Tanya Tarlit has been working at Okanagan College in various capacities since 2005. Starting as an educational advisor, Tarlit moved to vocational instructor, then student, graduator and co-op development coordinator, and currently she is the Trades Program Administrator — working in various employee groups has given her a unique perspective. Through all these placements, student success is her greatest motivator, and transforming lives and communities is a mission she takes to heart. Her progressive experience in working with dual credit students, women in trades, and students with disabilities allows for a unique perspective within SEM. Tarlit has a scope of practical expertise that includes programming, curriculum development, recruiting and advising high school and postsecondary students. Her educational credentials include a Master’s Degree in Community Development, a Bachelor of Management, a Provincial Instructors Diploma, and a Recreation Administration Diploma.
Scaling Deep to Make Space for Females in Trades: Transformational Inclusion at a Community College
Kelly Brochu is working at Okanagan College as Construction Trades Chairperson and previously as a vocational instructor for carpentry. Academically, Brochu has a Bachelor of Education from University of Alberta and completed the instrumentation and control engineering technology program at St Lawrence College. The combination of academic and technical training is what steers Brochu’s life journey and further resulted in obtaining Journeyperson Certification in both carpentry and scaffolding. Diversity has been widely explored over Brochu’s time in the workforce, and he has spent time in the Canadian Armed Forces, teaching at elementary and junior high schools in various areas, including a fly-in school in Northern Manitoba, working as a carpenter and/ or scaffolder, owning a construction business, working as a principal at a small island school off of Vancouver Island and for the last seven years, at Okanagan College, including recently joining the EDISJ Strategy Working Group. Living and working in so many areas and communities has pushed his passion to see people from any place or situation get the opportunity to not just learn but to understand that regardless of what came before, your new learning journey can start now and can be exclusive of what may have been an unsuccessful learning journey from the past.
Delacey Tedesco is an academic professional with a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Victoria (2016). She taught political theory at the University of Victoria and Human and Urban Geography at the University of British Columbia — Okanagan. She was a lecturer (assistant professor) in critical international relations at the University of Exeter, in Cornwall, UK, from 2017–2022, and remains an honorary lecturer there. Her award-winning research and teaching focus on both conceptual and practical questions of equity and decolonization, in the southern interior of BC and in international contexts. Tedesco’s publications have appeared in journals and edited volumes spanning politics and international relations, human geography, and geohumanities. Tedesco returned to Kelowna in 2022 to become the inaugural cultural advisor with the City of Kelowna, supporting the city’s work toward truth and reconciliation and equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. In that role, she has built meaningful community connections, developed staff learning programs, and supported a wide range of municipal planning projects and collaborative initiatives. She joined Okanagan College in March of 2024 as the inaugural associate director of equity, diversity, and inclusion, leading OC’s work toward transformative inclusion of, for, and by students, staff, instructors, faculty, and community partners. Tedesco maintains an active, interdisciplinary research program with international collaborators.
Sara Cousins has worked as the Manager, Trades Programs at Okanagan College in British Columbia since 2018. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Strategic Enrollment Management from Royal Roads University, a Certificate in University and College Administration from the University of Manitoba, and a B.A. in Archaeology from Simon Fraser University. The focus of her work has been on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice (EDISJ), whether with and for Indigenous communities in land rights and treaty negotiations or for the provincial and federal governments in consultation and engagement with Indigenous peoples, advising for the protection of cultural heritage sites, land use or education. Her current role includes strategic planning and SEM, including supporting the participation and success of Indigenous and female students as part of the larger success of trades students, apprentice admissions, connecting local education and industry partners to instructors and students through mentorship and advisory committees. Cousins is the Chair of the BC Apprenticeship Administrators Working Group and advises on provincial level working groups for enrolment management. She was one of the key authors for the first Okanagan College SEM plan and was instrumental in the priority seat policies for female trades students at her college. Her most recent research focus has been on increasing engagement with families in trades awareness and long-term recruitment. Cousins is a member of the EDISJ Strategy Working Group at Okanagan College, the Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology, and the Women in Construction committee of the Canadian Home Builders Association — Central Okanagan.
