Institute for Effective Governance® Advisory Council

Jon Cox is the principal at Utah Public Affairs, a prominent government and public affairs firm in Utah. He is the former Vice President of Government Affairs at Rocky Mountain Power. He previously served as a member of the Utah House of Representatives, Sanpete County Commission and was a staff member for both Utah Governor Gary Herbert and former U.S. Senator Bob Bennett. While serving as a member of the Utah House of Representatives, Cox worked as an assistant professor of history at Snow College.

Robert C. Dickeson comes to this issue from multiple leadership perspectives: university president, chair of the governors’ cabinets in two states, business CEO, and foundation executive.  He received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Missouri and has been a member of the graduate faculty of four universities. He is President Emeritus of the University of Northern Colorado. He served as president and CEO of Noel-Levitz Centers, Inc., division president of USA Enterprises, Inc., and senior vice president of USA Group, Inc., heading the USA Group Foundation. A charter member of the President’s Commission on Teaching as a Profession, and a co-founder of the Renaissance Group of universities, Dickeson has authored more than 200 publications in higher education policy and administration. He retired as senior vice president for policy, research and evaluation of Lumina Foundation for Education, which he co-founded, in Indianapolis, Indiana. A higher education consultant, he served in 2006 as the senior policy adviser to the Spellings Commission on the Future of Higher Education.

James Farnsworth works as a senior program director for the YMCA Center for Youth Voice and chairs the national Youth and Government Program Alliance. He holds seasonal positions with the Minnesota House of Representatives and Minnesota State Fair. James serves as an elected member of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents. In addition, he is actively involved as a volunteer in several different capacities focused on education, community development, and youth empowerment.

Aimee Guidera served as the Virginia Secretary of Education under Governor Glenn Youngkin from 2022 until 2026. In this Cabinet position, she oversaw education from Pre-K through Postsecondary in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Before joining the Youngkin administration, Aimee was a strategic consultant helping states, foundations, companies and non profit organizations strengthen their efforts to improve student learning and outcomes. Prior to launching her consultancy, Aimee was Founder, President and CEO of the Data Quality Campaign, a national, nonprofit advocacy organization leading the effort to ensure that students, parents, educators, and policymakers have the right information to guide their actions so that every student can excel.

A respected thought leader in education, Aimee was named one of TIME’s 12 Education Activists of 2012. She has also been cited as an expert on education policy and the value of education data by publications such as Business Week, NPR, and Education Week. Aimee is a Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow, American Enterprise Institute Fellow, and an alumna of the Institute for Educational Leadership’s Education Policy Fellowship Program. She has served on the board of directors of the American Succeeds, Institute for Educational Leadership, Policy Innovators in Education Network, the Friends of the Hennepin County Library, Minnesota Comeback, Conservative Leaders for Education, and on the advisory board for the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard.

Listen to Secretary Guidera on ACTA’s Higher Ed Now podcast!

Hsu was also an advocate of athlete welfare and playing football safely during the pandemic in the 2020-21 football season. As a regent of a Big Ten institution, Hsu pressed for details and answers on how the decision was made to cancel football.
 
After Hsu left the Board of Regents, He helped launch the College Football Players Association, where he helped create the advisory board. Hsu is a co-founder of the College Basketball Players Association and has filed NLRB misclassification charges against the NCAA, Northwestern University, Dartmouth College, the Ivy League, and Notre Dame University. These charges were filed on behalf of all college athletes who were and are currently misclassified as “student athletes” with little or no rights.
 
Hsu is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in electrical engineering.

With more than 25 years of experience at the intersection of government relations, public affairs, and higher education governance, Sarah L. Hubbard is a proven leader in navigating complex policy environments, fostering strategic partnerships, and driving organizational success. Sarah currently serves as Principal and Co-Owner of Acuitas, a Lansing-based government relations and business development consulting firm. In this role, she works with clients ranging from small nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies, providing expert guidance on advocacy strategies, political engagement, and relationship building.
 
In addition to her private sector work, Sarah was elected to the University of Michigan Board of Regents in 2020. As a Regent, she has played a pivotal role in overseeing the university’s $15 billion budget and $20 billion endowment. She has served as Board Chair, Chair of the Finance, Audit, and Investment Committee, and Co-Chair of the Presidential Search Committee, demonstrating her ability to lead through complex governance and financial challenges.

