Illinois Higher Education Equity Symposium

Having worked in higher education for over 25 years, Dr. Dan Mahony has served in roles from professor to president. He is a respected, consultative leader who has demonstrated the ability to bring a community together around shared goals which is why he was chosen to be the 10th President of Southern Illinois University beginning in March 2020.

Originally from Clinton, New Jersey, Dr. Mahony earned a B.S. in accounting from Virginia Tech, an M.S. in sport management from West Virginia University, and a Ph.D. in sport management from Ohio State University. He and his wife Laura have two children, Gavin and Elena.

Before his academic career, Dr. Mahony worked in both public accounting and intercollegiate athletics. He is an active researcher in the areas of sport consumer behavior and intercollegiate athletics.

Dr. Mahony has received many awards for his work. Most recently, he was the 2020 recipient of the Charles Whitcomb Service Award given by the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA) which recognizes individuals who foster diversity and inclusion within the intercollegiate athletics community. 

Dr. Austin Lane became the 27th Chancellor of Southern Illinois University Carbondale on July 1, 2020. Under his leadership, SIU Carbondale launched its strategic plan, Imagine 2030, focusing on student success, diversity, branding, research, and sustainability. Since Dr. Lane joined SIU, freshman enrollment has increased, and more local students are choosing SIU Carbondale.

Chancellor Lane introduced the Saluki Commitment and Saluki Transfer Commitment, ensuring financial aid covers tuition for qualified Illinois students. He also started the Saluki Step Ahead program for community college graduates and formed partnerships with school districts and youth organizations, including Chicago Hope. He revitalized the Dr. Seymour Bryson Future Scholars Program and the Chancellor's Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion.

Before SIU, Dr. Lane held various leadership roles in higher education, including President of Texas Southern University and Executive Vice Chancellor at Lone Star College System. He has served on multiple boards and committees, including Southern Illinois Healthcare and the NCAA Honors Committee. He received an Honorary State FFA Degree in 2024 and numerous awards, such as the 2022 100 Black Men of America "Rising Star" award.

A New Jersey native, Chancellor Lane earned a B.A. in psychology from Langston University, an M.A. in human relations from the University of Oklahoma, and an Ed.D. in higher education administration from the University of Alabama. He is married to Loren Lane and has three children, Lauren, Chase, and Lance.

Dr. Jasmine Haywood is a strategy director at Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation that is committed to making opportunities for post-secondary learning beyond high school available to all. In that role, she leads a portfolio of work that focuses on increasing student success outcomes at four-year institutions. She also supports a portfolio focused on catalyzing employer-aligned credentials at four-year institutions.

Before joining Lumina, Haywood was a visiting faculty member in the Department of Educational Leadership at Indiana State University. Prior to joining ISU, she was the managing editor for the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, a research assistant at IUPUI’s Center for Urban and Multicultural Education, and an admissions counselor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Haywood has published peer-reviewed scholarship in the areas of minoritized students in higher education and faculty of color. She holds master’s and doctoral degrees in higher education and student affairs from Indiana University.

Wendi Wills El-Amin, M.D. is the Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. She is a Professor at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine where she provides care at the Center for Family Medicine in Springfield. Dr. El-Amin is dually appointed to the SIU’s Department of Medical Education where she serves as an academic strategist.

El-Amin served as Assistant Dean of Medical Education at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville (2007-10). She also served as director of outreach at the Center on Health Disparities Director of the UVA Cancer Center Health Disparity Initiative (2006-10) and as an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and public health (2005-10), all at the University of Virginia. El-Amin was in private practice at Wills Diagnostic Clinic in Houston, TX. (2001-03).

She completed her residency in family practice and community medicine as chief resident at the University of Texas-Houston (2001). She earned her medical degree at Georgetown Medical School (1998) and a bachelor’s degree in biology at Hampton University in Virginia (1993).

El-Amin is board-certified in family medicine and is a member of the National Medical Association, where she chaired the Women’s Health Section (2008 – 2019). She has been a community health advocate and activist. She is the proud mother of three daughters, who she affectionately calls earth, wind, and fire.

