Plenary Speakers
Erwin Chemerinsky became the 13th Dean of Berkeley Law on July 1, 2017, when he joined the faculty as the Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law. Prior to assuming this position, from 2008-2017, he was the founding Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law, and Raymond Pryke Professor of First Amendment Law, at University of California, Irvine School of Law. Before that he was a professor at Duke University from 2004-2008, and from 1983-2004 was a professor at the University of Southern California Law School. He is the author of eleven books, including leading casebooks and treatises about constitutional law, criminal procedure, and federal jurisdiction. His most recent books are, We the People: A Progressive Reading of the Constitution for the Twenty-First Century (Picador Macmillan) published in November 2018, and two books published by Yale University Press in 2017, Closing the Courthouse Doors: How Your Constitutional Rights Became Unenforceable and Free Speech on Campus (with Howard Gillman). He frequently argues appellate cases, including in the United States Supreme Court. In 2016, he was named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In January 2017, National Jurist magazine again named Dean Chemerinsky as the most influential person in legal education in the United States.
Therese M. Leone serves as Deputy Campus Counsel for UC Berkeley. In her role, she advises UC Berkeley’s administration on a broad range of higher education legal issues, including labor and employment, discrimination and harassment, student affairs, Title IX and Clery compliance, free speech and protests, and internal investigations. Therese also served as University Counsel for the systemwide legal office of the Regents of the University of California for almost six years. She provided labor and employment advice/counseling regarding faculty, staff and student employees to leadership at the 10 campuses and 5 medical centers in the UC system, and was Chief Campus Counsel for UC Merced.
From 2008-2012, Therese was Vice President and General Counsel at Mills College in Oakland, California where she was a member of the College’s executive leadership team. She oversaw all legal matters for the college and also was counsel to the Board of Trustees. Before becoming a higher education attorney, Therese worked as a labor and employment attorney for Littler Mendelson, P.C. and Hanson Bridgett in San Francisco, California.
Therese served on the Board of Directors for the National Association of College and University Attorneys (“NACUA”) from 2010-13, and has served on numerous board committees, in addition to presenting at conferences and CLEs. She is Chair of the FY 2019-20 Board Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusivity. For the State Bar of California, Therese served on the Council on Access and Fairness and the California Law Academy Strategic Task Force (CLAS). She is a former Board member for the Alameda County Community Food Bank.
Therese received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and her JD from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall).
Gregory Adam Haile is the seventh president of Broward College and was formerly the College’s General Counsel. He assumed the role on July 1, 2018. Broward College serves 63,000 students with approximately 5,000 colleagues. The institution is part of the Florida College System and was named a Top Ten finalist for the prestigious Aspen Prize for the years 2013, 2017, 2019, and 2021. Since becoming Broward College’s President, the College has significantly expanded its business model. Broward College has added more than 15 new education locations (via no-cost facilities partnerships) into the heart of the communities with the highest unemployment rates, lowest post-secondary attainment rates, but Unlimited Potential. The business model expansion is known as Broward UP. In addition, Broward College has transformed its financial model by embracing a priority-based budgeting framework (with decision-making grounded in the evidenced based returns to the students and to the community) and deploys monetization strategies to drive private sector resources to the College. Further, the College has materially advanced its culture of collaboration, as exemplified by the adoption of Shared Governance Principles and Practices. All while ensuring that the success of all students remains primary.
He has served in over 40 board or committee capacities and in over 20 Chair or Vice-Chair capacities. He is currently the Chair of the Board of Leadership Florida, and currently serves on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, BBX Capital, the Florida Chamber, Pace Center for Girls, the Broward Workshop, the United Way of Broward County, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, and he is a member of the Orange Bowl Committee. He has also twice received appointments by Governor Ron DeSantis: first, to the Department of Education Career and Technical Education Advisory Committee, and second, to the Re-Open Florida Task Force.
As an educator, Mr. Haile takes time annually to teach a self-designed 4-credit course in Higher Education Law and Policy at Harvard University (Summer School). He previously served as an adjunct professor with Broward College, teaching Business Law and Ethics, and with Miami Dade College, teaching Business Law. He has received dozens of recognitions for his leadership, service, and excellence in his profession. He routinely serves as a keynote speaker, primarily speaking on the transformational power of higher education.
Mr. Haile was educated at the Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and served as the Editor-in-Chief of the National Black Law Journal and as an Editor of the Journal on Gender and Law. He received his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University, where he graduated magna cum laude and received the Most Outstanding Graduate award in his college. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Nova Southeastern University, and is also a fellow of the Vanderbilt University Higher Education Management Institute.
