Rachel Anderson

Director, Center for Adult and Veteran Services
Kent State University

Preventing Veteran Suicide on Campus; A Peer Mentoring Model

Rachel Anderson earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Stanford University and a Master of Arts in Counseling from Saint Mary’s College of California. She is currently ABD in Cultural Foundation of Education at Kent State University. Her dissertation research includes a feminist critique of the globalization of education for girls in developing regions.

Rachel is the Director of the Center for Adult & Veteran Services serving a broad range of adult and non-traditional students. She has worked with adult learners in private and public institutions of higher education for over 20 years, administering and teaching in traditional and accelerated degree formats. Her career encompasses extensive experience with special populations of single parents, veterans, students of color and older adults.

Joshua Rider

Assistant Director for the Center for Adult and Veteran Services
Kent State University

Joshua Rider is the Assistant Director for the Center for Adult and Veteran Services at Kent State University. He holds a Master of Education with a concentration in Higher Education and Student Personnel. He has served as the institutions VA Certifying Official for the past six years and the advisor for the Kent State University Veterans Club for 3 years.

Meg Krause

Associate Director Military Programs
American Council on Education

Serving Those Who Serve: Promising Practices in Veterans’ Education

Meg Krause has served ten years as a medic in the United States Army. During her five years of active duty, she served two overseas tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Since leaving active duty and joining the Reserves, Krause graduated from Penn State University and now brings her passion for helping fellow service members and veterans to her civilian work as associate director of military programs at the American Council on Education (ACE). In this role, Krause supports ACE veteran initiatives such as the Veteran Success Jam and Serving Those Who Serve. Prior to this, she consulted on America’s Heroes at Work, a U.S. Department of Labor education campaign focused on helping veterans with traumatic brain injury and/or post-traumatic stress disorder succeed in the workplace, and the National Resource Directory, a website developed jointly by the U.S. Departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs that provides information and assistance to wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans and their families.

Eric Buetikofer
Academic Advisor
Bowling Green State University

Communication and Retention Strategies for Today’s Student Veteran

Eric Buetikofer is a former active duty Army disabled Veteran. He has a bachelor’s degree in Social Studies Secondary Education from Mercyhurst College and a master’s degree in Cross-Cultural and International Education from Bowling Green State University. Eric currently works for Bowling Green State University in the office of Nontraditional and Transfer Student Services. Eric is a member of NACADA and has most recently presented at the Kent State “Ohio Universities: Serving Those Who Served” Veteran Symposium.

Larry Braue, Ed.D.
U.S. Army (Ret.)
Director of Veterans Services
University of South Florida

Veteran's Success Program

Dr. Larry Braue, (Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, Ret.) served over 27 years in the United States Army, with 21 of those years on Active Duty.  He enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in April 1981 and served through December 1983 as a Light Weapons Leader in the 12th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Arlington Heights, Illinois.  He received a Reserve Forces commission as an Infantry Officer from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983.  He joined the Active Guard Reserve Program in 1988 as a First Lieutenant.
Dr. Braue has served in a variety of leadership positions while serving in the United States Army. They include Professor of Military Science at Iowa State University;  Assistant Professor of Military Science and Leadership, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida; Operations Officer, 19th Theater Support Command, Des Moines, Iowa; Force Development Officer, 19th Theater Army Area Command, Des Moines, Iowa; Support Operations Officer, 213th Supply & Service Battalion, Wausau, Wisconsin; Battalion S4, 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry, Fort Shafter, Hawaii; Executive Officer, A/1-314th Infantry (Mechanized), Williamsport, Pennsylvania; Platoon Leader, 346th Supply Company, Rockford, Illinois; Protocol Officer, Task Force 364, Camp Oso Grande, Honduras; Executive Officer, ODA 124, 12th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Upon retiring from the Army in 2008, Dr. Braue became the Associate Director for Academic Support Services at the University of Central Florida Daytona campus.  On January 25, 2010, Dr. Braue assumed the role as Director of Veterans Services at the University of South Florida.  Dr. Braue continues to raise awareness of the struggles that our veterans face when they transition from combat to the classroom. 
He holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Liberty University, a Masters of Arts in Human Resource Management from Central Michigan University and a Bachelors of Arts in Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Dr. Braue is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Quartermaster Officer Advance Course, the Combined Services Staff School, the Command and General Staff College, and the Army Airborne and Air Assault Schools. 
He and his wife Staci have one daughter, Celeste Dian.

