Executive Board

The Coaching in Higher Education Consortium operates under the direction and leadership of an Executive Board. 

The CHEC Executive Board brings together a passionate group of higher education coaches and administrators to plan and grow the organization to meet the evolving needs of current and future CHEC members. CHEC Executive Board positions allow for the support of various committees and initiatives.

Our mission and vision

Kathleen Shea Smith, Ph.D.

President

Associate Provost for Academic Advising,
The University of Oklahoma

I believe coaching provides a bridge between the holistic needs of today’s students and the powerful interpersonal techniques that coaching offers educators.

Renee Flowers

Vice President of Operations
Associate Dean, Success Coaching,
Dallas College

My inspiration to pursue coaching in higher education stems from a deep passion for helping students recognize and cultivate their own talent and potential. Throughout my career, I’ve held roles that involved academic advising, but I found that advising can sometimes be prescriptive, offering solutions rather than guiding discovery. Coaching, on the other hand, allows me to ask curious and probing questions that help students arrive at their own conclusions. This empowers them to make confident decisions and take ownership of their paths.

I chose to step into leadership within success coaching because it enables me to extend my reach, not just to students directly, but through the team I oversee. Our coaches support students holistically, considering their academic, personal, and career aspirations. We also provide just-in-time resources to help them navigate challenges, whether academic or personal. It’s this blend of empowerment, support, and strategic guidance that drives my commitment to coaching in higher education.

Lyle Skip Slack

Vice President for Membership
Director, Academic Success Center,
Texas A&M University

My intense desire to support and enrich the lives of higher education students. During 30 years of service at Texas A&M University I have transitioned from Academic Counselor, Academic Counseling Services Management to Director of Academic Coaching Services. I am a first generation college graduate, so helping others navigate the complicated process of a successful higher education experience and seeing students fulfilling their vast potential has always been a driving motivator in my life. A secondary inspiration for me throughout these years has been the ability to “coach-up“ the young coaching staff entering the field. The level of caring, professionalism and expertise entering the coaching field is awe inspiring on a daily basis.

Shana Hawke Stanton

Vice President for Marketing and Communications
Assistant Director Academic Life Coaching,
The University of Oklahoma

Compelled by a passion for education and personal growth, I became an academic life coach to help students thrive both in and out of the classroom. My journey began with a deep awareness of how many students struggle—not just with academics, but with motivation, confidence, and clarity about their future. Inspired by my own academic experiences, I set out to guide students in building the mindset, habits, and resilience they need to succeed.

My direct work with students has revealed how coaching can help them evolve from feeling lost to becoming focused, empowered, and driven. These transformations aren’t just about better grades—they’re about cultivating lifelong skills that empower students to take ownership of their learning and future. As an academic life coach, I collaborate with educators to create environments where students feel supported, challenged, and inspired to grow.

Josh Sills

Vice President of Fiscal Oversight
Director for University Coaching and Student Achievement,
Texas Tech University

I’ve always been driven to work with individuals in a meaningful, direct, and intentional way. My experiences in life have led me to hold a deep belief in the power people have to influence their lives through the choices they make. In higher educational contexts, students are making some of the most important choices they ever will. I struggled as an undergraduate student to find my own intentional path. Coaching is a powerful, effective way that offers people a space for dialogue to explore, determine, and then embrace the path they want to take in life. As a coach, I am so excited and proud of being able to give them a dedicated partner in going through that process.

Emily McClaine

Vice President of Research
Associate Director for Academic Success Design, Success Coaching Program, Center for Career and Academic Progress,
Slippery Rock University

I have always loved questions. When I discovered how questions can be used intentionally, thoughtfully, and creatively to help us author our lives, I knew I had found my life’s work. My inspiration came from a collection of small moments throughout my educational journey and early work experiences, little signs and glimmers that caught my eye and told me there was something special ahead. Moments filled with curiosity, presence, and connection. My higher education career began in a TRIO program, where I was deeply moved by the profound effect that vulnerability and courage had on the reflective, in-depth conversations I shared with students. As a first-generation college graduate, recovering perfectionist, and self-proclaimed nerd, I longed for spaces to reflect, learn, and grow into a future version of myself I hadn’t yet met, and to help students do the same.

To me, coaching is about openness and our commitment to Becoming. Coaching has taught me that growth is not about doing more, but rather about being more fully ourselves. It invites us to be brave with others while remaining honest with ourselves, to hold space and imagine what’s possible. Coaching inspires me because it brings out the best in us, fills us with hope, and empowers us to become who we are meant to be.

