Women in Leadership Steering Committee

Candace Campbell Jackson
WIL Founder
Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff to the Chancellor

Candace Campbell Jackson serves as senior vice president and chief of staff to Chancellor Syverud. An accomplished higher education executive, Jackson is recognized for being an exemplary strategic and operations leader with a strong record of achieving successful outcomes in all critical higher education management functions including academic affairs, athletics, auxiliary enterprises, board relations, communications and marketing, enrollment management, executive recruitment and team building, fundraising, governmental affairs, grants administration, international programs, planning, safety and strategic planning.

Elisa Dekaney
Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives

Elisa Macedo Dekaney is the associate provost for strategic initiatives at Syracuse University. Dekaney, who served as associate dean for research and global engagement and a professor of music education in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, is a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence. From 2014 to 2020, Dekaney was a core faculty member for the Renée Crown University Honors Program.

Dara J. Royer
WIL Cofounder
Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer

Dara Royer is a national leader in brand building and marketing and serves the University as the senior vice president and chief marketing officer. In this role, she directs external marketing efforts including strategic marketing campaigns, digital and content marketing, and brand stewardship. Her team of professionals are champions for promoting and protecting Syracuse University’s reputation as one of the preeminent and welcoming student-focused research universities.

Mary Grace Almandrez
Vice President, People and Culture

Mary Grace A. Almandrez serves as the vice president for people and culture. She integrates her commitment to social justice, visionary leadership and interdisciplinary approach into her work to advance diversity, inclusion and accessibility across campus. Almandrez oversees the Office of People and Culture, facilitates critical programs and initiatives, and partners with key constituencies to achieve the priorities outlined in the University’s Strategic Plans.

Kristen Barnes
Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty Research at Syracuse University College of Law

Dr. Kristen Barnes is a Professor of Law and an Associate Dean for Faculty Research at Syracuse University College of Law. Professor Barnes teaches courses on Property, Housing Law, Voting Rights Law, and International Law. Barnes received her B.A. in Political Science from Vassar College, J.D. from Harvard Law School, and Ph.D. in Literature from Duke University. Dr. Barnes’s scholarship focuses on anti-discrimination and equality law, constitutional law, international law, and legal issues concerning property, housing and education.

Susan Cornelius Edson
Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director/Communications

As the chief communications officer for Syracuse Athletics, Sue Edson is responsible for all public relations and media relations functions for the department. She serves as a member of the department’s senior leadership and external relations teams, including communications, marketing, tickets, fundraising, corporate sales, digital media and athletics production. She supervises the Athletic Communications Department and works closely with University Marketing and Communications on athletics-related matters. In addition, she is the primary communications sport contact for volleyball, ice hockey and women's rowing.

Alex Dietrich
Interim Chief Human Resources Officer

Alex Dietrich serves as interim Chief Human Resources Officer, leading a dedicated team of HR professionals to provide strategic talent management and take care of people. She brings dynamic experience from a 20-year career as a Naval officer, strike fighter pilot and faculty appointment at the U.S. Naval Academy's department of Leadership, Ethics & Law.  

Meghan Florkowski
Director, WISE Women’s Business Center

Meghan Florkowski is director of the WISE: Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Women’s Business Center (WBC). WISE is hosted by the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University and is one of 135 U.S. SBA designated Women’s Business Centers across the nation, reaching over 500 unique CNY women entrepreneurs annually with the tools and resources needed to reach their small business goals.

Marie Garland
Assistant Provost for Faculty Affairs

Marie Garland serves as the assistant provost for faculty affairs. In this role, she supports all operational functions and strategic initiatives within Academic Affairs as they relate to the faculty career progression, ongoing professional development, and leadership support with a specific emphasis on enhancing diversity, inclusion and accessibility. Specifically, she provides guidance on broadening faculty recruitment, structures orientation and mentoring for new faculty, and supports programs that encourage work/life and wellness.

Pam Gavenda
Associate Director, Organizational Development and Training, Office of Human Resources

Pam has over 20 years of human resource management experience working primarily for professional service firms and educational institutions. Currently her focus is on learning and development within the University's HR department. She is a senior professional in human resources and also a Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM)-senior certified professional. In addition to being a certified trainer for crucial conversations, she is also an instructor for the SHRM Certification Preparation course.

Beth Myers
Executive Director, Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education; Taishoff Associate Professor of Inclusive Education

Beth Myers is the Lawrence B. Taishoff Associate Professor of Inclusive Education and executive director of the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education. She is a faculty member in the Teaching and Leadership Department in the School of Education at Syracuse University, teaching in the inclusive elementary program where she started in 2014. She oversees InclusiveU, a model program for college students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Shikha Nangia, PhD
Milton and Ann Stevenson Endowed Professor Chair, Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Faculty Co-director, Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE)
Associate Editor, ACS Applied Bio Materials

Dr. Shikha Nangia is the Milton and Ann Stevenson Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University. She also serves as Faculty Co-Director of the Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) Program, where she supports the advancement of women in STEM. Dr. Shikha Nangia leads cross-disciplinary initiatives that advance education, research, and outreach in biomedical innovation, and mentorship.

Mary Opperman
Senior Vice President and University Secretary

Mary G. Opperman serves as senior vice president and University secretary. She supports the work of the Board of Trustees, manages the Office of the Board of Trustees and works closely with the board chair, the Chancellor, senior administration and committee chairs of the board to provide counsel and guidance on strategy, policy and process.

Sarah E. Scalese
Vice President for Communications

Sarah Scalese currently serves as vice president for communications at Syracuse University. In this role, she supports the chief communications officer in managing internal communications, media relations and issues management. Scalese partners with campus constituents, including University leaders, faculty, staff and students on communications initiatives designed to support the University’s engagement with its internal and external audiences, including the media. A respected member of the campus community, Scalese first joined Syracuse University in January 2014 as director of communications in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Emily Stokes-Rees
Director, School of Design
Iris Magidson Endowed Chair of Design Leadership

In addition to serving as the Director of VPA’s School of Design, Emily is a Professor of Museum Studies who specializes in historic curatorship and interpretation. She has served in various capacities around the university and wider academic community including acting as the current Chair of the Senate Committee on Appointment and Promotions, Vice-President of the Board of the Erie Canal Museum, and a term as Editor of the journal, Museum Anthropology. 

Jamie Winders
Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs 

Jamie Winders serves as vice provost for faculty affairs. In this capacity, Winders partners with Interim Vice Chancellor and Provost Lois Agnew and other Academic Affairs leaders to support key faculty initiatives and advance the University’s vision and mission as outlined in the Academic Strategic Plan.  A professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment, Winders was also the founding director of the Autonomous Systems Policy Institute.