Consultants

Terri E. Givens, PhD

CEO/Founder of Brighter Higher Ed

Website: Visit Website

Terri is available for consulting/speaking engagements on the following topics:

LEADING WITH EMPATHY: Terri has gone from class president to team captain, to academic leader. In this talk, she explains how her ability to understand others' perspectives led to her opportunities as a leader throughout her life and how listeners can find their path to leadership and become champions for inclusiveness.

EDUCATION MATTERS: As a columnist for Inside Higher Ed for over ten years, Terri has provided advice to academic leaders on everything from Financial Aid to work/life balance. Terri has worked with groups on various topics, including diversity, the transition from high school to college, and student success.

THE POLITICS OF IMMIGRATION AND RACE: Terri has been researching and writing about the impact of immigration and race on political systems in the U.S. and Europe for over 20 years. She provides listeners with an understanding of the importance of inclusiveness to our democratic system.

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Kristen S. Slack, PhD

CEO/Founder of Prof2Prof, the higher ed ecosystem for sharing resources and connecting with other academic professionals worldwide. 

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Kristen is available for consulting/speaking engagements on the following topics: 

ACADEMIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP: Some of the best ideas for improving student learning and the overall quality of higher education arise from the innovative thinking of those inside academia.  Furthermore, many of the skills developed in academia transfer to the endeavor of starting a business. In this talk, Kristen offers guidance on and shares lessons learned in the transition from professor to business entrepreneur, with a particular focus on some of the unique challenges for women in the ed-tech space. 

REDEFINING SCHOLARLY IMPACT: In this talk, Kristen offers insights and recommendations for redefining assessment of scholarly impact and how to elevate the numerous "unsung" contributions of academics to their institutions, disciplines, and society at large. Kristen touches on issues related to equity and inclusion in the higher ed workforce, as well as steps that universities and colleges can take to ensure that the full value created by their academic staff members is transparent to society. 

PREVENTING CHILD MALTREATMENT

 Kristen is available to give a keynote or other invited presentations on child maltreatment prevention in the U.S.  Her research, spanning 25 years, focuses on the relationship between economic stress and child maltreatment and the role of financial support in preventing child maltreatment.  Her talks on these topics offer strategies for improving the U.S., state, and local infrastructures for preventing child abuse and neglect and for improving practice with families at risk for child maltreatment. 

Melanie Booth, Ed.D.

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Melanie Booth, Ed.D., is a higher education leader focused on ensuring high-quality student learning programs and institutional vitality. She has in-depth knowledge and 20+ years of impact. This impact centered primarily on leadership for academic and co-curricular programming, emphasizing innovative, high impact curricular development, student learning, assessment and evaluation, faculty development, student support and engagement, and quality assurance and accreditation. She developed her expertise across various organizations and institutions, primarily serving post-traditional learners (working adults, first-generation, and new-majority students).

Melanie's consulting areas include program evaluation, projects and implementation, and professional development focused on the following realms:

• Institutional and programmatic accreditation strategy and implementation
• High impact practices, such as experiential and community-based learning
• Student employability development and new models of career services
• Adult learner services and programming, including prior learning assessment and competency-based models, heutagogy, and learn-work integration
• Employer and community-based partnerships
• Institutional strategy, innovation, improvement, effectiveness, and quality

Paula Brantner

| pbworksolutions@gmail.com

President and Principal, PB Work Solutions

I build harassment and toxic workplace prevention programs that reflect your values and transform your culture.

Using the reporting tool Amplify.AllVoices, we incorporate model best practices in harassment and toxic workplace prevention applicable to your industry, customized for maximum effectiveness. We combine policies, training, reporting, investigation, and accountability to ensure you have a proactive approach consistent with your values.

• Your harassment prevention policy is clear and robust, so your staff knows what is protected, where to report potential violations, and what will happen once filed.
• Your harassment prevention policy disseminated widely to new staff, senior staff, volunteers, vendors, and others affiliated with your organization.
• Your training curriculum is customized for your industry and your working environment, analyzing your industry's high-risk factors and your previous history.
• Your external reporting of harassment and other misconduct (app-based through Amplify.AllVoices) set up to complement multiple reporting channels and promote a culture of reporting potential harmful behavior.
• Your external investigation protocols (through Amplify.AllVoices) promote neutrality and effectiveness, deter retaliation, and transparently shared with your staff.
• You have remedies and consequences for prohibited behavior that allow for consistent application and have a deterrent effect, using a customized threat scale. 

