Twelve members of CUPA-HR have been selected to participate in the 2026-27 CUPA-HR Ignite program, a 12-month leadership development experience designed for early-career higher education human resources professionals. Program participants will have the opportunity to develop their professional skills through tailored learning experiences, including mentorship, learning events and courses, and the completion of a project showcasing the insights they gain throughout the year.
Participants were selected based on their HR strengths and areas for development identified on the program application, as well as their interest in and commitment to the program.
The selected participants are:
- Lori Bishop-Ley, Senior Staff Development Specialist at the University of Cincinnati
- Enrique Cervantes Jr., Compensation Analyst at Saint Louis University
- Averee Deck, Human Resources Operations Specialist at John Brown University
- Malachi Frederick-Webb, Career Development Consultant at the University of Tennessee–Knoxville
- Kelin McCloskey, Employee Relations Specialist at Villanova University
- Trevor Parnell, Senior Project Manager at the University of Michigan
- Presty Philip, Civil Service Support Manager at The City University of New York (CUNY)
- Zach Polan, Human Resources Business Partner at Williams College
- Kate Prusock, Assistant Director of HR Service Delivery at the University of Texas at Arlington
- Claire Roger, Human Resource Specialist at Indiana Tech
- Allison Spooner, Human Resources Manager at the University of Washington–Washington Sea Grant
- Aidee Vaidya, Senior Compensation and Performance Management Analyst at the University of North Texas
“We are so pleased to welcome this outstanding group of early-career higher ed HR professionals as our 2026-27 Ignite cohort. The next 12 months will be transformative as they engage in an immersive leadership journey with one another and higher ed HR leaders from across the country,” shared CUPA-HR President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Andy Brantley.
CUPA-HR’s Ignite program is led by outstanding current and past CUPA-HR leaders and national office staff and made possible in part thanks to support from HigherEdJobs.