Concurrent Sessions B  

Beginning January 2024, Ruth Johnston began serving as Acting Vice President, NACUBO Consulting, in addition to her other consulting work through RAJ Consulting. Prior to that, Ruth served as the System Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Office at New Mexico State University. Over her nearly four-year tenure, Ruth oversaw areas including Finance & Business Services, Facilities, ERM & Safety, Human Resources, Information & Communication Technologies, Government & Community Relations, and Marketing & Communications. Before this, Ruth held the role of Vice-Chancellor at the University of Washington (UW) Bothell where she oversaw finance, facilities, IT, HR, and more. She held the position of Associate Vice President/Provost for many years at UW (Seattle). Her leadership included Financial Management, Planning & Administration, School of Nursing, Organizational Excellence, UW Extension, Training & Development, and Housing & Food Services. Ruth holds a doctorate in organizational development/higher education, a master's degree in human relations, and a bachelor's in counseling psychology/social sciences. Ruth served as President and Board Member of the Western Association of College & University Business Officers (WACUBO), and has served on boards of NACUBO, Network for Change and Continuous Innovation (NCCI), American Association for Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and the Institute for Student Services Professionals (ISSP).

Patricia Morales is the Vice Provost, Enrollment Management, Campus at the University of California, Irvine. As Vice Provost, Enrollment Management, Patty oversees the offices of the Enrollment Management Analytics, Undergraduate Admissions, Financial Aid and Scholarships and University Registrar. In this role, she works closely with campus leaders to advance their goals. As a minority thriving institution, Patty realizes that a diverse campus makes UCI richer, pushing campus leaders to be more curious and challenging all to be better. She also develops and enhances valuable partnerships with external constituents to support enrollment objectives. She believes UCI is uniquely positioned to create a future-ready campus that produces future-ready students. 

Patty earned her B.A. from Boston College before continuing her education with an M.A. from the University of Chicago, an M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School, and eventually a Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has had an extensive career in the field of education across teaching, research, residential life, and enrollment management at a range of institutions including the University of California, Santa Cruz, Stanford University, F. W. Olin College of Engineering, and Phillips Exeter Academy.

Darren Endo serves as the Director of Administration for the Division of Enrollment Management. From human resources to finance, he oversees the division’s management processes and activities to ensure resources are ready and available to achieve our goals and aspirations. As an Anteater Alum, Darren is proud to dedicate his professional career towards the principles and values of higher education and the personal and academic development of our young leaders. Darren values movement towards equity in our world with the understanding that overcoming life or societal challenges ultimately builds character and general grit. This general desire for a fair shake with emphasis on personal responsibility and accountability has continually pushed him towards excellence with integrity. Originally from Gardena, CA, this Southern California native enjoys traveling with his spouse and cocker spaniel. He also enjoys performing with Kishin Daiko (Japanese drum ensemble) and has had the unique opportunity to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards and Grammy Awards.

Bryan Jue is the Senior Director, Outreach & Communications at the University of California, Irvine. Bryan is a proud Anteater alum and has been at the university since 1997. Bryan began his professional career at UCI serving as the Campus Tours Coordinator before moving into roles of managing public information, the CRM database, and recruitment strategy for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Currently, he oversees the undergraduate admissions outreach efforts including all outbound communications to those populations. Bryan holds a B.A. in Criminology, Law, and Society from the University of California, Irvine, and a M.A. in Theology from BIOLA University. Bryan can often be found wandering around Disneyland with his family.

As the Director of Finance and Human Resources for UCI’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Courtney Sidler is responsible for the successful oversight of all business and administrative operations. In this role, she harnesses thoughtful resource management coupled with insightful planning and implementation of processes, controls, and assessments to help secure a robust future applicant pipeline. Before this role, she served as the Director of Business Administration for Center X, a research unit within the School of Education & Information Studies at UCLA. As a higher education business professional, her experience spans the UC enterprise. She holds an MBA from Chapman University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Ashley Cheri, Ed.D., serves as the P-20 Program Manager in the Center for Educational Partnerships at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) overseeing the Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP), Community College Programs, and K-16 Career Pathways. Prior to serving as P-20 manager, Ashley was the Director of the EAOP for six years. Prior to working at UCI, Ashley worked for close to 10 years at the community-based organization, Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA) where she served as program director for the Youth Education and Health departments in her final years of service to the organization. Ashley completed her B.S. in Health Science, M.S. in Higher Education, and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at California State University, Fullerton. Her passion involves creating pipelines/pathways to higher education for underserved, underrepresented communities. Additionally, her research interests include the development of service-learning curricula and how faculty engage with the community throughout the process

