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.

Dr. David C. Caffo serves as Director of Experiential Learning at Wilmington University, where he has led the university’s efforts to integrate real-world experience into the academic curriculum for more than 15 years. Under his leadership, Wilmington University’s cooperative education program evolved into the Office of Work-Integrated Learning and, later, the Office of Experiential Learning, now encompassing both Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) and Credit for Prior Learning (CPL). His 360-degree approach ensures that every student can leverage professional experience, internships, or cooperative education to create a clear pathway to degree completion.

Beyond his institutional work, Dr. Caffo has been a dedicated leader in the Cooperative Education and Internship Association (CEIA) for over 10 years, where he currently serves as Vice President of External Relations & Development. His tenure on the CEIA Board of Directors spans nearly a decade, beginning in 2017 as Conference Chair-Elect and Chair of the 2018 National Conference in Charleston, South Carolina. He later guided the association through the COVID-19 era as President-Elect (2020–2021) and President (2021–2022). Since 2023, he has advanced CEIA’s strategic partnerships, sponsorships, and collaborations that elevate the organization’s national presence and influence.

Dr. Caffo’s first CEIA experience began in 2011 at the San Antonio conference and the CEIA Academy in Vail, Colorado, formative experiences that shaped his commitment to advancing work-integrated learning on a national scale. Today, he continues to bridge higher education and workforce development through his leadership, advocacy, and vision for experiential education.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Consumer Economics from the University of Delaware, a master’s degree in Marketing Management from Wilmington University, and a doctorate in Organizational Leadership and Innovation from Wilmington University.

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.

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 14 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 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 over 10 years, serving as Region 2 Vice President since 2021. During that time, she has coordinated webinars on behalf of the association, led her regional committee, and participated in CEIA initiatives to grow the organization. Additionally, Kristen has presented sessions at national CEIA conferences, hosted 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 and experiential learning best practices and assessment.

Kristen completed her Ed.D in Educational Leadership and Management from Drexel University with a research focus on 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.

Dan Cayse retired as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives & Entrepreneurial Development at Cincinnati State Technical & Community College. Since joining Cincinnati State in 1974, he provided leadership in cooperative education for 36 years. He twice served as Dean of Business Technologies. During his combined 20 years of service as Dean, he made major contributions to his division and the college enhancing and expanding the cooperative education program. As Dean, he was responsible for the academic affairs and co-op program for 24 Associate Degree Programs and 14 Certificates for the Business Technologies Division. Under his leadership, the Business Technologies Division developed a nationally recognized academic and cooperative model that has lead to strategic partnerships with companies such as Walt Disney World, Procter & Gamble and The Kroger Company.

Dan has also played a significant role on state, region and national levels. He served as the Cooperative Education and Internship Association President in 1989-1990, as well as two terms as the Vice President of Finance. He rejoined the Cooperative Education and Internship Association Board and served as the 2010-2011 President. Dan is currently the Vice President of Finance.  In 2005, CEIA honored Dan as the recipient of the Dean Herman Schneider Educator of the Year Award. On the regional level, Cayse developed the financial reporting system for the Midwest Cooperative Education Association and as a Certified Public Accountant, provided financial audits and non-profit consultation services. He was recognized as MCEIA’s Educator of the Year is 2004. The Ohio Cooperative Education Association elected Dan Cayse to the position of President in 1986 where he expanded state membership and fostered the expansion of an endowment for scholarships and research to maintain itself as one of the largest state co-op associations in the country. OCEA honored Dan Cayse as its Educator of the Year in 1990.

In other professional contributions to cooperative education, Dan has been a consultant for numerous colleges and corporations as well as having made over 200 presentations throughout the United States. Other involvement includes representing the United States in Canadian co-op initiatives, testifying before Congress during the Title VIII funding era and being instrumental with the efforts to bring about the co-op national ad campaign.

