Executive Council

Paul Allvin has more than 30 years of experience brand stewardship, communications,
marketing, and journalism, having led strategic communications and brand stewardship
teams at The University of Arizona, Make-A-Wish America, the USO, and America’s Promise
Alliance.

Allvin is president of his own consulting company, Cloud-2-Ground, Inc., which offers
strategic communications and branding services to nonprofit and higher education
organizations.

As Associate Vice Present of Communications at The University of Arizona from 2004 to
2010, he led all communications at a time that included the transition of university presidents
and a university-led mission to Mars. He was tapped to serve a year and a half as interim Vice
President of External Relations, leading all university communications, marketing,
government relations and executive events efforts. Allvin joined the university team after
serving as director of communications and chief speechwriter for then-Arizona Gov. Janet
Napolitano.

As the chief brand strategist for Make-A-Wish, Allvin led the organization’s complete rebrand
in 1999-2000, and returned in 2010 to oversee a worldwide brand refresh that put the 36-
nation network of Make-A-Wish chapters and affiliates under a single, unified brand identity
and strategy for the first time in its history. Under his leadership, Make-A-Wish enjoyed
status as one of America’s five most beloved charity brands.

At the USO, he led a brand refresh from 2015 to 2018 that positioned the USO as America’s
leading military- and veteran-serving organization as it celebrated its 75th anniversary. The
public rewarded the USO with lead military/veteran support brand status in 2017.

Allvin is a graduate of The University of Arizona School of Journalism. He lives and works in
Falls Church, Virginia with his wife, Rhian; and their three children, Austin, Eli, and
Isabel.

Ann Ardis earned her PhD from the University of Virginia (1988) and is known internationally for her scholarship on turn-of-the-century British literature and culture and modernist studies. She is also known for her work on the transformations of print media and the Anglo-American periodical press at the turn of the twentieth century. She is the author of New Women, New Novels:  Feminism and Early Modernism (Rutgers UP, 1990) and Modernism and Cultural Conflict, 1880-1922 (Cambridge UP, 2002) as well as numerous articles and book chapters. She is co-editor of three edited collections: Virginia Woolf Turning the Centuries (Pace, 2000), Women’s Experience of Modernity (Johns Hopkins UP, 2002), and Mediamorphosis: Print Culture and Transatlantic Public Sphere(s), 1880-1940 (Palgrave, 2008). She recently completed a term of service as co-editor of Modernism/modernity, the official journal of the Modernist Studies Association (Johns Hopkins UP). Ardis comes to Mason from the University of Delaware, where she served as senior vice provost for graduate and professional education. Prior to that role, she was the deputy dean of Delaware’s College of Arts & Sciences and founding director of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center, which supports collaborative multidisciplinary research, teaching, and creative activity anchored in the humanities.

Sharnnia Artis, Ph.D. serves as Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at George Mason University, a position she accepted in 2021. Artis plans, guides, and advises Mason leadership on diversity, equity, inclusion, and affirmative action matters and anti-racism activities and works to enhance and embed these values into all aspects of university operations.

Artis is a University Affiliate Faculty in the College of Engineering and Computing with research and teaching interests centered on the use of socio-technical systems to improve STEM diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education. Her research focuses on the resiliency of students from underrepresented groups in STEM.

Artis previously served as Assistant Dean of Access and Inclusion in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences and the Henry Samueli School of Engineering, both at the University of California, Irvine. She created and sustained student success programs for undergraduate students from various underrepresented groups and established outreach programs for high school and community college students, among other initiatives. Artis secured a $5 million endowment to sustain and expand existing infrastructure to support diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Artis is the co-founder of The Niela Project, a research project funded by the National Science Foundation, designed to increase the understanding of the experiences of Black doctoral women and how those experiences impact their academic persistence and overall well-being in computing and engineering. In addition, she has published over 50 refereed manuscripts in technical journals, book chapters and conference proceedings.

A native of Chesapeake, Virginia, Artis earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in Industrial Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech. She loves spending time with her partner and daughter traveling, enjoying sports, and trying new foods.

Kenneth Ball became dean of the Volgenau School of Engineering in August 2012. Under his leadership, the school established a new Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2013, and he has overseen rapid growth in the school’s enrollment and the launch of new degree programs such as the MS in Data Analytics Engineering and the BS Cybersecurity Engineering. In 2021, the Volgenau School of Engineering was incorporated into the College of Engineering and Computing.

