Ed Bowling
Senior Fellow
National Center for Inquiry & Improvement
Ed is an educational consultant, coach, and senior fellow with NCII. He retired as the executive director for completion and performance at Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) in North Carolina, where he also served as the managing partner director for Completion by Design in North Carolina. Ed held a senior management position at a large bank prior to joining GTCC as a developmental education adjunct instructor in 2005. He received GTCC’s Claire Hunter Award for Excellence in Developmental Education in 2007. In 2010, he became the Developmental Education Initiative grant director, overseeing the scaling of three core programs and two smaller projects under that grant.
Ed has engaged in state and national guided pathways work since 2011. In addition to his leadership with Completion by Design, he provided coaching and consulting to more than 50 colleges and systems in 15 states through the North Carolina Student Success Learning Institute, AACC Pathways Project and Pathways 2.0, Texas Pathways Institute, California Guided Pathways, and the National Center for Inquiry and Improvement. He shares the work and outcomes of Completion by Design and guided pathways at state and national conferences. He received the BB&T Staff of the Year Award for the North Carolina Community College System for his statewide work on guided pathways in 2014.
Elizabeth Cox Brand, PhD
Director, Student Success Center
Oregon Community College Association
Elizabeth is the executive director of the Student Success Center at the Oregon Community College Association. Originally from a rural community in Iowa, Elizabeth received a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from Iowa State University in 2007. After graduation, she accepted the position of assistant director of the California Community College Collaborative, a community college research and policy center at the University of California, Riverside.
She previously served as director of student success and assessment for the Oregon Community College Association and as director of communications and research for the Oregon Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development.
Elizabeth has professional experience in K–12, community colleges, and public universities, with a particular emphasis on student affairs and adult learners. She is a recognized leader in guided pathways principles, having led a statewide initiative to help Oregon colleges implement these reforms. Her work focuses on helping colleges redesign their programs and support services to improve student progression, increase completion rates, and close equity gaps. Elizabeth’s efforts have been instrumental in fostering a culture of student success innovation and progressing toward ensuring that all students receive the guidance and support they need to achieve their educational and career goals. Being a first-generation student from a rural community herself, Elizabeth has a deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities that rural colleges face. She is dedicated to using her knowledge and experience to assist rural community colleges as they transform into student-ready colleges.
Ann Buchele, PhD
Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs
Linn-Benton Community College
Ann is vice president of academic and student affairs at Linn-Benton Community College in Oregon. Ann has more than 30 years’ experience in education, 25 of those years in higher education. She has had a wide range of teaching and administrative experience in the transfer and career and technical education areas. Her career has focused on new program development, workforce development, and innovation. Ann has been a guided pathways coach in Oregon for the past five years, and she has also completed the SSCN Guided Pathways Coaching Training through Jobs for the Future and Achieving the Dream. Ann holds a master’s degree in education and a doctorate in community college leadership.
Adrienne Forgette, PhD
Vice President of Academic Affairs
Clark State College
Adrienne is the vice president of academic affairs at Clark State College in Springfield, Ohio. Prior to that, she served San Juan College (SJC) in Farmington, NM, as the vice president for learning, where she oversaw academic programs; the Office for Workforce, Economic, and Resource Development; and the Center for Professional Development and Exploration. She also led San Juan’s successful participation in AACC’s Pathways 2.0 project.
Adrienne builds strong teams dedicated to student success. Under her leadership, SJC redesigned developmental education and adopted a multiple measures approach to placement, increasing the number of students who successfully completed college-level math and English. She is also an advocate for experiential learning, high-impact practices, and wrap-around student services. Adrienne has spent most of her career serving rural colleges. She is a first-generation community college graduate from Mt. San Antonio College and holds a doctorate in clinical psychology. Outside of her work at the college, Adrienne enjoys time with family and exploring the outdoors.
Rob Johnstone, PhD
Founder & President
National Center for Inquiry & Improvement
Rob is a national leader in the higher education reform movement. He established NCII in 2013 to help community colleges and other broad-access institutions create structures, processes, and cultures that increase student learning, completion, and labor market outcomes and close opportunity gaps. Since then, he has partnered with more than 500 colleges in 45 states.
Rob’s engaging and practical approach to redesign helps to bridge major reforms sought by foundations, policymakers, and systems offices with the ground-level work of college practitioners and executives tasked with realizing changes in students’ experiences and their institution’s operations. Prior to NCII, Rob served as a middle leader and provost in the California community college system and as a strategic consultant in industry. Rob brings this unique history along with his optimism and energy as he works with colleges to ensure that their students and communities thrive.
Rob holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Stanford University, a master’s degree in experimental psychology from San Jose State University, and a doctorate in social psychology/psychology and the law from the University of Oregon.
