How to Volunteer for NACUA
NACUA’s three strategic pillars are: Sustain Excellence, Enhance the Member Experience, and Innovate for the Future. As part of NACUA’s work to uphold and maintain these strategic pillars, we engage with our members and encourage volunteer participation in our programming and governance. Volunteer recruitment takes place with an ongoing attention to diversity and inclusiveness, so that all members can play a meaningful part in upholding NACUA’s mission. The call for volunteers opens in April each year.
As a result of active member participation in committees, advisory groups and editorial boards, the association is able to expand its reach considerably, respond to member needs effectively, and implement a broad array of programs and services successfully.
Committees, Advisory Groups and Editorial Boards
Board Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusivity
The council will review the progress of activities relative to each committee on which the individuals serve to ensure that the full breadth and depth of NACUA’s membership is represented in our offerings; review and monitor the association’s overall progress in this regard; and may assist the NACUA Chair and Board in reviewing and analyzing current or new ideas and activities or additional opportunities to enhance the diversity and inclusivity of NACUA and of its constituent institutions.
Chair
Janet Judge, Education & Sports Law Group
Staff Liaison
Ona Alston Dosunmu, President & Chief Executive Officer
Committee on Board Operations
The committee is responsible for the orientation and ongoing education of members of the board; assessments and evaluations of board effectiveness; and ongoing examination of NACUA’s governance structure and corporate compliance.
Board Secretary and Chair
Lucy France, University of Montana – Missoula
Staff Liaison
Ona Alston Dosunmu, President & Chief Executive Officer
Committee on Finance and Audit
The committee is responsible for general oversight of all financial activities of the association, including monitoring and making recommendations to the board for approval of dues and other revenue-producing activities; recommendation to the board for approval of an annual operating budget; ongoing oversight of the approved budget during the year, based on reports issued by management; monitoring of the association’s investment-related policies and investment performance through its Subcommittee on Investments; and oversight of the association’s annual financial audit, annual review of executive compensation, and other financial compliance matters through its Subcommittee on Audit. NACUA Financial Information
Board Treasurer and Chair
Darron Farha, Valparaiso University
Vice Chair and Chair (Subcommittee on Audit)
Steve Sandberg, Brigham Young University
Vice Chair and Chair (Subcommittee on Investments)
Mary Jo Dively, Carnegie Mellon University
Staff Liaison
Laura Tilmann, Director of Finance and Operations
Committee on Honors and Awards
The committee is responsible for recommending the occasional granting of honors and awards on the Association’s behalf, including Distinguished Service, Life Membership, Fellow, First Decade Award, and Honorary Membership.
Chair
Therese Leone, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Staff Liaisons
Ashley Hodak Sullivan, Senior Director of Membership and Marketing
Meredith McMillan, Director of Meetings and Events
Committee on Legal Education Workshops
The committee comprises planning groups for each of NACUA’s yearly CLE workshops. The CLE Workshops being planned by committee members in the 2025-26 year include the Fall 2025 CLE Workshop on Employment Law, the Winter 2026 Virtual CLE Workshop on Compliance, and the 2026 General Counsel Institute. When planning programming, the committee considers the needs of the membership, the most promising subject areas, and the potential market for the association. In selecting speakers, the committee seeks to identify speakers with expertise in the topic and whose practices and experiences represent the diversity of NACUA members.
2025-2026
Chair, Fall 2025
Vannesa Martinez Cecchini, Yale University
Chair, Winter 2026
Hope Murphy Tyehimba, Johns Hopkins University
2026-2027
Chair, Fall 2027
Stephen Sencer, Ropes & Gray LLP
Staff Liaisons
Taylor Zelman, Legal Resources Attorney (Fall 2025 and Fall 2027)
Anna Moir, Senior Legal Resources Attorney (Winter 2026 and GCI)
Ona Alston Dosunmu, President & Chief Executive Officer (GCI)
Francisco Pardo, Director of Legal Resources (GCI)
Committee on Legal Resources Library
The committee will be familiar with the legal resources available to members on the NACUA website and, in consultation with staff, will consider possible enhancements to those resources and possible new online legal resources that would be beneficial for NACUA members, including sample documents and training materials. Each member is assigned responsibility for reviewing at least two legal resource pages on NACUA’s website, which consists of periodically providing suggestions to NACUA staff regarding new resources that should be added and outdated materials that should be removed from each page. A subcommittee of the committee will be responsible for updating the Compliance Matrix, listing key federal laws and regulations governing colleges and universities.