Perhaps more significant than anything else have been Dan Cayse’s effect on the people in the field of cooperative education. He consistently supported his faculty’s involvement in professional activities and provided inspiration to countless co-op practitioners across the United States. A quiet, humble, unpretentious leader, Dan not only has been willing to share his knowledge with others, but has fostered the professional development of those who have been fortunate enough the work with him. He can effectively articulate the academic role of co-op in students’ educational programs, while maneuvering through the politics of academic institutions

Dr. Richard Robles is currently a tenured Professor of Engineering and Applied Science 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's research areas include 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.

In addition to serving on the CEIA Board of Directors, Richard is a Board Member and former president of the Ohio Cooperative Education Association and a member of the Professional Development Committee for the Society for Experiential Education. Locally, Richard is a USA Swim certified stoke-and-turn official and an official for the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

Kelly Harper is the Director 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.

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.

Cherie Pierce Lynch is an educator focused on quality, pedagogy, and innovation in work-integrated learning. She serves as Vice President for Research & Surveys with the Cooperative Education and Internship Association (CEIA) and is an Assistant Professor of Experiential Learning at Endicott College.

With more than fifteen years of experience in higher education and organizational development, Cherie leads CEIA initiatives connecting research and practice. She led toolkit development and leveled rubrics for Phase 2 of the Professional Competencies Project and facilitates the Research-to-Practice Webinar Series, engaging the US WIL community with international researchers and data-informed practice. Her work focuses on creating standards that support program quality across the field. Cherie has served as faculty for CEIA Academy in Vail and CEIA Academy on the Road at Endicott College.

At Endicott, she teaches within the School of Social Sciences, Communication, & Humanities' Communication Division, leading a multi-year internship curriculum. Her work emphasizes equitable, evidence-based systems linking curriculum, assessment, and technology.

Cherie explores competency-based assessment, equity, and the role of emerging technologies—including artificial intelligence—in enhancing quality and scalability in experiential learning. She is currently working with a team to analyze datasets exploring AI's role in early professional jobs, internships, and the search process. She has presented nationally and internationally on curriculum design, assessment, and data-informed practice, including sessions at the WACE Research Symposium in Graz, the Society for Experiential Education National Conference in St. Petersburg, and CEIA National Conferences in Boston and Tampa.

She holds an Ed.M. in Higher Education Administration from Boston University and completed professional certification programs with Kay Peterson and David Kolb at the Institute for Experiential Learning as well as with the National Career Development Association (NCDA) and the Experiential Education Academy (SEE).

Corrine serves as Assistant Co-op Faculty for Mathematics, Physics, and Biology programs at Northeastern University's College of Science. In her current role, Corrine teaches and advises students, helping them secure meaningful cooperative education opportunities that bridge classroom knowledge with professional practice. She focuses on preparing students for the transition from academic to professional environments and specializes in building student confidence. Her work emphasizes the practical application of scientific knowledge in workplace settings and centers on helping students recognize their existing talents and translate academic achievements into professional success.

She brings 12 years of expertise in connecting students' talents with real-world applications. Her work supporting students began in 2013 with an AmeriCorps position at College Forward in Austin, Texas. Here, she completed 1,725 hours of national service in ten months teaching first-generation high school students through a year-long curriculum of 70 college prep classes that pertained to college applications, financial aid processes, and professional development. Since, she has served in various student affairs roles such as Area Coordinator with Residence Life at MCPHS University and Assistant Director of Off Campus Engagement and Support at Northeastern University.

Corrine has been a member of CEIA since 2023 and has participated in multiple committees to support the organization. She holds a B.A in Communication Studies with minors in Leadership Studies and Public Relations from the University of Rhode Island, and a Master's degree in Higher Education Administration from Boston College.

