Past Summit Speakers
See our Past Summit Speakers
Take a look at the keynote and featured speakers at past Student Success Summits!
Daniel Jean, Ed.D.
2024 Keynote Speaker
Dr. Daniel Jean was raised in abject poverty who rose from a 1.9 grade point average to become an author, consultant, motivational speaker, swagger trainer, playwright, poet. Dr. Jean is the #524 graduate of the SREB Institute for Faculty Teaching and Mentoring.
Phyllis Breland
2023 Keynote Speaker
Phyllis A. H. Breland is president of the Tri-State Consortium of Opportunity Programs in Higher Education and former president of New York State Higher Education Opportunity Program Professional Organization. She works closely with junior high schools, high schools, churches, community groups and organizations throughout New York that support access to academic and personal enrichment.
Laura Perna, Ph.D.
2023 Keynote Speaker
Laura Perna is one of the nation’s foremost researchers on college access and affordability. Her scholarship focuses on how to ensure that all people, regardless of demographic characteristics and place of residence, have the opportunity to participate in and benefit from high-quality higher education. Of particular interest is identifying policies and practices of K–12 schools, colleges and universities, and federal and state governments that contribute to—and address—barriers to higher education.
Ivory Toldson, Ph.D.
2022 Opening Speaker
Ivory Toldson serves as a professor of counseling psychology at Howard University.
Ansley Abraham, Ph.D.
2022 Closing Speaker
Ansley Abraham joined the Southern Regional Education Board in 1985 as a research associate and became the founding director of the State Doctoral Scholars Program in 1993.
Jasmine Briggs-Rogers
2023 Panelist
Jasmine Briggs-Rogers is a Career Coach, Resume Writer, and Director of Career Services with over 10 years of experience in workforce development and employment services.
Wil Del Pilar, Ph.D.
2023 Panelist
Wil Del Pilar serves as the vice president of higher education at the Education Trust where he works to advance Ed Trust’s higher education advocacy agenda by developing and implementing strategies to leverage research, policy, and practice to improve accountability, affordability and student success for low-income students and students of color.
Erica Frankenberg, Ed.D.
2023 Panelist
Erica Frankenberg is a professor of education and demography in the College of Education at the Pennsylvania State University.
Chrystal A. George Mwangi, Ph.D.
2023 Panelist
Dr. Chrystal A. George Mwangi is an Associate Professor of Higher Education at George Mason University.
Gbemende Johnson, Ph.D.
2023 Panelist
Gbemende Johnson is an associate professor of political science at the University of Georgia.
Sandra Kelly
2023 Panelist
Sandra Kelly is the Director of Student Services at the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, Mississippi’s public university system.
Jamila S. Lyn
2023 Featured Speaker
Jamila S. Lyn is a strong advocate for student support and success in the Historically Black College and University landscape.
Juliet Murawski
2023 Panelist
Juliet Murawski is the director of the Higher Education Office in the Delaware Department of Education.
Justin C. Ortegus, Ph.D.
2023 Panelist
Justin C. Ortagus is an Associate Professor of Higher Education Administration & Policy and Director of the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Florida.
Nicolle Parsons-Pollard, Ph.D.
2023 Panelist
Nicolle Parsons-Pollard, Ph.D. was appointed by Georgia State University President M. Brian Blake as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs effective Feb. 1, 2023.
Kenita Pitts
2023 Panelist
Kenita Pitts is the state coordinator for the SREB Academic Common Market and Regional Contract Program at the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.
Jermaine (Jay) Privott, Ed.D.
2023 Panelist
Jermaine (Jay) Privott has served as executive director of the Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program at Russell Sage College for 15 years.
Kirsten Turner, Ph.D.
2023 Panelist
Kirsten Turner serves as the University of Kentucky’s Vice President for Student Success and chief student affairs officer.
Latoya Watson, Ed.D.
2023 Panelist
Latoya Watson is a scholar-practitioner who has over 19 years of experience in higher education and education policy.
Roslyn Clark Artis, J.D., Ed.D.
2022 Panelist
Dr. Artis was unanimously appointed by the Board of Trustees as the 14th and first woman President of Benedict College on June 30, 2017.
