Creating Solutions. Inspiring Action.

Member Login | Register

 

About

Staff

Brian K. Fitzgerald - Executive Director
Christopher Roe - Deputy Director
Nancy R. Kuhn - Director of External Relations
Jeanne Contardo - Director of Programs
Tania Dutta - Assistant Director of Policy Research
Erica Kashiri - Assistant Director of Policy and Programs
Pamela Lessard - Director of Communications
Patricia Huber - Business and Events Manager
Alexander Sittig - Communications Associate


Brian K. Fitzgerald

Executive Director
Fitzgerald

Brian K. Fitzgerald joined BHEF as executive director in January 2005 and has since led the organization to develop an ambitious policy agenda focused on college readiness, access, and success, particularly in high-need disciplines such as science and math, and spearheaded major programmatic initiatives to support this work. Under Dr. Fitzgerald’s leadership, both of BHEF’s key initiatives—Securing America’s Leadership in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and the College Readiness, Access and Success Initiative (CRI): An Agenda for Educational Success—have grown as signatures of the organization.

Prior to joining BHEF, Dr. Fitzgerald served as staff director for the federal Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, which advises Congress on higher education and student aid policy. During his tenure, the Advisory Committee released several influential reports, including: Access Denied, Empty Promises, and The Student Aid Gauntlet; and also commissioned The Condition of Access (edited by Donald Heller). Dr. Fitzgerald has written numerous magazine articles, papers and book chapters on policies to improve college access and success. He also served as an adjunct associate professor of government at American University, teaching advanced studies courses on the politics of education. In the private sector, Dr. Fitzgerald held senior project management positions for large-scale education research projects for federal agencies. Earlier in his career, he served as assistant dean and as a lecturer in education at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.

Dr. Fitzgerald earned his master’s degree and doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he also served on the alumni council for four years and as chairman during the 2006-7 academic year. He received his bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, which named him Distinguished Alumnus in 2000 and awarded him an honorary doctorate in public service in 2009.

Christopher Roe

Deputy Director

Roe Christopher Roe joined the Business-Higher Education Forum in 2005. In his role as deputy director, Roe oversees BHEF’s policy, research and programmatic activities, including BHEF’s current initiatives focused on strengthening America’s leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and improving college readiness and success among all students. Roe previously was managing director of the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research and the National Center for Postsecondary Improvement, based at Stanford University. Roe is also co-founder of Pacific Educational Group, based in San Francisco, CA, and the Foundation for a College Education (FCE) located in East Palo Alto, CA, a non-profit organization that assists talented students of color and their families in attaining a college education.

Roe has authored or contributed to a number of reports on issues of state and federal higher education policy and has served on the editorial board of the ASHE Reader on Governance and Organizational Behavior. Roe received his master's in public policy from the University of California-Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy, and his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Nancy R. Kuhn

Director of External Relations

KuhnNancy R. Kuhn joined BHEF as director of external relations in 2006. She is responsible for external relations, development, and membership relations and outreach.  Since her arrival, BHEF has undertaken a systematic development program to expand the organization’s funding base beyond dues revenues, and developed new membership programs and outreach efforts.  Earlier in her tenure, she also led a major organizational rebranding effort that included revamping BHEF’s communications platform and Web site. 

Kuhn is a former partner of a major international law firm, where she counseled and litigated on behalf of Fortune 200 corporations and national non-profit organizations, including private foundations and educational organizations. Her practice included advising corporate and non-profit executives on organizational restructurings and strategic planning; corporate compliance; implementing reductions-in-force, performance management systems, and outsourcing efforts; and designing various management policies. She also represented national defense contractors, major financial services companies, aerospace companies, nuclear energy companies, technology companies, non-profits and independent foundations in individual and class action lawsuits in federal and state courts.

Prior to becoming an attorney, she served as staff director for a Presidential commission on U.S. competitiveness composed of Fortune 100 CEOs, university leaders and representatives of organized labor, and also was the briefing director for the U.S. Secretary of Education in two successive administrations. Earlier in her career, she held community development positions in state and local government.

She is a former President of Wake Forest University's 55,000-member Alumni Association and serves as an ex officio member of the University’s Alumni Council. She is vice chair of the National Capital Region Board of College Summit, an organization dedicated to college access for traditionally underserved populations, and also is a member of the Advisory Board of the Washington International School.

Kuhn holds a law degree from the George Washington University, a master of public administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a bachelor of arts in political science (cum laude) from Wake Forest University. She is a member of the D.C. Bar.  

