Speakers & Presenters

Xavier “Xav” de Souza Briggs is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Trained as an engineer and behavioral scientist, he is an award-winning educator and researcher as well as an experienced leader in government and philanthropy.  

Known for his wide range of interests and track record of building and reshaping fields, Briggs is an expert on economic opportunity and inclusive growth, racial equity and pluralism, urban and regional development, and inclusive democratic governance in the U.S. and abroad. He has testified before Congress on several of these topics.  

His work at Brookings has focused on inclusive markets, good jobs, effective and inclusive climate action, and tangible ways to advance fairness and effectiveness in the way government works. His work has helped catalyze public conversation about: generative AI and the future of work and workers; how to reimagine and dramatically scale up the financing of climate adaptation so U.S. communities can be far more resilient; how big federal bets on “new industrial policy” can generate real and lasting economic benefits for the workers and communities that need it most; how the marketplace for community-scale clean energy and other investments can be made inclusive and scalable; the power of equity impact analysis (aka “equity scoring” of proposed policies and plans) to help government serve everyone more effectively and strengthen public trust; and the urgency of engaging communities and investing in “shovel-worthy” infrastructure, not just “shovel-ready” projects, to ensure that historic public investments expand access to well-being in fair and lasting ways. He was co-founder of What Works Plus, a collaborative of leading philanthropic donors promoting opportunity and community resilience through America’s major public investments in infrastructure and economic development.  

Briggs’ books include “The Geography of Opportunity: Race and Housing Choice in Metropolitan America,” which won planning’s top book award; “Democracy as Problem Solving: Civic Capacity in Communities Across the Globe,” a four-nation comparative study short-listed for the C. Wright Mills Award for best social science book on a social problem; and “Moving to Opportunity: The Story of an American Experiment to Fight Ghetto Poverty,” winner of the Louis Brownlow Award. His writing and views have appeared in The New York Times, Time, The Boston Globe, CNN, Fortune, Fast Company, The American Prospect, Planning Magazine, and other media, in English and in Spanish.  

Briggs serves on the boards of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Dēmos, JUST Capital, and One Fair Wage, as well as in advisory groups for the nonprofit, nonpartisan Resilience Roadmap Project and Partners for the Public Good.  

Prior to joining Brookings, Briggs served for six years as vice president of the Ford Foundation, redesigning and managing its inclusive economies and markets work globally, along with regional program teams based in China, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. He led the foundation’s efforts to develop an actionable framework for understanding and challenging the drivers of inequality in our world, and also to build the field of impact investing and commit $1 billion of endowment assets—the largest-ever for a private foundation—for that purpose.  

Previously, he was professor of sociology and urban planning in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From January 2009 to August 2011, he helped run the White House Office of Management and Budget as program associate director handling policy, budget, and management issues for roughly half the cabinet agencies of the federal government and many independent agencies.  

Earlier in his career, Briggs worked as a community planner in six low-income neighborhoods of the South Bronx, leading a project team that emphasized equitable and sustainable investment, and won the American Planning Association’s top award. He was a senior policy official at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he helped negotiate the redevelopment of public housing and lead the design of new economic development programs to generate impact investment in low-income rural and urban communities. He also served as a faculty member at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.  

His career achievement recognition includes election as a fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science and the National Academy of Public Administration. He earned an engineering degree from Stanford University, an MPA from Harvard, and a Ph.D. in sociology and education from Columbia University, and was a Rotary Scholar at the Federal University of Bahia in Brazil.  

I was a curious but underachieving student throughout school who was constantly thinking in stories, scribbling in notebooks, or writing for school publications. At a young age I decided to become a writer, in part because I felt there was nothing else I could do well. I didn’t get into college on my first try and went to night classes at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities to open a back door to that university, because someone told me it was a good school for journalists. I majored in English literature based on the inspiration of a high-school English teacher and the vague notion that I wanted to be more than just a “reporter.” Toward the end of my undergraduate career — which took at least eight years, because I would take time off to work, pursue an internship, or play music — I spent a lot of time with Peter E. Firchow, studying utopian and dystopian literature. (I have been thinking about George Orwell and Aldous Huxley ever since.) 