Keisha Jones, MS
Vice President, Student Affairs
Davidson-Davie Community College
Keisha is a higher education leader with extensive experience in student affairs, retention strategies, and institutional equity. She currently serves as vice president of student affairs and chief diversity officer at Davidson-Davie Community College, where she provides strategic leadership in student engagement, enrollment management, academic support services, and student well-being. In this role, she oversees advising, career development, TRIO programs, student life, conduct, and Title IX, ensuring that students receive the holistic support they need to succeed.
In addition to her student affairs leadership, Keisha is the state director of inclusive excellence with the North Carolina Student Success Center, where she integrates guided pathways principles with student success strategies. She provides professional development, training, and strategic guidance to North Carolina’s 58 community colleges, helping institutions design equitable student support models that improve access, retention, and completion.
With more than two decades of experience in student success, Keisha has led high-impact initiatives in academic advising, student persistence, leadership development, and institutional transformation. She has a track record of enhancing student engagement, increasing retention, and creating pathways for underserved learners.
As a Rural Pathways coach, Keisha is committed to supporting colleges in developing student-centered policies, strengthening student services, and fostering inclusive campus cultures that promote student success and institutional effectiveness.
Melinda Karp, PhD
Founder and Principal
Phase 2 Advisory
Melinda is the founder of Phase Two Advisory and a nationally known expert on community colleges and strategies to support low-income, first-generation, minority, and otherwise underserved students in and out of the classroom. Melinda launched Phase Two in 2017 to better connect research and on-the-ground institutional transformation efforts. Today, Phase Two uses the tradition of rigorous academic inquiry to understand how reform happens, how to best support those engaged in the messy work of reform design and implementation, and how to assess the impact of long-term institutional change efforts.
Prior to founding Phase Two, Melinda spent nearly 20 years at the Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University. There, she led a large portfolio of work focused on student transitions into and through higher education, student services and holistic support, and transformative reform. She has authored or co-authored nearly 70 articles, book chapters, and working papers and 35 practitioner-focused blogs, op-eds, and practical toolkits.
The proud granddaughter of refugees who found their American Dream in the Bronx, Melinda holds a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies (with honors) from Cornell University; a master’s degree in the sociology of education from Teachers College, Columbia University; and a doctorate in the same field (with distinction) from Columbia University.
In 2020–21, Melinda chaired the Effective Advising Practice Guide Panel for the Institute of Education Sciences’ What Works Clearinghouse. In 2022, she was selected for the prestigious Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship.
Hana Lahr, PhD
Assistant Director of Research and Director of Applied Learning
Community College Research Center
Hana is the assistant director of research and the director of applied learning at the Community College Research Center (CCRC), where she leads research on whole-college reforms at community colleges across the country. Hana is interested in how colleges approach the change management process, how colleges adapt reforms to their state and institutional context, and how these reforms change the student experience and affect student outcomes. As the director of applied learning at CCRC, Hana focuses on translating research into practical guidance that can help support organizational learning and reform. Prior to joining CCRC in 2011, Hana worked in student affairs at HACC (central Pennsylvania’s community college) and at the Metropolitan College of New York.
Octavia Lawrence, MAE
Portfolio Project Manager
Kentucky Community & Technical College System
Octavia Lawrence serves as the dean of students for West Kentucky Community and Technical College. She has worked in rural community colleges for more than 18 years. In her career, she has worked in TRIO programs; academic advising; accessibility services; and diversity, equity, and inclusion. She received a bachelor’s degree in English from Fisk University and a master’s degree in student affairs and counseling from Western Kentucky University.
Octavia is a native of Annapolis, Maryland. She now resides in Paducah, KY, with her two children. In her spare time, she loves reading, spending time with family and friends, and volunteering with her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Laura Rittner, MPP
Vice President of Operations and Student Success
Ohio Association of Community Colleges
Laura serves as executive director of the Success Center for Ohio Community Colleges at the Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC). In this role, she oversees the OACC’s student success initiatives including Ohio’s guided pathways project for community colleges, the Student Success Leadership Institute, and the Leadership Academy for Student Success. The Success Center’s portfolio of grants has grown to include more than $13 million in state, federal, and private foundation investments under Laura’s leadership. She has engaged many national partners in the OACC’s student success efforts and served as an inaugural coach for the American Association of Community Colleges’ Pathways Project from 2016 to 2017. Laura is currently serving as a coach for Texas Pathways.
Laura has 17 years of experience in community college leadership. She joined the OACC in 2013 as director of research and data analysis after working for seven years at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, OH, as director for institutional research. Laura holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology from Miami University in Oxford, OH, and a master’s degree in public policy from The George Washington University in Washington, DC.
