Please subscribe to SA Voices from the Field on your favorite podcasting device and share the podcast with other student affairs colleagues!

This week on SA Voices From the Field we interviewed Art Coleman about Race Based Admissions and where we are as a country when it comes to this ever-changing landscape.  Art Coleman is a Managing Partner and co-founder of EducationCounsel LLC.  He provides policy, strategic, and legal counseling services to national non-profit organizations, postsecondary institutions, school districts and state agencies throughout the country, where he addresses issues associated with: student access, diversity, inclusion, expression, and success; faculty diversity, inclusion and expression; and institutional quality, accountability and accreditation. Mr. Coleman previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, where, in the 1990s, he led the Department’s development of the Department’s Title VI policy on race-conscious financial aid, as well as OCR’s first comprehensive Title IX sexual harassment policy guidance.       Mr. Coleman was instrumental in the estab

This week on SA Voices From the Field we interviewed Victoria Ballerini and Christian Penichet-Paul about updates to DACA and on undocumented students.  Victoria Ballerini is a researcher and consultant with expertise on tuition-free and open access higher education, and issues that lie at the intersection of immigration and higher education policy. Dr. Ballerini has over 15 years of experience in higher education policy, practice, and research through various roles in government, postsecondary institutions, and policy research organizations. She holds a master’s degree in Social Policy with concentration in Education from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, and a Ph.D. in Higher and Postsecondary Education from New York University. Christian Penichet-Paul is the Director of the Higher Ed Immigration Portal & State Policy at the Presidents’ Alliance for Higher Education and Immigration. Most recently, Christian was the Policy and Advocacy Manager at the National Immigration Forum. Christian’s e

This week on SA Voices From the Field we interviewed Justin Draeger, President & CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Today we talked to Justin about all of the upcoming Financial Aid and EFC changes that are coming in the next few years.  Justin Draeger serves as the primary voice of NASFAA and as the liaison between the association members, the U.S. Congress, federal agencies, and the media. Most of Justin's career has been devoted to assisting disadvantaged populations in achieving their educational goals and better their communities. Since 2002, Justin has been engaged in either administering, interpreting, communicating, or developing student financial aid policy. His prior experiences include working as a financial aid director, regulatory and policy analyst, and spokesperson. He has held senior positions overseeing government relations, communications, and policy work. Justin has testified in multiple Congressional hearings on student financial aid, college acces

This week on SA Voices From the Field we are taking a slight break as we get even more interviews read for you! We will be back with another great episode next week! Please subscribe to SA Voices from the Field on your favorite podcasting device and share the podcast with other student affairs colleagues!