Moderators and Speakers

Tasha Baston (Keynote Speaker)

Fashioned in divine wisdom and grace, Tasha Baston is passionate about helping women win in faith, family, career and life.

As founder and CEO of Women Impacting the Next Generation of Sisters (WINGS), Baston provides mentorship, counseling, seminars and services to empower women in their personal and professional lives. She also travels across the country preaching, teaching, mentoring, counseling, and empowering people by “Breaking Boundaries, Building Up Believers” through Tasha Baston Ministries.

A servant leader and revelatory expounder, Baston proudly serves as senior pastor of St. Luke Cathedral in Laurelton, New York. She released a single, “I Give You All the Praise,” in 2017 and published her first book, Out of Brokenness, in 2019.

She serves on the board of directors of the Thomas White Jr. Foundation and is a member of the Clergy Advisory Council to Queens District Attorney, the Honorable Melinda Katz.

Baston holds an M.S. in organizational leadership from Nyack College and a BBA in management from Berkeley College. She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Anointed by God Ministries Alliance and Seminary in Brooklyn, New York, and is pursuing a Doctor of Education at Liberty University.

She resides in Cleveland with her husband, Cuyahoga Community College President Michael A. Baston.

Jenny Febbo (Student Panel Moderator)

As vice president of integrated communications, Jenny Febbo plays a key role in shaping Tri-C’s image. She manages the College’s in-house marketing agency, which is responsible for advertising, media relations, publications, the public website and other social media and digital marketing channels that drive enrollment and communicate the Tri-C mission to key audiences. 

Febbo previously served as vice president of marketing and communications for Team NEO. She has held numerous marketing and public relations leadership roles for many of Ernst & Young’s domestic and global business services. She also served as director of corporate communications for Penton Media.

Febbo is accredited by the Public Relations Society of America and has received many professional awards for her work. She serves on Team NEO’s Marketing Advisory Council and, for nearly a decade, was a trustee for Beck Center for the Arts and chaired its Marketing Communications Committee.

Connect with me: jenny.febbo@tri-c.edu

Megan O'Bryan (Panel Moderator)

Prior to joining Tri-C in 2016, Megan O’Bryan served as executive director of the Cleveland Transformation Alliance, a public-private partnership advocating for education reform to ensure excellent public schools for every child. For 13 years, she worked on behalf of sexual violence survivors as president and CEO of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.

O’Bryan holds a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Case Western Reserve University and a B.A. in English from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She serves on the board of directors for In Counsel With Women and is a former trustee of Cuyahoga Community College.

A certified yoga instructor, O’Bryan enjoys facilitating women’s wellness retreats. She lives in Rocky River with her family and their dogs.

Connect with me: megan.obryan@tri-c.edu

Holly Craider, Ph.D.

Holly Craider currently serves as the executive director of Curriculum Development and Assessment and an adjunct faculty member in Business Administration and Communications at Tri-C and as a faculty member in Higher Education Administration at Kent State University. With over 19 years of experience in higher education, Craider has worked in various aspects of student and academic affairs. She is also a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission.

Her areas of research include appreciative inquiry in regard to first-generation community college students and communication as a means to motivate and uplift students and higher education professionals. Craider is a Ralph M. Besse Teaching Excellence award winner and a graduate of the John Rouche and HERS Wellesley leadership institutes. She currently serves as a board member for the Metanoia Project and as a state co-chair and board member for the ACE Women’s Network of Ohio. Craider has a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Kent State University and is in her third year of the juris doctorate degree program at the University of Akron School of Law.

Chris Faciana

Chris Faciana currently serves as the program manager of Tri-C’s Sports and Exercise Studies. He has over 15 years of experience as a fitness specialist with a variety of public and private organizations.

Faciana has worked in a variety of health care settings, including the Parma Medical Center for cardiac rehabilitation and Nationwide Insurance as a health and wellness coach. His experience includes one-on-one health coaching services, designing effective wellness challenges for employees, delivering “lunch and learn” presentations for organizations, and developing strength and conditioning programs for Tri-C athletic teams.

Michelle D. Hereford

Michelle D. Hereford, MSHA, RN, FACHE, joined University Hospitals in April 2021 as the system’s chief nursing executive. She also holds the Ethel Morikis Endowed Chair in Nursing Leadership. Hereford is responsible for the overall delivery and management of nursing operations, professional practice, education, professional development, research, administration and clinical services. She is a member of UH’s executive leadership team and serves on the UH Clinical Network Senior Leadership Council.

Hereford’s broad nursing and administrative leadership experience spans nearly three decades, including small and large community hospitals, major academic medical centers, proprietary organizations, health systems and the post-acute industry. Prior to joining UH, she most recently served as senior vice president, system chief nursing officer and post-acute care officer for AMITA Health, the largest health care system in Illinois. She also previously served at the University of Virginia Health System as chief of the Community Hospitals and Post-Acute Division and the Transitional Care Hospital.

