About
Tiffany Rodriguez, Ph.D.
CONSULTANT / FOUNDING PARTNER
CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER AT AMERICAN COLLEGE OF HEALTHCARE SCIENCES
With over two decades of experience in higher education, Dr. Rodriguez is a distinguished consultant specializing in institutional effectiveness, accreditation, and strategic planning. She earned her Ph.D. in Biomechanics and Bachelor of Science in Health and Kinesiology from Texas A&M University, and further enhanced her expertise through the WSCUC Assessment Leadership Academy. Additionally, she holds a certificate in Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education from Vanderbilt University, equipping her to guide institutions in leveraging AI to streamline operations and support student learning.
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Dr. Rodriguez’s career includes key roles such as Chief Academic Officer, Dean of Academic Affairs and Institutional Effectiveness, and Director of Institutional Research, where she has led data-informed decision making in areas such as, sustainable growth initiatives, new product development, strategic planning, retention, and accreditation. Her extensive experience collaborating with executive teams, academic staff, and stakeholders has consistently elevated educational quality and performance assessment across diverse academic settings.
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An active evaluator and committee member for multiple higher education accreditors, Dr. Rodriguez is also a member of the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education and a published author, contributing to "Driving Innovation With For-Profit Adult Higher Education Online Institutions." Her commitment to data-informed strategies and AI-driven solutions empowers institutions to achieve their goals, foster continuous improvement, and ensure sustainable growth in a dynamic educational landscape.
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David Chase, Ed.D.
CONSULTANT / FOUNDING PARTNER
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David Chase has over 30 years of experience as a higher education professional and musician who specializes in arts education. From 2017 to 2023, he was Vice President for Educational Programs at the WASC Senior College & University Commission, and prior to that he served as the first Vice Dean, Academic Affairs of the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles, California. Earlier in his career he served in several roles at University of the Pacific including Senior Associate Director of Institutional Effectiveness in the Office of the Provost, and Assistant Dean of Pacific’s Conservatory of Music where he was on the faculty of the Music Management program and taught in the core seminars of Pacific’s General Education program. He was also the Academic Advisor to the Brubeck Institute. David earned Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts in Music degrees from Pacific’s Conservatory and the Doctor of Education degree from Pacific’s Benerd College. He has published and presented extensively on learning and teaching in higher education arts disciplines and educational effectiveness in higher education. Most recently David served in the second cohort of the Garrison Institute Fellowship Program, a contemplative-based leadership training program grounded in awareness-based wisdom and practice, the science of interconnection, and inquiry-based generative action.
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Sonny Calderon
CONSULTANT / FOUNDING PARTNER
Sonny Calderon began his 20+ years of higher education experience as a lecturer, then assumed roles as department chair, dean, and provost.
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Sonny is a substantive change and accreditation peer evaluator for the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) and has served on the programming committee for WSCUC's annual conference. He also served as a peer evaluator for the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
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Sonny is a graduate of the WSCUC Assessment Leadership Academy (ALA) and continues to serve as a mentor to current ALA cohorts.
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In 2019, Sonny served on the Higher Education Committee of 50. This body was a national committee of fifty higher education administrators tasked with creating a special report outlining policy recommendations for Congress as it considered renewal of the Higher Education Act. The Committee met with members of the House and Senate to address issues of access, affordability, accountability, and transparency.
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Sonny has delivered several presentations at academic conferences, including Rubrics for Grading and Assessment in and Across Arts Programs, Inventorying Learning in Co-Curricular Assessment, and The Power of Your Institutional Story: Turning Accreditation into Opportunity.
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He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Michigan.
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Sonny's areas of focus include Curricular Development, Assessment, Accreditation, Strategic Planning, Licensing/Compliance, Governing Boards, Business Development (Institutional Partnerships, Opening New Markets, Private/Public Partnerships), For-Profit and Startup Institutions, Organizational Storytelling, and Institutional Communications.
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Rosa Belerique
CHIEF ENGAGEMENT OFFICER
Rosa serves as a higher education leader where her passion is providing the opportunity, like the one she received, of a life-changing college experience to any and all who seek it. Her tools in this effort include data-supported and mission-driven strategic planning and institutional support.
Rosa’s journey started as a first-generation, Pell grant college student who wondered if “college” could be her degree. In finding the next closest thing, she received a degree in higher education. After having too many questions as an academic advisor, she found herself at the door of the office of institutional research trying to find answers; thus was born her entry into the field.
Her work of institutional research and effectiveness (IRE) has served as a thread sewing together the disparate student experiences and institutional processes. Rosa’s commitments to IRE have allowed her to work at public and private institutions as an analyst, a specialist, a consultant, a director, and a vice president. It has brought Rosa the opportunity to serve more broadly as the president of the California Association for Institutional Research (CAIR), as a WSCUC Fellow, and as a WSCUC ALA graduate and mentor. She has advocated with data for broader access to tuition discounting and JEDI initiatives, reported to external agencies across shifting political climates, celebrated and supported colleagues, and hosted a conference during a pandemic, among other professional accomplishments.
This professional journey has brought Rosa to these organizations during a time of transformation and expressed importance for the need for data-driven decision-making and institutional improvement. Rosa continues to contribute her expertise and positively revolutionize the field.