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Social Impact Team
The NAU team
Jonathan Gagliardi
Jonathan Gagliardi came to NAU from the City University of New York (CUNY) in 2022 to lead EMSI as its founding vice president. At CUNY, Gagliardi was Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Effectiveness and Innovation. In that role, he spearheaded efforts to drive upward mobility and opportunity for students through system-wide strategic planning and student-centered, equity-driven policies and programs.
Before that, Gagliardi served Herbert H. Lehman College as the Assistant Vice President for Strategy, Policy, and Analytics. In that role, he helped introduce advanced analytics approaches to academic quality, student success, and accreditation. Gagliardi also served as Chancellor’s Fellow of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, where he helped expand a degree completion agenda, working with partners in government, the private sector, civic society, and across the colleges to dramatically increase the impact of a SUNY credential. He is also the leading scholar on evidence-based organizational transformation in higher education, most recently co-editing Higher Education Systems Redesigned, From Perpetuation to Innovation to Student Success (SUNY Press, 2022) and authoring How Colleges Use Data (JHU Press, 2022). In May, Gagliardi will assume the role of President of the Board of Directors of the Association for Institutional Research.
Matt Tantau
Matt Tantau is the Associate Vice President of Business and Educational Partnerships for the Office of Economic Mobility and Social Impact at NAU. He has been with the university for 14 years, starting in 2008 as Associate Director of Campus Services and Activities, and moving on to roles of ever-increasing responsibility. Prior to coming to NAU, he was Area Coordinator for Appalachian State University.
Tantau holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronic Media Journalism and a master’s in Educational Leadership, both from NAU.
Bob Voytek
Bob Voytek is the Delivery Lead/ Director of Business and Educational Partnerships for the Office of Economic Mobility and Social Impact at NAU. He most recently served as Dean of Enrollment and Student Financial Services at Coconino Community College and brings 17 years of community college knowledge to NAU. While at Coconino, Voytek was part of the team that introduced CCC2NAU, a program that enhances the student journey toward a bachelor’s degree through personalized academic advising and collaborative efforts between institutions. He also implemented the CCC Grant and the Comet Promise program, creating affordable access to higher education. Prior to that, Voytek held progressively responsible positions for 11 years in the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid and in Campus Living at NAU.
Voytek holds a Bachelor’s degree in Technical Journalism from Colorado State University and a Master’s Degree in Counseling from NAU.
Yichen Lee
Yichen Lee serves as the Business Intelligence Analyst, Lead in the Office of Economic Mobility and Social Impact. Prior to joining Northern Arizona University, Lee worked as a teacher, curriculum developer, and online instructor. During her graduate studies, she acquired both qualitative and quantitative methods (including machine learning) to enhance understanding of educational phenomena by integrating different ways of knowing. Lee also built predictive models that could accurately detect online college students who were at risk and needed early intervention, and she assessed how online assessment tasks affected students’ science performance outcomes. In her current role, Lee aims to leverage qualitative and quantitative data, applying statistical, programming, and visualization skills to provide actionable insights, drive institutional strategies, and create positive social impacts.
Lee holds her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction and a Master’s in Learning Analytics, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Lauren Copeland-Glenn
Lauren Copeland-Glenn is the Delivery Lead/ Director of Business and Educational Partnerships for the Office of Economic Mobility and Social Impact at NAU. Lauren brings 16 years of higher education experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion, federal and state compliance, as well as teaching in a community college environment to her role. Lauren has worked with teams from across campus to design and implement programs and structures to solve issues related to access and equity. She is currently a co-chair for the Commission on Disability Access and Design, the Campus Inclusion Team (a program she helped to design and launch), and a member of the Inclusive Excellence Action Plan committee. She is a recipient of the Commission on Disability Access and Design Leadership Award and the Commission on the Status of Women’s Outstanding Achievement and Contribution Award. Prior to joining NAU, Lauren served as the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff (BBBSF) Operations Director and coordinator of the BBBSF Pipeline Program (the origin of the national GEAR UP program).
Lauren earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in cultural anthropology from NAU.
Princess Benally
Princess Benally is the Director, Student Life Experience for Az Ahead for the Office of Economic Mobility and Social Impact. She has been with NAU for 10 years and most recently served as the PI for Talent Search, EOC, and Nizhoni Academy. In her role with Az Ahead she has continued to cultivate relationships with institutional partners and will build a program that provides community college students with support for advising, financial understanding, financial aid support, and participant services that aid in persistence, degree attainment, and university transfer.
Princess holds a Master’s degree in public administration from NAU, a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Fort Lewis College, and an Associate’s degree in Human Services from San Juan College.