Members & Divisions

As the Director of Strategic Communications in Human Resources, Abby oversees comprehensive communications planning across all HR teams. Since stepping into the role in early 2025, she has managed the HR website, newsletters, major events, social media, and both internal and external communications. She first joined WFU in 2023 as the Communications Specialist for the Workday Student Implementation within Information Systems, bringing more than 25 years’ expertise spanning journalism, corporate marketing, and higher-education communications.

Prior to arriving at Wake Forest, Abby served as the Senior Director of Marketing for Enrollment and Financial Aid at Guilford College. She earned a B.A. in English and Journalism from UNC Chapel Hill, later completing an M.B.A. at Guilford College. Originally from Winston-Salem and a lifelong Moravian, Abby loves being back in her hometown, where she enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, watercolor painting, thrifting, and reading.

Shandra is currently the Project Management Coordinator for Enrollment Management in the Student Engagement Suite for the School of Business, Farrell Hall. She has been with WFU for 7 years, and is also a mom to two wonderful teenagers and loves to paint, sing, travel, and most of all, cook. In her position, she supports the faculty and staff with Pre-Experience programs. She’s had the privilege of working with many different cultures, and diversity within the school, which makes her position exciting.

Shandra has also taken on the role as the Ambassador Lead of the MSM, MSBA, and MSA programs, where she coordinates incoming prospective students’ itineraries for campus visits. Her role includes planning events such as Accounting for the Future, Inclusion Weekend, Deac in a Day, and many others. She is also Co-Chair of the Events Committee for the Staff Advisory Board. One of her latest projects was working with Facilities, Planning, and Construction to have Farrell Hall placed on the main entrance signs to help navigate students, parents, and visitors to the school.

Term Expires: 2025

Brittany currently serves as the Assistant Director of the Career and Professional Development department in the School of Law. Previously, she worked with Student Athlete Services within the Athletic Department where she worked with all sports teams, responsible for pre-enrollment (NCAA initial eligibility, Admissions, and ISSS) as well as transfer credit processes and additional ongoing eligibility requirements. Additionally, she created an Athletes in Law organization for student-athletes interested in learning about the law school application process, life during law school, and careers after receiving a J.D.

Prior to Wake Forest, Brittany worked at the NCAA as their Postgraduate Intern in the Eligibility Center. She graduated from Elon University in 2016 with a B.S. in Sport Management and minors in Business Administration and Psychology and then went on to receive her J.D. from Villanova University in 2020. Brittany currently lives downtown in Winston with her pup, Petey.

Term Expires: 2028

Term Expires: 2028

Tara Ebrahimi currently serves as the Executive Director of Marketing & Communications in the School of Law where she oversees the Law School website, social media, internal and external communication, and more. She is a communications, marketing, and development expert with more than 20 years of experience across the nonprofit, government, corporate, and higher education fields. 

Prior to joining Wake Forest in 2022, Tara lived in Chicago and worked at Feeding America, the largest nonprofit in the country. She earned her master’s of fine arts in creative writing from the University of Washington (Seattle) and her bachelor’s from the University of Virginia. Tara lives in Winston-Salem with her family, and enjoys reading, writing, traveling, volunteering, hiking, and being in nature.

Term Expires: 2028

After graduating from the Wake Forest School of Business with her Master’s in Management in 2020, Marisa joined the Office of Student Financial Aid. She currently works with undergraduate, graduate, and Divinity School students. A Winston-Salem native, Marisa was happy to return to her hometown after earning her Bachelor degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

While she was a student at Wake Forest, Marisa served on the Student Executive Council. She is excited to translate that experience towards being a member of the Staff Advisory Council.

In her free time, Marisa enjoys quality time with her husband, Jacob, and their two dogs, Nico and Oakley. She also enjoys cooking, leisurely walks, and curling up with a good book.

Term Expires: 2028

Melissa is a higher education professional with twenty years of experience in academic environments. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (2015) from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA and Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Northeastern University in Boston, MA (2004).

She serves as Director of Enrollment Management at Wake Forest University’s School of Professional Studies since August 2021, where she sets the strategic direction for student recruitment. Prior to Wake, she was the Dean of Graduate Admission at Stonehill College from July 2018 to August 2021, where she created and executed comprehensive marketing and recruitment plans. She also served as the Founding Director of Graduate Admission at Stonehill College, establishing the Office of Graduate Admission.

Melissa resides in Belmont, NC.

