Advising Success Network Team

Hope Barrón is the communications intern for the Advising Success Network at NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. Hope collaborates closely with the ASN team as an intern on various communications initiatives. This includes maintaining communication channels and social media presence, toolkit development, and crafting blogs and content. In addition to working with the ASN team, Hope is the Texas Digital Communications Fellow at The Education Trust, where she helps advance educational equity for low-income students and students of color in Texas through storytelling and social media efforts. Alongside these roles, she is a PR intern at the marketing and communication agency OnWrd & UpWrd, contributing to client research, media list curation, coverage monitoring, pitch and press release writing, and reporter outreach. Hope is pursuing her master’s in Strategic Communications at American University and will graduate in the summer of 2024. She earned her bachelor’s in Journalism and Media Studies from New Mexico State University in 2020 and proudly represents El Paso Community College as an alumna.

Taya Britten (she/her/hers) is program manager for the Advising Success Network at NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. Her work started with the ASN in the summer of 2023 and focuses on project management, writing grant reports, and assisting with service assessments. Prior to joining the ASN team, Taya served as a graduate assistant for Leadership at the University of Georgia and has gained many other experiences within higher education including working with orientation, international students, and Greek life. She earned a master’s degree in College Student Affairs Administration from the University of Georgia and a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Central Florida.

Amy Geist is director of strategic initiatives at NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. Her work at NASPA focuses on supporting institutions in their efforts to remove barriers to student success. She began managing communications and marketing for the ASN in early 2023, after leading NASPA’s emergency aid efforts and other projects since 2016. Prior to her work at NASPA, she served in a variety of student affairs and university administration roles for 14 years at the University of Notre Dame and one year at California State University—Long Beach. She earned a master’s degree in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education from Ball State University and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Jacksonville University.

Michelle Foley (she/her/hers) is director of strategic partnerships for the Advising Success Network at NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. In her role, she works with institutions and organizations to design and deliver meaningful technical assistance programming to support holistic advising redesign efforts. Prior to joining the ASN team, Michelle conducted needs assessments with rural community colleges with the Association of Community College Trustees, managed a national scholarship and alumni program at the Fund for Education Abroad, and supported the development of policy solutions to strengthen international cooperation between the U.S., Middle East, and South Asia at the Atlantic Council think-tank. A legislative internship with the U.S. House of Representatives and her work with Syrian refugees while a Fulbright Scholar in Turkey deepened her commitment to redesigning systems for access, mobility, and opportunity. Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, she earned a master’s degree in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from McGill University.

Diana is a communications intern for the Advising Success Network at NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. As part of her work, Diana works closely with the communications team on editing ASN course materials and other outgoing messaging. She is currently a senior English and Linguistics major at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, with previous internship experience in communications strategy, marketing, and grant/RFP-writing. Beyond ASN, she is also involved with the Massachusetts Asian American Pacific Islander Commission, the UMass Amherst Writing Center, and the UMass Asian American Student Association.

Elise Newkirk-Kotfila is assistant vice president for strategy and partnerships at NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. She focuses on student success partnerships and leads the Advising Success Network, which has the mission to help institutions build a culture of student success, with a focus on Black, Latinx/a/o, Indigenous, Asian, and Pacific Islander students and poverty-affected students, by identifying, building, and scaling equitable and holistic advising solutions that support all facets of the student experience. Prior to her work at NASPA, Elise worked as the director of applied learning for the State University of New York (SUNY), where she led SUNY’s 64 campuses through an applied learning initiative which culminated in providing at least one high-quality experiential learning opportunity to 460,000 students. Elise currently serves as an executive board member for the Society for Experiential Education. Elise holds a master’s degree from the University at Albany where she studied Women’s Studies and Public Policy with a research concentration on community-university partnerships and a bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies from The College of Saint Rose.

Amanda Olmstead (she/her/hers) is director of programs and operations for the Advising Success Network at NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. In her role, Amanda works with a national network of partners to develop resources and services for institutions to improve advising experiences for racially minoritized and poverty-affected individuals. Prior to joining the ASN team, she developed partnerships for a statewide task force focused on economic mobility, administered federal funding for workforce and education grants, and coordinated career pathways and ESL programming at Baltimore City Community College. Amanda earned a masters degree in Public Policy from Walden University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Elon University.

Shereyll Woodley is executive assistant for the Research and Policy team at NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, also providing administrative support to the Advising Success Network team. Shereyll is a career administrative professional who has worked at non-profit organizations for more than 15 years. She began her work with NASPA in 2020, mostly supporting the Vice President for Research and Policy and has since expanded her role with support of the ASN team. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a concentration in Pre-Law from Florida A&M University. Shereyll loves to play and watch tennis, and has the goal of attending all four grand slams one day!