Lead together, learn together.

L. Hazel Jack brings 20 years of experience in higher education, specializing in strategy development, communications, fundraising, partnership development, community engagement, and board relations. For the past eight years, she has been a key leader at Colgate University, where she currently serves as Vice President and Chief of Staff to the President. In this role, she is a member of the President's Cabinet, overseeing presidential communications and outreach, government relations, university-wide events, and the management of the president's office. During her tenure at Colgate, she has held several leadership positions, including Vice President for University Communications and Acting Chief Diversity Officer.

Tisha serves on the chancellor’s cabinet as a key advisor and member of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s senior leadership team. In her role as vice chancellor, she is the university’s chief communications and marketing officer, leading the talented team in the Office of Communications and Marketing charged with stewarding and evolving the UT brand. In her time at UT, Benton has restructured the Office of Communications and Marketing to bring focus to the office’s role as the strategic central marketing hub of the university, and to better integrate central resources and messages throughout the institution.

Steven is the Chief Revenue Officer at Abilene Christian University, bringing over 20 years of leadership experience in higher education across finance, marketing, and analytics. He has led transformative initiatives at the intersection of strategy and performance, including managing the largest performance marketing budget in the sector. Under his leadership, ACU’s online enrollment has grown by more than 250% over the past five years. Steven is passionate about data-informed growth strategies, cross-functional collaboration, and building scalable systems that drive long-term revenue growth in an increasingly competitive market.

As president of Spalding University, Dr. Anne Kenworthy is guiding the institution’s future through faith-driven leadership and transformative innovation. With a focus on expanding access to education, she has led initiatives that elevate institutional brand identity, drive enrollment growth, and strengthen financial sustainability—all while fostering an environment where students thrive academically and personally. Prior to joining Spalding, Dr. Kenworthy served as the Vice President of Enrollment Services, Marketing Communications, and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Findlay (UF) in Findlay, Ohio, where she successfully increased enrollment revenue, shaped UF’s brand strategy and served as a key member of the transition team for the acquisition of Bluffton University.

As the vice president for marketing and enrollment at the University of Hartford, Molly Polk is responsible for the strategy, execution, and evaluation of marketing communications, admission, and financial aid at the University of Hartford. Molly joined UHart from Carthage College, where she led a successful rebranding effort and the launch of an award-winning institutional website as vice president for communication. Prior to joining Carthage, she was the director of client marketing services at Ithaca College, where she managed the development and execution of marketing strategies for five academic schools, athletic communications, and administrative units across campus.

Christie joined St. Edward’s University in 2012 as Associate Vice President of Marketing with more than 17 years of marketing and communications experience across industries including education, non-profit and technology. Her expertise includes implementing integrated marketing strategies and successfully developing talented teams. At St. Edward’s, Christie oversees the marketing mission of promoting the university story to increase engagement, attract resources, and achieve the university’s strategic goals. Christie is proud to work with the award-winning marketing and communications team as well as the St. Edward’s government and community relations programs.

With over 20 years of experience in higher education communications, Zack Higbee has worked across both institutional and athletics communications, developing strategies to elevate brand awareness, engage audiences, and manage issues. He currently serves as Assistant Vice President for Communications at the University of Oklahoma, where he leads reactive media engagement.

Libby Eckhardt joined Denison University as vice president for university communications and branding in 2021. In this role, she directs the Office of University Communications & Marketing (UCM). UCM oversees all institutional websites and social channels, Denison Magazine, digital marketing, creative services, media relations, reputation management, and internal communications.

Andres “Andy” Ybarra is the Chief Communications Officer at the University of St. Thomas, where he oversees the central marketing and communications team for Minnesota’s largest private university. Prior to joining St. Thomas in 2019, he spent 15 years at the Minneapolis office of global PR agency Weber Shandwick, where he worked on a range of technology clients. Andy started his career in journalism, as a reporter for the Minneapolis bureau of The Associated Press before moving into public relations.

Lauren joined Boise State in 2019 as Associate Vice President for Creative Strategy and was promoted in 2020 to oversee Boise State’s Office of Communications and Marketing as the Associate Vice President for Communications, Marketing and Creative Strategy. Lauren is an innovator, storyteller and culture keeper who has worked in higher education at both the community college and university levels. Most recently, Lauren was recognized as a finalist for Marketer of the Year in the higher education category by the American Marketing Association.

Dan is a respected national leader and strategist with a distinguished career in higher education. He brings his dynamic vision and industry expertise to Baker Tilly after serving as the Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) for six years and reinforces the firm’s ability to help higher education institutions and systems nationwide meet today’s complex challenges.