Diana Pienaar

Director

CFEED

Diana has always had a tendency to follow the road less traveled and focuses on areas where she is best able to make a difference. It is for that reason that she enjoys her role as the Director of CFEED, a collaborative project focused on determining student success factors based upon data analytics derived from shared data from institutional partners — Valencia College, University of Central Florida, The School District of Osceola County and Orange County Public Schools. Prior to joining Valencia, Diana spent over 28 years in various roles within the Information Technology field. She worked within Research and Development roles in companies focused on Financial Services and Banking, E-Commerce, Logistics as well as Consulting Services at such companies as Gartner, Fiserv, Chep and Convergys prior to moving into academia. Additionally, Diana is a lifelong learner with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from UCF, a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a Juris Doctorate (JD) in Law and a Master of Laws (LLM) in Financial Services and International Taxation.

Evan Bonney, Ph.D.

Research Program Associate

Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Dr. Bonney is the Research Program Associate for the Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Driving the research to propel Florida from the 14th to the 10th largest global economy by 2030, Dr. Bonney and his team at the Florida Chamber Foundation are especially passionate about the future of Florida education and Florida’s workforce. Always eager to hear from others, please feel free to contact him at ebonney@flchamber.com or on LinkedIn.

Josiah Leinbach

Director of Research and Analytics

Division of Florida Colleges

Mr. Josiah Leinbach is a statistician and Director of Research and Analytics for the Division of Florida Colleges (DFC). He received his B.A. in History (2020) from Hillsdale College, and his M.S. in Applied Statistics (2024) and M.A. in Economics (2025) from Bowling Green State University. At the DFC, he oversees state reporting, designs studies, optimizes processes, and creates efficient data workflows to inform sound policy decisions by FDOE leadership. Presently, he leads the FCS’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System Migration Taskforce, and his professional research considers the effects of AI on human capital development and social networks within higher education. He is a classical pianist, amateur historian, and enjoys reading everything from philosophy to physics.

Ashton Terry, Sr., M.Ed.

Senior Manager – Research, Evaluation & Accountability

CFEED · Osceola County Public Schools

Ashton Terry has served as an educator for 17 years in SDOC. He has experience as a teacher, learning resource specialist, assistant principal, and principal. In 2021, Ashton became the CFEED Senior Manager within SDOC’s Research, Evaluation & Accountability Department. Aside from his CFEED responsibilities which have contributed to dozens of research projects and several conference presentations, Ashton regularly fulfills data support requests from school and district leaders. Mr. Terry was also nominated by his superintendent and selected as a panelist for the Florida Department of Education’s 2023 B.E.S.T Standard Setting. Ashton received a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Ohio University, and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Central Florida.

Andrew Maceyko

BI Developer

Midtown Consulting Group

Andrew is a passionate, highly motivated consultant with an emphasis on data analytics, transformation, and project management. He has spent a majority of his early career working in project management roles within the Aviation and Construction industries. Many of the projects that he worked on required a detail-oriented approach with a wide range of responsibilities. Andrew is a graduate of Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and a Coles Scholars Leadership Program Minor. He is a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) and has several Microsoft Certifications. He likes to volunteer his time with the Boy Scouts of America, in which he is an Eagle Scout.

Amy Darty

Senior Instructor of History; Faculty Fellow – Curriculum Alignment

University of Central Florida

Amy Darty is a Senior Instructor of History and Faculty Fellow for Curriculum Alignment at the University of Central Florida. With over 30 years of experience in higher education, she has served in teaching, assessment, curriculum design, and faculty development roles. Amy works across disciplines with UCF and partner institutions to improve curriculum alignment, strengthen transfer pathways, and enhance student success outcomes. Her recent initiatives focus on leveraging artificial intelligence to support large-scale analysis of course learning outcomes, program coherence, and academic planning. She is committed to developing practical, scalable approaches that empower faculty while advancing institutional goals.

Harrison N. Oonge, Ed.D.

Executive Director, Academic Planning and Strategic Initiatives, UCF Connect

University of Central Florida

Harrison N. Oonge serves as the executive director for academic planning and strategic initiatives for UCF Connect, housed in the Division of Student Success and Well-Being. In this role, Harrison oversees undergraduate articulation agreements, success pathways, and curriculum alignment. Prior to joining UCF, Harrison worked for three years at West Virginia University (WVU) as a project specialist in Undergraduate Academic Affairs and as an adjunct professor in WVU’s College of Education and Human Services, where he taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses. Harrison holds a B.A. in Education (Kenyatta University, Kenya), an M.A. in Special Education, and an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction (WVU).

