Meet the Presenters

Back to Main Page

2026 Women's Leadership Forum Keynote Speakers

 Dr. Angie Paccione | Colorado Department of Higher Education

Dr. Angie Paccione was appointed executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education by Gov. Jared Polis, assuming the role on Jan. 10, 2019, and unanimously confirmed by the Senate Education Committee on Jan. 17, 2019.

Dr. Paccione has more than 20 years of experience in secondary and postsecondary education. She was a high school teacher, coach, and administrator at Smoky Hill High School in the Cherry Creek School District before earning a Ph.D. in education and human resource studies from Colorado State University (CSU). There, Dr. Paccione served on the CSU faculty for nine years as a teacher educator in the “Project Promise” program, a nationally recognized program of excellence in teacher preparation for mid-career professionals. She also conducted research in the teacher education field, examining educators’ life events that led them to become committed to issues of diversity and inclusion. Her findings informed a teacher preparation program and were later published in Teacher’s College Press, which has been cited in over 75 academic papers.

Jamie Moraga | Author, REVERED: The Power of Female Leadership, and CEO, Franklin Revere

Jamie Moraga is the CEO of Franklin Revere LLC and the author of the Amazon bestselling book REVERED: The Power of Female Leadership. She previously served as President and CEO of intelliSolutions, inc., a woman-owned small business she led from founding through its successful acquisition in 2022, overseeing the full merger and acquisition process from initial discussions to close. With nearly two decades of leadership experience in the military and defense sector, Jamie specializes in business growth, strategic planning, and cultivating strategic and collaborative relationships that fuel organizational success. Her book, REVERED, shares real stories and lessons from female CEOs across every stage of the journey - from founding to exit - to inspire and equip current, aspiring, and future women leaders. Jamie is a past President and Advisory Board member of the San Diego Military Advisory Council (SDMAC), a former San Diego Chapter and national Board member of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), has been recognized on the “San Diego 500” Top Leaders list, as well as a “40 Under 40” honoree. She holds both her bachelor’s degree and MBA from the University of San Diego and lives in San Diego with her husband and son.

Tracy Latourette | Colorado's First Lady Fighter Pilot 

Tracy "JackieO" LaTourrette, "Colorado’s First Lady Fighter Pilot" and one of the first women in the world to fly fighter aircraft, has flown missions around the world as a combat mission-ready F-16 fighter pilot. 

Tracy graduated along with 88% men from the US Air Force Academy with a coveted appointment from President George H.W. Bush. She entered less than a decade after women commissioned and graduated before women were even authorized to fly combat aircraft.  Lieutenant Colonel LaTourrette retired after 22 years while serving as the Deputy Director of Operations at the Colorado National Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters.  She has a Bachelor of Science in Human Factors Engineering and is an Air War College grad with over 3,300 combined flying hours as a pilot and AWACS Air Weapons Director.  She earned countless medals and ribbons to include multiple Aerial Achievement Medals, Expert Marksman, Combat Readiness, and Top Gun / Turkey Shoot Champion.  Post 9-11 “JackieO” flew direct Presidential protection missions and flew in a classified location for Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

2026 Women's Leadership Forum Pre-Conference Workshop

Ahren Crickard

2026 Women's Leadership Forum Session Speakers

Dr. Mia Basic

Dr. Mia Basic is a Strategic HR Business Partner at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), with more than 20 years of senior-level human resources experience in higher education. She advises executive leaders on strategic workforce planning, organizational development, and culture-driven change, with a focus on aligning people, strategy, and institutional goals. In addition to her HR leadership work, Dr. Basic is honored to serve as an Assistant Adjunct Professor in UCSF’s Master of Science in Healthcare Administration and Interprofessional Leadership (MS-HAIL) program. Her current areas of focus include Collaborative AI, intergenerational workforce dynamics, inclusive leadership, and the future of work in higher education. A frequent conference presenter, she integrates data-informed strategy with human-centered leadership practices to support learning-ready, engaged, and inclusive organizations. Dr. Basic holds a Doctorate in Leadership, an MS in Human Resources, and a BS in Business and Information Systems.

Cheri Boer

Cheri Boer is an accomplished finance professional with over 30 years of experience in financial program management and data analysis. She holds an MBA in Accounting from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor's in Accounting from Arizona State University. Cheri has held leadership roles at Honeywell Aerospace, where she guided senior leaders, drove process improvements, and led the implementation of SAP financial systems. Her expertise spans budgeting, financial reporting, and predictive analytics, making her a valuable asset in driving organizational efficiency and financial success.