Term Expires: 2028

Krista is a Senior Windows Systems Administrator with nearly 20 years of dedicated service at Wake Forest University.  She earned her degree at ECPI College of Technology in Information Systems/Network Administration. She has contributed to various roles in Information Systems and has been on the Windows Team for the last 13 years. With a strong commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility, she has led initiatives to reduce the team’s carbon footprint in the datacenter. Recognizing the potential of cloud computing, she worked to receive her AWS Solutions Architect Certification as well as the AWS SysOps Certification.  She co-led the effort to migrate the department’s Windows servers to Amazon Web Services (AWS).  This move has not only improved scalability and efficiency but also significantly decreased energy consumption, in alignment with the company’s Information Systems (IS) strategic initiative.

In addition to her professional life, her personal life is filled with faith, love, and joy.  She is happily married to her husband, Brandon, and together they have a wonderful son named Ezra. Family is incredibly important to her, and she enjoys the time she spends with them, creating lasting memories and sharing special moments.  Her faith also plays a vital role in her life. She is an active member of her local church, where she finds solace, guidance, and a supportive community.  Overall, she is grateful for life’s blessings and strives to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Term Expires: 2026

Emily Gregg joined Information Systems in 2019 and is currently the Digital Strategy Manager for the communications team in Client Services. Prior to joining the undergrad campus, Emily worked at the Wake Forest School of Medicine and has been a part of the Wake Forest family since 2015. Since 2024, she has served as the co-chair for the Parent/Caregiver Affinity Resource Group. 

She is an accomplished graphic designer and creative communicator with two decades of experience in industries such as non-profit, government, healthcare, and higher education – formerly working for University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

She graduated from Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina with a Bachelors in Graphic Design and served as the Chapter President of the American Institute for Graphic Arts (AIGA). Currently she serves as the Historian Class Agent for the alumnae association. 

Emily values volunteer work, and serves on the Winston Under 40 Advisory Board for Greater Winston-Salem as well as co-chairing the Arts Based School Parent Council and working closely with the Piedmont Environmental Alliance. During election season, you can find her working as an elections Chief Judge for Forsyth County. 

When not at Wake, she can be found around town at her children’s sports activities and hunting books at the downtown library.

Term Expires: 2028

Sabrina Mack works in I.S on the Academic Technology team as the Learning Platforms Manager. She joined Wake Forest in 2022. She earned her B.A in Applied Science with a concentration in Communications from Winston Salem State University. She also earned her Master’s in Adult Education from North Carolina A&T State University. She is currently working towards the completion of her Ph.D. in Educational Studies with a concentration in Higher Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In her role at Wake Forest, she works with Faculty, Staff and Students to ensure that they are well versed in using various academic technologies provided by Wake Forest such as Canvas, Kaltura, VoiceThread and Poll Everywhere. This involves consulting with faculty on how they can integrate technology in their courses to enhance the learning experience.

In her personal life, Sabrina is the mother of two amazing children, Rashidi Jr (RJ) and Madison. You can often find Sabrina at a hockey rink being that her son is the goalie in a hockey league. When she has free time, she loves spending time with her family and going to her favorite places, beautiful beaches and amusement parks.

Term Expires: 2027

Ansley has served as the Director of Employment Solutions on the Human Resources team since 2022. In her role, Ansley provides leadership and strategic guidance to a team of talented and dedicated HR professionals, who in turn serve the campus community at all stages of the employment life cycle, including faculty, staff and student employees. Prior to her position at Wake Forest, Ansley spent nearly ten years in the private business sector gaining valuable HR skills including experience in talent acquisition, employee onboarding and engagement, and employee relations and workplace investigations. Ansley is a proud Demon Deacon alumna, having earned a BA in Spanish in 2014. Outside of work, Ansley enjoys spending time with her spouse and two young children, reading (especially suspenseful fiction novels!), and, when the weather is 75 degrees and sunny, being outside for a nice long walk.

Term Expires: 2027

Betsy Chapman has primary responsibility for communicating with Wake Forest undergraduate parents and families. She is the author of the Daily Deac blog, which covers Wake Forest activities, news, and college-parenting advice, and helps give families a glimpse of campus life each weekday. She has a key editorial role with the WFU Should Know weekly student e-newsletter, works with institutional and crisis communications, and is a Part-Time Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication. Betsy holds a doctorate in Higher Education; her research focused on parent and family interactions with the college related to readership of blogs and other institutional communications.

Betsy’s husband Jeremy got his MA in Psychology at Wake Forest and they married in Wait Chapel. Their child, E, is a ’27 student at NC State and works at the WFU Wellbeing Center in the summers. They are also parents to two big, rowdy, troublesome dogs, Fenster and Manfred.