Through astronomical luck and a family connection, I got an unpaid internship in the Star Tribune’s Washington bureau, which led to jobs at The Minnesota Daily (an absolutely invaluable earn-and-learn experience), which led to jobs and gig work for alt-weeklies like Minneapolis’s City Pages and Baltimore City Paper — places where I mostly wrote about the arts, culture, or a community issues. 

After I moved to the East Coast, I was offered a modestly paying job as a beat reporter at a paper in a small city or a lowly paid internship (with job potential) at The Chronicle. I went to The Chronicle because I knew I could write about anything, as long as it related to higher ed. 

In more than two decades at The Chronicle, I have written about technology, academic libraries, campus architecture, facilities, institutional finance, dying colleges, low-income students, the college-for-all push, the media narrative about higher ed, and relationships colleges have with corporations, cities, and their neighbors, among other topics. 

My column, The Edge, focuses on how institutions deal with the present challenges to their missions and business models, and how the potential of higher education could address the emerging problems facing society today. 

I am also a co-author of Hacking College: Why the Major Doesn’t Matter — and What Really Does, which discusses how students get lost in college, creating what we call “empty college degrees.” Based on an article I wrote for The Chronicle in 2020, the book describes how students could instead create more meaningful and marketable degrees (even in overlooked liberal-arts disciplines) if they learn to perceive the college experience differently. 

He and his team focus on understanding students and developing evidence for solutions that improve the connections between education and opportunity for individuals. Their work informs educators, policymakers, employers, thought leaders and funders seeking to ensure the success of students well-beyond completion of their credentials and degrees.

Strada’s research team is central to the annual State Opportunity Index which examines state-by-state progress on supporting student social mobility. The team has expertise in ROI, education-to-career guidance, work-based learning, and affordability. They conduct a variety of large-scale surveys, qualitative studies, and programmatic evaluations.

Dave received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With expertise in psychology, market research, branding, and social impact marketing, Clayton has broad experience in connecting research to action. His work has touched many of society’s most pressing needs, including education, health, and financial inclusion. His work and life are centered on the belief that each individual has infinite potential to grow and contribute to the well-being of others.

Wil Del Pilar serves as Ed Trust’s vice president of higher education policy and practice. In this role, he spearheads Ed Trust’s mission to highlight inequities and outline solutions in order to improve access, success, affordability, and completion in higher education for low-income students and students of color. 

Prior to joining Ed Trust, he served in Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s administration as deputy secretary of postsecondary and higher education, where he developed and implemented the state’s strategic vision for higher education. Before joining Governor Wolf’s team, he had experience in the Pennsylvania Department of Education, working as an executive assistant in the state’s higher education office. In this role, he managed an array of services for the state, including the College Access Challenge Grant and the Pennsylvania Information Management System. 

Aside from working for Pennsylvania’s Department of Education in higher education policy roles, Del Pilar has held senior development positions, as the director of development at Pennsylvania State University and at the University of Florida’s Machen Florida Opportunity Scholars Program. In both positions, he fought to secure funding to support access and success initiatives for historically underrepresented students. 

In addition to his policy and development experience, he has a wealth of institutional experience, working in admissions at Chapman University in Orange, California, and the University of California Santa Cruz, as a financial aid counselor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, and as a research assistant at Penn State. 

Del Pilar holds a doctorate in higher education/higher education administration from The Pennsylvania State University, a master’s degree from California State University-Dominguez Hills, and a bachelor’s degree from Chapman University. 

Berenecea Johnson Eanes was appointed by the CSU Board of Trustees to serve as president of Cal State LA. Her tenure began January 8, 2024. Eanes is Cal State LA’s ninth president and the first woman to serve in the position. 

Eanes previously served as president of York College, City University of New York, where she provided strategic leadership and counsel to approximately 1,100 faculty, staff and administrators, while overseeing a $91 million budget, including endowments, fundraising and centrally administered resources. Eanes had also served as a professor in the Department of Social Work since 2019. 

Her appointment as president of Cal State LA marked a return to the CSU for Eanes, who previously served as vice president for Student Affairs at California State University, Fullerton (2012 to 2019), where she delivered leadership and oversight for myriad student success programs, as well as new campus infrastructure and the university’s strategic plan. 

Eanes earned a bachelor’s degree in public health from Dillard University; a master’s degree in social work from Boston University; and her doctorate in social work from Clark Atlanta University. 