Mr. Kaplan began his OSU career as a graduate assistant coach for Woody Hayes while earning his Juris Doctor degree, later becoming senior vice president/executive officer for former Ohio State President Gordon Gee and the secretary/senior advisor to the Board of Trustees before being appointed as a trustee by Governor Mike DeWine. In the interim, he was employed in senior management positions at several other major universities and medical centers.

Stephen C. Ludwig served for 12 years on the elected University of Colorado Board of Regents from 2007 to 2019, overseeing the operations and management of the $6.7 billion four-campus enterprise with nearly 66,000 students. Mr. Ludwig served as Vice-Chair of the Board and Chair of the Budget & Finance, Academic Affairs, Laws & Policies, Audit, Capital Construction, and Strategic Planning committees.  His book, “Lies We Like: The Self-Delusion of American Higher Education, What Trustees, lawmakers, and Taxpayers Need to Know,” will be available in early 2027. Mr. Ludwig started his professional career as a broadcaster at the age of 18. He is the President and owner of Varus Insight, providing executive coaching, facilitation, communications, and strategic consulting.

Suzanne Reynolds, PharmD, is an Oklahoma pharmacist, educator, and civic leader. She earned a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Oklahoma, B.S. and Pharm.D. degrees from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Pharmacy, and completed an ASHP Primary Care Practice Residency. Board-certified in anticoagulation management, she has served as a clinical assistant professor and student preceptor at the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy. In education governance, she serves on the Board of Regents of the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (appointed by Governor Kevin Stitt) and previously served on the Oklahoma State Board of Education and the Oklahoma State Board of Career and Technology Education.

Jeff Rosen has practiced law for more than thirty years at two leading law firms, currently at Cravath Swaine and Moore LLP.  He is also a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Mr. Rosen also previously served in government as Acting Attorney General of the United States, Deputy Attorney General of the United States, Deputy U.S. Secretary of Transportation, General Counsel of the White House Office of Management and Budget, and other roles. He is a longtime member of the advisory board of visitors of Northwestern University’s college of arts & sciences, a former adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s law school, and was a resident fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School in 2023. He holds a B.A. with highest distinction from Northwestern University and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School.

Darrin Rosha has been elected to the University of Minnesota Board of Regents by the Minnesota Legislature three times, serving from 1989-1995 and 2015-2023. He continues to advocate for trustees and regents to be selected and serve as the strategic leaders of higher education institutions. He is currently a private practice business attorney and is retired from the Army National Guard, where he served as a combat medic, armor officer, and judge advocate.


 
 

Oran P, Smith, Ph.D., is Vice Chairman of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education and a member of the Board of Trustees of Coastal Carolina University, where he chairs the Academic Excellence and Student Experience Committee. He is currently a Senior Fellow with Palmetto Promise Institute, which he co-founded. His prior work includes Chief Operating Officer of the SC Business & Industry Political Education Committee [BIPEC], and regional economic development director in the Office of the Governor.
 
Oran holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of South Carolina and has also studied at Clemson University and George Washington University. His book on the rise of the religious right in America was published by New York University Press.
 
Dr. Smith has been inducted into the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest civilian honor, and he has authored numerous scholarly and policy publications.  

Elected to the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees in 2010 and served as Chairman of the Board from 2022-2026. Currently serving as Chair of the Board’s Athletics Committee. Previously, served as the Board’s Vice Chairman, Chair of the Governance Committee, and Chair of the Academic Excellence and Student Experience Committee. Prior to his service with the University of South Carolina, served as Chairman of the Lexington Medical Center Board of Directors. Equity Partner with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Columbia, South Carolina.

Listen to Mr. Westbrook on ACTA’s Higher Ed Now podcast!

Ramsey White is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. White worked in the development departments at the Morehead-Cain Foundation and at the University of North Carolina. She is now an active volunteer focused specifically on children’s causes, both with her children’s schools and her community broadly. She has co-chaired the chief fundraising event at Landon School, Durham Academy and University Presbyterian Preschool, two times each in the last decade. Currently, she is an active volunteer at Landon School and Holton-Arms School in various roles. She and her husband, also a graduate of the University, live in Washington, DC with their two children.