Carissa Forde serves as the Associate Director of Student Professional Development within the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) at Temple University. In this capacity, she oversees the internship program, guiding students in securing valuable internship opportunities, providing ongoing support throughout their internship journey, and instructing the associated internship course. Carissa also manages the summer internship stipend program, Pathways to Professions, which facilitates funding for students participating in unpaid summer internships. Moreover, she spearheads employer relations efforts, cultivating and nurturing relationships with organizations collaborating with CLA.
Collaborating with a dedicated team, Carissa specializes in professional development, assisting liberal arts students in achieving their career objectives and professional growth. Before her tenure with the Joyce K. Salzberg team, Carissa played a pivotal role at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, aiding medical students in successfully navigating their educational paths.
Carissa has been a steadfast contributor to higher education and Temple University over the past seven years, actively advocating for and supporting students in various capacities. She became a member of CEIA in 2022 and has since been involved in several committees, co-hosted educational webinars, and co-presented at the CEIA conference in San Diego in April 2023. Recently appointed as the Vice President of Region 2, Carissa endeavors to enhance and empower members by expanding their understanding of cooperative education.
In August 2023, Carissa achieved a significant milestone by successfully defending her dissertation for a Doctorate in Education. Her research primarily focused on exploring liberal arts students' perceptions of internship experiences, and she utilizes her findings to champion fairness and equity in internship opportunities for all liberal arts students.
Carissa holds a Doctorate in Education and a Master's of Public Health from Temple University, in addition to a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Human Resources Management from Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business.
Carissa holds a bachelor’s degree in human resources management from Baruch College, a master’s degree in public health from Temple University, and a Doctorate in Higher Education. Her dissertation, Beyond the Classroom: Unveiling Liberal Arts Students’ Perceptions of Internships, explores how experiential learning enhances student career readiness.

Throughout her career, Carissa has developed and led numerous workshops and initiatives focused on career exploration, leadership development, and student engagement. She is passionate about embedding real-world learning experiences into higher education, ensuring students gain practical skills that bridge the gap between academics and industry. In her role, she has successfully expanded student engagement, strengthened employer partnerships, and designed programming that equips students with the tools to navigate their careers with confidence.

In addition to her institutional role, Carissa serves as the Vice President of Region 2, where she collaborates with higher education professionals in the Mod-Atlantic to advance best practices in experiential learning. She is a sought-after collaborator and facilitator, regularly presenting at local professional development events.
Driven by her commitment to student success, Carissa continues to advocate for innovative, accessible learning experiences that empower students to thrive beyond the classroom.

Dr. Roslyn Brown has more than 20 years’ experience in the human resources and career development field. She is currently employed at Georgia Gwinnett College where she serves as Director of Career Services. At GGC, she also served as Interim Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students. Formerly, she worked as an Associate Director of Career Services at Clayton State University, Career Counselor for J. Mack Robinson College of Business and Job Location & Development Specialist at Georgia State University. During her employment she has been able to facilitate training on various career related topics and has managed high impact experiential learning programs at multiple institutions. Roslyn has presented best practices at several conferences on the state, regional and national level. She is very passionate about helping individuals live their purpose and passion.

Professional association involvement includes active membership in several organizations including: The Cooperative Education and Internship Association (CEIA), Georgia Association of Colleges and Employers (GACE), Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoACE) and National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), just to name a few. In GACE she has served may roles including President and the chair of several committees. Regionally, she has served as chair of the State Leadership Committee for SoACE. She has also served on the conference planning committee for NACE. She has been recognized by the Georgia Association of Colleges and Employers with the Founders’ Award, the highest award in the organization presented to a professional who provides outstanding support and dedication to the profession.

David Schwartz is the Director of the Springer Center for Internships at Bradley University’s Smith Career Center, where he has served since 2014. In this role, he leads a team responsible for administering 16 internship courses annually, impacting approximately 400 students. He also cultivates and maintains relationships with organizations across the country, building and sustaining valuable internship programs. David’s past leadership at Bradley extended to coordinating the university’s large job fairs, managing diverse teams and complex logistics.

Prior to his work at Bradley, David spent over a decade in the nonprofit sector in development and then as a communications director.

His research focus is on leadership development, organizational improvement, and time management/productivity. These topics are carried over as he annually teaches a course for first-year students focused on life design and effective engagement in the college setting.