Wenda Fong began her 40-plus year career in television as the producer and host of her own live, talk show series in Los Angeles. Fong is the producer and director of music and variety specials, awards shows, reality specials, sitcoms, talk shows, documentaries, PSAs, and live events. She holds the dual distinction as being the first person of color and first woman to have produced the Emmy Awards. She has launched productions across the United States and around the world, including China, Canada, Europe and Africa. 

In 2001, Fong joined the Fox Broadcasting Company and was with FOX for 13 years. She was its first Executive Director of Creative Development of Diversity and Vice President of Diversity Development. She created, developed and ran its diversity initiatives to increase the employment of diverse writers, directors, producers and actors. In 2002, she was appointed to oversee American Idol, which became the historical groundbreaking and network television ratings phenomenon. In 2003, Fong was promoted to Vice President of Alternative Entertainment where she supervised all reality series and specials representing thousands of hours of programming including American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Hell’s Kitchen, MasterChef and The X Factor to name just a few. 

Among her community service, Fong is co-founder and chairperson emeritus of CAPE, the Coalition of Asian Pacific’s in Entertainment, which began in 1991 and is the largest, longest-running, and most influential organization for Asian American Pacific Islanders in the entertainment industry. She was president of East West Players, the nation’s oldest Asian American theatre, and co-founded Asian Americans for Fair Media and served on the board of the Association of Asian Pacific American Artists. She was the co-chair of the Leaders Forum, served on the board of California Humanities, and is co-founder of The ACTION Project. Fong has been a member of the Directors Guild of America since 1980 and is founding co-chair and chairperson emeritus of the DGA Asian American Committee. She is a member of the Producers Guild of America and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. 

Fong received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian American Studies from the University of Southern California. 

Dr. Corey A. King started as the 18th chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater on March 1st, 2023. A celebrated leader with three decades of higher education experience, King has held leadership roles in student affairs, student services, and enrollment management. 

Before joining UW-Whitewater, King served as Vice Chancellor for Inclusivity and Student Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Prior, he was Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management at Florida Atlantic University and led the Council for Student Affairs of the State University System of Florida. King also held leadership positions at Bethune-Cookman University, East Carolina University, Wheeling Jesuit University, and the University of Florida. 

King earned a bachelor’s degree in curriculum and instruction and a master’s degree in higher education administration/student affairs from Florida State University. He earned a doctorate in educational administration and leadership from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Georj L. Lewis joined Clayton State University as its sixth president on February 1, 2023. 

In his 28th year in the higher education sector, Lewis started his post-secondary education career in admissions and enrollment, coordinating minority recruitment efforts. After five years, he moved into mid-level management positions in the functional area of multicultural affairs and led the student diversity efforts at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and then transitioned to leading the same efforts at Georgia Southern University. 

After serving as a diversity professional for approximately three years, Dr. Lewis went on to serve in senior-level administrative positions for the next sixteen years as the dean of students at Georgia Southern University, the vice chancellor for Student Affairs at Indiana University Northwest, the vice president for Student Affairs at Armstrong State University and as the vice president for Student Affairs at Georgia Southern University. 

In May 2019, Dr. Lewis was tapped to serve as interim president of Atlanta Metropolitan State College, before officially being named the college’s fourth president in November of that year.

Dr. Lewis' passion for professional development is evidenced by his participation in the Millennium Leadership Initiative (MLI) through the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), the Executive Leadership Institute and the Advanced Leadership Academy through the University System of Georgia. Additionally, he has contributed to the professional development of others by serving as a faculty member for the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI) and AASCU’s Becoming a Provost Academy (BAPA), and creating the Student Affairs LEAP initiative at Armstrong State University as well as serving as a faculty member and director of the Region III SACSA/NASPA Mid-Managers Institute. 

Dr. Lewis has received several awards, most recently recognized as a 2021 Pillar of the Profession by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA). He is also a recipient of the Paragon Award for New Presidents by Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. He has also taught graduate courses on student services in higher education, undergraduate first-year experience courses and has recently collaborated on a book chapter in the Handbook of Research on Black Males and regularly serves on dissertation committees. 

