The Executive Committee is the senior leadership body that develops the strategic direction for the university, provides direct support and advice to the president, and has input and impact on key decisions and issues of importance to UMGC. The committee meets regularly and assists with the development and implementation of university policies.
The Executive Committee
Read about the senior leaders who develop UMGC's strategic direction.
UMGC President
Gregory Fowler, PhD
President
Dr. Gregory W. Fowler became the seventh president of University of Maryland Global Campus on January 4, 2021. A distinguished scholar and administrator, he is a leader in developing innovative learning models and experiences for adult and nontraditional populations around the world.
Prior to joining UMGC, Dr. Fowler served most recently as president of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) Global Campus and before that in a dual role as SNHU's chief academic officer and vice president for academic affairs. In almost nine years with the university, he led the institution's efforts in developing online, competency-based and hybrid programs that met the rapidly changing demands of the workforce and global communities, including programs for disadvantaged students in Los Angeles, refugees in Africa and the Middle East, and for learners in Mexico and Columbia.
Dr. Fowler has held senior-level academic and administrative positions at several institutions, including Western Governors University (WGU), where he served as associate provost and dean of liberal arts and ensured student success by overseeing the development of new degree programs for WGU's colleges. He also was chief academic officer and vice president for academic affairs at Hesser College in New Hampshire.
Dr. Fowler was raised in Albany, Georgia, one of eight children; his mother was a secondary school teacher, and other family members included military service members and contractors, nurses, lawyers, coroners and pastors. He realized from an early age the power of education to change the trajectory of lives and impact communities as well as the need to engage with people and help them wherever they are in life. As a teenager working at the Six Flags Over Georgia theme park, Dr. Fowler recognized the importance of teamwork to organizational success, an early lesson that has helped shape his management style.
He completed his undergraduate studies at Morehouse College, which included a year as a Charles A. Dana Scholar at Duke University. He then moved to the Washington, D.C., area and spent nearly four years at the National Endowment for the Humanities. There he worked as an outreach specialist and media affairs officer helping to share the stories and empower the voices of underserved populations, while also earning a master's degree in English from George Mason University.
Dr. Fowler left the NEH and became a lecturer and assistant professor of literature and American studies at Penn State University—Erie, while completing his doctorate in English/American Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo. While teaching at Penn State, he was named a Fulbright Senior Scholar, teaching and lecturing in Germany, including at the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies at Freie Universitat–Berlin. Dr. Fowler received a second Fulbright Scholar award in 2006 to Belgium and Germany, where he collaborated with scholars on the future of the European Union, including the impact of the Bologna Accords on creating shared frameworks across higher education for the EU.
Dr. Fowler served as a board member and commissioner of the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), where he worked with a team reviewing the shift to remote learning and its impact on the future of higher education. He has also served on several other advisory boards including for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Dr. Fowler also holds an MBA from Western Governors University and has completed several higher education and executive leadership/negotiation programs at Harvard University.
UMGC Executive Committee
Blair H. Hayes
Ombudsman, Ombudsman's Office
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Office of Diversity and Equity
Frank J. Principe, Jr.
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs and Strategic Partnerships
Nicholas Eremita
Chief of Staff and Senior Vice President, Strategy
Nicholas Eremita joined UMGC as chief of staff and senior vice president of strategy in March 2021.
A seasoned leader with extensive experience in analytics-based corporate planning and the transformation and modernization of growing organizations, he served most recently as vice president for enterprise planning and strategic enablement at Southern New Hampshire University, where he drove strategy development, business process transformation, and program management across the institution.
Earlier, he served as deputy director of strategy and concepts—and before that as branch chief of global force management—for the U.S. Department of Defense and Joint Staff, where he advised and worked closely with Gen. James N. Mattis, Gen. John Allen, and Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, leading, formulating, and advancing the long-term strategic concepts for the U.S. Army that will drive, streamline, and optimize future capabilities for the next generation.
As a program manager at Booz Allen Hamilton, he advised the Defense Department on enterprise architecture and systems engineering challenges, testing proofs of concept and driving analytics-based decision models.