Melissa Knight

Member at Large; Co-Chair of Training and Best Practices

Senior Director of the Institute for Achievement and Learning,
Lynn University

Academic coaching is designed to partner with student’s in supporting them to become independent learners in achieving their goals. We meet students where they are at developmentally, help facilitate new awareness’s and provide accountability along the journey.

Jen Santoro Cleveland

Member at Large
Chair, Training & Best Practices Committee
Director of The Citadel Career Center,
The Citadel

I found my way into higher education through my marketing background, however as soon as I learned about student development, I discovered and unlocked my career passion-coaching individuals to discover a life most authentic to them! I decided to pursue my coaching certification and found my way to becoming a professional coach in higher education. I have specialized in career development, and LOVE combining coaching with career development. I am passionate about supporting students discover a career path most authentic to them, along with supporting them in setting SMART goals that lead to achieving their short, mid, and long-term career vision.

Emily Argyle

Member at Large
Chair, Ethics and Values Committee

Program Manager Campuswide Training and Development, Campus Advising Solutions,
The University of Utah

When I discovered coaching, something clicked. My background as a school psychologist was rooted in identifying what wasn’t working—diagnoses, behavior challenges, achievement gaps. Coaching flipped that script. Instead of focusing on deficits, I found myself helping people maximize their potential and embrace their authentic selves. Strengths-based coaching has completely transformed how I see student support.

As a college student, I didn’t have a mentor, advisor, or coach. I had no real roadmap for what came next—just the goal of finishing college. Now, as a coach in higher education, I get to be the support person I never had. Every coaching conversation is a chance to offer my full presence and my full skill, even with someone I’ve just met. It’s an incredible honor to walk alongside students as they define their own paths—and to help ensure that no one has to navigate higher education alone. Life is a group effort.

After attending my first CHEC virtual conference in 2021, I knew I had found my professional people. I was welcomed into a vibrant, forward-thinking community that challenged and inspired me. Through CHEC, I’ve had the chance to grow, lead, collaborate, and reimagine what’s possible in this field—and I’m so proud to be part of this association.

Kurtis Vanderpool

Member at Large

Senior University Life Coach, University Coaching and Student Advancement,
Texas Tech University

I remember how tumultuous the college and young adult years were for me. At a time when I was at my wits end balancing adulthood, rapid changes in my life, and the pressures of my studies, I found a coach and mentor who changed everything for me. Just having a place where I could be myself, learn from another, and discover my own path forward felt like a cheat code to life. Since that time, I have made it my mission to provide that same service to others. Coaching students and helping them uncover their true values, strengths, and path to success has been the greatest joy of my life, and one I hope to never take for granted.

Calon Nicole Gunter-Cox

Member at Large
Assistant Director of Price College Graduate Advising- Gene Rainbolt Graduate School of Business Price College of Business,
The University of Oklahoma

I had been working with graduate students through our Graduate College for years when I was introduced to the concept through a short in-house training.  I was very aware of how little real support our graduate students had been getting from faculty and staff, and I wanted to learn how to better support them. I believed that far too often these students were seen as adults who should not need and therefore didn’t deserve additional support. Now I serve as a coach for undergraduate and graduate students as well as a professional career coach, and I still believe that our need for support doesn’t change as we get older.

Emily McCord

Member at Large
Professional Development & Training Specialist, Student Navigation & Support
Office of the Vice President for Student Success, Enrollment, and Institutional Effectiveness,
Indiana University

In 2018, I attended my first coach training at Indiana University.  At the time, I had no idea how it would transform my conversations with students, as well as the trajectory of my career.  Immediately post-training, applying core coaching techniques allowed me to shift my mostly transactional conversations with students to the kind of developmental conversations that I truly wanted to have with them.  As I got deeper into my coach education, I discovered how to truly center students in conversations, allowing them to recognize their own values, priorities, strengths, and strategies and use these to make informed action plans tailored to them.  I saw how coaching could empower students and cultivate within them ownership over their experience in higher education.  With a deep passion for this work, I now serve as Indiana University’s training specialist dedicated to our Coaching Conversations program.  In this role, I train student success professionals in coaching, and by doing this I work to ensure that every student at my institution has access to a coached experience as they navigate their journey through higher education.