Melody Sabin began her career in education in 1993 as a high school Spanish teacher. Her career has followed a diverse path focusing on distance education, alcohol and other drug education, and adult continuing education. Melody started at Sherman College of Chiropractic in 2008 as recruitment coordinator before moving into the role of registrar. As registrar, Melody has been through several organizational changes, including working under 4 different supervisors. The most recent organizational change included a change to her job title and duties, now including director of academic records.
Happily divorced, Melody has one son (sophomore) at the University of Rochester and a sassy 13-year-old cat (wannabe panther). A life lesson that Melody would like to share with the world is that a major fault in communication is the illusion that it has happened.
Dr. Rachel Nash is the Assistant Vice Provost for Strategy, Academic Engagement, and Operational Excellence in the Office of Strategic Enrollment Management at The Ohio State University. In this role, she is responsible for the development and actualization of strategic projects, such as software implementations and the regional enrollment turnaround plan. Dr. Nash previously served as the Director of Graduate and Professional Admissions at Ohio State, where she oversaw the processing of approximately 30,000 applications annually to 250+ programs.
2025 SEM EP Graduate
Hasan Kwame Jeffries teaches, researches, and writes about the African American experience from a historical perspective.
He has chronicled the civil rights movement in the ten-episode Audible Originals series “Great Figures of the Civil Rights Movement,” and has told the remarkable story of the original Black Panther Party in Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama's Black Belt, which has been praised as “the book historians of the black freedom movement have been waiting for.”
Hasan has collaborated on several public history projects, including serving as the lead scholar and primary scriptwriter for the $27 million redesign of the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, the site of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He currently serves as the chairperson of the Board of Directors of The Montpelier Foundation, which stewards the Virginia estate of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States and the architect of the Constitution.
Hasan regularly shares his expertise on African American history and contemporary Black politics through public lectures, op-eds, and interviews with print, radio, and television news outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, NPR, CNN, and MSNBC.
He has also contributed to several documentary film projects as an historical advisor and featured on-camera scholar, including the 2023 documentaries Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World (PBS) and Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power (NBC/Peacock). And his 2020 TEDx Talk “Why we must confront the painful parts of US history” has been viewed more than 2 million times.
For his public history work, the King Arts Center in Columbus, Ohio honored him with a 2023 Legacy and Legends Award.
Hasan's commitment to teaching what he calls “Hard History” led him to edit Understanding and Teaching the Civil Rights Movement, a collection of essays by leading civil rights scholars and teachers that explores how to teach civil rights history accurately and effectively, and to host the podcast “Teaching Hard History,” a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Learning for Justice division. Hasan also helps school districts develop anti-racism programming and culturally responsive curricular content centered on social studies by conducting professional development workshops for teachers and administrators.
A College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Associate Professor in the Department of History at The Ohio State University, Hasan takes great pride in opening students' minds to new ways of understanding the past and the present. For his pedagogical creativity and effectiveness, he has received numerous awards, including Ohio State's highest commendation for teaching - the Ohio State Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Hasan graduated from Morehouse College in 1994 with a BA in history and earned his PhD in American history with a specialization in African American history from Duke University in 2002.
Leigh Cole is Chair of the Education Practice at the law firm Dinse PC (pronounced Din-see) in Burlington, Vermont. She also serves as Immigration Counsel at Hirschfeld Kraemer LLP, a California law firm. Leigh advises clients regarding immigration compliance, including employment-based visas, student and scholar visas, I-9 compliance, and policies including immigration compliance and sponsorship. She interfaces directly with campus constituencies including academic leadership, enrollment management, general counsel, human resources, and international student and scholar services. She earned a bachelor’s degree in government from Cornell University and a J.D. from Albany Law School of Union University, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Albany Law Review. Leigh served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of College and University Attorneys. She currently serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of College and University Law, and as Board Chair of ISEP: Study Abroad.
Becky Tankersley currently serves as an ̽»¨Â¥ Community & Content Facilitator for Group 1 (admissions) and has worked in enrollment management for nearly two decades. Since 2020, Becky has been the Director of Communications, Enrollment Marketing and Communications at Georgia Tech, combining exceptional communication skills with a passion for supporting enrollment goals.
She joined Georgia Tech in 2012, first working in Undergraduate Admissions before joining the Enrollment Communications team. She is a communications professional with a talent for leading teams and collaborating on projects across various campus units.