She is presently a board member of the Community Foundation of the Land of Lincoln. Springfield YMCA, and Springfield Memorial Hospital and Foundation. She is the recipient of the SIUSOM J. Dorsey Teaching Award, the Springfield chapter of N.A.A.C.P. Webster award, and was named one of the 2022 Women of Influence by the Springfield Business Journal.

She has a passion for addressing health disparities and inequities in healthcare.

Dr. Paul Frazier holds a Doctorate in Education Leadership, a Masters in Educational Mid-Management, a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction and a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas Tech University. Dr. Frazier currently serves as Vice Chancellor for Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Previously, he served as the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the University of South Alabama. He has taught as an adjunct instructor at Texas Tech University, teaching both undergraduate and graduate level education courses. He served in public education for 24 years as the Executive Director of Student Administrative Services, a high school principal, middle school assistant principal, and alternative school assistant principal. He has also taught History and English on the high school and middle school levels, in addition to coaching several high school sports.

Dr. Frazier has served on various civic and community boards. He has served as a board member for the Carbondale Boys and Girls Club, SIH Patient and Family Advisory Council, Region 1 Disportionality Texas Statewide Representative for Child Protective Services, as a board member of the Lubbock American Diabetes Association, is a member of the American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity, is a member of Mobile United, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He is a member of the Mobile Area 100 Black Men. He has previously served as a board member for the Texas Diversity Council and is board member for the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education.

In March 2021, Dr. Harris was named Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's (SIUE) inaugural Vice Chancellor for Anti-racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Her strategic vision includes operationalizing inclusive excellence at all levels of the institution to ensure an equity-minded and student-centered campus culture.

Prior to her current position, Harris served as Assistant Provost for Academic Equity and Inclusion Excellence. An accomplished teacher and scholar of 20th century African American History, she is also a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of History and formerly served as Director of the Black Studies Program at SIUE.

Dr. Harris serves on the board of several organizations, including the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the Illinois State Archives and Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Boards, and the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education. She is also chair of the Faculty Council for the Change, Create, Transform Foundation (CCTF), a 501(C)(3) based in New York. Dr. Harris is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Harris has earned awards including the St. Louis Business Journal's Champion for Diversity and Inclusion award, the Change, Create, Transform Foundation's Humanitarian Awards, the Metro Area Professional Organization's Distinguished Professor Achiever in Education Awards, the Dillard University 40 under 40 Awards, the SIUE Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award, and the SIUE Phenomenal Woman Award.

Harris earned both her PhD and Master of Arts in history from Cornell University and her Bachelor of Arts, also in history, from Dillard University.

 Dr. Sheila Caldwell  currently serves as the Vice President of Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Chief Diversity Officer for the Southern Illinois University System in Springfield, Illinois. She works across the campuses in Springfield, Carbondale, Edwardsville, and East St. Louis to strengthen equity and ensure a level playing field for all students, staff, and faculty members. During her tenure she has collaborated with SIU team members to develop a system-wide Land Acknowledgement Statement, Antiracism Vision Statement, Inclusion Language Guide, and conduct a system-wide campus climate survey. Prior to joining Southern Illinois University in July 2021, Dr. Caldwell served as the inaugural Chief Intercultural Engagement Officer for Wheaton College. She collaborated across the college to create the first Christ-Centered Diversity Commitment Statement, Flourishing for All Diversity Strategic Plan, and Gender Equity Vision Statement. During her tenure, she also implemented, expanded, and sustained faculty mentoring programs, inclusive hiring training, and employee strategic advisory councils for Asian, African American. and Latinx faculty and staff members.

Most recently, she has received notable awards for championing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The SIU System is the only system in the country to receive the 2022 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award. She has been honored by the Quad County Urban League as a 2020 Women of Power Honoree and by SHE Chicago for Strong, Humble, and Empowering leadership. Caldwell earned a Doctorate in Education from the University of Georgia. She completed Harvard Kennedy School Strategies for Building and Leading Diverse Organizations Executive Education program.

Dr. James T. Minor became the 10th Chancellor of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on March 1, 2022. Upon assuming the role, he expressed his deep honor in serving SIUE and the broader SIU System, emphasizing the university’s mission to unlock human potential, broaden access with a strong emphasis on equity, and bolster the institution’s intellectual, social, and economic footprint in the region.

