"Lead Like a Woman" A Panel Discussion
When: Friday, August 27, 2024 - 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 pm.
Where: Via Zoom
GUEST PANELISTS
Dr. Yves Salomon-Fernández
President
Urban College of Boston
Dr. Yves Salomon-Fernández is the President of Urban College of Boston. She assumed the role in August 2023. Prior to joining Urban, Dr. Salomon-Fernández served as Senior Vice President for Operations Planning at Southern New Hampshire University. Before SNHU, Dr. Salomon-Fernández led several community colleges as president in Massachusetts and New Jersey.
Dr. Salomon-Fernández is committed to service in her discipline and communities. She serves on the Accountability and Assistance Advisory Council for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Inclusive Economies initiative that creates private-public partnerships to ensure full economic participation in urban and rural communities. She is a former member of the Federal Reserve Bank’s Community Development Advisory Council and a former Corporator of Greenfield Cooperative Bank. Dr. Salomon-Fernández periodically serves as a reviewer for the National Science Foundation and Johns Hopkins University Press. She is currently on the Editorial Board for Wiley’s New Directions for Community College journal.
Dr. Salomon-Fernández is a current member of the Board of Directors at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). She also serves as the Board Chair of Mass Humanities and as a member of the Board of Double Edge Theater in rural western Massachusetts. She also serves on the Advisory Board of Eaglebrook School in Deerfield and Codman Academy located in Boston.
Dr. Salomon-Fernández understands first-hand the challenges and opportunities of college faculty. As an adjunct faculty member, she has taught at the undergraduate and graduate levels at Boston College, William and Mary, the University of Massachusetts—Amherst, and Salem State University, among others.
In January 2021, Dr. Salomon-Fernández received the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)-Cengage Inclusion Scholarship, recognizing her accomplishments as an inclusive leader in higher education whose efforts have reduced equity gaps, improved inclusion and belonging for minoritized students, and/or promoted diversity in hiring practices. In March 2018, Diverse Issues in Higher Education named her one of the Top 25 Women in Higher Education.
Dr. Salomon-Fernández emigrated with her family from Haiti and is a graduate of Boston Latin School. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston and holds a certificate from the University of Oxford. Her master’s degree is from the London School of Economics, and her Ph.D. is from Boston College. In addition to English, Dr. Salomon-Fernández is fluent in Haitian Creole, French, and Spanish. Her personal website may be accessed here www.prezyves.org. Her social media handle is @PrezYves.
Dr. Ellen Kennedy
President
Berkshire Community College
Dr. Ellen Kennedy has served as President of Berkshire Community College (BCC) since 2012. She believes in the power of transformation and the vital role communities play in supporting the transformative experience. She has pursued opportunities in her work and her volunteer commitments to create and support healthy communities in the Berkshires and beyond. At BCC, Dr. Kennedy has spearheaded efforts to create accessibility to higher education for all.
Previously, she served as BCC’s Vice President for Administration and Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining the College, she served as Interim Chief Operating Officer of National Patient Safety Foundation, the Director of Development at WFCR – Public Radio for Western New England, Chief Advancement Officer for Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and President of the MCLA Foundation.
Dr. Kennedy is a Commissioner of the New England Commission of Higher Education and has served on the Boards of Berkshire Health Systems, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, Berkshire Visitors Bureau, the Massachusetts Workforce Incentive Board, Mass Hire – Berkshires and the Pittsfield School Building Needs Commission. She is a tri-Chair of the Governor’s Berkshires Skills Cabinet and a founder and member of the Executive Committee of the Berkshire Leadership Impact Council. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Berkshire Education Task Force, the Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC), and the Massachusetts Economic Empowerment Trust Fund.
Dr. Kennedy holds a BS in Business Administration from MCLA (formerly North Adams State College), an MBA from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst, an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and an EdD from Northeastern University.
Contact:
info@aawccnatl.org
http://www.aawccnatl.org