Dr. Paul J. LeBlanc is President of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). Since 2003, under Paul’s leadership, SNHU has grown from 2,800 students to over 135,000 learners and is the largest nonprofit provider of online higher education in the country.
The university was #12 on Fast Company magazine’s “World’s Fifty Most Innovative Companies” list and was the only university included. Forbes Magazine has listed him as one of its 15 “Classroom Revolutionaries” and one of the “most influential people in higher education.” Washington Monthly named him one of America’s ten most innovative university presidents. In 2018, Paul won the prestigious TIAA Institute Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence in Higher Education, joining some of the most respected university and college presidents in American higher education.
Paul served as Senior Policy Advisor to Under Secretary Ted Mitchell at the U.S. Department of Education, working on competency-based education, new accreditation pathways, and innovation. He serves on the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) and on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Board on Higher Education and Workforce (and served on its Committee on Quality in Undergraduate Education). He also serves on the ACE Board and chairs the AGB Council of Presidents.
Paul immigrated to the United States as a child, was the first person in his extended family to attend college and is a graduate of Framingham State University (BA), Boston College (MA), and the University of Massachusetts (PhD). From 1993 to 1996 he directed a technology start up for Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company, was President of Marlboro College (VT) from 1996 to 2003 and became President of SNHU in 2003. His wife Patricia is an attorney and they have two daughters, Emma and Hannah.
In 2020, Barbara R. Snyder became president of the Association of American Universities.
Prior to that, she served as President of Case Western Reserve University, where she encouraged interdisciplinary excellence, catalyzed institutional collaboration and reinvigorated alumni engagement and fundraising.
During her tenure, the university has tripled undergraduate applications, become twice as selective and dramatically improved the academic credentials of the entering class. Case Western Reserve reached its expanded $1.5 billion Forward Thinking capital campaign a year and a half ahead of schedule, and raised a total of $1.82 billion at its conclusion on December 31, 2018. Among the highlights of the university’s capital campaign are dramatic increases in the number of endowed professorships and student support, as well as additional new building projects. In 2014, the university opened the $50 million, 89,000-square-foot Tinkham Veale University Center, as well as the 24,000-square-foot Wyant Athletic and Wellness Center. In 2015, the university celebrated completion of initial phases of two extraordinary renovation projects—the Maltz Performing Arts Center ($30 million for phase one) and the Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box] in the Richey Mixon building ($35 million for entire project). Sears think[box], the university’s 50-foot innovation hub, is the largest university-based innovation center in the United States.
In 2013, Case Western Reserve entered into a historic partnership with Cleveland Clinic to develop a 485,000-square-foot Health Education Campus including the university’s schools of medicine, nursing and dental medicine, which opened in April 2019. In addition to the university’s collaboration with Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve is also engaged in a partnership with the Cleveland Museum of Art to establish a globally recognized institute dedicated to innovative education and training of future curators in the history of art and its practice in art museums. And, we are partnering with the Cuyahoga Community College to support a humanities pipeline program to develop a targeted and robust pathway for students to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the humanities, which builds on our earlier STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) pipeline programs.
Snyder began her academic career as an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve’s School of Law, then joined the faculty of Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University. After serving in several leadership positions at Moritz and within the central university, Snyder became OSU’s Interim Executive Vice President and Provost in 2003 before securing the permanent position the following year. She graduated from the University of Chicago School of Law, where she served as executive editor of its law review, and earned her bachelor’s degree from Ohio State.
Snyder is a current member and past chair of the board of directors of the American Council on Education, a director of the Association of American Universities, Business-Higher Education Forum, Greater Cleveland Partnership, and a trustee of Internet2 and University Circle, Inc. She is also a director of KeyCorp and Progressive Corporation. She is a member of the Ohio Business Roundtable and an elected member of the American Law Institute.
Kathleen Curry Santora has been President & Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) since February 2001. Before coming to NACUA, she was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE). She previously served in various positions at Georgetown University - as Secretary of the University, Assistant to the President for External Relations, and Assistant to the President/Chief of Staff for the President's Office. For nearly ten years prior to that, Kathleen worked for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) in various senior-level positions where she handled tax policy and other legislative issues, state relations with state associations of independent colleges and universities, and management of association internal operations. She also served as the first Director for Public Policy and External Relations at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB).
Kathleen earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the University of Scranton and a Juris Doctor from the Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar.
Kathleen currently serves on the board of the American Council on Education (ACE). She also serves as chair of the steering committee for the Washington Higher Education Secretariat (WHES Steering Committee). She previously served on the boards of the University of Scranton, Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE); the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA); EDUCAUSE (the association for IT professionals); Association Mutual Health Insurance Company (AMHIC) and Academic Search; as a member of the Council of Higher Education Management Associations (CHEMA) Steering Committee, and as a member of the Western New England College (now University) board.