President Lewis is active in the metro Atlanta community. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the ATL Airport Chamber, a member of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Regional Educational Service Agency (Metro RESA), a sub-committee member of the Aerotropolis Atlanta Alliance, Inc., and a Metro Atlanta Industry Partnerships (MAIP) partner.

Additional points of pride for Dr. Lewis include but are not limited to: the Georgia Southern University Essence Awards Staff Member of the Year; induction into the Edinboro University Hall of Fame as a football player; Honorary Membership in the Delta Epsilon Iota and Golden Key Honor Societies; Deen Day Smith Service to Mankind Award; and a scholarship named in his honor, the Georj Lewis Leadership Scholarship, at Georgia Southern University. Dr. Lewis is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated and is active in the Eta Lambda Chapter in Atlanta, Georgia, the 100 Black Men of Atlanta and is also a member of Impact Church in East Point, Georgia. 

A native of southwestern Pennsylvania, Dr. Georj L. Lewis earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Business/Accounting, an Master’s of Arts in Counseling/Student Personnel, both from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Georgia Southern University. 

President Lewis’ life has been inspired by his grandparents, James and Evelyn Lowe (both deceased); Ms. Emma Brown, his 101-year-old grandmother; his first-generation college graduate parents Robert and Faye Lewis (both deceased) and a host of family members, coaches, friends and colleagues. 

 

Dr. Lewis is blessed to be the husband of Mrs. Anchelle Lewis, and proud to be the father of Miles, Georj II, and Jazmyn and the grandfather of Taylor, Taliya, Miles Jr. and Tres.

Dr. Ellen Neufeldt is the fourth president of California State University San Marcos, where she has led transformational progress to position the university as a national model for student success, social mobility, and regional impact. Since her appointment in 2019, she has guided CSUSM through unprecedented forward momentum—launching a new strategic plan, expanding high-demand academic programs, transforming the physical campus, and achieving record-setting gains in enrollment, research, and philanthropy.  

As a national trailblazer in social mobility, President Neufeldt hosts the National Social Mobility Symposium, bringing together policymakers, experts, and higher education leaders from across the country to share ideas and innovations around redefining and advancing social mobility. CSUSM ranks in the top 1% of universities on CollegeNET’s Social Mobility Index, which measures how well universities graduate students into well-paying careers and leadership opportunities to improve their social and economic situations compared to previous generations. As the granddaughter of immigrant tenant farmers, President Neufeldt has shared her own family's story of social mobility as well as her passion for student success on multiple local, national, and international media channels and publications.  

Under President Neufeldt’s leadership, Cal State San Marcos launched its first institutional strategic plan in 15 years, centered on social mobility, academic excellence, and student success. She established a university-wide student success and retention committee and oversaw the highest year-over-year enrollment growth in the CSU system. Faculty-sponsored research reached a record $20 million for the second consecutive year, while philanthropic support soared doubling year- over-year results and set a university philanthropic record with the most funds raised in a single fiscal year. CSUSM secured its first 8-figure level gifts totaling $20 million—one to launch an accelerated behavioral and mental health program and another to provide unrestricted campaign matching opportunities across campus. She also secured $5.6 million for degree expansion in Temecula and led the university’s most successful fundraising efforts focused on social mobility. CSUSM’s comprehensive blended campaign has raised more than $130 million in just three years. 

During President Neufeldt’s tenure, CSUSM has experienced remarkable growth, both physically and programmatically. The California State University Board of Trustees has approved funding for the Integrated Science and Engineering Building, set to break ground in summer 2025 and open its doors to faculty, staff and students in fall 2027. This state-of-the-art facility will provide much-needed collaboration, research and learning spaces, allowing CSUSM to respond to the critical need to accommodate future enrollment growth and expanding programs across campus.  Additionally, the planned construction of a new Student Recreation and Wellness Center, through an innovative public-private partnership, as well as affordable student housing which more than doubles on-campus housing to 3,300 beds, allow CSUSM to better serve students and meet their needs.   

