Jennifer Graham, PhD leads the Women's Center staff at Georgia College providing direction and coordination for the department. Dr. Graham has served as the founding director for 15 years and has won over $800,000 in grant funding for power-based interpersonal violence prevention and response
J. Tripp Mitchell, is the Executive Director of Public Safety for Middle Georgia State University. His responsibilities include oversight of public safety, emergency management and risk management for all of MGA’s campus
Christopher Blake, PhD, is president of Middle Georgia State University. Blake has led the institution through significant growth since becoming its first permanent president in 2014. Under his leadership, the University has expanded academic offerings and transitioned from a bachelor’s-granting institution to a university offering master’s degrees in a wide range of disciplines and its first doctoral degree in Information Technology. Originally from Wimbledon, England, Blake holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in theology from the University of Oxford, Keble College, a postgraduate certificate in education from Westminster College (Oxford), and a Ph.D. in education from King’s College of the University of London. Beginning in the classroom, he served in progressive positions within American higher education before joining Middle Georgia State.
Ashwani Monga, PhD is the system’s chief academic officer and executive vice chancellor of academic affairs, since July 1, 2022. In his role as USG’s chief academic officer, Monga will oversee the academic enterprise of a university system with 26 public colleges and universities, including academic innovation and development with the institutions; student affairs and enrollment management; student success initiatives; faculty development; the Georgia Film Academy; academic collaborative programs; distance education; academic and public libraries; and the Georgia Archives. He earned his Ph.D. in business administration with a major in marketing, and minors in psychology and statistics, from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He earned his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India, and his Bachelor of Technology degree from the National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal, India.
Sonny Perdue began his duties as the system’s 14th chancellor on April 1, 2022. He is a product of the university system. A former two-term governor of Georgia, George Ervin Perdue III, known throughout his life as Sonny, served as Agriculture Secretary from 2017 to 2021. There, he managed a workforce of 110,000 employees in the U.S. Department of Agriculture with the stated objective of being the most efficient, effective and customer-friendly agency in the federal government. Perdue led the USDA to stabilize and secure the food supply chain during the pandemic and launched the Farmers to Families Food Box program to ensure the most vulnerable Americans were fed. A veterinarian and agribusiness owner, Perdue served as Georgia governor from 2003 to 2011.
Rosaria Meek, PhD is an instructor of Spanish at the UNG. She likes to blend compassion and a joy of learning into the classroom and in leadership. Her teaching is guided by the principles of the LEAP initiative. In 2021, Meek was elected as the president of the Georgia Association for Women in Higher Education (GAWHE). Meek is a 2022 ACE Fellow (American Council on Education)
Michelle Cook, PhD is the Senior Vice Provost at UGA. In this role she plans, leads, and implements programs that span units across campus while providing strategic leadership in diversity and inclusive excellence, including oversight of the Office of Institutional Diversity. Cook co-facilitated the development of the University's 2025 Strategic Plan and works with academic and administrative units across campus to support institutional initiatives such as textbook affordability, the New Approaches to Promote Diversity and Inclusion grants program, which is sponsored by the President’s Office, and promoting female leadership development.
Shelly-Ann N. Eweka is the Senior Director, Advice Solutions at TIAA. Shelly is a nationally known financial planner and well-known speaker who has pushed to narrow the widening gap in retirement savings between genders and different races. After nearly three decades in financial services, Shelly serves as an expert on the Woman-to-Woman Community section of TIAA.org. Within the firm, she launched a group called Black Indigenous Women of Color Financial Advisors/Planners of TIAA, and she’s a member of several other organizations – including ones for Black and female employees – that create leaders and influence culture.
Sonia J. Toson, JD serves as the Interim Vice President of Diverse and Inclusive Excellence at KSU. Prior to this appointment, she served as the Director of Diversity Relations for the Michael J. Coles College of Business. She holds a faculty appointment as a tenured Associate Professor of Law in the School of Accountancy.
Archie W. Ervin, PhD is vice president for Institute Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (IDEI) and chief diversity officer at Georgia Tech. Prior to his appointment at Georgia Tech, Ervin served as associate provost and chief diversity officer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At Georgia Tech, he is a member of the president’s cabinet and is responsible for identifying institutional priorities, policies, programs, and initiatives that advance the Institute’s inclusive excellence agendas for faculty, staff, and student populations.
Raye Rawls, JD focuses on mediation and other alternative dispute resolution processes as well as dialogue at the JW Fanning Leadership Institute. Her dispute resolution courses have been approved by several state bar associations, the National Association of Social Workers and other professional organizations. In 2018, she received the Chief Justice Harold G. Clarke Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field of alternative dispute resolution in Georgia.
Pablo Mendoza, PhD is the first director of diversity and inclusion at UNG. Mendoza collaborates with individuals and groups at UNG and beyond to promote diversity and inclusion efforts that inform and enrich the university’s teaching, learning and work. UNG has a long-standing reputation for educational excellence and a mission focused on developing globally prepared leaders.
Robert (Rob) Branch, PhD, is a Professor of Learning, Design, and Technology and the Associate Head of the Department of Career and Information Studies. Rob frequently consults and trains with the JW Fanning Leadership Institute.
Dominique A. Quarles, PhD is the Associate Vice President for Inclusive Excellence and Chief Diversity Officer. In this role he provides leadership for the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, and the Learning and Strategic Initiatives portfolio on behalf of the Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member for the Ph.D. in Educational Leadership (Higher Education) program.
Garrett Green, EdD is the Interim Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) and an adjunct professor in the College of Education and Human Development and the Office of Experiential Learning at Augusta University. He works closely with university leadership in developing strategies to build and preserve a campus culture that promotes the values of inclusivity, compassion, collegiality, excellence, integrity and leadership.
Reflective Structured Dialogue Table Leaders:
Rob Branch, PhD
Rosalind Fowler, EdD
Jennifer Graham, PhD
Quint Hill
Pablo Mendoza, PhD
Ellori White
Johniqua Williams, PhD
