Andrew Harper has built and managed programs that have connected talent from colleges and universities with employers for more than 15 years. Most recently at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), Andrew designed and launched a paid, statewide internship program that provides employers with resources to recruit and hire Texas college students that qualify for financial aid. Previously, Andrew was the Manager of Employer Relations and Internship Coordinator at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. During his tenure at St. Edward’s University, he co-advised the campus LGBTQIA+ PRIDE student organization, chaired the Student Success Center Professional Development Committee, and taught career development, history, research, and writing courses.
In 2022, he joined Grace Hill to provide business intelligence solutions for real estate operators and investors through KingsleySurveys as a project manager.
Through his involvement in several professional development associations, Andrew has advocated for expanding and enhancing work-integrated learning. Since 2016, he has served on the CEIA Board of Directors as the Diversity & Inclusion Task Committee Chair, 2022 Conference Chair, and Region V Vice President. In addition, he has been a member of several CEIA committees including Best Practices Award, Conference Programs (chair), Board Nominations and Elections, and Marketing and Communications. Andrew is also a past president, vice president, and conference chair of the Texas Cooperative Education & Internship Association (TxCEIA) and the 2017 recipient of the Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoACE) Champion of Diversity Award.
Andrew earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from St. Edward’s University. He continues his involvement at the university by serving on the Alumni Board of Directors.
Dr. Richard Robles is currently a Professor and Director of Graduate Co-op Programs at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies. With over 20 years of experience in higher education, Richard has research interests in experiential learning, electronic portfolios (eportfolios), assessment, leadership development, and college student development.
Richard received a BA in Liberal Studies from Northern Arizona University, a MS in Counseling and Student Personnel from Minnesota State University, Mankato, an MBA from the University of Cincinnati, and an EdD in Leadership Studies from Xavier University. Richard’s doctoral research explored engineering identity development through cooperative education.
Prior to joining the CEIA Board of Directors, Richard served in several leadership roles for the Ohio Cooperative Education Association, including President. Richard also served as Cooperative and Experiential Education Division Program Chair and the General Conference Co-chairperson for ASEE’s Conference for Industry and Education Collaboration. Within CEIA, Richard served on the committee to relaunch Experience Magazine and currently serves as the Marketing Chair for Experience Magazine and Vice President for Region 4.
Dr. Tracey Dowling serves as the Program Director of Experiential Learning with Florida State University’s Career Center. An experienced career services professional, she previously implemented services and programs at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School MBA Career Management Center for Working Professionals, The University of Georgia Career Center, and The University of Virginia – Semester at Sea program. Both a proud Seminole she earned an EdD in Educational Leadership & Policy and a MS in Higher Education from The Florida State University and a proud Blazer, earning a BBA in Marketing from Valdosta State University. In 2019, she co-authored the text Making Your Internship Count available through Kendall Hunt and has edited case studies for the National Association of Colleges & Employers through the Principles of Professional Practice committee since 2021.
Dowling has served on the Board of Directors for the Cooperative Education & Internship Association (CEIA) since 2016, first as the Vice President of the Cooperative Education Network, and currently as the Vice President of Professional Development. She is slated to Chair the 2024 Annual Conference in Tampa and coordinating presentations for the 2023 Annual Conference in San Diego. Additionally, she has engaged her colleagues in active participation and contributions to CEIA, delivered conference presentations and webinars, served on multiple conference committees, and promoted CEIA membership to work-integrated learning colleagues and employers of students engaged in experiential learning around the world. She believes that professional development is key to keeping abreast of trends, best practices and changing technologies.
Locally, she serves as President-Elect of the Capital Women’s Network, a Judge for the annual Chamber of Commerce’s Best & Brightest Awards and a Board Member for the Florida State Heritage Museum. She is also a proud member of the Capitol Bells handbell choir (bass clef ringer!) and hosts a weekly Heroscape game.
(Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia)
Dr. Kristen Gallo is the Executive Director for Career Services for the university Career Center at Temple University, providing strategic vision and planning for a staff of 16 in a central unit and serving as liaison between career development within colleges and schools. Before this role, Kristen spent seven years working with the cooperative education program at Drexel University, with five of those years as Assistant Director managing a staff of seven co-op advisors across five different colleges and schools. Collectively this team facilitated connections between approximately 2,000 students and 500 unique employers each year.
