Summer 2023 Conference Speakers

Ardis Kadiu

CEO and Founder Element451

Ardis Kadiu is the Founder and CEO of Element451. Ardis is a highly accomplished entrepreneur, technologist, and educator with a passion for AI and data-driven solutions. As the CEO and founder of Element451, he has spearheaded the development of a cutting-edge student engagement and enrollment management platform that leverages AI and predictive analytics to optimize outcomes for higher education institutions. Under Ardis’s direction, Element451 has seen rapid growth and increasing partnerships with leading institutions including Wake Tech Community College, Muhlenberg College, RIT Certified, and more.
After graduating from NYU with an MS in Digital Media and an MBA, Ardis helped found Spark451, a higher-ed communications company, and began realizing his vision to transform traditional and outdated student recruitment with the tools of the future. As the Chief Technology Officer at Spark451, and with more than 15 years of higher education experience, he designed what is now known as the Element451 student engagement CRM. In 2018, Element451 broke away from Spark451 to focus solely on the business line of developing intelligent, modern CRM solutions for higher education professionals, combining his extensive technology and higher ed experience.

Jaime Hunt

Vice President for University Communications and Chief Marketing Officer at Old Dominion University

Transformation has been a hallmark of Jaime Hunt’s career. In her more than 18 years working in higher education, Jaime has proven herself to be a strategic, entrepreneurial, and innovative leader. Advancing higher education communications and marketing and – as she says – “busting silos” to achieve business objectives are her passions.

Jaime is currently the vice president for university communications and chief marketing officer for Old Dominion University – her third vice presidency. Prior to joining the ODU family in 2022, she served as vice president and chief communications and marketing officer at Miami University (Ohio) and vice chancellor for strategic communications and chief marketing officer for Winston-Salem State University. She has also served in public relations, marketing, digital strategy and media relations leadership roles at three other institutions.

Jaime is a prolific thought leader with regular columns in Forbes, VoltEDU, and Inside Higher Ed, and is the host of a popular podcast on the Enrollify network: Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO with Jaime Hunt. She believes a rising tide lifts all boats and strives to help her colleagues join her in maturing their communications and marketing operations.

Jaime holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota and a master's degree in integrated marketing communications from West Virginia University. She and her husband, who also works in higher education marketing, reside in Norfolk, Virginia, with an elderly dog and a friendly tortoise.

Meredith Cole

Director of Communications & Marketing for the University of Virginia’s Office of the Vice President for Research

She is a novelist, filmmaker, and screenwriter who worked in television promotion for Food Network, Lifetime and The Learning Channel, and in content marketing for an education software company before coming to UVA. Meredith has a B.A. from Smith College and an M.A. in Film and Screenwriting from American University.

Mitchell Powers

Senior Multimedia Producer

A video producer specializing in video stories optimized for social platforms. Formerly at Virginia Tech, he has worked as a Senior Multimedia Producer for UVA's University communication for the last ten years.

His layered, compelling and shareable video stories have been featured by online outlets including Wired, Gizmodo, This is Colossal, BoingBoing, and Popular Mechanics. He is a graduate of the Film and Television Department of the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Jesse Tuel

Senior Director for Units, Communications and Marketing at Virginia Tech

As the senior director for units in the Communications and Marketing division, Jesse Tuel collaborates with leaders in a range of university units, including the Office of Inclusion and Diversity, and he was the primary editor on the historical markers.

Sunni Brown

Director of Media & Public Relations at University of Richmond

Sunni Brown, director of media and public relations, spends her days pitching faculty experts to national media to advance the recognition and academic reputation of the University of Richmond. Brown's media relations efforts have resulted in placements in The New York Times, TIME, Scientific American, National Geographic, Newsweek, and more. Brown previously served as the media spokesperson for the Virginia DMV and was an anchor and reporter at two Virginia television stations.

Madalyn Chapman

Digital Content Specialist at George Washington University

Madalyn Chapman is a Digital Content Specialist at the George Washington University focusing primarily on undergraduate enrollment marketing and communications. In addition, she supports the Elliott School of International Affairs in their social media efforts and is a key member of the collaborative team responsible for the main GW university channels. She is passionate about ensuring digital content is accessible for all audiences, and strives to put those efforts at the forefront of every project. She has twice been recognized with a "Progress Award" from the GW Office of Communications & Marketing for efforts and contributions to major university projects since joining in 2021.