Stephanie Sutton, EdD
Retired Vice President of Enrollment Management
Stark State College
During her more than 35 years of experience in higher education, Stephanie has focused on enrollment management, improving student services, and advancing success initiatives. Most recently, she served as vice president of enrollment management at Stark State College. She also served as the associate provost of enrollment management and student success at Lorain County Community College, where she began her career.
In retirement, Stephanie continues to contribute to the field through her involvement in guided pathways and other student success initiatives as well as higher education consulting. She has leadership experience in enrollment management, admissions, financial aid, registration, and institutional research along with advancing student services and success initiatives. She has served as an American Association of Community Colleges pathways coach and currently serves as a Talent Strong Texas Pathways Program pathways coach and a Caring Campus coach through the Institute for Evidence-Based Change.
A proud alumna of the community college system, Stephanie has held key positions, including director of financial aid and dean of enrollment, financial, and career services. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member.
Stephanie holds a doctorate in education with a specialization in educational leadership and management from Capella University, graduating with distinction.
Victor “Chino” Torres, MA
Associate Dean of Workforce Development and Non-Traditional Instruction and Interim Vice-President of Student Services and Equity
Imperial Valley College
Victor serves as the associate dean of workforce development and nontraditional instruction at the 2022 Aspen Award-winning Imperial Valley College. He has served as dean of student affairs, enrollment services, and campus safety and interim vice president of student services and equity. He also was the inaugural director of the Imperial Valley Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Program.
Victor’s K–12 experience includes serving as principal of alternative education, director of student services, vice principal, and counselor for the Imperial Unified School District. Additionally, he was a counselor for El Centro Elementary School District. Since 2012, Victor has been an adjunct professor for Point Loma Nazarene University in the School of Education and San Diego State University.
Victor’s experience in nonprofit organizations enabled him to develop his abilities in community outreach and engagement, program development, volunteer recruitment, and grant and budget development. Victor holds a bachelor’s degree in Chicana-Chicano studies from San Diego State University and a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in counseling and guidance from Point Loma Nazarene University. Victor is a doctoral candidate at San Diego State University. His research focuses on rural, male Latino students and their lived experiences in dual enrollment programs.
Joyce Walsh-Portillo, MBA, PhD
Retired Business Faculty
Broward College
Joyce was first involved at Broward College and its guided pathways work in Florida in 2013 after state legislation drastically changed the way developmental education could be offered. She was recruited as one of 12 national coaches for the American Association of Community Colleges’ Pathways Project that launched in 2015, working with 30 leading colleges around the country. This work continued with a second national cohort from 2018 to 2021. During that time, she worked with Milwaukee Area Technical College and Gateway Technical College as their assigned pathways coach. She is currently coaching the University of New Mexico, Valencia campus in Los Lunas, NM as part of its Title V grant, PASOS (Pathways to Articulation & Sustainable Opportunities for Students).
As associate vice president of academic affairs, Joyce participated in numerous presentations within Florida at state meetings at the Council of Academic Affairs, at Moving the Needle conference at St. Petersburg College, and as a co-presenter with Complete College America at Florida State College at Jacksonville representing Broward College. She has participated on panels in several state meetings addressing pathway initiatives including New Hampshire, New Jersey, Indiana, Texas, Michigan, and Oregon.
Joyce holds a master’s degree in business administration, and she earned her doctorate in higher education administration at Florida International University. She is currently a full-time professor of business administration at Broward College, an endowed teaching chair recipient and a NISOD award of excellence winner. She is passionate about student success in the classroom and beyond. She is married and has an adult son.
Chris Wikstrom, PhD
Vice President of Academic & Student Success Services
Patrick & Henry Community College
Chris has spent more than two decades in education. During the first part of his career, he was a middle school and high school math teacher, and in that capacity, he gained critical experience working with students from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures. In the latter years of his K–12 tenure, he taught dual enrollment classes. That experience started his community college work and opened the door to teaching adjunct developmental math courses.
Chris transitioned to full-time employment at Patrick & Henry Community College (P&HCC) in 2011 as a developmental and on-level math instructor. During this time, Chris centered his teaching around cooperative learning and the flipped classroom. He also served as a consultant for the Southern Center for Active Learning Excellence (SCALE), which provided collaborative learning workshops to community colleges across the United States. Chris presented at national conferences on cooperative learning and corequisite remediation during this span.
In 2015, Chris began leading outcomes assessments and co-chaired the SACSCOC decennial accreditation process at P&HCC. Through this work, Chris became director of institutional research and effectiveness while also serving a stint as interim dean of transfer.
Chris earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in education, curriculum, and instruction with a focus in educational psychology from Virginia Tech. He earned a doctorate in community college leadership from Old Dominion University. He also is an Aspen Rising Presidents Fellow (Cohort 9).