Before coming to Mason, Dr. Ball served as L.S. Randolph Professor and led the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech. He served for 15 years on the mechanical engineering faculty at The University of Texas at Austin, where he was the Temple Foundation Endowed Faculty Fellow in Engineering. He has earned degrees in mechanical engineering from Lehigh University and Drexel University and was a post-doctoral research associate in applied mathematics at Brown University.

Dr. Ball is recognized internationally for his research in computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer. He has chaired international conferences, is a past associate technical editor of the ASME Journal of Heat Transfer, and has served on several other engineering journal editorial boards. He has obtained externally sponsored funding (excluding high-performance computing grants) in excess of $20 million for projects and program development in mechanical engineering, including the thermal/fluid sciences and nuclear engineering. The estimated commercial value of his supercomputer grants is in excess of $10 million.

He is active in engineering program assessment and accreditation activities, both in the United States and internationally, particularly in the Middle East. He is an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology program evaluator and has participated in numerous conferences and workshops related to engineering education and program accreditation.

Dr. Ball is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and was elected to the leadership track of the Executive Committee of the Department Heads Forum, serving as Secretary and Vice-Chair elect. 

Trishana Bowden joined George Mason University in March 2019 as the Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Relations and President of the George Mason University Foundation.

As the Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Relations and President of the Foundation, Trishana reports jointly to the President of the university and the Foundation Board of Trustees, working harmoniously with a multitude of highly engaged and energetic university and foundation partners. She is responsible for developing, executing, and evaluating all aspects of the university’s comprehensive fundraising program, including annual giving, major and leadership giving, corporate and foundation relations, planned giving, alumni relations, research and prospect management, development services, and donor cultivation and stewardship.

Trishana will provide vision and direction for University Advancement with a clear focus on future fundraising after the completion of the record-setting Faster Farther campaign, which concluded in December 2018. She will provide strategic leadership and direction for post-campaign analytics, reporting, and followup, while working with key leadership to develop clear priorities and a plan for future support through pipeline development, alumni engagement, and participation strategies.

Bowden came to Mason from Goucher College in Towson, Maryland, where she was the Vice President for Advancement, responsible for providing strategy, leadership and direction for fundraising, alumni and parent relations, campaign planning, and implementation. Her accomplishments there included diversifying and strengthening Goucher’s donor base and pipeline to build a culture of philanthropy, which led to a doubling of overall giving to the institution in less than three years.

Prior to her work at Goucher, Trishana was the Associate Dean for External Relations at the University of Maryland’s Francis King Carey School of Law. She also served as Associate Dean for Institutional Advancement at American University Washington College of Law and has held development positions at the American Lung Association of Maryland and the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center. She received a B.S. in Mass Communication/Media Studies from Towson University in 1991.

David Burge has served as Vice President for Enrollment Management at George Mason University since July 2015. 

Before coming to Mason, he served as Executive Director of Admission Services at Arizona State University and oversaw the execution of new student enrollment strategy for undergraduate and graduate, domestic and international students.

Other professional experience includes the University of Kansas and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, holding senior leadership roles within each institution’s Office of Admissions and Scholarships.

He is currently the immediate past-president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC,) a professional organization of more than 15,000 school counselors and college admission professionals. Prior to serving in the NACAC Presidential Cycle, Mr. Burge served as President of the Great Plains Association for College Admission Counseling, an affiliate of the national organization.

He has recently served on a number of panels/sessions focusing on the role and impact of public higher education – the Social Mobility Symposium, TargetX User Conference, and as the welcome speaker at the annual meeting for NACAC.

A native Kansan, his academic background includes two degrees from the University of Kansas: an undergraduate degree in English Literature and a master’s degree in Educational Policy and Leadership.

Sharon Cullen manages all aspects of the president’s activities and commitments, engages in university-related initiatives and oversees the President’s Office operations, along with the members of the presidential administrative team. She works closely with the president, senior administration, and across a broad spectrum of the university.

Ms. Cullen is a member of Executive and President’s Councils.  She is an alum of the Leadership Legacy program (Cohort 2) and is also engaged in the university’s wellbeing initiative. 

