ANTHOLOGY EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER

Chris came to Washington to attend college and has been at the intersection of politics and education ever since.

A Washington political advocate and strategic advisor for the education sector, Chris has a particular interest in supporting organizations that are disrupting the status quo. At its core, Chris's work is about getting to a meaningful and lasting result that supports the mission of his clients, which is simply to provide the best and most affordable education for all.

Chris understands education policy, which spans all corners of education, from pre-K through primary, secondary, and postsecondary, from institutions and trade associations to technology companies and investors. Drawing on his intuitive understanding of political dynamics, Chris proactively spots opportunities so that his clients can work collaboratively with policymakers and stakeholders. Conversely, when an agency takes an adverse action, he helps to shape strategies that ultimately lead to a favorable conclusion.

Most recently, Chris helped several clients secure the inclusion of favorable language in the long-awaited reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). His clients also obtained some of the few education policy riders in the latest series of appropriations bills. Chris, his colleagues, and his clients are currently gearing up for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA).

A consummate lifelong learner, Chris has a diverse network of experts to whom he can turn for more information or the occasional policy debate. If he does not know the answer, he knows who does. Chris was named to National Law Journal's 40 Under 40 list in 2014 (by ALM Media).

Dr. Ivory A. Toldson is the national director of Education Innovation and Research for the NAACP, professor of counseling psychology at Howard University and editor-in-chief of The Journal of Negro Education. Previously, Dr. Toldson was appointed by President Barack Obama to devise national strategies to sustain and expand federal support to HBCUs as the executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (WHIHBCUs). He also served as president and CEO of the QEM Network and contributing education editor for The Root, where he debunked some of the most pervasive myths about African-Americans in his Show Me the Numbers column. Dr. Toldson is the executive editor of the Journal of Policy Analysis and Research, published by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. He is also the author of Brill Bestseller, No BS (Bad Stats): Black People Need People Who Believe in Black People Enough Not to Believe Every Bad Thing They Hear about Black People. Dr. Toldson is ranked among the nation’s top education professors as a member of Education Week’s Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings, an annual list recognizes university-based scholars across the nation who are champions in shaping educational practice and policy.

Scholarship and Advocacy
Dr. Toldson was dubbed a leader "who could conceivably navigate the path to the White House" by the Washington Post, one of "30 leaders in the fight for Black men," by Newsweek Magazine, and the "Problem Solver" by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. Dr. Toldson, according to former U.S. Secretary Arne Duncan, is "a prolific young scholar and myth buster." According to NPR, Dr. Toldson has "a desire to shed new light on old issues." A sought after speaker, Dr. Toldson has been featured on MSNBC, C-SPAN2 Books, NPR News, POTUS on XM Satellite Radio, and numerous national and local radio stations. In print, his research has been featured in The Washington Post, CNN.com, The New York Times, The Root, The National Journal, Essence Magazine, BET.com, The Grio, and Ebony Magazine.

Dr. Toldson was named in the 2013 and 2014 The Root 100, an annual ranking of the most influential African-American leaders. His body of research was featured in The Foundation Center report, Building a Beloved Community, for his role in shaping sponsored programs for Black male achievement. Dr. Toldson was awarded the: Equity Champion Award from the New York City Department of Education; Outstanding Alumni Award from Penn State Black Alumni Association; Top 25 Forensic Psychology Professors, ForensicsColleges.com; and The Emerging Scholar designation from the Diverse Magazine.

Dr. Toldson was promoted to full professor while on leave from Howard University to serve President Obama’s administration. He spent 3.5 years at Southern University and A&M College (SU), in Baton Rouge, LA, and more than a decade at Howard University in Washington, DC. At SU, Dr. Toldson was named young researcher of the year after successfully competing for the prestigious W.E.B. DuBois Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Justice. Dr. Toldson continued a high level of research productivity at Howard University, evidence by publishing 4 books, and more than 65 scholarly publications including articles in peer-refereed journals, book chapters, and policy reports. Dr. Toldson became the Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Negro Education (established 1932) in 2008, where he lead an effort to modernize The Journal, moving it to an online platform for peer reviews and subscriptions, while keeping it independently owned and run by Howard University. His efforts attracted many new international subscribers.

Policy and Executive Leadership
Dr. Ivory A. Toldson was appointed by President Barack Obama to be the executive director, for the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In addition to ongoing work with elected officials, government executives, HBCU leaders and advocacy groups, Dr. Toldson conceptualized the White House Initiative on HBCUs All-Stars program, which identifies and engages the top HBCU scholars. He also co-authored a series of blogs on federal sponsorships for various federal agencies and hosted a series of webinars, in an effort to increase the approximately $6 billion of federal revenue that flows to 100 HBCUs.

Dr. Toldson has also served as senior research analyst for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. There, he conceptualized, developed and authored the Breaking Barriers series for CBCF, which analyzed success indicators for school-aged Black males. The Breaking Barriers series has been featured in numerous publications. Dr. Toldson has worked effectively with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and their staff to organize national and district level forums on educational equity and access. In his role, Dr. Toldson interacted with many foundation executives and corporate sponsors to raise revenue for CBCF programs, including research and scholarships.

Dr. Toldson has varied executive leadership experiences and has served many advisory boards. He is an executive board member of The Mount Vernon Triangle Community Improvement District a private, nonprofit organization established to enhance the overall quality of life for residents, visitors, employees and property owners in the Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood of Washington, DC. He is also an advisory board member for Generation Ready and the Morehouse Research Institute, and on the board of directors for the National Council on Educating Black Children, a premier non-profit and civil rights organization with a distinguished focus on improving educational opportunities and outcomes for African American children.