Term Expires: 2027

Allison joined Wake Forest in 2014 starting in Financial Services before moving to Advancement. She currently works as the Business Manager supporting the Communications and External Relations team. When not chauffeuring her two children, she enjoys working as a fitness instructor, lifting weights, or surviving a good run.

Term Expires: 2027

Sandy joined the Wake Forest community in 2010 working as the Senior Business Manager in University Advancement. She relocated to this area in 2004 from the Washington, DC metro area where most of her career was as a Senior Accountant for Marriott Corporate Headquarters. She earned her BS in Business Management in 2009.

Sandy is married to Steve and together they have 6 children and 14 grandchildren. Sandy and Steve are both avid road bikers and spend their weekends with their cycling friends, at car shows with the
Triumph TR6 car club, golfing, or with the many grandchildren and their events.

Term Expires: 2027

Term Expires: 2028

Ken Knox started at Wake Forest in February 2021 and currently serves as the Assistant Director for Sports Performance and the Return to Performance Coordinator for Olympic Sports. He works directly with Volleyball and Men’s Tennis and works in collaboration with the Rehab Coordinator to streamline rehabilitation and performance for student-athletes returning from long-term injury. Additionally, he has worked directly with Field Hockey, Women’s Tennis, and Track and Field (Throws) and is currently responsible for recruitment, coordination, and education of individuals who are taking part in the Olympic Sports – Sports Performance Internship.

Knox worked prior as a graduate assistant strength & conditioning coach at the University of Kentucky. While in Lexington, Knox worked primarily with the Wildcats’ Men’s and Women’s Tennis, Men’s and Women’s Cheer, and Diving teams, also assisting with Women’s Basketball, Volleyball, Softball, Gymnastics, and Baseball. Before arriving at Kentucky, he previously worked at his alma mater, Emory & Henry College, where he played football and baseball, as well as the University of South Carolina and has a bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training from Emory & Henry College, and his master’s degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology from the University of Kentucky.

Term Expires: 2028

Javier Martin-Fernandez, PhD, is the Director of Behavioral Health and Performance and head of the Sport Psychology Department for Wake Forest University Athletics. Dr. Javi is currently responsible for the provision of psychological services to student-athletes and athletics staff. These services include individual and group mental health and performance sessions, team workshops, educational seminars for coaches and staff, crisis intervention, student-athlete mentorship, and outreach programming. He completed his doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology from the APA accredited University of Akron in 2021. He completed his APA accredited doctoral internship and postdoctoral training at the Wake Forest University Counseling Center, where he served as the sport psychology intern and postdoctoral fellow respectively. Dr. Javi also earned a masters in Counseling with a specialization in Sport Psychology from Boston University in 2017, which continues to augment his generalist training.

Dr. Javi has been practicing clinically since 2015, working in a variety of clinical settings with clients of various backgrounds and intersecting identities across the lifespan. He approaches therapy from an integrated perspective drawing on acceptance and commitment therapy, cognitive behavioral, interpersonal, strengths-based and multicultural perspectives. He has held licensure as a psychologist since 2023. He previously worked as a sport psychologist for Wake Forest University athletics before being hired as the Director of Behavioral Health and Performance in April of 2024. His clinical interests include perfectionism, identity, family of origin issues, relationships, anxiety, mindfulness, disordered eating and pressures to perform.

Term Expires: 2028

Mark Seaver is in his 19th year as an employee at Wake Forest in 2024-2025 serving as Assistant Director of Sports Performance. Seaver works primarily with the Demon Deacon baseball and women’s golf programs. He is also in his 32nd year affiliated with the University entering as an undergrad in 1993.

Seaver was a pitcher on the Wake Forest baseball team from 1993-96. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 1996 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles and played professionally in the minor leagues for six seasons.

Seaver finished his degree in health and exercise science from Wake Forest in 2003. He is certified by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCA).

Originally from Pittsburgh, Seaver currently resides in Winston-Salem with his wife, Kelly, their daughter, Emily and son, Kade.

Term Expires: 2027

Kathleen joined Wake Forest in 2014 and has been a member of the Division of Campus Life since 2016. As an Associate Director in the Office of Student Engagement, she oversees facilities and event operations for major student hubs, including the Benson University Center. Her work spans daily logistics, renovations, and large-scale events, ensuring these spaces remain welcoming and functional for the entire campus community.