A member of CEIA since 2014, he has contributed significantly, serving on the annual conference committee in various roles, including marketing and 2020 Conference Programs Chair. He also served as the 2021 Conference Chair, leading the development of a fully virtual, synchronous conference. Currently, he coordinates the ad hoc task force developing “ASCEND,” CEIA’s forthcoming leadership program for work-integrated learning practitioners.

David holds both a bachelor’s degree in public relations and a master’s degree in nonprofit leadership from Bradley University. 

Celeste Lindell began her career in marketing and sales at Sea World of Florida and continued working in the hospitality industry for over 20 years at companies like Universal Orlando Resort, General Electric, and Interval International until she moved to Texas in 2008. In her first career services role, she served as the Career Services Director at Northwood University – Texas Campus.

She joined the career center team at Texas Christian University in June of 2014, where she focuses on employer development as an assistant director. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida with a minor in Computer Science, a Master of Business Administration from Northwood University, and a Master Of Liberal Arts from Texas Christian University.

Celeste is past president, vice president, and conference chair of the Texas Cooperative Education and Internship Association (TxCEIA) and currently serves as the historian for the association. Celeste has also been a member of CEIA for the past 7 years. And she served on the board of the HR Southwest Conference as the college relations director and student engagement committee member.

She and her husband live in Grand Prairie, Texas and have twin daughters, one teaches 3rd grade and the other recently entered the PhD program in chemistry at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Joseph has over 15 years of experience working with career counseling and coaching, especially in the area of internships. He first started in a law school in southern California helping future law students find externships and positions in the courts and community. After that, he moved to Logan, UT for the first time as the Internship Coordinator for the Huntsman School of Business, managing their internship course and helping them gain experience with companies both domestic and international. He then relocated to 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 back in Utah as the Assistant Director at Utah State University’s Career Design Center, focusing on helping their colleges and departments measure internship success as well as experiential learning opportunities such as field work, practicums, volunteerism, etc. He is the chair of the Experiential Learning Committee, and leads the coordination of their Internship Coordinator Council meetings, conducting annual training for all 80 of the internship coordinators across USU.

Gerry Meenaghan serves as Cooperative Education Coordinator and full-time faculty at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon, where he facilitates and supervises credit-bearing internships across business, computer information technology, science, and education programs. Since 2012, he has collaborated with employers and faculty to expand work-based learning opportunities that align with institutional goals and industry needs.

An active CEIA member since 2015, Gerry presented at the 2023 CEIA Conference on Oregon community-college cooperative work experience programs and regularly contributes to regional initiatives supporting experiential education. His professional interests include data-driven assessment, equitable access to internships, and the use of emerging technologies such as generative AI to enhance advising and reflection.

Beyond his coordinator role, Gerry has held multiple shared-governance positions at Lane, including Faculty Council Co-Chair, Academic Requirements Review Committee Chair, and Honors Leadership Team member. He also serves as Vice President for Career-Technical Education on the Lane Community College Education Association Executive Council.

Gerry holds a B.A. from the University of Oregon and an M.S. from Kansas State University and brings over two decades of experience in higher education, international teaching, and community service to CEIA. If not at work, you can find Gerry lap swimming or observing and photographing birds at a nature preserve.”

Ross Johnston is a Certified Executive Coach and the Founder of Beinn Leadership Inc., where he specializes in C-suite and senior-level executive coaching. With over 25 years of progressive leadership experience across diverse sectors, he has a proven track record of driving organizational success through innovative strategies, exceptional communication, and strong relationship-building skills.

Throughout his career, Ross has led large-scale change initiatives, including his role as Executive Director of Co-operative Education at the University of Waterloo, where he managed the world’s largest co-op program, supporting over 26,000 students and 8,000 employers globally. His leadership has consistently focused on improving student employment outcomes, fostering employer relationships, and enhancing program quality.

In addition to his work in coaching and education, Ross has held senior leadership roles in talent management and human resources, with a focus on employee engagement, recruitment strategies, and organizational development. He has been an active contributor to shaping the future of work-integrated learning through board memberships with leading associations in Ontario (EWO Past-President), Canada, and the USA (CEIA Past-President).

