2024 Power Players in Education

Lola W. Brabham is president of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities. CICU represents more than 100 independent colleges and universities in New York. Prior to joining CICU in 2021, Ms. Brabham served as commissioner of the NYS Department of Civil Service. Ms. Brabham possesses a dual Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Sociology from the State University of New York and an MPA from Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy.

How can policymakers support New York’s students and educators?
The most effective way to help students is to invest in student aid which will ensure that more students succeed in their pursuit of higher education. Increasing student aid also includes supporting opportunity programs like Liberty Partnership, STEP, C-STEP, HEOP and others to ensure students, including first-generation and those belonging to underrepresented groups, are provided the assistance they need to attend college, graduate, and fulfill their human potential.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
The best advice I’ve gotten is “work hard and pursue your passions” and “to be an open and forthright leader”.

Frances Bronet, president of Pratt Institute, is a distinguished leader in interdisciplinary education. Under her leadership, Pratt reduced campus energy use, improved its global art and design ranking, increased BIPOC enrollment, and raised funds for internships. Pratt co-founded the New York Climate Exchange, partnered with Bank Street College on a design-focused high school, and expanded to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Bronet holds architecture and engineering degrees from McGill and Columbia and serves on multiple boards.

How can policymakers support New York’s students and educators?
Policymakers can support New York’s students and educators by investing in arts, design, civic, and creative education, which are critical to the city’s vibrancy. Ensuring equitable access, particularly for underrepresented communities, through scholarships, affordable housing, and mental health support, is essential. Strengthening academia-industry partnerships will create career pathways for students, keeping New York competitive. Prioritizing professional development, compensation, and resources for educators, along with supporting sustainability initiatives, will prepare the next generation to tackle climate challenges.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
Working across disciplines by studying architecture and engineering at the same time was fundamental in my understanding of how creativity and technical problem-solving were not separate domains. The power of interdisciplinary learning brings diverse perspectives together in unpredictable ways. This can build communities that were once unfamiliar with each other to respond to complex problems unsolvable without different lenses.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
One of the best pieces of advice I hold onto is to “respect everyone’s genius.” It reminds me to approach each person knowing they have something extraordinary to contribute.

Susan R. Burns, Ph.D. serves as the sixth president of the University of Mount Saint Vincent. Embodying a deep-seated commitment to the liberal arts and its inherent promise to provide access to an authentic, high-quality education to talented students of every background, Dr. Burns has dedicated herself to the common good, Vincentian service, and the Catholic intellectual tradition. A psychologist, Dr. Burns remains active in her field of study.

How can policymakers support New York’s students and educators?
Recognizing that education is a primary path to social and economic mobility, policymakers in New York can support students by increasing state funding for financial aid, scholarships, and internship programs. They can serve as catalysts for education leading to careers by fostering collaborations between higher education institutions and industry partners across multiple sectors. Lastly, using research to identify barriers, including mental health challenges, policymakers can help create a more effective and inclusive higher education environment.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
During my education as a first-generation college student, I was able to conduct and present research at regional and national/international psychology conferences. Through this experience and because of an incredible mentor, I learned that I could develop expertise and that what I had to say mattered. These experiences not only shaped me as a learner; they shaped me as a future educator and administrator by wanting to empower future students to find their voice.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
Know yourself, know your worth, and even when circumstances call for you to adapt, be authentically you.

Since becoming the ninth president of Iona University on July 1, 2019, Seamus Carey, Ph.D., has been a driving force in higher education. Known for his visionary leadership, Carey has propelled institutional growth and expanded opportunities for students. Highlights include acquiring a second campus, launching the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, and enhancing programs in athletics, performing arts and study abroad. His leadership is firmly rooted in Iona’s mission of faith and service.

How can policymakers support New York’s students and educators?
It is important for policymakers to recognize that the role of higher education extends far beyond job preparation, particularly as artificial intelligence reshapes the value and nature not just of work, but of knowledge itself. Supporting New York’s students and educators means recognizing and valuing the transformative power of education, not just as a pathway to employment, but as a holistic process that cultivates informed citizens prepared for civic and social leadership.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
My favorite moments were with my Vassar professor, Michael McCarthy, who inspired me to pursue philosophy by the way he lived his life. As a first-generation college student, seeing him live the values he discussed and taught was transformative. It also introduced me to the thinkers who asked the essential questions required for living a meaningful life, giving me the confidence to pursue lines of thinking that would become instrumental in shaping my path ahead.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
At first, I didn’t see myself as a college president. But when considering the position, my mentor pointedly asked me, “Why do you want to be a college president?” This question forced me to clarify how I understand the leadership required. It does not call for abandoning my passion for philosophy, instead recognizing that the role of college president is simply a larger platform to put my philosophy into practice and drive meaningful change.