Kristen has been a member of CEIA for about 7 years, serving as Region 2 Vice President since 2021. During that time, she has presented sessions at the national CEIA conference, led a webinar on the future of work, and contributed to Experience Magazine. Kristen has also presented sessions and pre-conference workshops at several other conferences, with a focus on cooperative education best practices and assessment.
Kristen completed her Ed.D in Educational Leadership and Management from Drexel University with a research focus is the impact of cooperative education on students studying entrepreneurship. Kristen also holds an M.S. in College Student Development and Counseling from Northeastern University and a B.A. in Psychology from Stony Brook University.
(Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin)
Kelly Harper is the Manager of the Career Center and a tenured faculty member at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. She has been a member of the CEIA Board since 2011, serving in the roles of President, Conference Chair, and Vice President of Marketing and Membership. Before this, she has played an active role, including the President of both the Ohio Cooperative Education Association (OCEA) and the Midwest Cooperative Education and Internship Association (MCEIA).
Kelly has been in the field of Cooperative Education for over 20 years, working for both Cincinnati State College and Northern Kentucky University. Her work has focused on higher education and workforce development. Her specialty areas include career development, employer recruiting and hiring of talent for co-ops, internships, full-time and part-time employment.
Kelly graduated with an undergraduate degree in International Studies and History and obtained a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Northern Kentucky University. In her time away from work, you can find Kelly with her husband Derick and two children, Sara and London. They reside in northern Kentucky.
(Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming)
Joseph Banks has over 12 years of experience working with career counseling and coaching, especially in internships. Joseph first started in a law school in southern California where he helped future law students find externships and positions in the courts and in the community. After that, he moved up to Logan, UT for the first time as the Internship Coordinator for the Huntsman School of Business, managing their internship class and helping them gain experience with companies both domestic and international. In addition, he worked with the University of California Riverside with international students looking to find internships and experience while they were studying in the United States.
Currently, he is the Assistant Director at Utah State University’s Career Design Center, focusing on helping all of their colleges and departments measure internship success as well as experiential learning opportunities such as field work, practicums, volunteerism, etc. He is also the chair of the university’s Experiential Learning Committee and leads the coordination of their Internship Coordinator Council meetings, where they conduct bi-annual training for all 80 of the internship coordinators across their institution.
(Global)
As the Director, Employment Relations with the University of Waterloo, Domenica is accountable for the North American employment relations strategy. She leads a diverse team across Canada who are responsible for business development, marketing outreach, employer relations and student support. Domenica leads a number of university initiatives with a focus on continuous improvement and the development of best practices. Prior to joining the University of Waterloo in 2017, Domenica worked for 32 years in the Government, Not for Profit and Private Sectors. She has extensive experience leading a national team focused on vocational planning, employer engagement, community relations and supporting individuals as they navigate the world of work. With a Bachelor of Social Work degree and Mental Health First Aid Certificate, she is committed to staff and student health and wel-lbeing. Domenica has been instrumental in developing the new Student Mental Health Advisor role, expanding the Advisor, Workplace Harassment role and works closely with the Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Office and Campus Wellness Department within Co-operative and Experiential Education at the University of Waterloo. She understands the importance of staff development, mentorship and training which led her to create a comprehensive on-boarding, training and mentorship program within her unit. Domenica has developed a strong working relationship with a local community organization that serves, affirms, and supports the well-being of 2SLGBTQ+ people in Waterloo Region.
Domenica has been a CEIA member since 2018 and the VP, Region 8 International & Global Network board member since 2021. During this time, Domenica presented on Campus Partners and Employer Relations at the CEIA conference in 2019 and has submitted several proposals. She’s currently a member of a working group focused on member training and development. In addition to CEIA, Domenica is a member of Co-operative Education and Work Integrated Learning (CEWIL) Canada and a member of the Professional Development committee for Education at Work Ontario (EWO). She has spoken at various Academic and Employer Organizations across North America promoting co-op at the University of Waterloo.
Domenica strongly believes in giving back to her community – spending much of her spare time volunteering with individuals who need shelter and local food banks in the Greater Toronto Area. She has a passion for travelling, having lived in Italy, Venezuela and England and is fluent in Italian, Spanish, French and English.