Jeanne B. Contardo

Director of Programs

Jeanne B. Contardo joined the Business-Higher Education Forum as the director of programs in 2008 and is responsible for managing the organization’s new and existing programs and initiatives.  Prior to joining BHEF, she worked as a research fellow at the National Defense University, the premier institution for Joint Professional Military Education, focusing in part on the changing workforce needs in the United States. Dr. Contardo’s employment history includes the Institute for Higher Education Policy, where she collaborated on studies targeting underserved populations in higher education, including prisoners and foster youth, as well as three years with the University of Washington Honors Program in Seattle, where she helped design and implement policy to increase access and success in higher education.

Dr. Contardo earned her Ph.D. in higher education policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. She has published and presented widely on the topic of access to higher education, specifically focusing on how interagency partnerships form to provide programming for at-risk groups. Dr. Contardo holds a master’s degree in higher and postsecondary education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and her bachelor’s degree (cum laude) in English at the University of Washington.

Tania Dutta

Assistant Director of Policy Research

Tania Dutta joined the Business-Higher Education Forum in 2010 and is responsible for conducting policy analysis, research, and programmatic activities for BHEF’s initiative on strengthening America’s leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Prior to joining BHEF, she consulted for clients in the non-profit, corporate, and academic sectors including National Academy of Sciences, Nike, and the World Bank working on a broad spectrum of projects including Research & Development policy, higher education, and workforce development and innovation policy. Tania has also worked as an advocacy leader with the United Nations Development Program where she initiated a campaign for understanding the social challenges faced by mentally challenged children and their families.

She is a graduate of the Master of Public Policy program from the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley and also holds graduate and undergraduate degrees in biochemistry.

Erica Kashiri

Assistant Director of Policy and Programs

Erica Kashiri joined the Business-Higher Education Forum in 2010 and is responsible for the development and execution of the policy, advocacy, and programmatic goals of BHEF’s college readiness, access, and success (CRI) initiative.

Prior to joining BHEF, she performed a number of consulting projects for K-12 and higher education clients. Her work includes a program evaluation of Berkeley Unified School District’s student assignment plan for the BUSD Office of Evaluation and Assessment, as well as a faculty labor market analysis for the University of California Office of the President. In addition, she has experience in the California State Legislature with a particular focus on workforce development.

She received her master's in public policy from the University of California-Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy, and her bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia.

Pamela Lessard

Director of Communications

Pamela A. Lessard joined BHEF as director of communications in September 2009 and is responsible for advancing BHEF’s overall strategy by developing and executing communications, marketing, and outreach activities through the development of Web content, member communications, print and e-marketing pieces, press releases, briefing materials, and other communications supporting BHEF initiatives. This includes, with the assistance of a Web associate, supporting BHEF’s new Web-based resource center, StrategicEdSolutions.org and StemNetwork.org.

Most recently, Lessard was a freelance writer and editor, working for a variety of clients. From 1997-2005, Lessard served as senior director of member communications for the National Restaurant Association. There she oversaw written communications with association members and U.S. lawmakers, including a revamped four-color newsletter, event brochures, annual reports, Web content, correspondences, and press releases. She also served as the staff advisor for the association’s highly visible board-level Tourism Committee.

Prior to that, Lessard served as publications editor at the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), where she was responsible for the publication of a monthly, four-color magazine. She also wrote and edited a weekly newsletter focusing on legislative priorities and initiatives; and wrote and edited press releases, letters, speeches and columns for association leaders. In addition, she participated in planning and implementing communication strategies and events such as press conferences.

Before coming to IPAA, Lessard was an associate editor of a biweekly publication reporting on federal technology policy. Early in her career, Lessard was a reporter and bureau clerk at the Tampa Tribune Company in Tampa, Fla.

Lessard is a graduate of the University of South Florida, with a bachelor of arts in Communications.

Patricia Huber

Business and Events Manager

Patricia Huber joined BHEF in 2008 as business and events manager. Huber attended Miami University and Wright State University in Ohio, earning a bachelor’s degree in social studies education and a master’s degree in economics, respectively. After serving as a White House intern, she held senior positions at the Departments of Energy and Commerce, where her career was focused on international trade, export controls, and national security issues.

A teacher and college instructor in economics prior to her government career, Huber returned to the field of education at Missouri State University in 2006, where she worked in the Graduate Department of Defense & Strategic Studies before joining BHEF.

Alexander Sittig

Communications Associate

Alexander Sittig joined BHEF as a communications associate in October 2009 and is responsible for assisting the director of communications with BHEF’s Web site, marketing, outreach activities, and other external communications functions supporting BHEF initiatives. Before joining BHEF, Sittig was a communications specialist at the American Psychological Association (APA) where he was responsible for membership marketing and communications, as well as the promotion of the association’s annual convention.  Prior to APA, Sittig worked as a Program Manager at the American Psychiatric Association’s Department of Education. 

Sittig earned his bachelor of arts in Communications from the University of Pittsburgh and received his certification in Web Development and Design from the GS Graduate School in Washington DC.