Kathleen manages a team of professional and student staff and is a passionate advocate for the benefits of on-campus employment, having worked as a student employee throughout her own academic career. Before joining Campus Life, she worked for Wake Forest Athletics—a connection she maintains today as a gameday employee for basketball. She holds a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Akron and a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and Psychology from Syracuse University. A New Jersey native, Kathleen enjoys horseback riding, theater, traveling, and exploring Winston-Salem with her dog. Her favorite Wake Forest tradition is Pitsgiving.

Term expires: 2029

Erin joined the Wake Forest community in February 2021 as a Community Director in Residence Life and Housing. In June 2024, she transitioned to the Operations Manager role within the office. Originally from Northern Virginia, Erin holds a B.A. in Communication Studies from Christopher Newport University and a M.Ed. in Higher Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. You will often find Erin exploring campus with her son, husband, and their two chihuahuas. Erin is also part of the Yelp Elite Squad so she loves trying new places in the area and posting detailed reviews about her experience.

Term Expires: 2028

Jim joined Wake Forest in September 2019 as the Interim Associate Dean of Students. Following a year of working as Interim and a national search, Jim was selected for the Associate Dean position. Previous to working at Wake Forest, Jim served as Associate Vice President for Student Affairs at UNC-Greensboro for 8 years, as Vice President for Student Affairs at Shawnee State University, and in earlier roles supervising residence life, housing, auxiliary services, career counseling, and a variety of other student affairs areas.

Jim earned a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri – St. Louis in higher education administration. His research focused on factors associated with keeping college students in college, particularly first-year and first-generation students at 2-year and 4-year colleges. Jim has a research interest (and experience!) with “helicopter parents,” parent councils, and parents of residential students. Jim’s Master’s degree in College Student Personnel is from Bowling Green State University. His undergraduate degrees in biology and chemistry are from Pittsburg State University.

Jim enjoys spending time with his family, including being outside with this black Labrador retriever, Jake (who never tires of swimming and chasing his kong), cooking, and working in the yard.

Term Expires: 2028

Shell Sizemore serves as Director of the Women’s Center. A Double Deac, Shell has worked at Wake Forest full-time for 17 years, beginning her career as the first Coordinator for Campus Kitchen and working in community engagement before transitioning to the Women’s Center.

Shell holds a BA and MA in Communication, both from Wake Forest. She also holds a PhD in Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has a 10-year-old, Elliot, and partner Justin, who also works at Wake Forest in Environmental Health and Safety. In addition to serving on nonprofit boards, Shell loves women’s sports (especially, but not limited to, the Deacs), reading, eating, and hiking.

Term expires: 2029

Phillip joined the Office of Orientation, New Student and Transition Programs as one of their Program Coordinators in 2023 at about the same time many of the students that year arrived at Wake. His work focuses on coordinating New Deac Week orientation experience for the incoming class, communicating important information to students prior to and after their arrival to campus, and building partnerships across campus with colleagues. Prior to his arrival at Wake Forest he worked for 7 years in a number of academic advising capacities at all levels of higher education and served as a high school history teacher for 9 years.

Phillip holds a B.S. in History, Secondary Education and a Master’s Degree in Higher Education from Appalachian State University. When he isn’t working to provide an orientation experience for the incoming class of Deacs he spends time with his incredibly talented wife, Katie, as well as his 3 sons (Noah, Peyton, and Finn) and their ridiculous dog, Sammy. The rest of the time that remains is reserved for Phillip to read, draw, watch TV and movies, and play video games.

Term Expires: 2028

Tim is currently the Senior Manager of Facilities Services within Facilities, Real Estate and Planning. He manages the surplus program, customer service and oversees all FRE&P support for 300+ events across campus each year. He has been a member of the facilities team for three years. 

Prior to his time in Facilities, Tim worked for 3 years in the athletic department, serving as the event manager for Women’s Basketball, Field Hockey, Volleyball, and Men’s and Women’s Tennis.

Tim’s favorite Wake Forest event is Tower and Tunnel Tours. He enjoys traveling, hiking, and paddle boarding in his spare time.

Term Expires: 2027

Stacey joined Wake Forest in July of 2013. She began her career in Custodial, and later moved to Customer Service. She is currently Administrative Assistant for Planning and Construction, working with Project Management. Stacey has a 10 year old son who keeps her busy on weekends with travel baseball.

Term Expires: 2022

Chris was born and raised in Winston-Salem. He has four children, who are all grown and out on their own. Chris came to Wake Forest over 20 years ago as a subcontractor and he has been employed with Wake Forest for about 10 years. His job is in facilities engineering, where he works as a senior tech. His primary responsibilities are to work with plumbing related issues. Outside of work, Chris also has his own plumbing company, which he works on after his Wake workday, and he stays busy 24/7. If any Wake Forest folks have plumbing needs, feel free to reach out to Chris.

