More speakers to be announced soon!

Jonathan Fansmith
American Council on Education (ACE)

Jonathan Fansmith is the senior vice president for Government Relations and National Engagement at the American Council on Education (ACE), where he leads federal advocacy efforts on behalf of the nation's colleges and universities. He oversees ACE's engagement with Congress, federal agencies, and the courts on key issues including student aid, regulation, research funding, and tax policy.

Elliot Felix
Author, Speaker, Consultant

Elliot Felix is a student success author, speaker, and consultant to more than a hundred colleges and universities. He uses his background in design to create better connected colleges and universities by helping institutions rethink what they offer, how they are organized, and how they operate. Through his consulting work at brightspot strategy and Buro Happold with institutions including Carnegie Mellon, MIT, NYC, NC State, and the University of Virginia, Elliot has helped more than 1,000,000 students.

His first book How to Get the Most Out of College was published in January 2022 and received a blue star from Kirkus Reviews, calling it "A knowledgeable, enthusiastic guide packed with strategies and encouragement." His latest book The Connected College: Leadership Strategies for Student Success was published in July 2025 as the #1 new release in education administration and was named "One of the ten best books in higher education in 2025" by Forbes. He lives in Minneapolis with his son Theo, daughter Nora, and wife Liz.

Aaron D. Lacey
Thompson Coburn, LLP 

The Co-Chair of Thompson Coburn’s Higher Education Practice, Aaron has over two decades of experience assisting institutions to navigate complex legal and policy matters.  He and his colleagues are valued for their deep understanding of the postsecondary regulatory framework, including requirements relating to the federal financial aid programs, accreditation, and state authorization.  The host of Thompson Coburn’s popular Higher Education Webinar Series, and editorial director of REGucation, the firm’s higher education law and policy blog, Aaron is a frequent writer and speaker on topics relating to higher education policy and regulation.  He currently resides in Saint Louis, Missouri, with his wife and three kids, the world’s greatest dog, a second dog, and three rowdy chickens.

Peter Lake
Stetson University College of Law

Peter Lake is professor of law, Charles A. Dana chair and director of the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson University College of Law. He has spent 35 years in higher education as a teacher and administrator. Prior to joining the Stetson Law faculty in 1990, Professor Lake practiced law in New York City at Cahill Gordon & Reindel and is a current member of the New York State Bar Association. 

Professor Lake teaches and writes in the areas of torts, higher education law and policy, insurance, and jurisprudence, and has won several awards for his teaching and scholarship. He is an internationally-recognized expert on higher education law and policy and has been quoted or referred to in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Chicago Sun Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Time, Newsweek, Cosmopolitan, various reported legal decisions including the supreme courts of Iowa, Rhode Island, Virginia, California, Massachusetts and Florida, and the most recent Restatement of the Law of Torts. He has appeared on several major media networks including NPR, ABC and CNN.  Professor Lake has authored numerous law review articles, books, and other publications. He is a highly sought after speaker and he has served as a presenter or keynote speaker at several hundred international, national, regional, and local meetings.  Professor Lake has trained thousands of campus personnel on student safety and other issues, including student mental health, alcohol and drug abuse, Title IX and sex discrimination, and First Amendment issues. 

Professor Lake also serves as a part-time Higher Education Consulting Attorney for the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, as a consultant for AGB Consulting (Association of Governing Boards), and as an expert witness through his private consulting business. 

Professor Lake is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Amy Missinne
Universities of Wisconsin Administration

Amy Missinne serves as the Ethics and Compliance Specialist for the Universities of Wisconsin Administration within the Office of Compliance and Risk Management (OCRM). As the Compliance Administrator, Amy's areas of focus include ethics and integrity, conflicts of interest, high risk compliance risk mitigation, compliance, and state authorization of distance learning. Prior to joining the Universities of Wisconsin Administration in June 2023, Amy spent over 10 years at the Universities of Wisconsin-Superior serving in various roles including Compliance Officer, Ethics Officer, Title IX Coordinator, Precollege Liaison, Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Federal Compliance Leader, and Executive Administrative Officer to the Provost. Amy holds a M.S. in Training and Development (Human Resources Development) and a B.S. in Service Management from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, as well as the professional designation of Senior Certified Professional from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM-SCP).

Paige Smith
Universities of Wisconsin Administration

Paige Smith serves as the Chief Compliance and Risk Officer for the Universities of Wisconsin Administration. In this role, she oversees the Office of Compliance and Risk Management. Paige has served in this role since January of 2022. Prior to that, she served in a variety of roles for the Universities of Wisconsin between 2010 and 2022. including Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration (UW-Platteville), Chief Institutional Compliance Officer and Adjunct Lecturer (UW-Whitewater) and Senior  System Legal Counsel (UW System Administration).Paige has twenty years of experience in higher education and is a licensed attorney in states of Wisconsin and Illinois. Paige received her J.D. and B.S. degree in Administration of Justice from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.