Bryant Richards

Bryant Richards is the Stansky Distinguished Professor of Accounting and Finance at Nichols College.  He spent 20+ years in industry primarily in internal audit and compliance. As the Director of Corporate Governance at the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, Richards developed a leading class compliance and internal audit organization. Richards is currently developing the Center for Intelligent Process Automation at Nichols College with a focus on providing the skills and experiences students need to build a career in an environment of accelerating change.   

Randall Rode (Moderator)

Director of Campus IT Partnerships and Relationship Development, Yale University
I am a member of Yale University’s Information Technology Services team, charged with assisting faculty, staff, and student leaders across Yale departments, schools, and centers with emerging technology needs and projects.  One of my focus areas is innovation in the use of extended(XR), virtual(VR), and augmented reality(AR) technologies in research and teaching settings, working from faculty in art, architecture, drama, medicine, and the sciences.  My support work includes establishing partnerships with XR industry leaders and building campus XR learning communities to foster and advance the uses of these innovative technologies.  

Instructional design is a strong part of my professional background and an important part of my approach to serving students and the faculty I support.  During my time as an online instructor with Quinnipiac University (Hamden, CT) I adapted and developed several graduate courses in the Communications Department.  My specialization for that program was user-centered design techniques for web communications – techniques that transfer well when planning XR projects.  Instruction design is also a key element of creating effective and impactful XR experiences for an educational setting.  


 

Edlira Stefani

Edlira is a driven and passionate individual with a deep interest in data, the future of data, and artificial intelligence. She believes in the transformative power of data to drive decision-making, innovation, and growth. As a results-oriented executive, Edlira has over twenty years of experience in the technology field. She has developed and managed collaborative strategies and roadmaps for enterprise data modernization, including data governance, integrity, security, compliance, and change management strategies for processes, procedures, practices, and policies. Edlira is committed to improving the user experience in making data-driven decisions and helping organizations achieve their strategic objectives. With excellent communication and strong analytical and interpersonal skills, she excels in solving highly complex data and related technical domain issues.

Edlira is passionate about teaching and sharing her knowledge. She is an adjunct faculty at Clark University, where she teaches Data Engineering.

Currently, Edlira serves as the Director of Data Analytics Operations at Bentley University, where she leads a team responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining a robust data ecosystem architecture. Her extensive enterprise reporting experience has been critical in establishing a data-driven culture at the University that aligns with its strategic goals.

Edlira was the Associate Director of Application Data Management at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) before joining Bentley University. During her tenure, she oversaw the Data Management Program, one of four Enterprise Transformation workstreams. In addition, as the co-chair of the Information Governance Council, she guided the leadership team in formulating and implementing a data governance strategy and policies. As the Associate Director of Analytics at WPI, she established a data analytics strategy that resulted in the implementation of Tableau at an enterprise level.

In addition to her professional achievements, Edlira is an active member of the NERCOMP Program Committee, contributing to various activities and presenting at NERCOMP Annual Conferences. She also serves on the EDUCAUSE Data Governance Group Steering Committee.

Edlira is highly motivated to help others understand the value of data. She is committed to sharing her knowledge and expertise to help people leverage data to achieve their goals. With her excellent communication skills and strong technical background, Edlira excels in bridging the gap between technical and non-technical stakeholders, making data accessible and actionable for everyone. She is constantly exploring new technologies and techniques to improve data analysis and visualization, and she is excited about the endless possibilities in data science.

 

Stan Waddell

Stan Waddell serves as the vice president and chief information officer at Carnegie Mellon University. In his role, Stan provides vision, leadership, and management for Carnegie Mellon’s computing enterprise, including the development and implementation of a university-wide IT strategy.

Before joining Carnegie Mellon, Stan served as the associate vice president for Information Technology and CIO at the University of New Hampshire. He was the assistant vice chancellor and chief technology officer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and spent nine years at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Stan also served in the U.S. Navy as an aviation electronics technician for nine years.

Stan holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Old Dominion University, a master's degree in management and administration sciences from the University of Texas at Dallas, and a doctorate in information systems from Nova Southeastern University. He has a Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) credentials, and a graduate certificate in information assurance from Nova Southeastern University.
 

Stephanie Wallace

Stephanie Walker is the Dean of University Libraries at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Formerly, she served as Dean of Libraries & Information Resources at the University of North Dakota, and Chief Librarian and Executive Director of Academic Information Technologies at Brooklyn College. She has also served in managerial, library IT, or IT liaison roles at Harvard University’s Countway Library, Mount Saint Vincent University (Canada), and the University of Toronto, and has held IT positions in programming, technical support, and database administration.