Scott Peska, Ed.D.
Director, Military Student Services and Office of Support & Advocacy
Division of Student Affairs & Enrollment Management
Northern Illinois University

Assessing Military and Veteran Student Services

Dr. Scott Peska serves as the Director of Military Student Services at Northern Illinois University. Additionally, Scott serves as the NASPA Region IV-East Enough is Enough Coordinator to help stem societal violence on college campuses and their communities. Peska has presented on multiple topics at national conferences (ACPA, NASPA, FYE, NODA, ISTS). Peska earned his doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and focuses much of his research on transfer students and their adjustment to college.

Wendy A. Lang

Director, Director of Policy and Programs for the
New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities

The Operation College Promise Model
“Our Call to Duty:  Creating Environments for Veterans’ Success on Campus”

Wendy A. Lang is the Director of Policy and Programs for the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities (NJASCU).  Prior to joining NJASCU in the fall of 2007, Wendy worked in state government for 10 years including serving as Senator John H. Ewing’s Chief of Staff, staffing both the Senate Education and Women’s Issues Committee, and later, filling an appointment as  Governor Christie Todd Whitman’s  Education Policy Advisor.   

In her current position, Wendy is responsible for policy research and initiation, as well as managing annual state budget responsibilities.  Since developing Operation College Promise (OCP) in 2008, she has also served as the Director, managing programming, outreach, public relations and partnership development.  Since its inception, the program has been recognized as a national model for originating one of the first websites designed for veterans and those who serve them; crafting the nation’s first “Field Guide” for veterans’ service providers; and developing  the Certificate for Veterans’ Service Providers (CVSP)training program.  Her most recent initiatives have been in developing tracking mechanisms for student veterans’ success on campus  - the Graduation Probability Indices –( GPI) as well as researching a similar indicator for veteran’s career success – the Employment Projection Indices (EPI). 

Wendy currently serves on the Richard Stockton State College (RSSC) Veterans Advisory Board, and has contributed to numerous grant review boards, facilitated for the American Council on Education’s inaugural “Veterans Success Jam” and participated in the US Department of Labor’s “American Heroes at Work” think tank.  She is a frequent contributor and presenter at local and national conferences focusing on veterans in transition.
Operation College Promise (OCP) was one of one recipients of the $100,000 ACE/Walmart “Success for Veterans Grant), with additional funding assistance from NJASCU, Thomas Edison State College and AAA.  It has recently been awarded a grant from Education Testing Services (ETS) to expand the CVSP program to Texas.

Lauren DelRicci

Outreach Coordinator for Operation College Promise
New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities

Lauren DelRicci is a veteran of the United States Navy. She joined the service shortly after graduating high school in her hometown of Medford, New Jersey. Her time in the military included tours on the USS Blue Ridge LCC-19 in Yokosuka, Japan, and onboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz CVN-68 in San Diego, California. Her highest accomplishment was earning the rank of Machinist Mate Third-Class Petty Officer. While on active duty, Lauren attended college courses at University of Maryland and Central Texas College, nearly earning her associate’s degree before her transition into civilian life.  Upon return to New Jersey, Lauren pursued her education at the local county college and eventually found her place studying at The College of Communications at Rowan University. She served as the student president of Rowan’s Veteran Student Organization and spent many hours in the veterans’ affairs office as a VA work-study student, graduating in May 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in public relations. Since graduation, she has worked in various capacities serving New Jersey’s veteran student population, primarily as the Outreach Coordinator for Operation College Promise. Lauren has been accepted to Monmouth University and plans to participate in their Masters of Arts program studying Corporate and Public Communications beginning spring, 2012.

Doug Boyd, Ph.D. 

             Director, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History   
University of Kentucky

From Combat to Kentucky Oral History Project 

Doug Boyd Ph.D. serves as the Director of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky Libraries and is a recognized national leader regarding oral history, archives and digital technologies.   Most recently, Boyd led the team that envisioned, designed and implemented the open source OHMS system that synchronizes text with audio and video online. 

His recent publications include  the book Crawfish Bottom: Recovering a Lost Kentucky Community

Doug Boyd also regularly writes, lectures, and consults on oral history and digital technologies, archives, and digital preservation and he regularly teaches archives and oral history courses for the University of Kentucky’s School of Library and Information Science and Education Department

He is currently managing the IMLS grant project Oral History in the Digital Age establishing current best practices for collecting, curating and disseminating oral histories.  The grant is directed by MATRIX at Michigan State University and partners the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the Oral History Association, and the American Folklore Society.  Previously, Doug Boyd established and administered Digital Programs for the University of Alabama Libraries, served as the Director of the Kentucky Oral History Commission and prior to that worked as the Senior Archivist for the oral history collection at the Kentucky Historical Society.    