In June 2007, she received a Certificate of Achievement for her accomplishments and contributions to the president and Mason.  In December 2011, she was presented with a Presidential Citation for assisting in the apprehension of a campus perpetrator.

Ms. Cullen joined Mason’s Office of the Provost in January 2000 and transitioned to the President’s Office in 2001.  Prior to joining Mason, she was involved in academic administration at Georgia Tech, Augusta College, the University of North Dakota and Northern Virginia Community College.

She is a graduate of Duluth Business University with a concentration in legal administration and holds a paralegal certificate with 10 years of related experience in various areas of the law.  She is also a member of the National Association of Presidential Assistants in Higher Education (NAPAHE).

Deb Dickenson was appointed the Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration in December 2022, after serving as the Interim Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance. She joined Mason as the Vice President for Finance in August 2019. Ms. Dickenson assists the university's academic leadership, administrative management and board members in the efficient and effective monitoring, management, and control of the financial resources of the university, supporting innovation and strategic initiatives.

Prior to George Mason, Ms. Dickenson served for two years as Assistant Dean and Principal Business Officer for finance, planning and fiscal operations for the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. In that role she was responsible for planning, organizing, executing, evaluation and monitoring the school’s financial functions and five-year strategic planning to ensure that academic and fiscal needs were met.  Ms. Dickenson’s prior experience in administrative and financial management leadership positions include several years at GW as AVP for Financial Management and serving as the GW Comptroller, where she directed all financial reporting, accounting, and financial operations for the university. Her background includes financial leadership positions at two large non-profit organizations, Marriott International, Inc., Price Waterhouse, LLP, and Arthur Andersen & Co.

Ms. Dickenson earned her MBA in finance from the University of Texas at Austin and her BBA in accounting from Southern Methodist University. She received her CPA from the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, where she was granted a chartered global management accountant designation.

Mark Ginsberg serves as the Provost and Executive Vice President of George Mason University. He joined the University in 2010 as the dean of the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. Mason, with over 38,000 students, is a Carnegie Tier 1 university that is the largest public research university in Virginia. Dr. Ginsberg's career spans more than a 35-year period as a professor, psychologist and skilled administrator. He has published extensively in the areas of education, psychology, human development and human services. In addition, he has lectured and presented at over 200 conferences, seminars and other educational meetings and professional development events, both within the United States and internationally.

Dr. Ginsberg served as the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) from January 1999 until June 2010. Prior to joining NAEYC, Dr. Ginsberg was chair of the Department of Counseling and Human Services in the Graduate Division of Education at The Johns Hopkins University and a member of the faculty of both the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Department of Medicine in the School of Medicine. He had served as a member of the Hopkins full-time and part-time faculty for more than 25 years. Before joining Johns Hopkins, Dr. Ginsberg held the position of Executive Director of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) from 1986-93. From 1981-86 he was a senior member of the management staff of the American Psychological Association (APA), after having been a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the University of Rochester.

Dr. Ginsberg serves as the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the respected international organization, Parents as Teachers (PAT). He also serves on the Board of Directors of Hopecam, a non-profit organization that supports children with cancer and their families and as an appointed member of the Fairfax County (VA) Successful Children and Youth Policy Team. He is a Past-Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) and had served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Council of Academic Deans of Research Education Institutions (CADREI) and the Board of Directors of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF). He also is a past-president of both the International Step by Step Association (ISSA), a nongovernmental organization of education and child/youth development focused NGOs in Europe and Central Asia, and the Society of Psychologists in Management (SPIM).

Dr. Ginsberg is a Fellow of both the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Maryland Psychological Association (MPA), a Clinical Member and Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), and a member of the American Counseling Association (ACA), American Educational Research Association (AERA), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) of which he was elected to serve on the national Board of Directors.

Dr. Ginsberg completed his master's degree in 1978 and his doctoral degree in 1981 at The Pennsylvania State University, after having been awarded a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Cortland in 1975. He also completed a Fellowship in Clinical Psychology at the Yale University School of Medicine. In 2006, he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by the State University of New York.

He is married to Elaine A. Anderson, the former Chair and a Professor in the Department of Family Science in the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland. They have two adult children, Andrew, a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Maryland, and Robert, an Executive at Fundrise, a Washington, DC based financial technology company.

