Strategic Enrolment Management & Marketing

Dr. Busch is the University of Windsor’s Associate Vice-President, Enrolment and Senior International Officer. He is responsible for leading the institution’s enrolment and internationalization activities in collaboration with other senior institutional leaders. His scholarship focuses on the role organizational culture has on internationalization, or the process of integrating an international, intercultural or global dimension into higher education.

Danny Freire is an energetic and dedicated professional with a combined fifteen plus (15+) years’ of experience in student recruitment, registrar services and enrolment management. Danny was born in Ecuador and moved to Canada on a high school exchange. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and his Master of Leadership in Postsecondary Education at the University of Saskatchewan.

Danny began his career in the language education sector, working for more than six years in Japan and China. In 2010 Danny accepted the position of Assistant Marketing Coordinator at the University of Saskatchewan Language Centre where he was responsible for recruiting students from Latin America, Japan and China.

Danny was promoted to the position of Manager of Student Recruitment at the University of Saskatchewan in 2014. He was responsible for providing leadership and coordinating student recruitment activities across the university’s 17 Colleges and schools, assisting the university with meeting its ESL, undergraduate and graduate student enrolment goals. He also ensured that the university was aware of new partnerships, collaborations, and research opportunities.

In 2022, Danny joined Saskatchewan Polytechnic as the Director of Enrolment Services and Registrar, where he had an opportunity to lead a team of 6 Managers and a combined 80 staff members in service of the institution. Modernizing the office of the Registrar was a priority task with the successful implementation of MyCreds, a digital credential platform, a comprehensive review of the Admissions Policy with a Strategic Enrolment Management lense, the implementation of the Academic Scheduling (provincially) and the Customer Relationship Management (application and admissions), and finally to modernize and re-organize the office to reflect the provincial model.

Dr. Joe Stokes is the AVP International and University Registrar at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, where he is also an award-winning professor (adjunct) in the Faculty of Education. Joe is the past Chair of the Ontario Universities’ Council on Admission and the Ontario University Registrars’ Association, and has led work across the post-secondary sector on Internationalization, governance, strategic enrolment management, and student retention and student success.

Dr. Stokes’ research interests include International student mobility, strategic enrolment management, leadership psychology, and higher education policy and governance. In the last 3 years, Joe has led groups that have attracted over $1.3 million in research funding, including leading the creation of Ontario’s international study brand and the development of a competitive internationalization toolkit for the province’s post-secondary system. His most recent publications focus on international student mobility in the pandemic era and strategic enrolment management in a time of global disruption.

Dr. McKivor is an experienced academic administrator in higher education. She previously served many years within central administration at the University of Sheffield in the U.K., over 20 years as Associate Registrar and Director, and Associate University Secretary at Western University, and is now Memorial University of Newfoundland's University Registrar.

As University Registrar, Dr. McKivor is part of the leadership team spearheading the institution's SEM planning with a lens of strong collaboration amongst university leadership. She is skilled in staff retention, higher education administration, supervisory skills, higher education leadership and higher education policy.

Dr. McKivor also serves as an Assistant Professor within Western University's Doctor of Education program in a part-time, limited duties/contract position.

She has a Master of Education, Specialization in Higher Education Leadership (Calgary) and was part of Western University's first Doctor of Education graduating class.

Shelby Verboven is the Registrar and Assistant Dean, Strategic Enrolment Management at the University of Toronto Scarborough, where she oversees the Office of the Registrar and leads a variety of SEM initiatives on campus. A values-based leader, she is passionate about all things SEM, service to students, communications and building inclusive teams.

Shelby has more than 25 years of experience working in higher education, including registrarial functions, residence life, student advising, admissions and student recruitment.

Shelby holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts (York), a Bachelor of Education (York) and a Masters of Education (Memorial) in post-secondary studies.

Shelby is proud to have had her work acknowledged through the UTSC Principal’s Accomplished Leader Award (2017) and the Ontario University Registrars’ Association Award of Excellence (2021) and the UTSC Distinguished Service Excellence Award (2024).

Jenn Goodwin is the Vice President, Enrolment and College Relations at Okanagan College. Her portfolio includes the Registrar’s Office, Strategic Enrolment Management (including domestic recruitment and international education), College Relations, Government Relations, Campus Administration, Work-Integrated Learning and Career Development. Since joining the OC team in 2022, Jenn has led several initiatives, including a brand refresh, the development of the College's first SEM plan, and new measures to increase awareness of and access to the College's broad range of post-secondary programs.

Beginning her career as a broadcast journalist in Northern B.C. and Yukon, Jenn then transitioned to leadership in health care in Ontario in 2007. She led communications, community partnerships, and government relations for Providence Care in Kingston for a decade before moving back to B.C. From 2017 to 2022, Jenn was vice president of communications at Interior Health, working closely with communities across the region and provincially.

Jenn holds a Master’s in Environment and Business from the University of Waterloo, and a Bachelor of Journalism and Political Science/Français from Carleton University. She is an Accredited Public Relations professional through the Canadian Public Relations Society and a current member of the Canadian Mental Health Association – Kelowna & District Board of Directors.

Currently, Dan is the Associate Vice-President, Enrolment Management & Registrar at Saint Mary’s University.

He holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts (Bishop’s University) as well as a Master of Communications Studies and a University Teaching Certificate (University of Calgary).

During his career, he has worked at five major Canadian universities and brings a wealth of experience in key areas such as enrolment management, internationalization, student recruitment, admissions, scholarships, marketing, student success, retention and student experience.