James Schmeling
Managing Director
Institute for Veterans and Military Families/Syracuse University


Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Institute Fellows Program, Institute Programs on Entrepreneurship

James Schmeling is co-founder of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families and serves as Managing Director. He is a member of the senior leadership team, and promotes the mission of the Institute by working with Syracuse University partners, with federal, state and local partners throughout the country, with Veterans, their families, NGOs, educational institutions, and others who have a stake in the mission and values of the Institute.

Schmeling is a U.S. Air Force veteran, served 6+ years, and was honorably discharged at rank of sergeant. He was stationed in Colorado, California, and Spain, and engaged with and supervised active duty Air Force and civil service employees as well as Spanish Air Force and Spanish National Geographic Institute staff. He began his education while serving in the U.S. Air Force, earning credits from the Community College of the Air Force. After leaving the Air Force, he earned his law degree, with distinction, from the University of Iowa in 1999, and his B.A. in political science with minor in international studies from Iowa State University in 1997. In the Air Force, Schmeling was assigned to the Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) and was a seismic systems computer-electronics technician (99104, later 9S100). He was responsible for repair logistics for all reparable assets worldwide in the Atomic Energy Detection System. While assigned to a field maintenance position at a remote detachment in Spain he also conducted resource protection, crime prevention, and counter-terrorism duties. He held Top Secret security clearance during active duty, was awarded the Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the National Defense Service Medal, and was a Distinguished Graduate, U.S. Air Force Noncommissioned Officer Preparatory Course, 1990. As part of his unit he was awarded the Air Force Organizational Excellence Award.

Schmeling has extensive experience related to Veterans, education, inclusion, assistive technology, and diversity, and social science and STEM disciplines. He has been Principal Investigator on three grants from Disabled American Veterans and the William Bingham Foundation for the disability-related components of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans. He is Co-PI on a cooperative agreement from U.S. DOL/VETS on National Veterans Technical Assistance Center for Homeless Veterans Reintegration Projects. He is currently a member of the Veterans Best Practices Advisory Committee at Syracuse University, and an advisory board member of the Taishoff Center on Inclusive Higher Education at the Syracuse University College of Education.

Raymond Toenniessen
Director of Operations
Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University

Ray Toenniessen is the Director of Operations for the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. Additionally, he serves as the National Managing Director of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities program, a program created by the Whitman School of Management and operated by the IVMF.

More than 350 wounded warriors have graduated from the EBV program since its inception in 2007, and the program is now being offered on seven college campuses across the U.S. Over the past year, Toenniessen was instrumental in developing and executing three other educational training programs for veterans and military families as the Director of Veteran Outreach Programs at the Whitman School of Management. These programs - EBV-Families, V-WISE and Operation Endure & Grow - educate and equip veterans and their families with the skills and tools they need to successfully pursue business ownership. Toenniessen is responsible for the management, execution and marketing of all of these programs.

Toenniessen has extensive experience in program management, operations, administration, customer service, and employee relations. A former Army Officer, he has served at the platoon, company and battalion level in numerous leadership and staff positions. In 2008, Toenniessen deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he was responsible for the logistical activity for the entire central region of the country. Under Ray’s leadership his unit successfully redeployed in 2009, and Toenniessen was awarded a Bronze Star for his service. Toenniessen has served as a platoon leader, operations officer, convoy commander, contracting officer, and detachment commander.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Science from Syracuse University and is completing his MBA from the Saunders College of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Ronnie White
Assistant Director
G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Center for America’s Veterans at
Mississippi State University

Veteran Transition Issues

Ronnie White is the Assistant Director. Ronnie served 22 years active duty for the Army National Guard and retired in May 2004. After retiring from the military, he was a high school teacher/head coach for 4 years before joining Mississippi State’s Center for America’s Veterans. He holds a Bachelor of Public Administration from the University of Mississippi and is currently enrolled in Graduate School in Public Policy and Administration at Mississippi State University.

Diane Sandefur
Director, TRIO
Veterans Upward Bound
University of Pennsylvania

TRIO Veterans Upward Bound - Be All That You Can Be

Diane Sandefur has been with the University of Pennsylvania for over 20 years, with VUB since 1997, and has served as Director for the past eight years. She is dual degreed from the University of Pennsylvania having received her Bachelor of Arts in 1995 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Women's Studies and with Magna Cum Laude honors. She received her Master's of Science in Education with a concentration in Educational Psychology in 1997. She has served as the TRIO Mid-Eastern Regional President for three terms from 2004-2011, as the Pennsylvania TRIO President for one term from 2002-2004, and as the Treasurer and Secretary for the National Association of Veterans Upward Bound for one year each from 2000-2002. Most recently she concluded serving for seven years on the National Board of Directors for the Council for Opportunity in Education from 2004-2011. It is an honor for Diane to serve the underrepresented veterans in the Philadelphia region and to assist them as they prepare to enroll in college.