Patton-Macklin has a BA in Liberal Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies in Washington, DC, and Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership with a Concentration in Servant Leadership from Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA. She has nearly 15 years of professional experience in community college leadership as a Branch Campus Administrator then Dean of Enrollment Management in Maryland, and currently as Vice President of Recruitment and Enrollment Management in Pennsylvania.
Capstone: Affordable Student Housing Can Improve Attrition Rates
Heidi Hoskinson, Ph.D., is Vice President for Enrollment Management at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas. In that role, she oversees the areas of admissions, financial aid and student success and retention. Dr. Hoskinson has been a higher education professional for 30 years, working in the areas of student affairs, enrollment management, and academic affairs with students, faculty, and professional staff at a variety of institutions. She completed her doctoral degree in adult and higher education with an emphasis in administration at the University of Oklahoma, earned a Master of Science degree in educational leadership from Central Connecticut State University and an undergraduate degree in economics and English from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.
The Dream (or Reality) of Proven Practice
Joseph Minichini is a passionate higher education professional with more than twelve years of experience in registrarial services. He is the Assistant Registrar, Policy and Projects, in the University Registrar’s Office at the University of Toronto. Over his career, Minichini has participated in projects aimed at improving student services through his work in innovative initiatives, such as the university’s first eTranscript, digital diplomas, the Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council (PESC), and most recently, the CanPESC Common Digital Layout transcript. Minichini holds a master’s degree in higher education leadership. He is the recipient of the PESC 24th Annual Best Practices Award and the 2020 OURA award of excellence.
An Online Tool for Declaring Student Absences at the University of Toronto
Richard Levin has served as the University Registrar in four Canadian universities, most recently at the University of Toronto where he was also a Senior Strategist in the Office of the Vice-Provost Students. He retired in 2024. Richard has a keen interest in evidence-based decision-making. He has served on the executive committees of the Ontario University Registrars’ Association (OURA) and the Association of Registrars of Universities & Colleges in Canada (ARUCC) and is a recipient of the University of Toronto Influential Leader award. Levin is an Assistant Consultant with ̽»¨Â¥ Consulting.
Jim Paterson is a writer who covers K-12 and higher education for a variety of publications. He lives in Lewes, DE.
Revisiting 1925: The Evolution of Higher Education Issues and InnovatIions
Interview with Angel B. Pérez
Fifty Years Ago our Profession Faced Challenges and, Like Today, Collectively We Found Solutions
̽»¨Â¥ Members Search for Solutions as Higher Education Faces Challenges: 40 years Ago in College & University
Interview with Kelsey Simonson
Dr. Nizam holds a PhD in Computer Science from Dalhousie University. Her professional experience spans over 20 years, primarily in the areas of registrarial operations, Strategic Enrolment Management (SEM), data analytics, predictive modeling, software development, and teaching. She is passionate about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how the use of Generative AI can be deployed in registrarial operations to enhance overall service delivery and promote Academic Integrity. Dr. Nizam’s recent work on promoting Academic Integrity has been recognized and presented at various conferences and academic conventions. As a passionate administrator and an educator, Dr. Nizam integrates her theoretical, technical, and practical expertise to develop evidence-based policies and assess its success through concrete performance metrics. Dr. Nizam plans to apply the recently acquired knowledge from the ̽»¨Â¥ SEM certification process to positively shape the registrarial framework at the University of Toronto.
2025 SEM-EP Graduate
Capstone (Literature Review): Data-Informed Culture to Navigate
Disruptions in Strategic Enrollment Management
Martha Zepeda, DNP, RN, NPD-BC, is an Associate Faculty Member at the University of Phoenix College of Nursing. She teaches registered nurses pursuing RN to BSN and MSN nursing degrees. Dr. Zepeda is a registered nurse with more than 40 years of experience, including extensive experience in the acute care hospital setting. She has participated in research studies for the University of Phoenix and the acute care hospital setting and performed her own research.
Impact of Faculty and Curriculum on Online Doctoral Integration: A Quantitative Perspective
Pamela Peters is an Assistant Professor of Broadcasting and Journalism in the School of Communication and Media at Western Illinois University. Peters obtained her doctorate from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas. Her research examines the digital divide, race and ethnicity and forms of capital in relation education, climate change and crisis management in digitally mediated spaces.
Feeling Overwhelmed: First-Generation College Students’ Experiences with Social Capital and Community Cultural Wealth During the College Search Process
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