Ali Martin-Mayer is Director of Admissions and Recruitment at McGill University. She oversees outreach programming, undergraduate recruitment, undergraduate admissions for most faculties and support to graduate admissions. This work is done for both campuses of the university. Ali started in this role in 2022. Prior to that role, Ali was Assistant Dean from 2007 to 2017 at McGill’s Faculty of Law, specifically responsible for admission to their BCL/JD program.

A graduate of McGill’s Faculty of Law herself (where her love of McGill sparked!), Ali practiced law in Montreal for years, first in private practice and more recently as Legal Counsel for McGill from 2017 to 2022 where she advised senior administration on various legal aspects of university life, privacy law, contract law, administrative law and representing the university in the context of litigation.

Having deepened two different skill sets, as a lawyer and as an enrolment leader, Ali enjoys a unique multi-dimensional vantage point into strategic enrolment, university governance, policy compliance and risk management.

As Registrar and Associate Vice-President, Strategic Enrolment, Janene Christiansen leads the Registrar's office and plays a vital role in George Brown College’s efforts to provide equitable and accessible educational pathways for all students. She ensures academic policies, systems, data, and processes are in place for the college to deliver the highest quality academic programming, reduce barriers and provide the optimal student experience.

Janene brings a wealth of experience leading teams in areas such as admissions, assessment, convocation, fees and scheduling, financial aid, systems and reporting, and registration and audit. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated an unwavering focus on ensuring policies, systems, and processes improve the student experience and help learners succeed and flourish.

While she started her career at George Brown as an operations manager in the Registrar’s office in 2003, Janene spent more than a decade in a range of registrarial leadership roles at other post-secondary institutions. She returned to George Brown as Registrar and AVP, Strategic Enrolment in 2022.

Prior to her return, Janene was Deputy Registrar at Sheridan College where she led the Enrolment Services team across three campuses. Her team members nominated her for the Sheridan Inspirational Leader Award — an important nod to her leadership during the pandemic and to her qualities as a people leader.

She also held progressive leadership positions in the Registrar’s office at Humber College, including Manager, Fees, Audit, Reporting, and Scheduling; Associate Registrar, Fees, Reporting, Scheduling and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Student Team Lead; and Associate Registrar, Student Systems and Reporting. She earned a President’s Distinguished Administrative Staff Award in 2014 for her work on the migration from Humber’s home-grown Student Information System to Banner and for her leadership in other areas.

Janene holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Psychology from the University of Western Ontario.

Andrew has provided strategic, communications, marketing, branding (and more) counsel to colleagues and clients for more than 24 years.

At Humber, Andrew leads a team of Marketing, Communications, Creative Services and Analytics enthusiasts who Bring It to their work at Humber by telling the college’s many compelling student, faculty and partnership stories across multiple platforms to many audiences.

Andrew co-chairs the MarCom Guild and is a member of Colleges Ontario communications and marketing advisory groups. Prior to working at Humber (one of his alma maters), Andrew worked at two different global public relations firms in Toronto.

Andrew is eagerly awaiting his call to the Hockey Hall of Fame, knows the pen (and keyboard) is mightier than the sword, listens to the Dave Matthews Band and likes to chill with Charlee (the cat) and Lucy (the dog).

An experienced senior leader in student affairs, Kathleen Massey is driven by her commitment to strengthening equitable access to postsecondary education and advancing student success. She is recognized for leading many impactful transformations and innovations nationally and internationally.

As the Vice Provost (Students) at the University of Lethbridge in Canada, Kathleen leads Student Affairs and works with colleagues and students across the University to develop and deliver an exemplary student experience, prioritizing social health, inclusion, and engagement to promote retention and flourishing. An expert in SEM, Kathleen chairs the institutional SEM Executive committee and leads many SEM initiatives. She is a member of the University’s Accessibility, Belonging, and Community (ABC) Advisory Council and many other institutional committees, using those opportunities to contribute to the achievement of shared goals and create meaningful impact that benefits students and their development. Kathleen has also held senior positions at postsecondary institutions across Canada, including at McGill University in Montreal, QC, the University of Calgary, AB, and Centennial College and York University in Toronto, ON.

Co-author (2023): Project Mobility: Expanding the Academic Document Supports for Displaced Persons (Including refugee, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons)

Education:
Bachelor of Arts (Political Science), York University
Master of Arts (Leadership), Royal Roads University

Dr. Chris McGrath brings over 20 years of higher education leadership experience through which he has developed an unshakeable focus on widening access and for individuals and communities to engage fully with the transformational potential of education. He is proud to serve as Vice-President, Students at Niagara College (Canada) since February 2024.

With a career that is the product of an incredible student experience, Chris has worked in senior roles in public and private post-secondary institutions in Canada and the US. Chris has also taught graduate courses in education at Royal Roads University, York University, and OISE/University of Toronto where the focus of his teaching is on higher education quality, policy, and student experience. He holds a doctoral degree in educational leadership from Western University, a master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Vermont, and a bachelor’s degree in French studies from the University of Waterloo.

As a scholar-practitioner, Chris’ academic interests broadly explore how individuals and organizations perform leadership to advance the public good. In particular, his work interrogates intersecting discourses of educational quality and equity, and how they influence how organizations shape strategy, program and accountability in the interest of social and economic change. With a deep commitment to widening access to education and employment, his scholarship explores the role of social justice leadership in interrupting how privilege influences thinking and action. Further, he is interested in how the intersection of personal morals and professional ethics shapes how leaders exercise power and influence to shape social and structural change in public organizations.

Chris currently serves on the Boards of Directors of the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT) and Niagara Health. He has served on the boards of national and local non- profit organizations, including those striving to improve the lives of LGBTQIA+ youth, people living with HIV/AIDS, and youth experiencing mental illness. He is a past president of the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services, and was a public appointee with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers.