SA Voices From the Field

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 [email protected]!

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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 higher education organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in higher education from Florida State University and masters and bachelor's degrees in business administration from Florida A & M University.

Amelia Parnell is also the host of the Speaking of College Podcast. Speaking of College is a show that answers common questions about college. The episodes are a good fit for anyone who is curious about how college works and how to navigate the college environment.

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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 University; and is currently pursuing his MBA at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Em Huang is the Director of LGBTQ+ Advancement & Equity / Associate Director of the Gender Equity Resource Center, focusing on LGBTQ+ communities, issues, policies, and initiatives at the University of California, Berkeley. They received their M.Ed in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration from the University of Vermont. Their focus in higher education and student affairs is on student support and advocacy, particularly in issues of gender, sexuality, and racial, ethnic, and cultural identity through a multicultural and intersectional lens. Their goal is to be a passionate advocate and support for queer, trans, and BIPOC students, and to engage and educate institutions of higher education about the issues experienced by these communities as a whole.

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 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).

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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 access for low-income students. She also directed the Benefits Access for College Completion initiative to increase access to public benefits and financial aid for low-income students at community and technical colleges across the country.

Gina Plata-Nino has devoted much of her early professional life to addressing the many causes of hunger and ensuring that low-income individuals never have to place other needs above feeding themselves or their families. She's an attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. She serves as a lead advocate on the Hunger Free Campus legislative campaign and helps address related food security issues among college students. She also assists on targetted help on passage of current legislation working with the Central MA Legislative delegation. She works with state and federal agencies to eliminate systemic barriers to food access. She leads the Central MA SNAP Coalition and the Worcester Food Security Task Force, regional coalitions focused on reducing food insecurity. Prior to joining MLRI she managed the Food Security Project - a collaboration of the Worcester County Food Bank and Central West Justice Center. She has presented at both state and national conferences on the importance of equity in food security. She utilizes her skills as a vehicle for motivating and supporting lasting changes that bring about social justice and build grassroots leadership in her community. She is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law and began her career by clerking at the Massachusetts State Appeals Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the first circuit.

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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 establishment of the College Board's Access and Diversity Collaborative (ADC) in 2004, which he has helped lead since its inception. He was also a member of a thought leadership panel that helped inform the development of the January 2022 report, Toward a More Equitable Future for Postsecondary Access, published by NACAC and NASFAA. With a focus on issues of diversity and higher education admissions, he has also authored amicus briefs in: Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) & Gratz v. Bollinger (2003); Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (I and II, 2013 and 2016); and in the 2022 SFFA v. Harvard/UNC cases. His advocacy work also includes the development of a successful federal amicus strategy and numerous federal appellate briefs on behalf of transgender students throughout the United States.

Mr. Coleman is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education, where he teaches a masters level course on enrollment management law and policy. In 2022, he received the Rossier School's Adjunct Faculty Teaching Award, with the recognition that as "one of the nation's leading legal voices supporting access, diversity and inclusion," he "does a masterful job at simplifying complex concepts and highlighting the complexities of seemingly simple concepts."

He has testified before the U.S. Senate and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He is a current Executive Committee member of the Board of Directors of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA); and he is a past member of the Board of Directors of GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network); the Lab School of Washington, which serves students with learning differences; and a past chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Higher Education Policy.

A former litigator, Mr. Coleman is a 1984 honors graduate of Duke University School of Law and a 1981 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Virginia.

Art Coleman shared a few links to examples of things he mentioned in the podcast:

https://educationcounsel.com/?publication=engaging-campus-stakeholders-on-enrollment-issues-associated-with-student-diversity-a-communications-primer

https://professionals.collegeboard.org/pdf/playbook-understanding-race-neutral-strategies.pdf

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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 expertise includes providing federal and state policy analysis and leading legislative efforts, and developing strategic messaging and products. Christian graduated from Texas State University and earned his master's in American Government from Georgetown University.

Victoria shared a few links to examples of things she wrote on this topic:

https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/03/03/college-promise-programs-can-make-college-more-affordable-undocumented-students https://www.researchforaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/RFAUndocumentedStudentsandPromise2020-FINAL.pdf https://www.higheredimmigrationportal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Ballerini-and-Feldblum-Article-March-2021-AJES-1.pdf

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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 access, student loan policy, and the interplay between federal agencies and colleges and universities. He is frequently quoted in the press and has appeared on The Today Show on NBC, National Public Radio, APM's Marketplace, Fox Business News, CNBC, and C-SPAN, and is often quoted in national news outlets. Justin serves on several boards of directors that promote health and education. He earned his undergraduate from Brigham Young University and his MBA from Baker College. Justin lives in Fairfax, VA, with his wife and three children.

In the interview Justin regarding FAFSA simplification and federal methodology and you can find that resource here: https://www.nasfaa.org/fafsa_simplification

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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!