Archives of Staff

Pascale Charlot is the Managing Director of the College Excellence Program (CEP).  She is a visionary and outcomes-driven leader deeply committed to student success. An alumna of Aspen’s year-long Rising President Fellowship, Pascale plays a lead role in crafting and overseeing CEP’s strategy to develop a network of transformational college presidents who share a relentless […]

Michelle Jeong is a program manager with the College Excellence Program. She serves on the Research and Innovation team, supporting the American Talent Initiative. Before joining Aspen, Michelle worked in the enrollment offices at Colgate University and American University. At Colgate she cultivated a partnership with Questbridge and spearheaded the redesign of the holistic review […]

Leigh Cooksey is a Senior Program Manager at the College Excellence Program where she focuses on developing curriculum for leadership initiatives, including the Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship and Aspen New Presidents Fellowship.  Prior to joining Aspen, Leigh worked in education at the school, district, and state levels. At Tennessee SCORE, a non-profit focused on delivering […]

Brian Creswick is a director at the College Excellence Program (CEP), where he leads the Operations team. His portfolio includes human capital, finance, fundraising, and management with a focus on continuously strengthening CEP’s capacity in these functions. Before joining Aspen, Brian spent two decades as an entrepreneur, business leader, and consultant. He led a nationwide […]

Ben Barrett is a senior program manager with the College Excellence Program. Prior to joining CEP, Ben supported higher education research and data sharing at the National Student Clearinghouse. Ben also previously worked in higher education policy research at New America with a primary focus on improving financial aid systems. Ben holds a Bachelor’s degree […]

Nora Ngo is a Program Associate on the Research & Innovation Team, where she supports the efforts of the American Talent Initiative and Transfer Scholars Network. Prior to joining Aspen, Nora worked at UCLA Center for Community College Partnerships as a peer advisor. She also volunteered to be a transfer mentor at UCLA Transfer Center. […]

Millicent Bender is a director at the College Excellence Program, where she oversees the development of curricula for leadership programs, including the Aspen Presidential Fellowships. Millicent manages partnerships for the deployment of curricula to state-based audiences of presidents, trustees, and other senior leaders, and leads the curriculum team in the synthesis of learning from across […]

Alex Anacki is a research associate with the College Excellence Program, primarily working on the next generation of Tracking Transfer & the Transfer Playbook. Within CEP, he focuses on using data and high-impact institutional practice to foster systems of higher learning that serve every student well. Before joining CEP, Alex supported postsecondary policy work at […]

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 […]

Tatiana Johnson is a Communications Associate with the College Excellence Program, where she provides support on digital media and events. She comes to Aspen from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities where she focused on using communications to connect underserved communities with tax credits and free tax filing services. She also interned at the […]