Michael Cassidy is a partner at Brown & Weinraub Advisors. He is a trustee and executive committee member of Maria College, chair of the Council of Governing Boards founded with the mission of organizing the trustees of New York’s private, not-for-profit colleges and universities to advocate for policies that benefit the entire Independent Sector, a trustee of CICU, and member of the Rockefeller College advisory board.  

Dr. Kimberly R. Cline was named the 10th president of Long Island University in July 2013, assuming the leadership of one of the most comprehensive private universities in the country. She has led the nearly century old institution through a transformational process to provide students with an exceptional education that emphasizes experiential learning and excellence in teaching and research. Dr. Cline’s tenure has cultivated dynamic new schools, centers, and high quality academic programs.

After serving as president of Naugatuck Valley Community College for 12 years, Dr. Cocco De Filippis returned to Hostos, where she had previously been provost and senior vice president for academic affairs (2002–2008). Now as president of Hostos, she is the first Dominican woman to lead a CUNY institution. A published author and literary critic, she is recognized internationally as a pioneer in the field of Dominican women studies and Dominican authors in the U.S.

Anthony Crowell is in his 13th year leading New York Law School. Previously, he served as counselor to Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Under Crowell’s leadership, NYLS is a powerful engine of civic leadership and social mobility in the City. A new curriculum, diversity programs, academic centers, and institutes give students opportunities to enter the fastest-growing legal job sectors, including business and financial services, intellectual property and technology, and government and public interest.

Dr. Gladys I. Cruz has a distinguished career in education as a teacher and leader at the local, regional, state, and national levels. As district superintendent for Questar III Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), Cruz serves a dual role acting as the representative of the state commissioner of education and chief executive officer of the BOCES. Cruz began her career as a teacher in Puerto Rico and her education experience ranges from K-20. 

How can policymakers support New York’s students and educators?
Policymakers can support students and educators alike by visiting our schools so that practice can drive policy. Policymakers can also advocate for equitable access to the highest quality public education for all students. We must address challenges with funding, school safety, academic loss, and mental health as well as continue to leverage partnerships with higher education, business, industry, and community groups.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
My favorite experience was getting books when schools held book fairs. I loved to read (and still do!) so getting a new book was like receiving a gift for a special holiday. Given that my family often could not afford to purchase books for me, my teachers would always get me a book. I love to hold and read a book!

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
You can be whatever you want to be – reach for the stars! I received this advice in different formats from my teachers in my early grades and from formal and informal mentors during my adult life. During my early grades, my teachers would say something like: “You can do it” to my mentors telling me: “Apply for this job. You would be great at it!” I pay this advice forward.

Dr. Fernando Delgado is the fourth president of Lehman College, a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) in The Bronx and part of CUNY. He has held key academic leadership roles, including executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Minnesota Duluth and dean at both Minnesota State Mankato and Hamline University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from San José University and graduate degrees in communication studies from The University of Iowa.

How can policymakers support New York’s students and educators?
Policymakers support students and educators through their commitment to public higher education, recognizing the importance of an educated workforce. Their investment provides job training, certificate, and degree options for New Yorkers, driving the state forward. This collaboration between higher education and elected officials, including mayors and the Governor, is a powerful partnership that greatly benefits the community.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
I have several to choose from, but one example that comes to mind is when a faculty mentor called me out, after class, and challenged me to get serious about my learning and caring about school. It was embarrassing but he conveyed that he cared about me and my future. That feeling, more than the words, buoyed me and that faculty member, Philip Wander, made all the difference in the world.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
Be honest with yourself and do your work. My senior colleague advised me not to worry about the next job but to focus on doing the current one and for the right reasons. Count on others noticing that effort and focus, and the next job will take care of itself. That advice has served me well over the past 25 years as I have changed institutions and moved up the ladder.