Seven Women Administrators Appointed to New Roles in Higher Education

Adreanna Johnson is the new associate vice president for strategic engagement at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina. Earlier, Johnson was a strategy and performance analyst with the Durham County government. She is the founder of The Alumni Collective, a North Carolina-based organization focused on strengthening alumni engagement and philanthropic support for historically Black colleges and universities.

Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree from Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina and a master of public administration degree from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Virginia Meehan has been promoted to executive director for government relations at the University of Maryland, where she has worked for nearly a decade. During her tenure, she has secured significant congressional funding for the university and strengthened its national research profile. Earlier in her career, Meehan was director of federal relations at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Meehan is a magna cum laude graduate of Miami University in Ohio, where she majored in political science.

Natalie M. Blais has been named associate vice chancellor for government relations at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She previously served the university as chief of staff to the chancellor. From 2018 to 2026, she served as a Massachusetts state representative. Blais also has over a decade of experience as a congressional aide to U.S. Representatives John W. Olver and James P. McGovern.

Blais earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and her master’s degree in political communication from Emerson College in Boston.

Nicole Wagner is the new assistant vice president of gift planning at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She has worked in the university’s Office of Gift Planning since 2012, most recently serving as the senior director of gift planning. Before joining the Virginia Tech staff, Wagner provided legal counsel to a number of clients on business initiatives and transactions, risk management, impact assessment, and other operational matters.

Wagner holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the College of William & Mary in Virginia, an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a law degree from the University of Richmond.

Tuwanna Williams is the new executive director of workforce education at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi. Her appointment marks a return to the college, where she previously served as a college navigator and WIOA workforce recruiter for six years. Most recently, Williams was director of workforce development for the City of Natchez, Mississippi.

A graduate of Hinds Community College in Mississippi, Williams holds a bachelor of business administration degree in organizational management from American Intercontinental University and an MBA with a concentration in human resources from Delta State University in Mississippi.

Emily Williams has been named the inaugural associate vice president for alumni engagement at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Earlier, she was director of career and alumni engagement at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Her other experience in higher education includes alumni engagement positions at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Williams received her bachelor’s degree from Union College in Schenectady, New York, and her master’s degree from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Brandi Bush Roberts was appointed chief financial officer of the Louisiana State University System. She most recently served as associate vice president and chief of staff for finance and administration at Louisiana State University. Her background includes over two decades of experience in higher education administration, including more than 10 years leading financial operations for LSU Auxiliary Services.

Dr. Roberts holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting, a master’s degree in accounting, and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Louisiana State University.

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