Preparation and Personal
After completing coursework for a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at Temple University, Dr. Toldson became a correctional and forensic psychology resident at the United States Penitentiary. There, he completed his dissertation on Black Men in the Criminal Justice System. He also served as the clinical director of the Manhood Training Village. He has received formal training in applied statistics from the University of Michigan, and held visiting research and teacher appointments at Emory, Drexel, and Morehouse School of Medicine. Since graduate school, Dr. Toldson has had a career-long affiliation with HBCUs and takes pride in his ability to promote HBCU scholarship and being an example of professional talent cultivated at HBCUs. He holds an honorary doctorate from Florida Memorial University. He is married to Marshella Toldson, and together, they are raising their daughter, Makena and their son, Ivory Kaleb.

Dr. Applegate’s career in higher education and philanthropy focuses on developing policies and practices to dramatically increase college success, especially for underserved groups. He currently serves on the Executive Committee and Board of the Associated Colleges of Illinois and is a former Visiting University Professor in and Director of the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University. He consults with various organizations supporting equity and student success in higher education.

He was the Executive Director for the Illinois Board of Higher Education. As Illinois’ state higher education executive officer, Jim led a $2 billion higher education enterprise to dramatically increase college attainment, improve college affordability, and close opportunity gaps in Illinois. Jim served as Senior Vice President and head of grant making for the Lumina Foundation, one of the largest and most influential higher education foundations in the nation. There he led development of new approaches to support increased degree production, fairness, and productivity in higher education. He advocated for improving education policy at the international, federal, state, and institutional levels. Jim was chief academic officer for the state of Kentucky. During his tenure Kentucky led the nation in higher education attainment increases. He served as Senior Academic Advisor for Navitas developing strategies to support the internationalization of U.S. higher education.

Jim was President of the National Communication Association, the world’s largest association of communication scholars and the Southern States Communication Association. He was a professor and department chair at the University of Kentucky for 20 years, also serving as the elected University Senate Chair. He was selected as an American Council on Education Fellow and currently serves on the ACE Fellows Board. He serves on boards and advisory groups with numerous higher education and non-profit organizations. He was a University Fellow and received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. His research received numerous awards for outstanding contributions to the field, including the national prize for outstanding dissertation in his discipline. He has been honored by national and state organizations for his leadership and commitment to improving higher education equity and performance.

Jim is active in volunteer work, serving on the Education Advisory Board of United Way of Central Illinois, the State Council for Third Act Illinois fighting climate change, the Board Executive Committee of the Illinois Symphony, and working with various local, state, and national organizations focused on strengthening democracy and mitigating man-made climate change.

Sergio Mena Jara is currently President of Universidad Gabriela Mistral in Santiago, Chile, the first private university of this country with a tradition of over 42 years in the Chilean educational system. Before being appointed to this position, he worked in different roles in Universidad San Sebastian also in Santiago, Chile, which is also a very important and influential private university in the country. In this institution he was the Vice-Chancellor of Graduate and Professional Development, Dean of the School of Business and Economics, and the Vice-Chancellor of Economic and Administration Affairs for many years. In these roles, he was in charge of developing and implementing various projects such as the USS Online Learning department, the USS Language Center, the Certification and Labor Skills Center for prior knowledge recognition, and the Professional Development and Continuing Education Center.

In the administrative area, he is currently a board member of SkyAirlines - a prominent airline company in Latin America. He is also a board member of Symbiox, a company dedicated to the research and development of biotech projects and co-owner of a chain of restaurants in Santiago, Chile. Besides these administrative roles, he has also been an undergraduate and graduate professor for over 25 years, thesis advisor, and lecturer at national and international conferences.

Sergio Mena has an MBA from the Diego Portales University of Chile, Master in Finance from the Adolfo Ibañez University of Chile, Master in International Business Management from the School of Industrial Organization of Spain, Engineer in Business Administration from INACAP, with extensive experience leading academic projects in the area of higher education, in administration and financial management.

Dr. Szymon Machajewski is a prolific code writer and gamification leader focused on student engagement through learning analytics. Dr. Machajewski has taught computer science since 2003 and is also certified in mental health first aid. He is a member of the Anthology Community Leadership Circle—a governance board appointed to lead and influence initiatives for the global education community. He also serves on the EDUCAUSE Student Success Analytics CG Steering Committee and UIC Electronic Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Policy Committee.

Robert E. Carpenter is Deputy Chief Information Officer, Associate Provost for Analytics, and Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). He has previously served at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond as Senior and Lead Financial Economist in Banking Supervision and Regulation and was Vice Chair of the Bank’s Risk Prioritization Committee. He is a past member of the Executive Committee for the APLU’s Commission on Information, Measurement, and Analysis (CIMA). He is a past president of the UMBC Faculty Senate, co-chaired UMBC’s most recent accreditation review, and directed and managed the university’s Self Study process.

Kelly Hermann is the Vice President of Accessibility, Equity and Inclusion for the University of Phoenix. Her oversight includes the university’s accessibility initiative, including the evaluation and remediation of curricular resources. Her supervision spans the Accessibility & Disability Services Office, which provides accommodations to students with disabilities. She also oversees the Office of Educational Equity, which works with university stakeholders, community partners and corporate sponsors to create an inclusive educational environment for the students, faculty and staff. Prior to joining the University of Phoenix, Ms. Hermann was the Director of Disability Services for SUNY Empire State College for 12 years.