A U.S. Army veteran, Eremita holds a BS in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an MS in resource strategy from the Eisenhower School of National Security and Resource Strategy in Washington, D.C.
Michael Freedman
Senior Vice President and Journalist in Residence
301-985-7200
michael.freedman@umgc.edu
Michael Freedman is senior vice president and Journalist in Residence at UMGC. In a distinguished career spanning more than 35 years, Freedman has served as general manager of CBS Radio Network News, managing editor for the Broadcast Division of United Press International, vice president and professor of journalism at The George Washington University, senior vice president and professor of the practice at University of Maryland Global Campus, and executive producer of the public broadcasting series "The Kalb Report."
Over the course of his career, Freedman has collaborated on programming with such icons as Walter Cronkite, Marvin Kalb, Tony Bennett, Ernie Harwell, Dan Rather, Charles Osgood, and Abba Eban. He has forged groundbreaking partnerships with CNN, The National Press Club, POLITICO, and The Newseum in Washington, D.C.
Freedman and his teams have been honored with more 85 honors, including 14 Edward R. Murrow awards for excellence in broadcast journalism. He is co-author of The Broadcast Voice Handbook and a contributing author to Broadcasting Through Crisis, Responsible Journalism and The Encyclopedia of Journalism. He is a member of the National Press Club Board of Governors and the Newseum Educator Advisory Team.
JulieAnn Garcia
Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
JulieAnn Garcia is vice president and chief human resources officer for UMGC, where she leads efforts to strengthen organizational effectiveness and the global employee experience.
Garcia joined UMGC in 2015 as assistant vice president of HR Operations for the overseas divisions and has 25 years of experience in higher education, for-profit, and nonprofit settings.
Before joining UMGC, she served as chief learning and business operations officer at the National Education Association, working to align business strategy and operational needs focusing on workforce planning.
She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from McMurry University and a Master of Business Administration from Abilene Christian University, as well as certifications as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) from the HR Certification Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management, respectively.
Blair H. Hayes
Ombudsman, Ombudsman's Office
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Office of Diversity and Equity
Blair Hayes, PhD is ombudsman, vice president and chief diversity officer at UMGC. He joined UMGC following a career spent leading diversity initiatives, researching best practices, and developing programs to support climate and cultural change. A recognized thought leader in the fields of diversity and equal employment opportunity practices, Hayes has worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, managing demographics and analytics and leading the firm-wide Board Diversity Initiative. As a diversity consultant, he has worked with clients across the Federal workforce to expand their EEO policies and procedures and to improve their human capital offerings. Earlier, at Temple University, Hayes worked at the Institute for Survey Research, where he served as lead researcher on the SMART Memory Program, focusing on improving memory and cognitive function in senior citizens throughout Philadelphia. This work formed the basis for his innovative workshops and approaches to supporting generational diversity in the workplace.
Hayes holds a BA in psychology from Morehouse College and an MA and PhD in social/organizational psychology from Temple University. His research focused on gender and racial dynamics in the workplace. He has earned numerous awards and commendations for his work and commitment to diversity and cultural change.
Lloyd "Milo" Miles
Senior Vice President, Global Military Operations
301-985-7257
lloyd.miles@umgc.edu
Major General Lloyd "Milo" Miles (U.S. Army, Ret.) currently serves as senior vice president of global military operations at UMGC. In this role, he oversees the administration and management of the university's operations and partnerships in more than 20 countries and territories in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
Before joining UMGC in January 2015, Miles served in the military for more than 32 years in a distinguished career. He has commanded at every level from captain to major general in assignments that included a peacekeeping mission in the Sinai Desert; a peace enforcement mission in Kosovo; combat operations in Iraq; and the international effort to advise, train, and equip the Iraqi Army.
His principal staff assignments included serving as a senior operations officer; liaison officer to the Egyptian Ministry of Defense in Cairo, Egypt; political-military planner for North Korea, Joint Staff, Pentagon; executive officer to the commander, U.S. Southern Command; and executive officer to the Chief of Staff of the Army.
