Jeff Chasen serves as the AVP for Employee Growth, Development, Accessibility, & Inclusion at the University of Kansas. Jeff also serves as the Director of KU's ADA Resource Center for Equity and Accessibility. Previously, he served as the campus' AVP for Integrity & Compliance, with special emphasis on ethical and operational integrity through the behavioral sciences. Additionally, Jeff serves a number of professional associations (as a presenter, peer reviewer, and leader), and he was the inaugural recipient of URMIA's "Visionary Award" for his work in compliance. Earlier in his career, Jeff served as President of In2vate, LLC, a compliance, training, and risk management practice working with educational institutions and other organizations throughout the United States and abroad. His other prior positions include service as Senior Counsel at United Educators Risk Retention Group and as a lawyer in private practice. Jeff received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from The George Washington University, where he also served as an adjunct instructor.

Jonathan Fansmith directs ACE’s comprehensive efforts to engage federal policymakers on a broad range of issues including student aid, government regulation, scientific research, and tax policy. His work involves representation before the U.S. Congress, administrative agencies, and the federal courts. As an expert voice on behalf of colleges and universities, he is quoted widely in national and international media on higher education issues.

Fansmith plays a central part in developing public policy positions that impact all colleges and universities, furthering ACE’s historic role in coordinating the government relations efforts of approximately 60 associations in the Washington-based higher education community.

Fansmith and ACE’s Government Relations and Public Affairs team, under the direction of then Senior Vice President Terry W. Hartle, received the 2021 Outstanding Contribution to Higher Education Award from NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education in recognition of their public policy advocacy on behalf of the entire higher education community, particularly in response to the crisis the COVID-19 pandemic has posed for institutions and students.

Fansmith coordinates the efforts of the Student Aid Alliance, a coalition of over 80 higher education organizations. He is a member of the Think College National Coordinating Center Accreditation Workgroup, which was created as part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. He also serves on the board of directors of the Foundation for Education Investment and the advisory board of the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students. Fansmith was formerly the president and an executive committee member of the Committee for Education Funding.

His writing has appeared in publications ranging from The Washington Post to The Journal of College and University Law, and he has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, Politico, Roll Call, Bloomberg, The Chronicle of Higher Education, National Public Radio, USA Today, National Journal, and Inside Higher Ed, among other media outlets. In addition, he co-hosts ACE’s dotEDU podcast. Fansmith regularly contributes to other higher education podcasts and webinars, and he is a frequent speaker for association, academic, and corporate audiences.

Fansmith earned a BA in history from Georgetown University and an MA in government from Johns Hopkins University.

Steven Hopper became the Associate Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer for the Universities of Wisconsin on July 9, 2018. Steven has extensive experience in streamlining IT operations and establishing a common strategic IT vision Steven is the Lead Executive for the Administration Transformation Program (ATP), which is UW’s system-wide implementation of Workday HCM and Finance.  Previously, Steven was Interim Vice President and Chief Information Officer for the University of North Carolina (UNC) System, where he served for 19 years at both the campus and system level.  Steven earned his Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees, both in Computer Science, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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 nearly 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.

Aleks counsels colleges, universities, and schools on investigations, litigation, and compliance matters that stem from a broad spectrum of harassment, discrimination, and safety issues. These include advising on matters in response to internal and Office of Civil Rights (OCR) complaints, as well as litigation claims following alleged student or employee misconduct involving criminal activity; minors on campus; and sex, race, disability, age, and national origin discrimination. She collaborates closely with these institutions, spending time on their campuses, to preemptively isolate potential challenges and design measures to address and promote a healthy, inclusive, and safe environment. Aleks invests time to build strong relationships with clients, so she can understand their individualized risks and devise solutions that are tailored to their specific needs. Clients rely on Aleks' breadth and depth of experience conducting sensitive internal and external investigations. She meticulously prepares confidential, privileged reports and aids decision makers in addressing investigative findings across a range of contexts, including sexual misconduct, athletic department, board-mandated, and non-compliance investigations. Education law is a niche practice that continues to grow in complexity, and Aleks understands the necessity of responsiveness and transparency. Should issues escalate, clients trust Aleks for her extensive litigation experience, including serving as first chair in federal and state jury and bench trials, as well as first chair federal appellate court proceedings. Prior to joining the firm, Aleks worked at the U.S. Department of Education, Office of the General Counsel under Former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in Washington, D.C., and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in Den Haag, Netherlands.

Judy currently serves on the Board for the Society for Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE).    She is a Professor Emeritus, an attorney licensed in Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and is a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional.  She served as General Counsel and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at Eastern Kentucky University, a large public regional institution,  and at Manhattanville College, a small private institution,  where she developed and implemented compliance programs.  Judy presently serves as the Compliance Collaborative Program Consultant for the Georgia Independent College Association.  In that role Judy supports multiple institutions by providing policy reviews, consulting services, monthly compliance updates newsletters, and has either hosted or presented 113 webinars and 92 in-person professional development opportunities for staff and faculty with a total of 6,495 attendees.  She is the author of the first book on higher education compliance, Higher Education Compliance:  Blueprint for Success and a companion book, Higher Education Compliance:  What Governing Boards Really need to Know.    Judy is also the author of Compliance Risk Assessments:  An Introduction published by SCCE.