Student Affairs Community Council

Chair

• Roya Ashurian

   

  Roya is the Chair of the Student Affairs Community Council and the Council’s Executive Committee. She and her husband Edward Ashurian are the owners of the successful Jacksonville-based commercial development firm, Ashco Inc., which has been developing and managing upscale retail centers for more than four decades. Roya’s husband Edward is also a former member of the Board of Trustees for MOCA. 

Council Members

• Art Billingslea

   

  Art is a member of the Student Affairs Community Council and is a retired Air Force pilot, an Air Force Reserve officer, and attended the Air Force Academy, earning a Bachelor of Science degree, and a Master of Science degree from East Texas University. Art established the Art Billingslea Military Spouse Scholarship in 2019, an annual scholarship supporting spouses of active duty military members. Art also supports the Percussion Excellence Fund in COAS. 

• Nicole Isom
    

  Nicole is a two-time alumna from UNF with both her Bachelors and Master's degrees in Health Administration. She currently serves as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leader for Hueman. She is a member of the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), Florida Diversity Council, ImpactJAX, and the Young Professional Organization of the JAX Chamber. 

• Poppi Elias

   

  Poppi is the Office and Business Manager for Elias Prosthodontics, a specialty office in dentistry owned by her husband, Dr. Nidal S. Elias. Poppi graduated from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry. Her father, Dr. Satya S. Pachori, was a member of the inaugural UNF faculty. Poppi and family established the Satya and Kamal Pachori Endowed Scholarship. Poppi serves on the Taylor Leadership Committee and has been leading the efforts to restore the Gandhi statue on UNF’s campus and has raised money toward this project. 

• Dr. Ann Flipse
   

  Ann is a retired Pediatrician and Clinical Instructor. She is a graduate of the University of Texas where she received a Bachelor of Arts in the Plan II Honors Program. She received her medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis and did her pediatric residency at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Ann is a member of the Brooks College of Health Dean’s Council and is an SACC past Chair. She is Chair of the Governance Committee and serves on the Veterans and Leadership Committees.  
• Dr. Donnalea Goelz

  

  Donnalea is the Founder and Owner of Colbalt Moon Center which provides classes, workshops related to developing and enhancing healthy lives. Donnalea received her BA from UNF and a Ph. D. in Clinical Psychology at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She currently funds a research project for UNF’s Military and Veterans Resource Center to support veteran students struggling with PTSD. She serves as the Chair of the Military and Veterans Committee. 

• Mark Green

   

  Mark is a Shareholder and President of Green, Showalter, Mercier & Saieg, and P.A. where he practices marital and family law. Mark is also very involved in the community and was a 2011 One Jax Humanitarian Honoree. He received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Florida and J.D. from Stetson University.

• Monica Hernandez

   

  Monica is an Assistant Vice President at Deutsche Bank and a graduate of Nova Southeastern University with a Master’s Degree in Finance and Marketing. She is a UNF alumna and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in International Business degree. She is currently attending the Harvard Extension School pursuing a Certificate in Strategic Management. She is President of the First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2019, and a new SACC member who will serve on the Community Outreach Committee, and also serves on UNF’s International Business Flagship Program Business Advisory Council (BAC).

• Captain Rick Hoffman

   

  Rick served nearly 28 years in the U.S. Navy, and in 2003, founded Orion Solutions, LLC, a service disabled veteran owned small business that provides defense consulting services and industrial products. Rick earned his MS in Oceanography from the Naval Postgraduate School, BS in Biology from The Citadel and attended the National War College. Rick serves as the Chair of the Taylor Leadership Committee.

• Debbie Johnson

   

  Debbie is a University of North Florida Alum and serves on the Foundation Board and Alumni Association Board. She is a Certified Public Accountant, and was instrumental in bringing the On-Campus Transition Program to UNF. Debbie is the Director of Operations at the St. John's Cathedral. She serves on several SACC committees and was previously a Student Affairs Community Council Chair.  

• Willie Gonzalez
   

  Willie served on the UNF Board of Trustees and had previously served as a member of the SACC. A Veteran of the US NAVY. He was the District Director for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and has served the small businesses of North Florida since December 1996 and retired from the Federal Government last year. 

