Leadership

College-in-3 Exchange, Inc. is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, reimagining undergraduate education to increase student success while decreasing student costs.

College-in-3 Exchange Leadership

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Lori J. Carrell

Chancellor of the University of Minnesota Rochester

Lori Carrell, chancellor of the University of Minnesota Rochester, focuses on transformative communication, learning innovation and well-being in higher education communities. Co-author, Communicate for a Change: Revitalizing Conversations for Higher Education.

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Robert Zemsky

Professor of Education at the University of Pennsylvania

Bob Zemsky, long-time professor at Penn, has forcefully argued that colleges and universities need to be transformed from within. Co-author, Communicate for a Change: Revitalizing Conversations for Higher Education.

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Madeleine F. Green

Executive Director

Madeleine Green had a long career at the American Council on Education, serving in various roles and finally as vice president.  She headed their leadership development programs, including the ACE Fellows Program, and later, ACE’s international agenda.  After leaving ACE, she was a senior fellow at NAFSA and at the International Association of Universities and consultant to the Teagle Foundation.  Madeleine has translated her experiences working with varied institutions on leadership development, change management and international education into many books and articles.  She served Interim President of Mount Vernon College and has been a member of the boards of Wilson College, Sweetbriar College, Juniata College, the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP), and the International Association of Universities; she chaired the ISEP board from 2019 to 2022. 

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Deborah Collins

Program Manager

Deborah serves as an interim operations executive through her consulting and recruitment firm, Virtual-Executives. Deborah contributes to College-in-3's strategic planning to design and build operational systems and planning, leveraging her consulting and interim executive experiences from the international nonprofit sector. Deborah has held executive roles at at Ford Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Whitney Museum, and Tate Modern.

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Carleen Vande Zande

Assessment Consultant

Dr. Vande Zande serves as the College-in-3 assessment of student learning facilitator. Dr. Vande Zande engages with the College-in-3 member institutions to assist in creating and implementing Cin3 program assessment plans, and delivers workshops on planning and assessment methodologies. Dr. Vande Zande is the Chief Academic Officer at NASH and previously served as Associate Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs for the University of Wisconsin System. With a distinguished career in higher education leadership and policy, Carleen has held multiple administrative roles, contributed to national initiatives, and served as an accreditation reviewer. Dr. Vande Zande was recently named to the editorial board of the journal Experiential Learning and Teaching in Higher Education by the Cal State System. She also serves on the Center for the Improvement of Higher Education Board.

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Christa Lee Olson

Senior Program Associate

Formerly Executive Director for Global Engagement at The College of New Jersey, Dr. Christa Olson also served as the Vice Provost, International Programs, at Drake University. Prior to this work, Christa was the Associate Director, International Initiatives, at the American Council of Education (ACE) in Washington DC. After receiving her BA at Washington State University, Christa earned a Ph.D. in French at Stanford University, a postdoc in Senegal, and began her career as a professor of French at New Jersey City University. Christa is also a Fulbright North American Senior Scholar and was hosted by McGill University, Quebec, Canada, and Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico.

College-in-3 Exchange Board of Directors

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Wallace E. Boston

Board Chair

Dr. Wallace E. Boston, Jr. has more than four decades of executive leadership experience in higher education, healthcare, and technology-related organizations. Wally served as President and later President Emeritus of the American Public University System (APUS), overseeing its expansion and development as an online institution. As CEO of American Public Education, Inc. (APEI), he led the company through its initial public offering and subsequent operational growth. In 2019, Dr. Boston was appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI). He is also co-founder of Green Street Impact Partners, an investment firm focused on early-stage education technology companies. Dr. Boston serves on several nonprofit and corporate boards. He holds CPA, CMA, and CGMA designations and writes regularly on higher education and technology topics.

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Richard Ekman

Vice Chair & Secretary

Vice Chair and Secretary of the Board of Directors, College-in-3 Exchange Dr. Richard Ekman brings more than 50 years of experience in higher education, philanthropy, and public service. He is President Emeritus of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), where he served for 21 years, supporting nearly 700 small and mid-sized private colleges. He previously held senior roles at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Earlier, he served as Vice President and Dean of Hiram College and taught in the history department. Dr. Ekman is a Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education and serves in advisory roles with multiple higher-education organizations. His board service includes SAGE Scholars, Project Pericles, and Emeriti Retirement Health Solutions.

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Mary-Linda Armacost

Board Member

Dr. Mary-Linda Armacost is a Member of the Board of Directors of the College-in-3 Exchange Dr. Armacost held senior leadership roles in higher education for more than four decades. She served as President of Wilson College and Moore College of Art & Design, overseeing institutional planning, academic program development, and organizational transitions. Dr. Armacost was Adjunct Professor in the Executive Doctorate Program at the University of Pennsylvania for 16 years. Dr. Armacost also held faculty and administrative positions at Emerson College and Boston University, contributing to academic affairs, operations, and student development. She has served on boards, advisory groups, and accreditation-related committees focused on governance and institutional effectiveness. Dr. Armacost holds advanced degrees in the humanities and has been recognized for her service to higher education.