About
Staff
Brian K. Fitzgerald - Executive Director
Christopher Roe - Deputy Director
Nancy R. Kuhn - Director of External Relations
Jeanne Contardo - Director of Programs
Natalie Nielsen - Director of Research
Ursula Gross - Associate Director of Communications
Kirstin McCarthy - Associate Director of Programs
Patricia Huber - Business and Events Manager
Judy Tsai - Communications Associate
Brian K. Fitzgerald
Executive Director
Brian K. Fitzgerald joined BHEF as executive director in January 2005 and has since led a major repositioning and rebranding effort for the independent non-profit organization. Focusing on a more action-oriented agenda for BHEF and its members, Dr. Fitzgerald has brought to the forefront a commitment to advancing innovative solutions to our nation’s education challenges in conjunction with a larger effort to enhance U.S. competitiveness. Dr. Fitzgerald has guided 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 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 a federal committee that advised Congress on higher education and student aid policy. He also served as an adjunct associate professor of government at American University. 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.
Christopher Roe
Deputy Director
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
Nancy R. Kuhn joined BHEF as director of external relations in 2006 and is responsible for the development of a strategic communications program supporting BHEF and its initiatives, for advancement and foundation relations, and for membership relations and outreach. Since her arrival, BHEF has undertaken a major rebranding effort, revamped its communications platform and Web site, initiated a systematic advancement program to expand BHEF’s funding base beyond dues revenues, and developed new membership policies and outreach efforts.
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, 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 a member of the National Capital Region Board of College Summit 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.
Natalie Nielsen
Director of Research
Natalie Nielsen joined BHEF in 2008 as the director of research. Before joining BHEF, Dr. Nielsen was a senior education researcher for SRI International, a research institute conducting client-sponsored research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses, foundations, and other organizations. There, she specialized in research related to high-school reform and the transition to postsecondary education. Her projects included the evaluation of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Early College High School Initiative, which supports high-school/college partnerships to help underserved students earn up to 2 years of college credit while in high school; the evaluation of the Texas High School Project, a statewide initiative that aims to improve graduation rates, college and career readiness, and STEM participation; and research support for a comprehensive initiative to increase high-school graduation and college-going rates in Omaha, Nebraska.
Prior to SRI, Dr. Nielsen served as a writer and editor for Project 2061, the science education reform initiative of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She also has experience as a museum researcher and exhibit writer for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History and the San Diego Museum of Natural History.
Dr. Nielsen earned her Ph.D. in education from George Mason University. She also holds a M.S. in geological sciences from San Diego State University and a B. S. in geology from the University of California, Davis.
Ursula Gross
Associate Director of Communications
Ursula Gross joined the Business-Higher Education Forum in 2008. She is responsible for BHEF’s Web site and other overall communications, marketing, and outreach activities. Prior to joining BHEF, she was the associate director of marketing and public affairs at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). There she worked on the association’s Liberal Education and America’s Promise initiative, an advocacy campaign that champions the value of a liberal education for individual students and for a nation dependent on economic creativity and democratic vitality. Prior to AAC&U, Ms. Gross worked at a public relations agency with clients such as McGraw-Hill, Standard and Poor’s, and Aon Consulting.
Ms. Gross received her M.A. in English from Georgetown University and her B.A. in English and business (cum laude) from Franklin and Marshall College.
Kirstin McCarthy
Associate Director of Programs
Kirstin McCarthy joined the Business-Higher Education Forum in 2006, and has focused on the development and implementation of the College Readiness Initiative (CRI). Prior to joining BHEF she worked as an educator at international schools in both Ecuador and Thailand. McCarthy’s employment history includes the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, the Institute for Higher Education Policy, and the Higher Education Information Center. In these positions she focused on issues of college access and success, retention at Minority Serving Institutions, and state policies to improve the education pipeline. She also worked in the Office of the Dean for Administration at the Harvard Law School.
McCarthy is a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she earned an M.Ed in Administration, Planning & Social Policy. She holds a B.A. in English, with concentrations in Spanish and education from Bates College. Through her career in international teaching, McCarthy has traveled extensively in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. She is the co-author of "Retention and Student Success at Minority Serving Institutions."
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.
Judy Tsai
Program Associate
Judy Tsai joined BHEF as a program associate in 2007, and handles a variety of BHEF tasks, including booking travel, meeting planning, prospective member and foundation research
Tsai earned her bachelor's in fine arts at Carnegie Mellon University.
>>June 26, 2009
Brian Fitzgerald, executive director of BHEF, responds to the Education Department's plans to simplify the financial aid application process. "We are pleased to learn of Secretary Duncan and President Obama's efforts to simplify the process…Too many low-income students do not complete the FAFSA because of the form's complexity, reducing their chances of financial resources that provide access to and help foster success in college." Read the full response on the advocacy page.
>>May 15, 2009
BHEF Chair and President of Cornell University David Skorton was selected to be chairman of the Task Force on Diversifying the New York State Economy through Industry-Higher Education Partnerships. Created by Governor Paterson, the task force will bring together New York state leaders in industry and higher education to generate ideas to diversify the state's economy through industry-higher education partnerships. It will study best practices and generate recommendations on fostering business incubation, growth and emerging technology commercialization.