Bringing Theory to Practice

Advisory Board Past Members

Jenny Blau, Congressional Health Fellow, U.S. House of Representatives
Laurie Davidson, Associate Director, Center for College Health and Safety, Education Development Center, Inc.
Mary Jane England, President, Regis College
Stephanie Gordon, Director of Educational Programs, NASPA - Student Affairs Administrations in Higher Education
Will Speers, Former: Chair of the English Department, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, Director of Studies, Dean of Students and Assistant Headmaster for Student life

Jenny Blau
Ms. Blau serves as a legislative advisor for Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis, the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Health Task Force and the Congressional Women’s Caucus, with special responsibilities as director of the Women’s Caucus. A graduate of Bates College with a B.S. in Race, Poverty and Health, Ms. Blau is the recipient of the 2002 National Howard Swearer Humanitarian Award for her work with Latino populations at a local community clinic in Lewiston, Maine and internationally. She is the author of "Student Voices: Making Ourselves Heard," published by Campus Compact, and attends Georgetown medical school.

Laurie Davidson
Dr. Davidson is an Associate Director Center for College Health and Safety, Education Development Center, Inc., the nation's primary resource center for assisting institutions of higher education in developing and carrying out alcohol and other drug (AOD) prevention programs on their campuses. She develops Center collaborations with national organizations working on campus AOD prevention and helps campus, government, and community officials start and sustain statewide campus and community prevention initiatives. Before joining the Higher Education Center, she served a variety of organizations in the business, higher education, and non-profit sectors. Laurie has an MA in Counseling and worked for eight years in community mental health centers.

Mary Jane England
Dr. Mary Jane England, M. D., is President of Regis College, Weston, MA, a Catholic liberal arts college for women and her own alma mater (class of 1959). Taking her medical degree from Boston University in 1964, she launched a national and international career as a child psychiatrist, the first commissioner of the Department of Social Services in Massachusetts (1979-83), associate dean and director of the Lucius N. Littauer Master in Public Administration Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (1983-87), president of the American Psychiatric Association (1995-96) and the American Women’s Medical Association (1986-87), and corporate CEO (Prudential, 1987-90, Washington Business Group on Health, 1990-2001). Dr. England serves on the Board of Visitors of the Boston University School of Medicine, Mrs. Rosalynn Carter’s Task Force on Mental Health, and the National Academies/IOM Board on Children and Families. In 2004 she received the Elizabeth Blackwell Award for a distinguished American woman physician from AMWA.

Stephanie Gordon
Stephanie Gordon is the Director of Educational Programs at NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, where she coordinates professional development conferences, workshops, and e-learning opportunities. She is also the liaison to the NASPA Knowledge Communities which focus on specific fields of expertise within the student affairs profession. Prior to joining NASPA, she worked in student affairs, residence life and undergraduate admissions. Ms. Gordon graduated from Simmons College in Boston, MA in 1996 and went on to receive her Masters degree in Higher Education Administration from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education in 2000.

Will Speers
Mr. Speers is a Princeton (A.B.) and Middlebury graduate (MA, Bread Loaf School of English). His former positions include Chair of the English Department, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, Director of Studies, Dean of Students and Assistant Headmaster for Student life. He has also coached boys’ and girls’ soccer and squash. During the summers, he teaches at the Milton Boarding conference, a program that introduces new teachers to residential schools. He is currently Dean of Faculty at St. Andrew’s and continues to teach English.