Teri Bumb

Teri Bump is the Vice President of University and Industry Relations. Teri presents nationally on university trends and issues and has delivered educational sessions at APPA, NASPA, ACUHO-I, NACUBO, NIRSA, ACPA, NACAS, and ACE Spectrum. Teri is a past ACUHO-I, ACPA and NACAS Foundation Board trustee and currently serves on the Leadershape Board of Directors. In 2007 she was awarded the ACUHO-I Corporate Friend Award for service to the association and received the Business Partner of the Year Award at the 2007 national NACAS conference and the 2010 ACPA Business Partner of the Year Award. She has been honored as a 2017 ACPA Diamond Honoree a 2018 Pillar of the Professions for NASPA and received a 2024 Parthenon award from ACUHO-I. In addition, she has recently joined the inaugural cohort of Senior Fellows for the Aspen Index. Prior to joining American Campus Communities in 1991, Teri served Boston University, Oberlin College, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, Texas Southern University, Alfred University and SUNY Oswego in student affairs. Teri received her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from SUNY Oswego and her master’s in College Student Development from Alfred University.

Araceli Cortez

Araceli Cortez is the Assistant Director of Talent Acquisition at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she leads strategic talent acquisition. She brings over seven years of progressive HR experience, including executive-level searches and talent management leadership. Araceli served as a member of the university’s Leadership Competency Framework (LCF) steering committee, contributing to the design and rollout of the framework. In her current role, she is embedding the LCF into hiring and recruiting strategies to align talent acquisition with the institution's LCF. Her expertise spans employer branding, succession planning, and leveraging HR technologies to streamline processes and enhance candidate experience.

Fabiola P. Ehlers-Zavala

Fabiola P. Ehlers-Zavala is Professor of English at Colorado State University and Senior Academic Officer for Semester at Sea. Within English studies, her specialization is in applied linguistics. As a bilingual expert (English/Spanish), she has expertise in the study of language for a variety of purposes (i.e., language learning/teaching, effective communication, cross-cultural and intercultural communication). With over thirty years of professional experience in US higher education, Fabiola is a seasoned academic leader with robust experience and expertise in developing and nurturing stakeholder relationships across for profit and non-profit sectors in US higher education and around the world. In the fulfillment of her professional duties, she has travelled to thirty-five countries.

Maderia Ellison

Maderia Ellison is currently the Vice President for Administrative Services and Chief Financial Officer at Northland Pioneer College (NPC), a two-year community college system that serves over 6,500 students annually in both Navajo and Apache counties, an area of 21,158 square miles, in northeastern Arizona. The Navajo, Hopi and White Mountain Apache Indian Reservations occupy more than sixty percent of the total land in the district service area and account for sixty percent of the population. Over her 18-year tenure with NPC, Ellison has played a pivotal role in furthering the college’s mission and strategic goals. 

Kelsey Finn

Kelsey joined Compass Group in 2022 as the Vice President for Strategic Initiatives. Kelsey is responsible for developing strategic relationships within Chartwells Higher Ed as well as other Compass sectors. In this role she identifies client opportunities, critical industry business challenges and best in class solutions. Kelsey has extensive experience in the Higher Education arena. Among other roles, Kelsey served as the CEO of NACAS (2016-2021) and Vice President and General Manager of Michigan Sports Properties as a part of LEARFIELD (2021-2022). She focuses on bringing together operations, sales, and client partners to leverage resources to provide the best possible service and experience for students.

Roberto Garza III

Roberto “RG” Garza III is a Senior Financial Manager with ASU’s Knowledge Enterprise Finance Department, where he oversees financial operations for the J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute. In this role, RG partners closely with program and operational leaders to design scalable systems that support complex, cross-functional initiatives. He has led efforts to modernize workflow tracking, reporting, and decision-support processes by implementing flexible, customizable tools that improve collaboration and leadership visibility. His work focuses on translating operational complexity into clear, actionable insights that support informed decision-making. RG’s background in sociology and justice studies informs a people-centered approach to system design, emphasizing clarity, adoption, and sustainable change.

Lauren Haverlock

Lauren has practiced public accounting since 2004. She provides compliance and consulting services for all types of exempt organizations, including public charities in the health care and higher education industries. Lauren consults on a wide range of issues including public support planning, reasonable compensation best practices, tax impact of alternative investments, lobbying and political activities, unrelated business income tax planning, foreign activities, charity watchdog optimization, and tax-exempt bond compliance.

Sarah Hintz

Sarah is a Principal with CLA and has more than 24 years of combined experience in public accounting, higher education, and private industry. She has worked with a variety of clients including tax-exempt organizations, colleges and universities, state and local governments, for-profit entities, nonresident alien taxpayers, and many others. Sarah currently supports CLA’s National Exempt Tax Practice (NExT) nationwide as the NExT Practice leader and the Higher Education industry tax leader. Sarah has served as a consultant in her time in public accounting in addition to aiding organizations internally in a management capacity in both accounting and compliance roles.