Prior to his appointment at SIUE, Dr. Minor held several pivotal roles in higher education and public service. He was appointed by the Obama Administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Postsecondary Education in the U.S. Department of Education, initially under Secretary Arne Duncan, then under Secretary John King Jr until 2016.

In 2016, Minor became Assistant Vice Chancellor and Senior Strategist of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system - the largest and most diverse four-year public university system in the United States. Minor was appointed to provide leadership for the system's signature initiative Graduation Initiative 2025, aimed at dramatically improving degree completion rates for underrepresented students, facilitating faculty innovation and implementing major system-wide policy reform. In 2018, the CSU reported that graduation rates reached all-time high and the lowest rate of equity gaps among minority and underrepresented students

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Dr. Minor holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Master’s in Sociology from the University of Nebraska, and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Jackson State University. He is recognized as a thought leader in areas including educational policy, higher education administration, and academic governance.

Dr. Lisa Castillo-Richmond has served as Executive Director of the Partnership for College Completion (PCC), a leading Illinois nonprofit dedicated to eliminating degree completion disparities and advancing equity in higher education. She joined the PCC executive team at its inception in 2016 as founding Managing Director and assumed the Executive Director role in 2021.

Under her leadership, PCC has evolved into a nationally recognized voice for racial and socioeconomic equity in higher education, driving policy initiatives, publishing influential research, and advocating for increased state investments in institutions and need-based aid. Dr. Castillo-Richmond has also served as a commissioner on Illinois’s Equitable Funding Commission for Public Universities and frequently testifies before state legislators to advance equitable funding policies.

As a first-generation college graduate, she brings personal insight into the hurdles students face, and she views PCC’s work as anchored in collaboration, data-driven strategy, and systemic transformation.

Paul Kendrick is the Director of Program Strategy for Hope Chicago, where he designs and implements initiatives that support debt-free college access for students and their families in Chicago’s South and West Sides.

Before joining Hope Chicago, he led the grassroots organization Rust Belt Rising, steering voter mobilization in battleground states and helping register over 130,000 volunteers. His background also includes roles in the Obama White House and the Pritzker for Governor campaign. Paul brings academic expertise to his work as an adjunct professor at National Louis University and co-authored "Nine Days: The Race to Save Martin Luther King’s Life and Win the 1960 Election" with his father.

Dr. Lisa C. Freeman serves as the 13th President of Northern Illinois University, officially stepping into the role in September 2018 after serving as Acting President since July 2017
myniu.com. In her leadership, she champions NIU’s mission, focusing on advancing social mobility, fostering high‑impact scholarship, engaging with the region, and cultivating an inclusive environment where students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds feel welcome and supported.

Before becoming president, Freeman built a strong academic and administrative foundation at NIU and beyond. She joined NIU in 2010 as Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and Professor of Biology. She later served as Executive Vice President and Provost, overseeing Academic Affairs, Human Resources, and Student Affairs. Prior to NIU, she spent 16 years at Kansas State University in roles including Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs and Associate Vice President for Innovation at K‑State Olathe, where she emphasized interdisciplinary collaboration, public‑private partnerships, and workforce development.

Dr. Freeman holds distinguished academic credentials and has earned national recognition for her leadership and scholarship. She earned a B.S. in 1981, followed by an M.S. and a D.V.M. in 1986 from Cornell University, then completed a Ph.D. at The Ohio State University in 1989. She also conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and was a Fellow of the American Council on Education (ACE) at the University at Buffalo for the 2004–05 academic year. Honors include being named Outstanding Veterinarian of the Year by the Association for Women Veterinarians in 2002, recognition among the Top 50 Women Leaders in Education in 2023 and 2024 by Women We Admire, and membership in The Chicago Network. She also serves on several boards, including Altus Academy, Brookfield Zoo, Campus Compact, the DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation, the DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association, and the Universities Research Association.

Ruben Abarca serves as Head of Partnerships at the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI), the University of Illinois System’s tech workforce development and applied research hub in Chicago.

