1 min read
Well Wishes From The NACAS Staff
Dear NACAS Members, As another academic year draws to a close, we want to take a moment to extend our warmest wishes to...
Paula Umaña
General Session Speaker
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Paula Umaña is the Director of Institutional Transformation at The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice. Prior to joining our team, she spent six years establishing and directing the Single Stop program at Community College of Philadelphia. That national anti-poverty, multi-service model to increase college student retention was demonstrably successful at boosting students’ academic success, according to a rigorous external evaluation. Paula also launched the first Hispanic Capacity Building Institute in Philadelphia, led programming for the Pennsylvania chapter of the Center for Progressive Leadership, and provided leadership and managed day-to-day operations for the Transitional Work Corporation, promoting workforce development and self-sufficiency in urban communities of Philadelphia.
Paula holds a Master of Education degree from Temple University and is a native of Bogotá, Colombia where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.
Paula’s hope: Our efforts will bring securing students’ well-being as a fundamental requirement for their academic success to the forefront of the national educational and economic development agenda.
Juli Burney
General Session Speaker
An award-winning teacher, entertainer, and author, Juli makes unique connections with her audiences. She is able to entertain with the ability of a headlining comedian while either motivating or instructing with the ease of a top-notch motivational speaker. Juli has been recognized by her state as Artist of the Year, because of her ability to help improve people’s lives through humor and effective use of communication tools. She has worked in all 48 continental United States and Canada, and has been commissioned by multiple associations from the National Endowment of the Arts to Fortune 500 companies to develop training programs that stick. She has filmed for Showtime and HBO, along with making several guest appearances on radio and television programs. Her humor is delightful, universal, and enlightening with whatever topic she presents.