She is a fellow and an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and the American Nurses Association. She continues to serve on industry- and community-related boards, including the Adventist Healthcare Fort Washington Medical Center, the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, the Cleveland Chapter of the Links, Inc. and the Chicago Women’s Golf Club.

Constance Hill-Johnson

Constance Hill-Johnson is the owner and managing director of Visiting Angels Living Assistance Services in Cleveland. Visiting Angels is an in-home service provider helping the elderly and older adults live as independently as possible while remaining safe in their familiar home environment. Visiting Angels is celebrating almost 21 years in business and has successfully served hundreds of seniors throughout the area. 

Hill-Johnson is the chair of the board of directors of the Cleveland Foundation, the oldest community foundation in the country. In 2020 she was honored as a YWCA Greater Cleveland Woman of Achievement and in 2017 was selected to Crain’s Women of Note list. Hill-Johnson currently serves on the boards of the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging (BRIA) and Adults at Risk, a pillar of Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry. She is a member of the African American Outreach Committee of Hospice of the Western Reserve and is one of the architects of The Soul of Philanthropy Cleveland and Celebrate Those Who Give Black exhibits, which reframe how philanthropy looks in the African American community.

Robin Kelly, Ph.D.

Robin Kelly is currently a faculty member at Tri-C and has taught courses in the MBA programs of several universities.

Kelly has spent over 20 years in management with companies such as Kohler, where she held positions in research, corporate planning and international sales; Rubbermaid, Inc., as a senior product manager; Sealy, as director of marketing; and the Tranzonic Companies, as vice president of marketing. She also served as the president of the ENPAC Corporation.

Kelly has received awards for Best Contribution to New Technology from the Collins and Aikman Group, Best Marketing Campaign from Sherwin-Williams and is a graduate of the Mandel Leadership Program. She holds a B.A. in French and German, an MBA from Arizona State University and a Ph.D. in Management from L'école Internationale de Gestion in Paris.

Shana Marbury

Shana Marbury joined Tri-C in November 2022 as executive vice president of Tri-C's Workforce, Community and Economic Development (WCED) division. WCED’s programs and pathways provide opportunities for the workforce of tomorrow to develop marketable skills and earn valuable credentials in construction, health care, information technology, manufacturing, public safety and other in-demand fields.

In her previous role as general counsel and senior vice president of talent at the Greater Cleveland Partnership, Marbury helped build education and workforce development solutions for youth and adults and created a skilled talent pipeline for regional employers. She is a member of the Governor’s Executive Workforce Board, vice chair of the Cleveland/Cuyahoga County Workforce Development Board and chair of the Greater Cleveland Career Consortium Leadership Council.

Kirsti Mouncey, LISW-S, LCDCIII

Kirsti Mouncey, LISW-S, LCDCIII, currently serves as the president and CEO of the Collaborative to End Human Trafficking and is an experienced and innovative nonprofit executive. Prior to joining the collaborative, she served as the chief program officer at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. Her goals include initiating positive change and identifying and strengthening existing assets in her community and beyond. In addition to her primary job functions, Mouncey has been recognized by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center with the Visionary Voice Award in 2016 and was inducted into Case Western Reserve University’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences Hall of Achievements in 2017, where she serves an adjunct professor. Mouncey holds a master’s degree in Social Work from Cleveland State University.

Delia (Dee Dee) Pfister, Ph.D.

Delia (Dee Dee) Pfister has served at Tri-C for over 11 years in various dean roles and is currently the associate vice president of Academic Professional Development, Online Learning and Transfer. Previously, she served at Ursuline College, Lake Erie College, Fifth Third Bank and Axelband and Brown Advertising.

Pfister holds a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Kent State University, an M.A. in interpersonal communication, a graduate certificate in women’s studies, a B.S. in organizational communication and a minor in studio art from Ohio University. She earned the Dissertation of the Year Award in 2017 from the National Council on Student Development with her research, “Singled Out for Success: A Narrative Inquiry of Single Mothers in the Community College.”

April Thompson

April Thompson sits on the Advisory Committee for the Tri-C’s Hospitality Management Program and is the owner and executive chef of Wild Thymez Personal Chef Service.

While previously serving as a personal chef for high-profile professionals — including top players in the NFL, NBA and MLB and several entertainment personalities — Thompson also authored three cookbooks: My Kid Won’t Eat, Baby on a Budget and Cooking by Colors. In addition, she is the owner of Sweet Chicks Custom Cupcakes, Canine Couture and Tiny Tots Gourmet Baby Food. Thompson has also joined forces with others in the culinary industry to start a mobile cooking service called The Culinary Mafia. She is also the founder of Shoulder To Shoulder, a Cleveland-based organization that provides healthy weekly meals for the less fortunate, sponsors families and shelters during the holidays and provides nutrition-based education for inner-city children.

Since her retirement as a personal chef in 2022, Thompson has focused on her line of natural, organic bath products, Lillian's Bath House, and her culinary comic book series In The Kitchen w/Sadie and Simon.