Ross holds an Executive MBA from Bradford University, UK, with a dissertation in change management, and certifications in executive coaching from the Centre for Executive Coaching and the International Coaching Federation.

At Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Peggy Harrier is a former Dean of Business where she supervised a mandatory co-op component for 20 majors. In addition, she had management responsibilities for 50 fulltime faculty and 200 adjunct instructors. Peggy was also a Chair in the Business Technologies Division, where she had management responsibilities for the Management, Marketing and Real Estate programs and coordinated a mandatory co-op component for students. Cincinnati State College maintained the largest co-op program among two-year schools in the US and remained in the top ten of all co-op programs in the country for over 25 years. Having worked as a co-op coordinator early in her career at the college, she was a tenured faculty member teaching Business Law, Ethics, Co-op Seminar and Professional Practices. As a licensed Real Estate Broker, Peggy had experience in both industry and education.

Peggy Harrier earned a BA degree from St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana, as well as a Master of Education degree from Xavier University. She retired from Cincinnati State College in 2013 and was associated with the college for over 30 years.

Peggy joined the CEIA Board in 2000 where she has served the Association as a board member for the past 25 years. Accomplishments to note include, preparing and distributing national state of the profession surveys, leading the reorganization efforts for the Journal of Cooperative Education and Internships, serving as President 2004-05 and chairing two conferences, including co-chairing the 2006 centennial celebration. She was instrumental in securing a collaborative agreement for the production of the Journal of Cooperative Education and Internships with WACE, NCCE and CAFCE. She also initiated strategic partnerships with WACE and NCCE for projects being conducted in the field and has assisted CEIA with the development of an interactive website. She is also a CEIA Academy trainer, specializing in quality improvement processes. CEIA honored Peggy with the Dean Herman Schneider Award in 2009.

Peggy Harrier is currently the Executive Director of the Cooperative Education and Internship Association, Inc. (CEIA)

Patrick is a proud Purdue University Boilermaker—both an alumnus and a dedicated professional committed to serving the Purdue community. In his role, he manages campus-wide initiatives that enhance student outcomes through robust industry partnerships and the elevation of unique, experiential learning programs. As an instructor, connector, community builder, and changemaker, he provides Purdue with the tools and leadership needed to deliver transformational experiences for students and partners.

Patrick serves as the Director of Career Relations for Purdue University’s Indianapolis campus. In this role, he leads efforts to embed career-related services into the campus culture from day one on campus, educates industry partners on effective engagement strategies, and oversees a campus-wide experiential learning tracking system to support the Guaranteed Internship Program.

Patrick’s diverse professional background—spanning secondary education, international cultural exchange, business operations, university recruitment, and event management—equips him with a dynamic skill set. One of his favorite parts of working at Purdue is the vibrant network of students, faculty, and staff that makes every day rewarding and inspiring.

Patrick has been a member of CEIA since 2023 and presented at the 2024 CEIA Conference in partnership with Rolls-Royce. He was also honored with the inaugural CEIA Rising Star Award for his outstanding contributions to Purdue University and his early-career achievements in work-integrated learning and industry partnerships. Ironically, as a former Journalism student turned Communications student; his dream of working at a magazine has come true as the new Editor for CEIA Experience Magazine.

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.

Iteeah Pounds began her career in corporate America as a human resources and training professional. She now serves as Assistant Director of Co-op and Internship Programs at Georgia Institute of Technology. She started her career in higher education at University of West Georgia, where she helped connect students with employers for career and internship opportunities.
Iteeah is committed to making a positive impact in her community. She is actively involved in several professional and community organizations. Iteeah serves on the Conference Committee for the Georgia Association of Colleges and Employers, an active member of the Junior League of Atlanta, she currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Northwest Georgia Chapter. Iteeah is also an active member of the Douglas County Arts Council.
Additionally, Iteeah volunteers with organizations such as the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change and Hands on Atlanta as her schedule allows.
Iteeah earned her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Clark Atlanta University and her Master of Education degree from the University of West Georgia.