Miles is the fourth soldier since the Civil War to be promoted to general as an amputee. He is the only amputee general to serve in either Iraq or Afghanistan and the only one to serve multiple combat tours after becoming an amputee.
Miles earned a BS in engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an MS in national strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.
Erika Orris
Senior Vice President, Chief Enrollment and Marketing Officer
301-985-7435
erika.orris@umgc.edu
Erika Orris is chief enrollment and marketing officer at UMGC. In this role, she oversees the Offices of Marketing, New Student Admissions, and Student Advising and Retention. She joined UMGC in March 2016.
Orris is a veteran administrator whose career has focused on helping students achieve their education goals. Before coming to UMGC, she was vice president for enrollment management at DeVry University and its Keller Graduate School of Management. While serving in this position, she built an acclaimed advisor training program, spearheaded development of a digital self-service process for student enrollment and financial aid, and oversaw the development of hundreds of corporate, college, and high school partnerships.
Prior to that, Orris served in various leadership roles in admissions and operations at the Art Institutes, a system of more than 40 campuses across North America that offer degrees and programs in the creative and applied arts. Her 19-year career there included leading a start-up operation; serving as vice president of marketing and admissions, where she also chaired the scholarship committee; and managing information technology-related projects to enhance the student experience. She led the development of virtual student interviews and career-oriented multimedia presentations in the 1990s, well ahead of its time.
Orris received a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from University of Maryland Global Campus. Her experience in serving a wide variety of students—including high school students and adults as well as those in the military—in both on-site and online formats will lend itself well to UMGC's mission to improve the lives of adult learners.
Blakely Pomietto
Senior Vice President and Chief Academic Officer
Blakely Pomietto has served since April 2020 as UMGC's senior vice president and chief academic officer. In this role, she defines, implements, and advances key academic initiatives, strategic planning, and institutional priorities, guiding the leadership team in Academic Affairs and coordinating with senior leaders across the institution. Pomietto and her team oversee quality of programs and instruction, academic support programs and services, digital teaching and learning, instructional design, faculty affairs and development, academic operations, policies and procedures, and UMGC's compliance with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education standards.
Pomietto has previously served as UMGC's Deputy Chief Academic Officer, as well as Acting Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. She joined the university in 2015 as Assistant Vice Provost for Policies and Reports, including oversight of the Academic Affairs policy portfolio, academic program reviews and approvals, and mandated reporting.
Prior to joining UMGC, Pomietto served as chief of staff in the University of Maryland, College Park School of Public Health. In that role and others, she led the school through initial and reaccreditation by the Council on Education for Public Health and coordinated with the school's dean's office and individual units, including academic affairs, communications, finance and administration, research, and student services. Previously, she served as director of student services and program coordinator for the Master of Public Health and taught for 12 years as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Public Health.
Pomietto holds a bachelor's degree in biology from George Mason University and a Master of Public Health, with a concentration in community health education, from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Frank J. Principe, Jr.
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs and Strategic Partnerships
301-985-7314
frank.principe@umgc.edu
Frank J. Principe Jr. is senior vice president of Government Affairs and Strategic Partnerships. A key advisor to the president, he is responsible for leading UMGC's state and federal government relations and strategic corporate/industry partnerships, as well as managing the institution's relationships with key stakeholder organizations, including the University System of Maryland. Principe also oversees Institutional Advancement, Alumni Relations, and the university's Arts Program, which includes Maryland's largest public collection of art. Principe's portfolio also includes managing the university's relationship with the Maryland Cybersecurity Council, for which the university provides staffing and other strategic support.
Principe joined UMGC in February 2015, serving most recently as vice president for Government Affairs, overseeing all aspects of state and federal government relations. He came to UMGC with a wealth of experience in public affairs, public policy, government and community relations, and higher education.