• Dr. Anne Lufrano

   

  Anne is a UNF Foundation Board member and a retired  psychologist who received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Queens College, CUNY, and her doctorate in Child and Family Psychopathology from Cornell University. Anne was an inaugural member of the Student Affairs Community Council and is a past Chair. Anne and husband Dr. Robert Lufrano, endowed UNF’s Lufrano Intercultural Gallery.

• Dick Morales

   

  Dick is the Chairman and CEO of the Morales Group, a real estate development and construction firm. Dick has been chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, President of the Rotary Club of South Jacksonville, Treasurer of the St. Vincent’s Foundation, the Jacksonville and the Florida Chambers of Commerce and on the Mayoral Commission on Small Business and Small Disadvantaged Businesses.

• Ed Perez

   

  Ed came from communist Cuba to the United States as a young teenager. He retired after 42 years as a CSX IT Executive, and his work is now dedicated to the mission field in Northeast Florida and Globally. Ed holds degrees in Economics, Business Administration and Psychology from Milligan College. He has attended Gordon Conwell Theology Seminary as a student of comparative religion. He recently joined the SACC and will be a member of the Community Outreach Committee. 

• Linda Slade

   

  Linda is the co-founder of TCI Powder Coatings of Americus, Ga. and is a Manager at LCS Properties of North Florida, LLC. Linda is a graduate of the charter class (1974) of UNF, receiving her BA in Psychology.  Linda served as a former President of the UNF Alumni Association board.

• MaliVai (Mal) Washington

  

  Mal attended the University of Michigan, finishing his sophomore year ranked as the NCAA #1 tennis player in the nation. In 1996, he reached the Wimbledon Championships final and was a member of the United States Olympic Team. Mal is the founder of the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation, working with at risk youth in Jacksonville, and owner of Diamond Life Real Estate, Inc. Mal holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, Finance from the UNF’s Coggin College of Business. He previously served on the Foundation Board, and he serves on the Scholarship Committee.

• Jessica Lazzara Wynne

   

  Jessica serves as the Managing Director of MountainStar Capital. Jessica is a bar admitted practicing attorney in the State of Florida, with her Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas, School of Law and a B.B.A. in finance from Southern Methodist University. Along with her brother, Chris Lazzara, Jessica helped to establish UNF’s Sculpture Park Scholarships and the Seaside Sculpture Park.
• Megan Mauney Smith

   

  Megan is a double alumna from the University of North Florida with a Bachelors in Psychology, minor in Public Health and a Masters of Education in Disability Services. She also received a Certificate in Product Management from the Berkeley HAAS School of Business. Megan has worked for Florida Blue first as a Diversity Analyst then in Customer Experience. She now works at Amazon as a Candidate * Employee Accessibility Lead - helping the organization with employee and candidate accessibility and inclusion.

• Dr. Deborah Price
  

  Dr. Price is a physician specializing in nephrology. She attended Howard University and earned her MD at Rutgers University Medical School. She is widely published in her field, and also supports the work of The Mission House, a free clinic, volunteering monthly. 

• Betty Garris
   

  Betty worked at UNF from 1983 - 2000 and then again from 2002 - 2013 overseeing the department of Student Government operations, managing teacher education internship projects, and working with faculty to secure private, state and federal grants. She also worked at Mayo Clinic in graduate medical education and served as the coordinator for residency and fellowship programs for dermatology, radiology and oncology.

• Brigadier General Valeria Gonzalez-Kerr

  

  Valeria Gonzalez-Kerr is enjoying her retirement from the Army by volunteering as a Board Member for the First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as their Secretary and at Saint Vincent De Paul, San Juan Del Rio Council as their Treasure. In addition, she is a member of the Jacksonville Women's Network. Also, she is a proud life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. Valeria also occupies her time as a Real Estate Project Manager for properties in Atlantic, Neptune, Jacksonville, and Ponte Vedra Beaches.  Previously, Valeria was the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Jacksonville University where she lead a $2 million Entrepreneurism, Policy, Innovation and Commerce (EPIC) grant from the Florida Department of Education which worked to develop a premier research, education, policy and engagement institute that created a positive impact on graduates with cross-disciplinary skills in high demand workforce areas. In addition, she managed university wide strategic projects; coordinated the projects and provided regular updates to leadership.