Archives of Staff

Anne Larkin is associate director of communications for the College Excellence Program, focused on amplifying promising practices and good ideas that can make impact in the field. Before joining CEP, Anne was a senior strategist at an experience design agency, working with education, nonprofit, and corporate clients on strategic communications and content development work. She […]

Noah Brown is a program coordinator with the College Excellence Program, where he provides support to the Aspen Presidential Fellowship. Prior to joining Aspen, Noah worked in student affairs at Northeastern University and in a variety of nonprofit settings focused on reducing barriers of access. Noah is passionate about ensuring that colleges support students both […]

Leanne Wieland is a program manager at the College Excellence Program and leads curriculum development for state-based delivery of curricular modules and other initiatives that prepare leaders for transformational reform of their colleges. Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, Leanne worked at Forsyth Technical Community College as the Manager for Faculty Development and Quality Assurance […]

Kimbell Dobbins is a program associate on the Rising Presidents Fellowship team. She went to Furman University for undergrad. While there, she was a classics major (Latin and Greek history, language, and literature) and developed a passion for higher ed. She then went to Clemson University for grad school and received an M.Ed. in counselor […]

Dr. Kimberly M. Lowry is the director of leadership initiatives for our program and an alumna of our Rising Presidents Fellowship. Prior to joining CEP, Kim served as the vice president for instruction and student services at Lone Star College-Houston North in Texas, where she worked with faculty and staff to assist students in completing […]

Ben Fresquez is a senior program manager with the College Excellence Program. He supports the American Talent Initiative, the Transfer Scholars Network, and other innovative programs addressing higher education quality, equity, and efficiency. Ben’s responsibilities in the American Talent Initiative (ATI) include: supporting the network of high-graduation-rate four-year institutions committed to enrolling and graduating more […]

Rebecca Wrenn is the executive assistant on the College Excellence Program’s bachelor’s attainment team. Rebecca provides administrative support to Tania LaViolet, the team’s director, and supports the broader team with scheduling, processes, and meeting management. Before joining CEP, Rebecca served as an event planner and administrative coordinator at Gator Boosters, Inc.  She received her BA from […]

Tess Henthorne is a senior program manager at the College Excellence Program. She leads research and workshops aimed at helping community colleges drive strong labor market outcomes for students, including projects on college – employer partnerships and excellence and equity within career and technical education. Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, Tess supported teaching pedagogy […]

LaKisha “LC” Chenault is an administrative coordinator on the operations team at the College Excellence Program. In her role, she provides operational and administrative support including expense processing, meeting planning and logistics, and onboarding of new employees. Before joining CEP, LaKisha worked as a contractor supporting the Marine Corps in supply chain management, logistics, procurement […]

Amanda Kirsch is the program and operations manager at the College Excellence Program. In her role, Amanda supports all of CEP’s initiatives by providing operational, administrative, and logistical support to the program as a whole and to various projects as needed. Before joining the Aspen Institute, she worked as the program manager at Brainfood, a […]