Term Expires: 2027

Term Expires: 2027

Tabatha has been the sales manager at The Barn at Reynolda Village since 2018. The Barn is a historic event venue that hosts meetings, conferences, celebrations, and weddings. Venue sales and event management have been Tabatha’s passion for decades, having also worked in that capacity at 88.5 WFDD, The Children’s Museum, Old Salem Museums and Gardens, and WinMock.

Tabatha earned a degree in Hospitality and Tourism from Jefferson Community College in Watertown, NY, and has proudly worked in that field for over 35 years.

Tabatha and her husband Bobby, also own Twin City Floral. When not selling or flowering events, Tabatha is sending care packages to her son in the Navy, kayaking, camping, or planning their next travel adventure.

Term Expires: 2027

Dr. Jackie Friedman currently serves as the Assistant Director of Training in the University Counseling Center. Prior to her current role, Jackie has taught in the education and psychology departments at Wake Forest and was an Associate Director in the Center for Learning, Access and Student Success for ten years. Prior to her work at Wake Forest, Jackie earned her BA in Psychology from the College of William & Mary and earned both her MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Virginia. She is currently a licensed Psychologist in the state of North Carolina. Outside of her time at Wake, Jackie enjoys spending time with her family and (many) pets.

Term Expires: 2028

Gillian Hagamen (she/her) is the Assistant Director of Operations for the Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability. She joined Wake’s Program for Leadership and Character in late 2021 from the University of Texas at Austin where she led student recruitment and programming for Mechanical Engineering undergraduates.

Gillian earned a BA in American Studies from Colby College.

Originally from New York City, Gillian lives in Winston-Salem with her wife and two kids. When not at work, you can find her wrangling kiddos, attempting to garden, and whipping up something in the kitchen.

Term Expires: 2027

Term Expires: 2028

Jessica first began working with the Wake Forest Engineering Department in Fall 2019 to lead the development of the assessment and continuous improvement system needed for Engineering accreditation. As part of that role, she also supported the development and implementation of character education in the Engineering curriculum, which led to a transition to the Program for Leadership and Character in the Professional Schools where she currently leads Research and Evaluation efforts. Prior to WFU, she worked as the Director of Research for a nationwide youth non-profit based in New York City. Jessica earned her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.

Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Jessica has lived in Winston Salem since 2017. She enjoys cooking and gardening in her free time, spending time with her partner and dog, having adventures, and traveling to stay connected to friends and family.

Term Expires: 2027

Ashley Graham Phipps serves as Associate Director, Data Analytics within the Employer Relations team at Wake Forest University. In this role, she manages technology and data for the WFU College to Career team. She oversees the relationship and interface between the WFU campus and Handshake, the career opportunity management platform. She is also a part of a university-wide initiative on data analytics and visualization. In her previous roles with the Employer Relations team, she administered the Wake Forest University Kirby Fund to increase access for all students to career opportunities and equity. She also oversaw the Career Treks from application to travel logistics to thank-you notes from students.

A Double Deacon, Ashley has her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science in Management degrees from Wake Forest University. She returned to WFU in 2014 to work on the Employer Relations Team.

A native of North Carolina, Ashley is married to a fellow WFU alumnus. They reside in Winston-Salem with their daughter and 2 dogs. Aside from spending time with her family, Ashley enjoys gardening and working in her yard.

Term Expires: 2028

Jenna first joined the university in May 2012, providing administrative support to the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Planning in the Office of the Dean of the College. She and her husband moved to the Washington, DC area in January 2015 following his graduation from Wake Forest Law. Jenna then worked in faculty recruitment for George Washington University and in talent acquisition for a non-profit in Arlington, VA. She found her way back to Wake Forest in May 2018 and is now the Assistant Director for Wake Washington, based at the Wake Washington Center in DC. Jenna manages the overall operations of the Wake Washington Program and Center: from managing the program budget, to planning events, to coordinating student housing, and supporting resident faculty. She serves on the steering committee for the Washington Program Consortium, an organization composed of schools with similar DC study away programs. Jenna also draws from her prior recruiting experience to assist students with resumes, cover letters, interview tips, and general career advice.

Jenna was born and raised in South Mills, NC. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Public History from Meredith College and a master’s degree in US History from UNC-Greensboro. She currently resides in Alexandria, VA with her husband Ryan (JD ’14), daughter Piper, and goldendoodle Kermit. When not at work, Jenna enjoys gardening, attempting DIY projects around the house, visiting the many museums and historic sites in the area, and all things craft beer.

Term Expires: 2029