Nathan Eva Bio

Nathan Eva, Ph.D. (he/him), a Fulbright Scholar, is a Professor in the Department of Management at the Monash Business School, Kulin Nation, Australia. His local and international leadership development units have been consistently recognised over the last decade through awards from the Australian Business Dean’s Council Network, Monash University (x4), and Monash Business School (x4). Nathan’s leadership and leadership development research has been published in leading outlets such as The Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Management Studies, and Journal of Organizational Behavior. The impact of this work has been acknowledged by multiple international bodies, such as Elsevier / Stanford University’s list of “World’s Top 2%” scientists, ScholarGPS’ top 1% of leadership scholars, and in 2024 was named League of Scholars’ global leader in the field of Human Resources and Organisations. He is an Associate Editor for Journal of Organizational Behavior and the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies and a special issue editor at The Leadership Quarterly.

Dan Jenkins Bio

Dan Jenkins, Ph.D., is Professor of Leadership & Organizational Studies at the University of Southern Maine. He received his doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction with an emphasis in Higher Education Administration from the University of South Florida. Dan is co-author of The Role of Leadership Educators: Transforming Learning and has published more than 50 articles and book chapters on leadership education. As an award-winning international speaker and facilitator, Dan has engaged thousands of leadership educators, students, and professionals on topics such as leadership pedagogy, AI, followership, and curriculum and course design. Additionally, Dan is past Chair of the ILA Leadership Education Member Community, Co-Founder of the ILA Leadership Education Academy, Co-Lead of the Association of Leadership Educators Teaching & Pedagogy/Andragogy Focus Area Network, Associate Editor of the Journal of Leadership Studies, and co-host of The Leadership Educator Podcast.

Corey Seemiller Bio

Corey Seemiller, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Leadership Studies in Education and Organizations at Wright State University. Corey is the author of several books, including The Student Leadership Competencies Guidebook, Discovering the Leader Within, Generation Z: A Century in the Making, Generation Z Goes to College, Generation Z Leads, Generation Z Learns, Gen Z Around the World, and Generations in the World of Work. She gave a talk at TEDxDayton on Generation Z, which has been viewed by more than a quarter million people. Corey has served as an issue editor for New Directions for Student Leadership, co-chair for the National Leadership Symposium, co-chair for the Leadership Education Academy, board member of Lead365, and Associate Editor for the Journal of Leadership Studies. She also co-hosts the Rock That Relationship! podcast and released her memoir, The Soulmate Strategy, and follow-on self-help book, Broken Up: Navigating Life After Heartbreak.

Melissa L. Rocco Bio

Dr. Melissa L. Rocco (she/her) is a senior lecturer in the College of Education and Social Services at the University of Vermont. At the core of Dr. Rocco’s work is her desire to help individuals, groups, and communities identify, develop, and engage their capacity for change-making. Her research, teaching, and practice focus on the application of transformative and liberatory pedagogy to challenge dominant leadership narratives and center identity, equity, and justice in leadership education. Dr. Rocco primarily teaches courses on leadership and identity, social action and change, learning and curriculum design, developmental theory, and postsecondary educator preparation.

Dr. Rocco’s professional and scholarly contributions include roles as Faculty Director for the National Clearinghouse for Leadership Programs (NCLP), executive directorco-chairperson for the Leadership Educators Symposium (LES) and executive advisor to the Leadership Educators Institute (LEI); and governing board member of the national representative to the Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) in higher education. She is also a collaborating author on the National Leadership Education Research Agenda 2020-2025, issue editor and author for New Directions for Student Leadership (NDSL), and contributor and reviewer for some of the most widely-used texts in graduate and undergraduate leadership education.

Prior to her faculty appointments, Dr. Rocco worked as a higher education administrator in functional areas including co-curricular leadership programs, student activities, academic advising, and fraternity and sorority life. She has also facilitated hundreds of leadership programs for professionals and students across the globe through her consulting and volunteer work. Dr. Rocco has over 18 years of professional experience as an educator and holds a PhD in Higher Education, Student Affairs, & International Education Policy from the University of Maryland.

Lauren Bullock Bio

Lauren Bullock, Ph.D. (she/her) is an associate professor of instruction and director of the sports media bachelor’s degree program at Temple University. She teaches undergraduate and graduate sports media, public relations and leadership courses. Bullock co-hosts the Leadership Educator Podcast, a digital space for leadership educators, trainers, and facilitators to converse about best practices and trends in leadership. She is part of the team at Stretch, where she works with clients on weaving their philosophies, goals, values, and beliefs into their professional communication.

