Rhea Ballard-Thrower
University of Illinois Chicago

Lisa German
University of Minnesota

Trevor A. Dawes
University of Delaware

Greg Raschke
NC State University

Barbara Rockenbach
Yale University

Steve Smith
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Baltimore County Public Library

​​Sonia Alcántara-Antoine is the CEO of Baltimore County Public Library, overseeing 19 branches, 600 dedicated staff, and an annual budget of $45 million. Prior to joining Baltimore County Public Library, she was director of Newport News Public Library and held leadership positions at Virginia Beach Public Library and Enoch Pratt Free Library.

Sonia is active in the Public Library Association, where she is currently past president, and the Urban Libraries Council, where she serves on the Antiracism and Digital Equity Action Team. She is a member at large for the Maryland Association of Public Library Administrators’ Board of Directors.

An American Library Association Spectrum Scholar, Sonia holds a master’s degree in library and information science from Florida State University and a master’s degree in public administration from Old Dominion University.

President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Manitoba

Michael Benarroch is president of the University of Manitoba (UM). Throughout his career, Michael has demonstrated his lifelong dedication to transformative education and has made significant contributions to the fields of economics and postsecondary education administration.

Michael has served as provost and vice-president (academic) at Toronto Metropolitan University, dean of the I.H. Asper School of Business at the UM, and as founding dean of the University of Winnipeg’s Faculty of Business and Economics. 

Michael holds a BA (honors) from the University of Winnipeg, a master’s in economics from Western University, and a PhD in economics from Carleton University. A passionate teacher and researcher, he has taught economics at Canadian universities since 1989. In recent years, his extensive community service has included serving as: a member of the Board of Universities Canada, a member of the Manitoba Immigration Advisory Council, and a co-chair of the Post-Secondary Presidents’ Council of Manitoba.

President and Chief Executive Officer, Kent State University

Todd Diacon is a passionate advocate for student success, with over 30 years of leadership experience in higher education. Currently serving as the 13th president of Kent State University, Todd has been instrumental in raising the university’s retention and graduation rates and expanding opportunities for first-generation and high-need students. Under his leadership, Kent State has been nationally recognized for its affordability, first-year transition programming, and international initiatives. Before joining Kent State, Todd held leadership positions at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he served as deputy chancellor and professor of history, and at the University of Tennessee, where he began his career as a history professor and served as a department chair and vice provost. Todd earned his bachelor's degree in history from Southwestern College in Kansas and went on to receive both his master's and PhD in Latin American history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Senior Advisor for Public Engagement with Science, Science & Society, Aspen Institute

Cary Funk is senior advisor for public engagement with science for the Aspen Institute Science & Society Program. She is the former director of science and society research at Pew Research Center, where she led the center’s public opinion and qualitative studies to understand public views about the social, ethical, and policy implications of science for society.

Cary is a widely recognized expert on public trust in science and people’s views across science-related topics, such as artificial intelligence, emerging uses of neuroscience and biotechnology, climate, extreme weather, and energy issues. Her recent thoughts on “How to Rebuild Trust in Science,” with co-author Jylana Sheats, can be found in Nautilus Magazine.

In addition to her work at Pew Research Center, Cary served as the founding director of the VCU Life Sciences Surveys at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). She began her career at CBS News in New York, working on preelection polling and analysis of exit polls. She earned a doctorate and a master’s in social psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences, Colorado State University

Carolyn Lawrence-Dill is the dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University (CSU). In this role, she stewards the college’s vision for advancing agriculture and CSU’s land-grant mission of intentional discovery, inclusive learning, and collaborative engagement. Carolyn is a plant biologist, data scientist, and seasoned leader in agricultural research and education, with a career shaped by a deep commitment to fostering collaboration across disciplines, promoting diversity and inclusion, and driving transformative change. Originally from Texas, Carolyn earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Hendrix College, master’s degree in biology from Texas Tech University, and PhD in botany from the University of Georgia

(Retired) CEO, Columbus Public Libraries

Pat Losinski served as chief executive officer of the Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) for 22 years, retiring in October 2024. CML is one of the leading public libraries in North America, with 24 locations, a staff of 900, and an operating budget of $120 million. During his tenure, Pat championed a $300 million capital improvement plan for 20 new or remodeled library buildings. CML received the Institute of Museum and Library Services National Medal in 2011 and was named Library Journal’s National Library of the Year in 2010.