Safe and Inclusive Meetings: Code of Conduct Enforcement

As a meeting planner or conference staff, you know how important it is to provide a safe and inclusive environment for your attendees. A fundamental way to do that is to have a code of conduct that communicates your expectations to all attendees that your conference or meeting will be safe and inclusive for all participants. Our meeting planning and code of conduct enforcement services help ensure that your event remains a safe space for all attendees and that those engaged in harassment or other misconduct understand the consequences of this behavior.

Navigating Toxic Workplace Situations

I use my unique set of skills and experiences to help you navigate your toxic workplace situation. I'm an experienced employment lawyer, but not your lawyer who will represent you in litigation. I'm familiar with workplace laws, government agencies, and helpful workplace resources. Understand what rights you do and, unfortunately, don't have. Sometimes you need someone to listen to your toxic work situation and then offer you practical advice to move forward.

Laurie Weidner, APR, MA

CEO of Parent Education Partners, teams with colleges and universities to proactively engage parents/families to boost admissions, reduce summer melt, close achievement gaps, and increase retention and completion rates.  All strategic plans and solutions are research-based, culturally relevant. The crafting creates strategies to align and advance institutional goals relating to admissions, recruitment, philanthropy, financial aid, marketing communications, campus culture, and the expansion of partnerships to enrich student learning and success. 

Website: www.parenteducationpartners.com  

Linked In profile:  www.linkedin.com/laurieweidner

Laurie is available for consulting/speaking engagements on the following topics: 

PARENT/FAMILY EDUCATION AND ENGAGEMENT: More than two decades of research affirm that when parents/families engage as educational partners, college students earn higher GPAs, take more courses, persist, and graduate.  Laurie conducts research reviews and develops customized strategic action plans to integrate and align parent/family education and engagement with institutional goals. Her mission is to equip parents/families – especially first-gen, Pell, and families of color -- with the tools they need to be authentic educational partners. The latter mentor their students through to degree completion.  She has expertise in educating and engaging highly diverse parents/families using today's technology and generational research.  Laurie teaches workshops for front-line employees to be effective communicators with parents/families.  She also serves as a keynote speaker or workshop presenter for parents/families on a wide range of topics that help them to help their students succeed.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS & COMMUNICATIONS: A national award-winning public affairs and PR practitioner who led university communications units for nearly 20 years, Laurie is available to evaluate and counsel your campus on internal and external relations.  She specializes in helping campuses to strengthen the campus culture and expand external partnerships to support student success.

MEDIA AND LEGISLATIVE SPOKESPERSON TRAINING:  Laurie has trained college presidents, Cabinet leaders, and board members to serve as effective media and legislative spokespersons.  She conducts customized training sessions based on the issues and opportunities of each campus. The training sessions can be offered one-on-one or delivered for small or large groups.

REPUTATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING

Laurie has 30 years of experience in reputational management and crisis communications planning and implementation and holds FEMA certifications.  She is available to provide consultation and support for your team with messaging and strategy development during reputational crises. 

Elisa Camahort Page

Elisa Camahort Page is an expert on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She is best known as the founding COO of BlogHer, Inc, where she built the company by building community, coalitions, and the case for both an entirely new market and a growth strategy built on a foundation of inclusivity. Founded in 2005, BlogHer grew from a grassroots phenomenon to a national women's media brand and sold in 2014. Elisa stayed as Chief Community Officer of the acquiring company until 2017. She subsequently co-authored Amazon #1 New Release Road Map for Revolutionaries: Resistance, Activism, and Advocacy for All, published by Ten Speed Press in September 2018.

 

Elisa is a writer, public speaker and has advised leaders from fledgling entrepreneurs to major media companies to make the most of opportunities when content, community, and commerce collide. She also sits on several boards, and advisory committees focused on the intersection of tech, media, and social justice. Forbes, Fast Company, and Fortune have honored her for her work. Elisa has spoken at SXSW, TEDx, and the 92nd Street Y, and has published in the Wall Street Journal, Mashable, and Fortune Magazine.

Elisa's guiding principle is that Innovation+Empathy>Innovation+Efficiency.

Consulting Expertise:

• Walking the Inclusive Culture Talk: Align your Processes, Procedures, and Policies with the Culture You Want.

• Creating Inclusive Content, Community, and Communications Strategies

• Being an Inclusive Leader: Strategies for Allies and Mentors