Joey Rebecca Templeton, Ph.D.

Professor of English

Valencia College

Dr. Joey Templeton is a Professor of English at Valencia College with over 20 years of higher education experience and a Ph.D. in Text & Technology from the University of Central Florida. For more than 25 years, she has directed afterschool and summer programs serving school-age children, including at-risk youth, and holds an Advanced Director Credential with the Florida Department of Children and Families. Her current work integrates STEM-based learning into under-resourced camps and childcare programs serving at-risk children, exploring how AI can help create affordable, meaningful learning experiences that build confidence, expand opportunities, and foster college readiness.

Diana Pienaar

Director

CFEED

Diana has always had a tendency to follow the road less traveled and focuses on areas where she is best able to make a difference. It is for that reason that she enjoys her role as the Director of CFEED, a collaborative project focused on determining student success factors based upon data analytics derived from shared data from institutional partners — Valencia College, University of Central Florida, The School District of Osceola County and Orange County Public Schools. Prior to joining Valencia, Diana spent over 28 years in various roles within the Information Technology field. She worked within Research and Development roles in companies focused on Financial Services and Banking, E-Commerce, Logistics as well as Consulting Services at such companies as Gartner, Fiserv, Chep and Convergys prior to moving into academia. Additionally, Diana is a lifelong learner with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from UCF, a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a Juris Doctorate (JD) in Law and a Master of Laws (LLM) in Financial Services and International Taxation.

Ashton Terry, Sr., M.Ed.

Senior Manager – Research, Evaluation & Accountability

CFEED · Osceola County Public Schools

Ashton Terry has served as an educator for 17 years in SDOC. He has experience as a teacher, learning resource specialist, assistant principal, and principal. In 2021, Ashton became the CFEED Senior Manager within SDOC’s Research, Evaluation & Accountability Department. Aside from his CFEED responsibilities which have contributed to dozens of research projects and several conference presentations, Ashton regularly fulfills data support requests from school and district leaders. Mr. Terry was also nominated by his superintendent and selected as a panelist for the Florida Department of Education’s 2023 B.E.S.T Standard Setting. Ashton received a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Ohio University, and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Central Florida.

Dave Sobush

Director of Research and Policy

Florida College Access Network

Dave Sobush serves as the Director of Research and Policy for the Florida College Access Network (FCAN). He is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) with over 20 years of research and policy experience in economic, community and workforce development. In his role, he leverages a career of data analysis to develop and implement recommendations to increase post-secondary education access and student success. Dave holds an MBA from the University of South Florida in addition to an M.Ed. and a BA from the University of Florida. Prior to joining FCAN in August 2023, he held research and leadership positions at a variety of state, regional, local and academic institutions.

David Stanford

Enterprise Analytics Specialist

University of Central Florida

David Stanford is an accomplished analytics professional with over fifteen years of experience across a range of data-focused disciplines, including sales analysis, data visualization, data management, and process automation. As an Enterprise Analytics Specialist II at the University of Central Florida (UCF), he supports university-wide operational initiatives and data-informed decision-making. His work focuses on developing robust, self-service analytics solutions that not only deliver actionable insights but also empower users to explore and interact with data.

Diana Pienaar

Director

CFEED

Diana has always had a tendency to follow the road less traveled and focuses on areas where she is best able to make a difference. It is for that reason that she enjoys her role as the Director of CFEED, a collaborative project focused on determining student success factors based upon data analytics derived from shared data from institutional partners — Valencia College, University of Central Florida, The School District of Osceola County and Orange County Public Schools. Prior to joining Valencia, Diana spent over 28 years in various roles within the Information Technology field. She worked within Research and Development roles in companies focused on Financial Services and Banking, E-Commerce, Logistics as well as Consulting Services at such companies as Gartner, Fiserv, Chep and Convergys prior to moving into academia. Additionally, Diana is a lifelong learner with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from UCF, a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a Juris Doctorate (JD) in Law and a Master of Laws (LLM) in Financial Services and International Taxation.