 

A champion of innovation and entrepreneurship, President Neufeldt launched CSUSM’s Innovation Hub less than a year into her tenure, creating an on-campus nexus for solving societal challenges. Her vision extends beyond physical spaces—she has fostered an ecosystem of social innovation and regional collaboration, positioning CSUSM as a driver of economic development and workforce readiness. Demonstrating her commitment to high-demand, workforce-aligned education, President Neufeldt has expanded academic offerings across disciplines to meet regional and statewide needs. She launched a computer engineering degree to complement CSUSM’s existing strengths in software and electrical engineering, supported by a $5 million Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) grant aimed at building a diverse regional engineering pipeline. In collaboration with the City of Temecula, she broadened access to early childhood education and software engineering programs, helping to meet the evolving workforce needs of Southwest Riverside County. Under her leadership, CSUSM also introduced an undergraduate cybersecurity degree and a public health major—both designed to prepare students for in-demand careers in growing sectors. 

President Neufeldt is also firmly committed to ensuring that Cal State San Marcos is a diverse, inclusive and welcome home for students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members. Each day she works toward making CSUSM a model for guiding students throughout the student life cycle so that they become engaged and active alumni in the community while fueling the needs of the region. Underscoring her commitment to Cal State San Marcos’ role in cultivating partnerships that create opportunities for students and enrich the communities served by the university, President Neufeldt serves on the boards of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, LEAD California, Commission on International Education, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, and on the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities. 

Dr. Neufeldt has been recognized with numerous awards, including in recent years: 

• The 2025 LEAD San Diego Visionary Awards – Innovation & Economic Opportunity Awardee. 
• The 2025 President’s Award from NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.  
• A 2022 Distinguished Alumna Awardee from Tennessee Technological University. 
• A 2022 San Diego Business Journal CEO of the Year Awardee. 
• The 2020 Outstanding Enrollment Professional Award from NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, Enrollment Management KC.  
• The 2020 Outstanding Enrollment Professional Award from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, Enrollment Management KC. 
• The 2018 Melvene Hardee Award, awarded by the Southern Association of College Student Affairs, recognizing her contributions to the student affairs profession for national work in social mobility and student success. 
• The 2017 Pillar of the Profession, awarded by NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, for sustained professional distinction in higher education. 
• The 2016 Howard Davis Senior Award, awarded by the Southern Association of College Student Affairs, for outstanding service. 
• The 2014 Scott Goodnight Award for Outstanding Performance as a Senior Student Affairs Officer, awarded by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, presented to a lead student affairs officer who has demonstrated sustained professional achievement in student affairs work, innovative response in meeting students’ varied and emerging needs, effectiveness in developing staff, and leadership in community and college or university affairs. 
• The 2014 John Jones Award for Outstanding Performance as a Senior Student Affairs Officer, awarded by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Region III, based on criteria of outstanding administrative competency, respect of colleagues and students, innovative programming, leadership on campus and in the community, staff development, and significant contribution to the field. 
• Named in 2010 to The Daily Record’s “Maryland’s Top 100 Women” list, awarded annually to women in the state of Maryland who have made significant contributions to their organization, profession and community. 

 

President Neufeldt received her Doctor of Education from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and both a Master of Arts in Educational Psychology and Counselor Education and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Tennessee Technological University. 

Shayne Spaulding is a senior fellow in the Work, Education, and Labor Division at the Urban Institute, where her work focuses on workforce development, postsecondary education, and employment. She has spent more than 25 years in the workforce field as an evaluator, technical assistance provider, and program manager. Her research has examined the public workforce system; community college innovations; employer engagement in workforce programs; services to parents, youth, and noncustodial fathers; people with criminal records; performance measurement in workforce programs; apprenticeships; and strategies for supporting workers in alternative work arrangements. 

Spaulding is the managing director for the CTE CoLab, a research-informed community of practice focused on building knowledge to advance racial equity in online career and technical education programs. 

Before joining Urban, Spaulding was the university director of workforce development for the City University of New York (CUNY), the nation’s largest public urban university system, where she oversaw workforce and continuing education programs in CUNY’s 24 colleges and professional schools. From 2001 to 2009, she worked for Public/Private Ventures, where she was a senior program director, leading evaluations of sectoral programs, social purpose staffing agencies, and services for noncustodial fathers. 

Spaulding holds a BA in American government from Wesleyan University and an MA in public policy from Johns Hopkins University. 

Spaulding serves on the advisory committee for the New Jersey Education and Employment Data System. She is also an elected Swampscott Town Meeting representative.