H.E.A.R.D., An AACRAO Podcast

In the Cultivating Community Plenary, HEARD was joined by filmmaker and author Loki Mulholland son of civil rights icon, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland. The conversation centers around Loki's book, "Get Back to the Counter: Seven Lessons from Civil Rights Icon Joan Trumpauer Mulholland," and the connection between her lessons and the reality of today . Loki also shared a number of clips...

Join the HEARD hosts in their conversation with Luis Alarcon, Director of Recruitment and Admissions and Designated School Officer at Lincoln Land Community College, as they discuss counter-storytelling and Testimonios as a way to expand on dominate and limiting narratives about the human experience.  Individual stories matter, and this conversation explores why and how to make that happen in your...

In this episode, HEARD welcomes  Mike Bilfinger, Assistant Director of Public Policy at AACRAO, for a look back at what went down in the first year of President Trump's second term, and what is coming up in 2026 and beyond. We discussed Project 2025 details that came to fruition, changes to the Department of Education that are likely to last beyond this administration and the impact to divers...

This episode features a series of brief conversations at the 2025 AACRAO Leadership Meeting. At the end of June, members of AACRAO staff joined volunteers from the AACRAO Board, Program Committee, Community Liaisons, and state and regional leaders to kick off another year of content delivery. HEARD asked attendees how they were feeling, what they were taking away, and if (and how) they could make...

You'll have to listen to the full episode for that nugget. HEARD was joined by returning AACRAO pod guest Ed Clark, Chief Information Officer at The California State University System, to talk about CSU's significant investment in a far-reaching AI strategy and how he believes it will support the nation's largest 4-year public, highly diverse, university system. We about the "s...

On this episode, the HEARD crew spoke with David Williams, Law School Registrar at North Carolina Central University (or NCCU for short) in Durham, North Carolina. NCCU is a historically black college and university or HBCU, and David shared his passion for customer service and how it was influenced by his own experience attending an HBCU. We talked about customer service as less of a function of...

In this special episode recorded live at the 2025 AACRAO Annual Meeting, HEARD hosts Portia LaMarr and Ingrid Nuttall spoke with Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries on how resilience can help us thrive in times of uncertainty. Dr. Jeffries is a College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Associate Professor of History at The Ohio State University where he teaches courses on the Civil Rights and the Black Power Movem...

At the 2025 AACRAO annual meeting, attendees will have the opportunity to join today's guests for an exploration of neurodivergence in their session, Firing the Synapses of Connection. In this episode, HEARD welcomes Ellissa Thomen, Associate Registrar at the University of Iowa, Sara Sullivan, Associate Registrar at Cornell University, and Sara's son Will Sullivan, currently a student at...

For this episode, HEARD sits down with Roslyn Perry, AACRAO's Vice President for Access and Equity and Registrar and Associate Dean of Records at Allegheny College. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is at the front and center of the current political agenda and dominates so much discourse. We spoke to Ros about how she sees this affecting her institution, how AACRAO is beginning conversations...

Join Portia, Tashana, and Ingrid for a conversation with Bill Gil, Senior Director of Government Relations for AACRAO, to unpack what we might expect for higher education under the next Trump administration. Bill walks us through current initiatives under President Biden and how they might wrap up or be left unfinished; the impact of committee leadership on legislative initiatives; and whether or...

In this special episode of HEARD, Portia, Tashana, and Ingrid take a moment as the year nears its close to catch up and reflect on allyship, imposter thinking, belonging, blue bracelets, and strengths (among other things). If you've been a listener since the beginning, you've been hearing their friendship unfold as they dive deeper into DEI topics. This episode is a slice of the conversa...

On this episode, Portia, Tashana and Ingrid spoke with Chris Boldon, Director or Workforce Data Management in the Office of Human Resources at the University of Minnesota. Chris reached out after listening to our episode on destructive leadership behaviors, offering to provide some information about HR's role in supporting employees dealing with harmful workplace dynamics. And, as luck would...