Scott Maynard is the Vice President of Economic Development for the St. Johns County FL Chamber of Commerce. He is the former Program Director for Employer Relations at Florida State University and has over 32 years of experience in Career Services, Experiential Learning, and Economic Development.
Prior to his role at Florida State University, Maynard was the CEO/President of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership in Starkville, Mississippi. The Partnership is an umbrella organization that houses the Chamber of Commerce, Oktibbeha County Economic Development Authority, Starkville Visitors and Convention Council and the Starkville Main Street Association.
Maynard was named Director Emeritus of the Career Center and Cooperative Education Program at Mississippi State University (MSU) where he retired after 29 years. While at MSU he was actively involved in local government and economic development and served on the City Council of Starkville, Mississippi.
He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a Master of Business Administration degree from Mississippi State University. Maynard taught a wide variety of classes in the College of Business at MSU and served as an instructor at the CEIA Academy in Vail, Colorado.
Patricia Bazrod retired in May 2018 from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She has over thirty-four years of experience in career services and cooperative education and internships. In 2019 she was honored to be the recipient of the American Society for Engineering Educations’ Clement J. Freund Award for profound influence and accomplishments that furthered the field of cooperative education programs in engineering or engineering technology programs. She was also nominated and chosen as Fellow to the American Society for Engineering Education in 2015. She began her co-op career as an engineering co-op coordinator in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Arizona State University.
In Cooperative Education, Patricia has a long history of presentations and workshops at the state, regional, national, and international levels. Since 1990, Ms. Bazrod, has been a member of the Cooperative Education and Internship Association (CEIA) and has served as President, President-Elect, Vice-President of the Cooperative Education Network, Past President and is currently serving as the Associate for Member Development and Retention for the organization.
Since 1984, Ms. Bazrod has been a member of the Cooperative Experiential Education Division (CEED) of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), where she has served as Chairman, Program Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, Chair-Elect, and on the Executive Board as that national professional organization’s Archivist. She has served on the ASEE Board of Directors as the PIC V Chair and has had various leadership roles for the annual Conference for Industry and Education Collaboration (CIEC) including General Conference Chair.
She is the recipient of the CED 2005 Borman Award for outstanding service to the field of cooperative education and has served as a trainer and program reviewer for the Accreditation council for Cooperative education. (ACCE).
In 2022, Patty was the recipient of the Herman J. Schneider award from CEIA for significant contributions in the advancement of the philosophy and practice of cooperative education and internships over a sustained period.
Patty lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband Larry and though he still works, she has taken up golf, leisure travel, Formula 1 racing (huge fan) and both she and her husband enjoy wine tasting and have become avid collectors of several types of wine.
Serving as Director of Experiential Learning at Wilmington University, Dr. Caffo has 14+ years of experience in higher education. In 2010, he was charged with the task of developing a new cooperative education (co-op) department for the university. While building this new program, he took pride in advising students, working with employers to develop opportunities, and worked diligently to incorporate real world experiences into the academic curriculum utilizing co-op as a course modality. In 2016, the Cooperative Education Department he developed was reformed into the Office of Work-Integrated Learning and is now the university’s one-stop shop for internships, cooperative education, and service-learning experiences. In 2018, the Office of Work-Integrated Learning was again reformed becoming the Office of Experiential Learning, wherein his responsibilities evolved to include Credit for Prior Learning as well as Work-Integrated Learning. The Office of Experiential Learning adopted Dr. Caffo’s vision wherein it takes a 360-degree approach to experiential learning. Whether a student goes to Wilmington University with a vast amount of professional experience and is awarded Credit for Prior Learning (CPL), or they participate in a Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) opportunity (Internships or Cooperative Education) embedded in their curriculum for credit, they create an experiential pathway to graduation.
Prior to his tenure at Wilmington University, Dr. Caffo served as a Regional Vice President with Pacific Life where his major responsibilities were establishing relationships with financial advisors, cultivating business development programs, and providing extensive marketing support to producing financial brokers, including: seminars, client appreciation events, case development support, and the implementation of various sales ideas.
Dr. Caffo’s education history consists of earning a Bachelor’s degree in Consumer Economics from University of Delaware, a Master’s degree in Marketing Management from Wilmington University, and completion of a Doctoral degree at Wilmington University in Organizational Leadership and Innovation.
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