Prior to joining CML, Pat was executive director of Pikes Peak Library District in Colorado Springs. He has worked for public library systems in Wisconsin, Illinois, Colorado, and Ohio and served on the state library boards in Illinois and Colorado. He chaired the Urban Libraries Council’s Governing Board and was a Governing Board member of the International Federation of Library Associations.

Columbus CEO magazine named him 2015 CEO of the Year in the large nonprofit category. He was also awarded the 2017 Regional Leadership Award by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and in 2018 received Columbus Business First’s C-Suite Awards for Most Admired Executive and Lifetime Achievement. He was named University of Wisconsin’s iSchool’s Distinguished Alumnus and was inducted into the Junior Achievement of Central Ohio Business Hall of Fame. He received the Champion of Children Award of United Way of Central Ohio.

Associate Professor & Canada Research Chair, TRUST Network,
University of Waterloo

Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher is an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Science, Health, and Technology Communication in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Waterloo. She earned her PhD from the Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media program at North Carolina State University in 2014. Ashley is the director and principal investigator (PI) of the Demos Labs and also the inaugural co-director, with Donna Strickland, for the Trust in Research Undertaken in Science and Technology (TRuST) network. Ashley’s research investigates how genres of scientific and science communications emerge and evolve, how aspects of expertise and ethos interact and relate to trust in scientific and technical domains, and the ethical aspects of specialist/non-specialist relationality in the communication of complex information. She is the author of On Expertise: Cultivating Character, Goodwill, and Practical Wisdom (Penn State University Press, 2022), Science Communication Online: Engaging Experts and Publics on the Internet (The Ohio State University Press, 2019), and co-editor, with Carolyn R. Miller, of Emerging Genres in New Media Environments (Palgrave, 2017). 

Vice President of Thought Leadership Research, Edelman Trust Institute

Tess Peterson is the VP of Thought Leadership Research at the Edelman Trust Institute. She is responsible for writing the Trust Barometer questionnaires, directing data analysis, and developing insights. In her three years at the Edelman Trust Institute, she has led the development of studies on racial justice, trust in brands, employees, health, and the annual Trust Barometer.

Tess has an MA in anthropology from Simon Fraser University. Prior to working at the Edelman Trust Institute, she was a consumer insights researcher for an agency in Minneapolis.

President, St. Olaf College

Susan Rundell Singer is an experienced national and institutional leader in higher education, uplifting the value of a liberal arts education. She is St. Olaf College’s president and was vice president for Academic Affairs and provost at Rollins College. Previously, she led the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and was the Laurence McKinley Gould Professor of Biology at Carleton College, where she directed the Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching. Recruited to NSF, she was charged with implementing holistic, evidence-informed approaches to increase the persistence and success of all undergraduates. She led 14 federal agencies in achieving the undergraduate goals of the first Federal STEM Education 5-Year Strategic Plan, including producing one million more STEM graduates by 2018. 

Susan’s work integrates higher education and science aimed at improving undergraduate education at scale. Her scholarship focuses on partnerships and networks of organizations collaboratively advancing undergraduate STEM education, with an emphasis on community and belonging. Equitable and excellent undergraduate education is a signature element of her successes at Carleton, NSF, national organizations, Rollins, and St. Olaf, enhanced by a strong track record with partnerships and fundraising. 

An American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow, and Senior Scholar for the Association of American Universities, Susan has received national education awards. She chairs the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Board on Science Education and serves on the Science Museum of Minnesota board and the HELIOS Open executive committee. She chaired several NASEM studies, including Discipline-Based Education Research. Her PhD is in biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

City Librarian, Los Angeles Public Library

John F. Szabo is the city librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library, which serves more than four million people—the largest population of any public library in the United States. He oversees the Central Library and 72 branches. Under his leadership, the library’s major initiatives include immigrant integration and citizenship, civic engagement, digital equity, sustainability, and lifelong learning. He has expanded the library’s reach into the city’s diverse communities through partnerships with community-based organizations. Recognizing his “genuine love of community” and how he has aligned library services with the city’s priorities, including homelessness, John was named Library Journal’s 2025 Librarian of the Year.

John has spent more than 30 years leading public libraries. He has served as chair of the OCLC Board of Trustees and is currently a member of the Board of Visitors at the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences. He also served on the executive boards of the Urban Libraries Council and California Humanities and as president of the Florida Library Association.