Portia and Ingrid spoke with Shamis Pitts, Founder and CEO of Pitts Leadership Consulting or PLC. PLC is a human capital consulting company specializing in organizational health and employee wellbeing. Shamis shared her experiences working with people and systems to make culture work by focusing on ways of working; the importance of self-awareness; and the difference between self-care and self-com...

Tashana, Porta and Ingrid get serious and silly with Doug McKenna, host of AACRAO's For the Record podcast and George Mason University Registrar. The group discusses DEI topics Doug has covered and what he has learned as host, including the importance of recognizing that learning is a journey. Doug talks about why he believes institutions should consider getting rid of grades altogether, why...

Portia, Tashana, and Ingrid spoke with Kristen Shields, Associate Registrar at Governors State University about her research on how destructive leadership behaviors show up in the workplace, and coping strategies to deal with them. Kristen generously shares her own experiences and how it led her to study this important topic. The group discussed the challenges of alerting an institution to an indi...

In this episode, Tashana, Ingrid, and Portia spoke with Dr. Reginald Garcon, Associate Vice President for Enrollment management and Student Experience, and University Registrar at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore.  Dr. Garcon talked about DEI efforts he has been engaged with throughout his career, including at his current institution, a land-grant HBCU. Dr. Garcon talked about the the pow...

Portia, Tashana, and Ingrid walk through some of the sessions they attended at the 2024 AACRAO Annual Meeting that focused on DEI topics. This year's conference was a reminder of how important it is to be in community with colleagues, and the ladies look ahead to season 3 and the need to dig deeper. An important show note:   This session was originally recorded at the annual meeting and inclu...

The HEARD ladies return from their pod hiatus to talk about the importance of self-care with Tiffani Robertson, Associate Director of Enrollment Management at Governors State University and Dr. Connie S. Newsome, Director of Registrar Services at Campbell University School of Law. Tiffani and Connie talk about how "pouring into yourself" and "beneficial selfishness" are essenti...

Portia kicks off this episode’s conversation with Joel Nelson, Program Manager for Learner Success and Innovation in the Office of Digital Learning at The Ohio State University. A wide range of topics arose, including accessibility, AI, data and DEI, and the pros and cons of efficiency. Joel concluded with a strong recommendation to “let your students lead” when looking for direction and strategy...

The ladies wrap up the summer book club series in the nick of time with Minda Harts book, Right Within: How to Heal from Racial Trauma in the Workplace. In this episode, the ladies get vulnerable discussing previous workplace experiences and the opportunities for healing explored in Harts’ work. Harts provides tangible suggestions for dealing with workplace trauma, including what can be done in th...

The summer book club continues with Elizabeth Leiba’s book, I Am Not Yelling: A Black Woman’s Guide to Navigating the Workplace. In this book, Leiba weaves her biography with other lived experiences to share how black women can find empowerment by embracing their truth and being their authentic selves. Tashana walks Portia and Ingrid through the book and draws off their personal experiences in aca...

Tashana, Portia, and Ingrid pause their summer book club series to sit down with AACRAO Executive Director Melanie Gottlieb to walk through the recent Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and its impact on race-conscious admissions. Melanie walks through a summary of the decision’s impact and what is still unclear; its likely impac...

Tashana, Portia, and Ingrid kick-off their Summer Book Club with The Complexities of Race: Identity, Justice and Power in an Evolving America (ed. Charmaine Wijeyesinghe). Each chapter is a different essay exploring possible interventions or considerations to help us think about big questions that emerge from the book’s look at how race and racism shape and are shaped by contemporary issues. The l...

In this episode the ladies dive into promoting equity and inclusion for people living with disabilities and chronic conditions with Whitney West, Direct Director of Student Records and Associate Registrar at Louisiana State University in the Paul M. Hebert Law Center and Iman Riddick, Registrar and Assistant Dean of Students at the Institute of World Politics. Explore where you can start to promot...

Portia LaMarr (HEARD co-host), Loida Utley (Transfer Tea), and Sarah Reed (For the Record co-host) took a moment at the AACRAO Annual Meeting to record this cross-podcast conversation. Hear them talk about opportunities for connection between professions (e.g., financial aid, registrar, and admissions); where they feel seen (and where they haven’t); and how they have learned to advocate for themse...