Byron is a partnership strategist who has spent his career as a journalist and administrator in academic, corporate, non-profit, and public sectors, facilitating mutually beneficial engagement between institutions and urban communities. Most recently, as Associate Provost for Urban Research and Community Engagement at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, he oversaw urbanCORE (Community-Oriented Research and Engagement), an office charged with connecting the University’s interdisciplinary, academic resources to community assets to co-produce transformative solutions to societal issues. He also was an Affiliate Faculty appointment in UNC Charlotte’s Department of Educational Leadership.

Before serving in his role at UNC Charlotte, Byron held several leadership positions that allowed him to drive change and make a significant impact. He was the Executive Director of StrivePartnership, a Cincinnati-based collective impact organization focused on education improvement for urban learners from cradle to career, and a Vice President of its sponsor organization, Knowledge Works Foundation. He also served as Vice President for University Engagement and Chief Diversity Officer at Cleveland State University, Vice Chancellor for Economic Advancement for the University System of Ohio, and Associate Vice President for Community Engagement at Xavier University in Cincinnati, where he was the founding director of the Eigel Center for Community Engaged Learning.

Byron began his career as a newspaper journalist, serving as the editorial page editor of The Cincinnati Post, and as an editorial writer for the Chicago Tribune and editor of the Tribune’s Urban Affairs Team. He later became the Tribune’s senior manager for community relations. Between newspaper stints, Byron was active in community development efforts as founding director of the Conference of Walnut Hills Churches for Community Economic Development in Cincinnati and as a consultant to community-based organizations on Chicago’s West Side through the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at DePaul University, on whose national board he serves.

Byron’s academic achievements are a testament to his dedication and expertise in the field of higher education. He is on the Advisory Board of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and holds a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in social science from the University of Chicago, and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University. Byron has five adult children and five granddaughters. He lives in Charlotte and enjoys camping in the mountains, golfing and playing the saxophone.

Kara Adams is Director of Community Engagement & Strategic Partnerships at the University of Washington Bothell, where she provides campus-wide leadership to strengthen institutional infrastructure for community engagement. She has led the university through two Carnegie Community Engagement Classification application processes and plays an active role at the tri-campus level, supporting system-wide efforts to build shared infrastructure, tools, and policies that advance effective community engagement across the University of Washington’s Bothell, Seattle, and Tacoma campuses. Previously, she directed the Office of Connected Learning and the Office of Community-Engaged Learning and Research, where she supported faculty development through fellowships, workshops, and consultation.
 
Kara holds a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Willamette University and an M.Ed. in Student Development Administration from Seattle University. She lives in Shoreline, Washington, and can be found gardening with her two young kids.  

Dr. Paola "Lola" Esmieu serves as Vice President, Work College at Paul Quinn College (PQC), a Historically Black College in Dallas, Texas recognized as one of the most innovative colleges in America. Most recently, she served as Chief of Staff at Paul Quinn College, where she led a variety of high-visibility initiatives spanning Enrollment Management and Communications. Prior to joining PQC, she served as Director for Programs and Strategy at the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions (later the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions and the Samuel D. Proctor Institute for Leadership, Justice, and Equity) , where she led national and international programs and served as co-Principal Investigator for a $5.1 million Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-funded research initiative. Dr. Esmieu holds a Master of Science in Higher Education, a Master of Law, and a Doctor of Education, all from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a native of Los Angeles, California and currently calls Dallas home.

Dr. Gabe Estill (he/him) is the Associate Dean of Instruction at Wilbur Wright College, a Hispanic-Serving two-year college on Chicago’s Northwest Side. A fierce champion for student success, Gabe manages academic initiatives and technology, state and federal grants, the faculty tenure process, and accreditation. Most importantly, he helps students navigate their academic experience, so college is less intimidating and more accessible and equitable. He has led civic engagement initiatives, helping Wright earn the 2024 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, one of the few community colleges in the country to earn this distinction. He has also served as the Interim Vice President of Student and Academic Affairs and Dean of Instruction. 
Prior to joining Wright, Gabe served as Assessment Director at Moraine Valley Community College, where he focused on helping faculty measure and document student learning, and the journey through the curriculum process. Gabe taught writing courses for 13 years at two- and four-year colleges, and a Chicago high school. He holds a PhD in Higher Education Administration from Illinois State University and a Master of Arts in English from Western Illinois University. He lives in Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood with his lovely wife, two beautiful children, two mediocre cats, and one adorable dog. 

Emily M. Janke, Ph.D. is the inaugural director of the Institute for Community and Economic Engagement and professor of the Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.The Institute provides support for community-engaged scholars university-wide from within the Division from Research and Engagement. Emily’s scholarship addresses multiple aspects of community engagement focused on community-university partnerships, institutional culture and change strategies, and restorative listening. 
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As director of the Institute, Emily led the creation of Collaboratory® (with Barbara Holland and Kristin Medlin), a publicly searchable, online database designed to organize, track, and report comprehensive data on institutional partnerships. She was inducted as a fellow in the Academy of Community Engagement Scholarship in 2021. She has long served the Carnegie Foundation’s Community Engagement Elective Classification as a National Advisory Committee member, and more recently, she co-designed the revision of the 2026 application and training of over 130 peer reviewers. She serves on editorial boards for the Michigan Journal for Community Service Learning, Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, and Metropolitan University Journal.