In this role, he leads outreach and collaboration with corporate partners to deploy diverse and underrepresented tech talent into top employers across Chicago’s ecosystem, significantly advancing equity in tech careers. His strategic work has doubled the salaries of many trainees placed through DPI’s workforce programs and earned him recognition as a Notable Latino Leader by Crain’s Chicago Business in 2024.

Melinda Brock serves as Operations Manager at the American Institute for Boys and Men (AIBM), the nation’s first nonpartisan research and education organization dedicated to improving outcomes for boys and men. In this role, she also leads the Higher Education Male Achievement Collaborative (HEMAC), a joint initiative between AIBM and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. HEMAC addresses the troubling decline in male enrollment and completion in higher education, applying rigorous research to guide public policy and institutional response.

Before joining this field, Melinda built her career in the private sector, helping scale high-growth potential software companies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she pivoted to education, teaching high school business and computer science, a shift that deepened her insight into the issues facing today’s boys and young men. She earned her Master of Science from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Tennessee.

Kofi “Kizzle” Forson is the inspiring founder of Express Yourself Black Man (XYBM) and the creator of the A Black Man’s Safe Haven platform. XYBM has grown into the largest holistic healing initiative for Black menby Black men, comprising a podcast (over 120 episodes), active social communities (440,000+ followers), and powerful mental health resources.

A Black Man’s Safe Haven is a groundbreaking holistic healing app that connects Black men with Black mental health professionals, offers peer support (200–250+ men), and includes robust features like affirmation generators, a healing library, and weekly moderated sessions, empowering users to engage with their mental wellness without the stress of traditional therapy settings.

Kizzle is also the author of From Hurting to Healing: A Black Man’s Guide to Feeling, an ebook that marks his deeper dive into advocacy and education for mental health among Black men. His own journey through hardship, particularly during the pandemic, fueled his mission to create accessible, culturally affirming healing spaces, emphasizing that “vulnerability is a strength” and no man should heal alone.

Cherita Ellens is the President & CEO of Women Employed, a leading advocacy organization in Chicago dedicated to advancing economic equity for working women for over five decades. A native Chicagoan, longtime advocate for women, youth, families, and a caregiver herself, Cherita views her purpose as empowering marginalized communities toward self-sufficiency and agency.

Under her leadership, Women Employed has been instrumental in shaping and enacting policies such as paid leave, salary transparency, “no salary history” laws in Illinois, fair scheduling, workplace harassment protections, and a strengthened minimum wage, especially focused on closing the wealth gap at the intersection of gender and race.

Before assuming her current role (effective February 11, 2019), Cherita served as Executive Vice President for Skills for Chicagoland’s Future and held leadership roles within the YMCA, including Executive Director of the South Side and Wabash YMCAs and VP of Marketing & Membership for the Metropolitan Chicago branch, bringing expertise in strategy, communications, operations, and community engagement. She holds an Executive MBA from the University of Notre Dame and a Bachelor of Science in Speech Communications from Illinois State University.

Dominique “Dom” McKoy is the Executive Director of The To&Through Project at the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute; a research-to-action initiative focused on improving educational outcomes across the path from middle school through college for Chicago Public Schools students.

Originally from Portland, Oregon, Dom moved to Chicago in 2011 to mentor 9th-grade students on the city’s South Side, sparking a career-long commitment to equity in education. He later served as Deputy Director of To&Through and as Director of School Partnerships at OneGoal Chicago before becoming Executive Director. Dom earned his Master of Arts in Public Policy from the Harris School at UChicago and his BA from Kenyon College.

Through his leadership, To&Through supports school and system leaders with high-quality data and inquiry tools, fostering meaningful dialogue to dismantle inequity and build postsecondary pathways that students can access with both agency and dignity. In recent findings, the project highlighted meaningful shifts in educational attainment among CPS students, projecting that if current trends hold, 31% of 2023 9th-graders will earn a college credential within 10 years, compared to just 6% in 2006; while also pointing out persistent gaps, particularly for young Black men who are projected at 12% completion rates. Dom also serves on the board of Project OneTen, a mentoring program supporting young men of color in transitioning to high school. He’s also known to enjoy gardening and pick-up basketball when Chicago isn’t freezing.