Patricia Realo Anderson is Assistant Director for the UCI Center for Educational Partnerships (CFEP) which supports the campus' educational access and equity efforts through educational partnerships and community engagement. She has 34 years of UC experience primarily at UCI with experience managing financial, human, and physical resources in the School of Medicine, Budget Office, Admissions, and CFEP. Patricia has also served on WACUBO Annual Host Committee since 2018 and is Host Chair for the 2024 Annual Conference in Anaheim. In 2023, she was appointed to the WACUBO Board of Directors and leads its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts as Chair of the DEI Board Committee.

James Bourgeois, J.D. works with Praesidium’s higher education institutions, youth-serving and athletic programs, municipalities, and insurance partners. He consults with clients to ensure they exceed the standards of abuse prevention and response. Additionally, James presently serves on the Board for the Higher Education Protection Network (HEPNet), and he is a licensed attorney. James has a Juris Doctorate (JD) from South Texas College of Law and attended Florida State University for his undergraduate degree.

Christopher Richmond, J.D.  serves as the University of California, Irvine, Campus Risk Manager, within the Division of Finance & Administration. Christopher holds a B.A. from the University of South Carolina and a J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After decades of civil litigation experience in New York, where he still holds a license to practice law, he transitioned into higher education and the risk management arena at Syracuse University (2013). Since 2017 he has worked within the University of California system, at UC Riverside (2017) and more recently, UC Irvine (2019 to present).

Working within an enterprise risk management structure he collaborates with all departmental units on insurance, claims, litigation and general “risk” issues. He acts as Co-Chair of the UCI CANRA Committee and UCI Risk Intelligence Committee, and is a member of the Emergency Operations Committee, Cybersecurity Oversight Committee, Research Security & International Engagement Committee, as well as performing important work within the Campus Hazing Prevention Committee.

Edward "Teddy" Niedermaier currently serves as Associate Director of Budget Management at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he specializes in data management, internal fee audit, and recharges, and co-leads Boulder's ongoing Anaplan budget tool implementation. Teddy is a classical musician and a former tenured professor of music at Roosevelt University (Chicago). He holds degrees in music composition from The Juilliard School and Indiana University, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Susan Nasher is the Associate Director of Budget & Academic Resource Analysis in the Office of the Provost at the University of Colorado Boulder. In her role supporting the academic affairs institutional budget, Susan co-leads the Anaplan Budget Tool design, build, and implementation. In addition, she co-leads the new program budget team that has developed new budgetary processes for degree, minor, and certificate proposals. Before her role at CU Boulder, Susan served as the Budget Manager for the University of Colorado Denver. At the Denver campus, Susan managed the institutional general fund budget and co-led the implementation of a shared budgeting system with Anschutz campus partners. Susan holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from California State University Channel Islands and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Colorado Denver.

Mela Fezzey, Managing Partner and CEO of Tru Consulting, brings over 25 years of invaluable experience as a higher education leader. Her passion lies in establishing connections within the higher education sector, providing solutions that bring clarity to complex issues, and operationalizing strategic decisions. With a wealth of university experience, Mela thrives on partnering with clients, and guiding them to incorporate proven methods and best practices into their strategic and financial management processes. Her commitment is evident in consistently partnering with clients to achieve their desired outcomes. Mela's leadership at Tru Consulting reflects her dedication to excellence and fostering genuine partnerships in the pursuit of positive impact within the education and public sector industries.

Ali Chalak, Moss Adams, Partner, has practiced public accounting since 2006. He serves a diverse spectrum of not-for-profit organizations and governmental entities, providing assurance and consulting services to micro-lenders, private and public foundations, associations, multiservice not-for-profit entities, and universities.Ali audits many organizations receiving federal funding under Uniform Guidance for Federal Awards (formerly OMB Circular A-133).