Tammy Lohr-Schweitzer

Tammy assesses operational performance for public sector organizations including state and local government, school districts, and higher education institutions. Her engagements are informed by rigorous analysis and employee engagement to evaluate operations, which may include the efficacy of existing organizational structure and resourcing strategies, enhancing workplace culture, identification of system needs, and streamlining processes. Tammy focuses on key elements of each engagement to develop high-quality deliverables that address client needs and meet applicable professional standards. By using a collaborative approach to working with her clients, she delivers projects and reports attuned to each client’s unique operating environment with recommendations designed to optimize organizational performance.

Jennifer McDuffie

Erin Mercurio

Erin Mercurio is the Senior Director of Finance and Information Technology and currently serves as the Business Officer for the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University. She began her career as an external auditor with KPMG, where she spent three years supporting clients across diverse industries. Erin joined Colorado State University’s central business office in 2009, contributing a decade of leadership in financial management and operational strategy. In 2019, she transitioned to the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences as the college office business officer. In January 2025, she assumed the role of business officer for the entire college, overseeing financial operations, strategic planning, and administrative systems. Erin is passionate about strengthening organizational effectiveness and supporting the academic and research missions of the university.

Sophia Montaño

Sophia Montaño, PHR serves as the Senior Human Resources Partner in the President’s Office at MSU Denver, where she leads strategic HR initiatives that align with institutional priorities. With extensive experience in performance management, organizational development, and leadership strategy, Sophia played a key role in designing and implementing MSU Denver’s Leadership Competency Framework (LCF). Her work focuses on creating equitable, practical systems that foster leadership growth and cultural transformation across all levels of the organization. Sophia brings expertise in change management and stakeholder engagement, ensuring HR practices drive both employee development and institutional success. She is passionate about building frameworks that empower individuals to lead and thrive in dynamic higher education environments.

Mary Lou Ortiz

Mary Lou D. Ortiz is the Chief Financial Officer and Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration at the University of California, Irvine. She manages a large, $6.7 billion operating budget and a $2.3 billion capital expenditure budget, ensuring responsible allocation of public and private financial resources to meet objectives including the health enterprise (health sciences and medical center). Mary Lou has broad experience leading administrative and financial operations at public and private research universities, strengthening those operations to best support the needs of each institution’s core programs. She held leadership roles at the Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Princeton University, and Columbia University prior to her current position at UC Irvine. In addition to her higher education experience, she was the senior director of budget and financial planning at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a global humanitarian aid, relief and development nongovernmental organization, where she oversaw the annual operating budget for the IRC’s 26 overseas offices and affiliates and 32 domestic operations. Mary Lou earned her MBA, M.P.A., and B.A. from Columbia University, and is a candidate for the doctorate in education in Penn State’s higher education program.

Ashlie Reese

Ashlie Reese is a Certified Public Accountant and Assurance Manager at CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), specializing in the higher education industry, with more than 20 years of experience in public accounting, auditing, and financial leadership roles.  Ashlie's background includes serving as Associate Vice President for Finance at an R1 public institution, where she led major initiatives to strengthen internal controls, enhance operational efficiency, and support institutional financial health.  Ashlie is known for her proactive approach, strong analytical skills, and ability to quickly assimilate complex concepts while managing diverse teams and fostering collaborative relationships.

Marlys Rybchenko

Lori Seager

Lori Seager serves as the vice president of finance and chief financial officer at Colorado College. Seager came to CC in 2019 and has served as associate vice president of finance for the college.  Prior to joining Colorado College, Lori was associate vice president for finance at University of Puget Sound; assistant vice president/controller and several other finance roles at New Mexico State University; and she worked in finance in health care as a CPA and an auditor. She earned her Bachelor of Accountancy degree from New Mexico State University and CPA certification from the State of New Mexico.

Lori has served as a volunteer for several years with professional associations supporting higher education finance and administration. Lori currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Western Association of College and University Business Officers (WACUBO) and is 1st vice president.  

Cris Sexton

Cris Sexton currently serves as the College Business Officer for the College of Natural Sciences at Colorado State University (CSU). She began her career at CSU as a principal auditor for the Office of Internal Audit and then moved to the College of Agricultural Sciences where she served as the Director of Strategic Initiatives. A primary responsibility in that role was building and maintaining relationships with internal and external stakeholders in support of the College’s strategic mission. Cris then served the department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences at CSU as the department business officer overseeing all aspects of the department administrative functions, including finance and budget, human resources, facilities and strategic leadership. Prior to her career in higher education, Cris worked for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a Director of Enforcement and as an assistant district attorney in North Carolina.

Carlos Sepulveda

Carlos Sepulveda serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives int the Office of the Chancellor. Carlos has 10 years of experience in higher education with roles in Pandemic Response Office, campus operations, and having served as the Chief of Staff for Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. Carlos has experience working across the breadth of campus organization and has experience implementing high impact projects across the institution. Carlos received his M.Ed from the University of Maryland, College Park researching military veterans and his B.S. from Florida State University in Psychology. Carlos is a veteran, having served in the U.S. Coast Guard.