Chair
Kimberly Colonna, McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC
Vice Chair and Chair (Subcommittee on Compliance Matrix)
Andrew Laine, Association of Community College Trustees
Chair (Subcommittee on Sample Documents)
Tami Wible, Drexel University
Staff Liaison
Michele Bastacky, Legal Resources Attorney
Committee on Membership and Member Services
This committee is responsible for reviewing current membership policies and procedures, reviewing and proposing changes to enhance member services, orienting new members to NACUA, and assisting NACUA’s staff in the recruitment of non-member institutions.
Chair
Art M. Lee, University of Arizona
Vice Chair
Jennifer A. Zimbroff, Stanford University
Staff Liaison
Ashley Hodak Sullivan, Senior Director of Membership and Marketing
Committee on Nominations and Elections
The committee solicits suggestions from the membership for nominations for officers and members-at-large on the NACUA Board of Directors, makes additional suggestions of nominees, selects a slate of nominees for election, notifies potential nominees and ascertains their willingness and ability to serve, presents the slate of nominees, as well as any nominations made by written petition, for electronic voting by the membership in advance of the association’s annual meeting in June, and recommends to the board of directors procedures for ensuring ongoing volunteer leadership development among NACUA members, and considers and reviews protocols and procedures for nominations and elections, as necessary.
Chair
Traevena Bryd, American University
Vice Chair
Steve Sandberg, Brigham Young University
Staff Liaisons
Ashley Hodak Sullivan, Senior Director of Membership and Marketing
Marie Fenton, Manager of Board Operations
Committee on Program for Annual Conference
The committee is responsible for formulating and executing the program for the 2026 Annual Conference in Nashville, TN, including selection of topics and presenters, in coordination with NACUA staff. Committee members serve as the primary liaisons between presenters and NACUA, ensuring the presenter-developed written legal materials and slides are high-quality and completed in a timely fashion.
Chair
Alexandra Schimmer, Denison University
Vice Chair
Karen Petrulakis, Wellesley College
Staff Liaisons
Taylor Zelman, Legal Resources Attorney
Francisco Pardo, Director of Legal Resources
Committee on Strategic Planning
The 2025-2026 Committee on Strategic Planning will advise and support the President & CEO, the NACUA professional team, and the NACUA Board in developing plans and approaches to implementation of the strategic framework and assessing the success of execution of those plans.
Chair
Darryl W. Lunon, II, Vanderbilt University
Vice Chair
Alexandra Mitropoulos, Berklee College of Music
Staff Liaison
Ona Alston Dosunmu, President & Chief Executive Officer
Committee on Virtual Programming
The committee is responsible for providing input into the development of webinars, online courses, Briefings, and other online programming presented by NACUA. Committee members suggest delivery modalities, brainstorm topics and formats, and potential speakers for these virtual programs. When suggesting programming, the committee considers the needs of the membership, the most promising subject areas, and the potential market for the association.
Chair
Chris Lott, Duke University
Vice Chair
Natasha Baker, Novus Law Firm
Staff Liaison
Francisco Pardo, Director of Legal Resources
NACUANOTES Editorial Board
The Editorial Board is responsible for assisting staff in the continued implementation of the NACUANOTES service. Specifically, the board assists in proposing topics, identifying and enlisting authors (or authoring NACUANOTES themselves), and reviewing and approving draft Notes submitted by authors.
Chair
Phil Catanzano, Education and Sports Law Group
Vice Chair and Chair (Subcommittee 1)
Mark Brandenburg, The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina
Vice Chair and Chair (Subcommittee 2)
Janelle Ramsel, Regis University
Staff Liaison
Anna Moir, Senior Legal Resources Attorney
If you have any questions about NACUANOTES, please let us know.
Call for Volunteers
NACUA is seeking volunteers to serve on committees, advisory groups, and editorial boards. Click here to volunteer.
NACUA Resource Library
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