Jennifer Espinola Bio

Jennifer Espinola, J.D. (she/her) has been teaching and facilitating leadership learning for over 25 years in various higher education settings. Since 2013, she has served as the Dean of Students and Director of the Frohnmayer Leadership Program at the University of Oregon School of Law where she teaches a course for law students called “Leadership Practices for Professional Success.” She also co-developed and co-facilitates the University of Oregon’s Leadership Academy for faculty and staff, now in its 9th year. Prior to joining the Ducks, Jennifer served as Director of the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement at the University of South Florida. At USF, she also served as co-chair of the Leadership Studies department and taught courses from 2003 – 2013. She is a certified Clifton Strengths coach and also certified in Academic Impression’s Five Paths to Leadership assessment. Jennifer was a co-lead facilitator for the LeaderShape Institute for 12 years, passionately dedicated to its mission of increasing the number of people who lead with integrity and a healthy disregard for the impossible. She is inspired by living in the Pacific Northwest and loves spending time with her husband, Wayne, and their dogs, Rio & Luna. She also loves to travel, visit amusement parks, build LEGO sets, host parties, and sing karaoke.

Nyasha M. GuramatunhuCooper Bio

Nyasha M. GuramatunhuCooper, PhD, is an award-winning leadership educator, facilitator, and consultant who specializes in personal, team, and organizational leadership development rooted in cultural humility, global mindset, and a comprehensive understanding of equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Nyasha is a passionate learning and development facilitator and consultant, helping corporate and nonprofit leaders and teams diagnose learning needs and design transformative learning experiences to meet organizational goals. Additionally, Nyasha has facilitated team retreats, professional development programs, capacity-building sessions for clients across industries. With extensive experience in learning experience design, curriculum development and instruction, Nyasha has taught undergraduate through doctoral leadership courses as Associate Professor of Leadership Studies at Our Lady of the Lake University, Assistant and Associate Professor of Leadership Studies at Kennesaw State University, and adjunct faculty at Gonzaga University and Creighton University. Recognized for excellence in teaching, research, and service at Kennesaw State University, Nyasha is a recipient of the University College Distinguished Faculty Award, the University College Excellence in Teaching Award, the Leadership and Integrative Studies Kiesler Service Award, and the Kennesaw State University Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award. With a last name that translates to “renowned traveler”, Nyasha enjoys adventures around the world and sampling different cuisines.

Jason Headrick Bio

Jason Headrick, Ph.D. is an associate professor of leadership and community development at Texas Tech University. He is an educator and researcher focusing on leadership education, civic leadership, and community development (agricultural and rural spaces). He teaches courses in leadership theory, effective groups and teams, civic leadership, and leadership and diversity. He is currently a Faculty Fellow in the Office of Outreach & Engagement, focused on rural workforce development. He is the former director of the Civic Leadership Academy, a yearlong program focused on civic leadership development for college students. He co-edited Developing Human Potential: A Personal Approach to Leadership, an open educational resource (OER) released in 2023. His work with civic leadership received the 2024 President’s Emerging Engaged Scholarship award. He received the 2025 Rising Star Award from the Association for Leadership Educators (ALE). Headrick has served on the Association of Leadership Educators (ALE) board and has served as the Agricultural & Extension Leadership FAN chair. A native of Tompkinsville, Kentucky, he holds degrees from the University of Kentucky (Go Cats!) and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (GBR!). He and his partner, Jay, love traveling, cooking, sports, and amateur gardening.

Darren E. Pierre Bio

Darren E. Pierre, Ph.D. (he/him), is a Senior Lecturer in the Office of Global Engineering Leadership in the A. James Clark School of Engineering and Affiliate Faculty in the College of Education at the University of Maryland–College Park. An educator, speaker, and author, Dr. Pierre has worked in higher education for more than 20 years. His scholarship and practice center on leadership, identity development, student engagement, and culturally informed leadership. He is the co-author, with Dr. Kathy Guthrie of the book, Considerations for Culturally Informed Leadership: Moving Toward the Future (Emerald Publishing, 2025), and has also authored book chapters and journal articles and presented at numerous conferences. In 2020, he led a team in developing one of nine strategic priorities that informed the 2020–2025 National Leadership Education Research Agenda (NLERA). He also co-edited the special issue Leadership Education through Complex Transitions in the New Directions for Student Leadership series. Dr. Pierre earned his Ph.D. in College Student Affairs Administration from the University of Georgia.