Terry W. Hartle is one of America’s most effective and experienced advocates for higher education. At ACE, where he has served for more than 25 years, he directs comprehensive efforts to engage federal policymakers on a broad range of issues including student aid, government regulation, scientific research and tax policy. His work involves representation before the U.S. Congress, administrative agencies and the federal courts. As an expert voice on behalf of colleges and universities, he is quoted widely in the national and international media on higher education issues.
Given ACE’s historic role in coordinating the government relations efforts of some 60 associations in the Washington-based higher education community, Hartle plays a central part in developing public policy positions that impact all colleges and universities, and also oversees the Council’s external relations functions.
In 2021, Hartle and the ACE Government and Public Affairs team received the “Outstanding Service to Higher Education Award” from NASPA—Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education in recognition of their public policy advocacy on behalf of the entire higher education community, particularly in response to the crisis the pandemic has posed for institutions and students.
Prior to joining the council in 1993, Hartle served for six years as education staff director for the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, then chaired by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Prior to 1987, he was director of social policy studies and resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and a research scientist at the Educational Testing Service. Hartle has authored or co-authored numerous articles, books, and national studies and contributes regular book reviews to The Christian Science Monitor. He is a member of the Smith College Board of Trustees.
Hartle received a doctorate in public policy from The George Washington University (GWU), a master’s in public administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, and a bachelor’s degree in history (summa cum laude) from Hiram College. He was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree by Northeastern University. He has received the GWU President's Medal, the Hiram College Alumni Achievement Award, and has been inducted into the Hiram College Athletic Hall of Fame. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Stephen D. Sencer serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Emory University. As such he is the chief legal officer for Emory and works closely with the Emory Board of Trustees and Secretary on all governance issues. Steve is also Senior Advisor to the University President, advising the president on strategic priorities and initiatives. Steve serves as Chair of the Emory Innovations, Inc. Board; he also serves on the Board of Directors for Clifton Casualty Insurance Company.
Prior to his current position, Steve practiced law with Williams & Connolly in Washington, DC, and King & Spalding in Atlanta, GA, and served as a trial lawyer in the DeKalb County (GA) District Attorney’s office. He clerked for Judge Amalya Lyle Kearse on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, sitting in New York.
He has close ties with the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA) and has been involved with many sessions and Special Interest Groups during NACUA meetings involving discussions about academic medical centers. He is a member of the American Association of Universities (AAU) Counsel Committee and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) Legal Services Review Panel.
Steve is currently Chair of the NACUA Board of Directors and served as a Member-at-Large on the NACUA Board from 2011 – 2014. As Chair Steve serves ex officio on all NACUA committees. In the past he served on the following NACUA Committees over the course of many years: Committee on Board Operations; Committee on Legal Education; Committee Finance and Audit, (where in FY 2013-2014 he served as Chair of the Audit Subcommittee and as a member of that Subcommittee for several years); Committee on Program for Annual Conference; and the Committee on Publications. He has attended twenty-five NACUA events and has spoken at several of them. He also was Chair of the working group that planned the “Business of Higher Education” segment of the 2017 General Counsel Institute.
Steve holds a B.S. from Wesleyan University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.
Laura Todd Johnson, a NACUA member since 2002, is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel at the University of Arizona. Before assuming this role, she worked as a University Attorney for the Office of the General Counsel at the University of Arizona, and as a founding and managing partner of a Tucson, Arizona law firm focusing on plaintiff’s employment litigation. Ms. Johnson also worked as a trial attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, litigating complex class action cases. One of her most experienced practice areas is employment law, and she has provided workshops, training, and classes related to compliance, discrimination, disability, and diversity issues on her campus.
Ms. Johnson is currently Chair-Elect of the NACUA Board of Directors. She served as an at-large member on NACUA’s Board of Directors (Class of FY 2015-2018) and has served on many NACUA committees including as the Chair of the Committee on Strategic Planning. Throughout her 15 years of membership with NACUA, Ms. Johnson has been a frequent speaker at CLE workshops, been a virtual seminar speaker, and co-authored a NACUA pamphlet titled, “What to Do When the EEOC Comes Knocking.”
Ms. Johnson also contributes to other non-profit organizations, including service as a board member of the Arizona Public Media Community Advisory Board. She has held several board leadership positions at the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault, and has served as a volunteer pro bono attorney at Tucson’s Community Outreach Program for the Deaf. She also served in several leadership positions for the State Bar of Arizona Labor and Employment Section.
Ms. Johnson received a B.A. from the University of Arizona, magna cum laude, and a J.D. from the University of Arizona College of Law, cum laude.