Chapman graduated magna cum laude from Roanoke College with a bachelor's degree in Communication Studies. She also holds a master's degree in International Relations from the University of Chicago.

Lyndenise Berdecía Rivera

Founder at Hacienda Gallo Pinto

Lyndenise Berdecía Rivera is an educator, speaker, culture influencer, and professional troublemaker. A disruptor in the higher education field, Lyndenise has dedicated over 15 years to access, equity, and inclusion - all through amplifying the voices of individuals from historically marginalized communities. Through her non-profit, Berdhaus, and role as a lead digital strategist at an ed tech firm, there’s no stopping the breadth of impact when it comes to student outcomes, career guidance, and creating spaces to celebrate a dignified representation of underrepresented groups.
A proud alumna of NC State University’s Poole College of Management, in Business Management and Marketing, Lyndenise is building her legacy within the Wolfpack community. The Latinx Alumni Network was founded in 2018 and the scholarship endowment goal was reached just in September 2022. Last year, she was recognized as the 2021 Outstanding Alumna and now sits on the Alumni Board of Directors to have an even greater influence on how they engage with students and alumni.
Lyndenise also holds a Master of Arts in International Political Economy from the University of Miami. Based in Miami, Florida and Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, when not traveling for work, she is the chief of staff to her family, buys more books than she has time to read, enjoys local coffee shops, and builds on her newest venture, Hacienda Gallo Pinto.

Lindsay Browning

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Dance at Shenandoah University

Lindsay is an inspired educator with over 15 years experience in the field of dance and over 6 years experience as a professor of dance, instructing undergraduate courses in modern, jazz, improvisation, composition and yoga.
Upon completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2005 from Radford University, she began her professional performing arts career in Philadelphia. From 2005 to 2012, she held contracts with notable East Coast companies such as Headlong Dance Theatre, Group Motion Multimedia Dance Theatre, Tania Isaac Dance, Idiosyncrazy Productions, Olive Prince Dance, Wally Cardona Dance, Scrap Performance Group and White Box Theatre, as well as independent choreographers such as Susan Rethorst, Silvana Cardell, Jumatatu Poe, Megan Bridge, Brigitta Herman and Sebastian Mundheim. In 2009, Lindsay began her work with The Opera Company of Philadelphia as a featured dancer. In 2010, she traveled to Piacenza, Italy, to work with the Teatro Municipal di Piacenza as choreographer and featured dancer in their progressive production of “Romeo & Juliet.” From 2011 to 2017, after success on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” she and magician Michael Grasso traveled the world performing their progressive and mesmerizing illusions both on stage and screen. In 2015, she began her work as a professor to undergraduate dance students at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Since 2015, she has instructed courses in modern, jazz, improvisation and yoga (history and practice).
She continues to draw inspiration from her many years in the hustle and beauty of a professional performing arts career and is glad to share her infinite love of movement and creation with Shenandoah’s passionate conservatory students.

Jill Ross

Public Relations Specialist at New River Community College

Jill has spent 15 years in higher education at four-year and two-year institutions working public relations, fund raising, and grant writing and as an adjunct communication professor; she has spent 13 of those years with the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) at New River Community College and Wytheville Community College. She hold a master’s degree in communication from the University of Tennessee and a undergraduate degree from Emory & Henry College with majors in both English and mass communication. Jill’s community involvement includes service on the New River Valley Leading Lights board and New River Valley Public Health Task Force. She also serves as the statewide public relations liaison on the VCCS Advisory Council on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Culture.

Leslie King

Communications Manager & Instructor at Virginia Tech

Shanin Glenn

Graphic Designer for University Relations at Virginia Tech

Shanin Glenn was the principal designer on the historical markers. Being CPACC-certified, she was able to ensure that the markers were accessible. She is a graphic designer in Communications and Marketing, art director for the Virginia Tech Magazine, and an adjunct instructor in the School of Visual Arts at Virginia Tech.

April Goode

Operations & Communications Manager Office for Strategic Affairs at Virginia Tech

April Goode serves as operations and communications manager for the Virginia Tech Office for Strategic Affairs, working closely with the university’s strategic planning processes as well as collaborating with the Office of Inclusion and Diversity on a variety of projects. Additionally, she splits her time in the same role for the Council on Virginia Tech History, planning, promoting, and executing events; providing support for the Council’s long-term projects; and collaborating on the next phase of the Council.