Before joining UMGC, Principe served as chief of staff in the Office of the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation, where he represented the governor's and secretary's interests with external stakeholders. Earlier, he served as government affairs director at the Baltimore County Executive Office for seven years and, before that, as executive director for government relations in the Office of the President at Towson University.
Principe began his career more than 25 years ago in the Office of Maryland Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller Jr. There, he rose to serve as special assistant to the president, a position he held for more than five years.
Principe holds a master's degree in political management from George Washington University and a bachelor's degree in English, with honors, from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Amin Qazi
Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer
Amin Qazi joined UMGC in May of 2020 as senior vice president and chief digital officer. In this newly established role, Amin guides the university's exploration and adoption of new digital strategies designed to drive entrepreneurship and innovation, ultimately advancing operational efficiencies and learner success. He is also responsible for developing and implementing UMGC's digital roadmap, guiding IT strategic and operational planning, and collaborating with the Office of the Chief Academic Officer and UMUC Ventures on learning technology design strategy and the creation, implementation, and scaling of digital learning solutions designed to enhance student success.
Amin came to UMGC with more than 15 years of leadership experience, most recently as principal of Amass, LLC, where he provided business strategy services for clients in managing change and data-driven transformations.
Before that, he served as founding CEO of Unizin, Ltd., an educational technology startup that offers data solutions and teaching and learning resources designed to improve access, affordability, and learner success.
Earlier, he held management consulting roles with top firms like KPMG and Accenture/Anderson Consulting. He served as assistant vice president of system integration for JPMorgan Chase, and as director of enterprise technology at the University of Minnesota, he led a staff of 135 focused on technology strategy, business analysis, and application development.
Qazi earned a BS in chemical engineering from the University of Iowa and an MBA with an emphasis on strategy and finance from the University of Minnesota.
Sherri Sampson
Vice President and General Counsel
Sherri Sampson, JD, is vice president and general counsel for UMGC, where she leads the Office of Legal Affairs. She joined the university in September 2019. Before joining UMGC, Sampson served for 17 years as chief human resources officer, general counsel, and corporate secretary of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), a global nonprofit organization that provides products and services, including the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), to business schools. In her various roles, she has handled issues related to contracts, labor and employment, disability accommodations, crisis management, privacy, and security.
Previously, Sampson served as an associate attorney on the corporate and securities team at the Washington, D.C.-based international law firm of Hogan Lovells and as a corporate transactions associate attorney at the Seattle, Washington, office of Perkins Coie. Virginia Business Law Magazine named her one of the Virginia Legal Elite's Best Lawyers.
Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Sampson earned her bachelor's degree, with distinction, in comparative area studies (East Asia and Western Europe) from Duke University. She has studied Japanese law, literature, and culture and French literature and culture abroad, and holds a certificate in Asian and African languages and literature. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Washington School of Law and was admitted to the bar in Washington State, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and (for limited practice as in-house counsel) in Virginia.
Joseph Sergi
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Joseph Sergi is senior vice president and chief operating officer of University of Maryland Global Campus, a position he has held since March 2021.
Sergi comes to UMGC with almost three decades of experience as a senior operations and finance executive with a proven track record as a change agent and turnaround expert, as well as demonstrated ability for implementing transformative strategies and generating sustainable growth in institutions of higher education.
He served most recently as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of UMassOnline—the online arm of the five campuses of the University of Massachusetts—implementing innovative support services tailored to adult learners, introducing personnel best practices for online learning, and identifying and implementing operational efficiencies to optimize the student experience.
Before that, he served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Southern New Hampshire University; as vice president of finance and administration for Hesser College, in Manchester, New Hampshire; and as senior director of administration and finance of Massbiologics, an innovative developer and manufacturer of vaccines and other biologic products at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
In some 20 years of public service, Sergi held both elected and volunteer positions with the Town of Pepperell, Massachusetts, serving as a selectman and member of the Charter Commission, Planning Board, and Land Use Committee.
A U.S. Air Force veteran, Sergi is a graduate of Massachusetts Bay Community College and received its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2018. He holds a BS in management and an MBA in finance from Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts.
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