Lori Auxier

Founder and President

Auxier Consulting

Lori Auxier is the Founder and President of Auxier Consulting, a mission-driven firm specializing in college access, financial aid navigation, financial capability, and student success strategy. An Accredited Financial Counselor with more than 28 years of leadership experience, she has held senior roles with the Florida Department of Education and ECMC, overseeing statewide and national outreach, scholarship, and training initiatives. Lori holds an MBA in Marketing and is committed to helping families and institutions create clearer, more equitable pathways to higher education.

B. Tyler Walsh

Director, Center for Higher Education Innovation & Interim Director, Center for Student Care & Advocacy

University of Central Florida

Tyler Walsh is the Director of the Center for Higher Education Innovation and Interim Director of the Center for Student Care & Advocacy at the University of Central Florida. He leads cross-functional initiatives that improve student success and well-being by aligning institutional strategy, operations, data, and emerging technologies. Tyler is the creator of Operation Insights, UCF’s framework for building AI-ready student success infrastructure. His work focuses on helping colleges and universities redesign systems that enable better decisions, more coordinated student support, and stronger outcomes at scale.

Justin Kingsland, Ph.D.

Assistant Director of Research and Data Insights

University of Central Florida

Justin Kingsland is Assistant Director of Research and Data Insights at the Center for Higher Education Innovation at the University of Central Florida. His work uses quantitative research methods and data at both the student and institutional levels to identify promising interventions, understand student success operations, and evaluate their impact on students. He partners with campus and national collaborators to translate complex information into practical insights that inform strategy and help advance student success.

Locksley Knibbs, Ph.D.

Assistant Director of Advising, College of Arts and Sciences & The Water School

Florida Gulf Coast University

Dr. Locksley Knibbs serves as Assistant Director of Advising for the College of Arts and Sciences and The Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), where he has dedicated 19 years to advancing meaningful student success initiatives. With over two decades of experience in education and leadership, he champions holistic, equity-driven advising grounded in research and best practices. Dr. Knibbs also teaches in FGCU’s Department of Integrated Studies, where he has taught Foundations of Civic Engagement since 2015. His national leadership includes service as Vice President (2022–2023) and Board Member (2021–2024) of NACADA.

Carrie Garcia, MBA

Director of the Take Stock in College and Career Program

Take Stock in Children of Florida

Carrie Garcia is a results-oriented leader and first-generation college graduate with over a decade of experience in education and non-profit management, currently serving as the Director of the Take Stock in College and Career Program at Take Stock in Children of Florida. Throughout her tenure, Carrie has delivered measurable outcomes in student persistence — increasing postsecondary persistence rates for program participants from 81% to 86% — while managing engagement for over 7,000 students through data-driven, comprehensive student support and innovative AI chatbot initiatives. Her career is rooted in a deep personal commitment to mentorship, having spent nearly seven years with Take Stock in Children of Broward County as a College Success Coach and Mentor Coordinator. A seasoned architect of large-scale initiatives like the Take Stock in Children Student Success Summit, Carrie holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and an MBA from Florida International University, combining data-driven organizational management with a lifelong passion for empowering underserved youth to reach their full potential.

Ele Bautista-Bernard, M.Ed.

Vice President of Student Success and Support Services

Take Stock in Children of Florida

Ele Bautista-Bernard holds a master’s in education and serves as Vice President of Student Success and Support Services at Take Stock in Children of Florida, where she leads statewide efforts supporting more than 15,000 middle, high school, and college students annually. With more than two decades of experience advancing educational opportunity, she oversees 45 local partner sites and student support initiatives that strengthen college readiness, persistence, and completion across Florida’s 40 public colleges and universities. Ele has led multimillion-dollar Department of Education grants, built data-driven accountability systems, and expanded innovative college readiness and retention models statewide.

Diana Pienaar

Director

CFEED

Diana has always had a tendency to follow the road less traveled and focuses on areas where she is best able to make a difference. It is for that reason that she enjoys her role as the Director of CFEED, a collaborative project focused on determining student success factors based upon data analytics derived from shared data from institutional partners — Valencia College, University of Central Florida, The School District of Osceola County and Orange County Public Schools. Prior to joining Valencia, Diana spent over 28 years in various roles within the Information Technology field. She worked within Research and Development roles in companies focused on Financial Services and Banking, E-Commerce, Logistics as well as Consulting Services at such companies as Gartner, Fiserv, Chep and Convergys prior to moving into academia. Additionally, Diana is a lifelong learner with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from UCF, a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a Juris Doctorate (JD) in Law and a Master of Laws (LLM) in Financial Services and International Taxation.