We are excited to have a new group of officers and directors coming on board to help the association move forward and work toward its strategic goals.
New Board of Directors officers
The following officers were elected to serve in their roles through May 2023:
President Nikki Massaro Kauffman
Nikki Massaro Kauffman is an award-winning presenter at the HighEdWeb Annual Conference, and has served as a standing member of the HighEdWeb membership, volunteer and educational events committees. Nikki credits her interest and involvement with the association to the warm welcome she felt as a newcomer and encouragement as a poster presenter at the Annual Conference of 2008. She is a unique combination of multimedia specialist, front-end developer and educator. Nikki creates tools for content creators to be able to make accessible, usable interactive content without having to be experts in accessibility, programming or design. Nikki has degrees in both computer science and in education and has been working in these fields since 1998.
Vice President Aaron Knight
Aaron Knight is a frequent presenter at the HighEdWeb Annual Conference, and previously served as a standing member of the HighEdWeb Membership Committee. He has been with the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) since 2008 and is currently supervisor of information systems development for the college. Aaron is responsible for internal web portals, course registration, grading and institutional reporting — basically, if it’s not a server and you wouldn’t notice him until it’s suddenly not working and is required for the college to function, he’s probably responsible for it.
In addition to becoming vice president, Aaron’s term on the Board of Directors was renewed through 2025.
Secretary Lisa Nguyen
Lisa brings a strong background in (and love for) strategic planning to the table, as the foundation of both her job function and her consulting work. An attendee since 2018, she comes away floored each year by the knowledge she gets from our community and the strong connections made. She volunteered briefly for the 2020 Annual Conference Committee. As director of web marketing at the University of California, Davis Graduate School of Management, Lisa leads a team of web editors and content contributors, overseeing the School’s web environment, social media, email and online marketing campaigns. She is passionate about creating integrated messages and leveraging technology to effectively tell a story, build a community and connect a message to the right audience.
In addition to becoming secretary, Lisa was elected as a new member to the Board of Directors.
Parliamentarian Robert Heyser
Robert is a long-time annual conference attendee and presenter from Tarrant County College (TCC), the community college system serving greater Fort Worth, Texas. At TCC, he is a former programmer turned manager of web development turned director of web communications. In addition to overseeing websites and social media, he assists the college in all things accessibility. In other duties as assigned, he supports the college Board of Trustees, works frequently with college legal counsel and serves as a leader on his campus.
In addition to becoming parliamentarian, Robert was elected as a new member to the Board of Directors.
New Board of Directors members
In addition to a new slate of officers, we are thrilled to welcome two new members to our board:
Brian Piper
Brian brings experience as an attendee and presenter at the Annual Conference, a member of our membership committee as well as chairing and presenting at the 2021 Analytics Summit. A relatively recent entrant to higher education, Brian is impressed by the collaborative nature of the community at large and within our community in particular. Brian is a dedicated and reliable volunteer, and while he has only volunteered since 2019, he jumped in feet first coordinating community chats. Brian brings a strong strategic planning background that he gained in the private sector and in his role as director of content strategy and assessment at the University of Rochester.
Christian Santillo
Christian is a data-infused digital marketer with over 14 years of professional experience in higher education. Since 2008, Christian has overseen the web presence and led a team of three at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. Christian is a long-time Annual Conference attendee and a three-time Annual Conference presenter.
Last, but certainly not least, we want to recognize Jeff Stevens, who was renewed for a second term on the Board of Directors that will go through 2024. On behalf of the entire HighEdWeb Association, thank you to our directors and board members for your hard work and dedication to the higher ed community!