Dr. Megan Healy joined George Mason University in 2022 as Special Advisor to the President. Dr. Healy builds strategic partnerships between Mason and businesses to develop strong collaborations that support business growth, economic development, talent development and innovation. She strives to make sure all Virginians have access to Mason through small business development, transfer from community colleges, upskilling or reskilling through industry credentials and completion of one of Mason’s degree programs. As a liaison to many state and community leaders around the Commonwealth, Dr. Healy truly believes higher education is the strongest foundation to individual prosperity and community vitality.

Dr. Healy served on Governor Northam’s Cabinet as Virginia’s first Secretary of Labor which oversaw all issues affecting workers in the Commonwealth, including workplace safety, worker discrimination and rights, employment benefits, and licensing and occupational regulations. As the Commonwealth’s highest ranking workforce officer, she led a range of regional, state, and federal programs that connected Virginians to the skills, training, and opportunities they needed to thrive in the 21^st century economy as well as made education more affordable from early childhood to higher education.

Having started her career as a science professor at Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville, Dr. Healy keenly appreciates how education can change lives and communities. Prior to joining the Northam administration, she served as Virginia’s first Director of STEM-H under Governor McDonnell and Governor McAuliffe before returning to the Virginia Community College System as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academics and Employer Partnerships. Dr. Healy is a proud product of Virginia’s public schools, holding a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech, a master’s from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a doctorate from Old Dominion University. 

Paul Liberty was appointed Vice President for Government and Community Relations in 2012, reporting directly to the President of George Mason University. He oversees a team working with federal, state and local governments as well as business and civic communities. He leads several major university-wide initiatives and is a member of the university's Executive Council and President's Council. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Liberty served as Interim Vice President for University Relations, responsible for managing community relations, creative services, events management, media and public relations, University information and web communications.

Before joining Mason, Mr. Liberty was an executive for two publicly traded companies and a merger and acquisition advisory firm overseeing internal and external communications, corporate affairs, investor relations, legislative affairs, marketing and public relations. In addition to his corporate activities, Mr. Liberty has worked in the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government at the federal, state and local levels.  During his time in public service he worked on Capitol Hill, served in the White House and was chief of staff for a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. He also has managed policy and legislative functions for a large business trade association.

Mr. Liberty is a native to Northern Virginia and is active in a number of business, civic, and charitable organizations and was recognized by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors with its annual award for outstanding volunteer services.

Mr. Liberty received his BA in English from George Mason University.

For more about the Office of Government and Community Relations, go here.

Andre W. Marshall is Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact at George Mason University and President of the George Mason Research Foundation.  As the university’s senior research officer, Marshall provides overall leadership for the portfolio of research, innovation, and economic development activities.

Marshall joined George Mason University from the National Science Foundation, where he served as Program Director for the Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) and Innovation Corps (I-Corps^TM) programs.  During his tenure at NSF, Marshall advanced NSF’s university-based tech translation and commercialization programs through national initiatives strengthening industry-university engagement and collaboration, new partnerships broadening participation in innovation and tech entrepreneurship, and program virtualization increasing accessibility to the highly regarded national I-Corps Teams program.

Prior to NSF, Marshall served on the faculty at the University of Maryland, College Park in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering where he founded the Fire Testing and Evaluation Center (FireTEC) and launched a tech-startup based on patented technology stemming from his research and inspired by his participation in the NSF I-Corps program.  His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, FM Global, United Technologies Research Center, National Fire Protection Association, and various other institutions. 

Marshall is a faculty member in the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Volgenau School of Engineering.  His research and teaching interests are centered around experimental characterization and computational evaluation of complex turbulent reacting flows and sprays.  His work in this area was inspired by early propulsion research he performed while at Rolls-Royce Corp., which influenced his approach to fire suppression and most recently agricultural sprays.  He is the recipient of the NSF Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering (PECASE) and the Philip Thomas Medal of Excellence.  He has served as Associate Editor for the Fire Safety Journal and on the USPTO Working Group for the National Council for Expanding American Innovation (NCEAI).

Marshall began his college career at Georgia Tech receiving a B.M.E and M.S. in mechanical engineering in 1991 and 1992, respectively.  In 1996, he completed his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Rene Stewart O’Neal joined the Senior Vice President for Finance & Administration’s leadership team at George Mason University as the Associate Vice President for Strategic Budgeting and Planning in August 2019.  She is excited about the opportunity to promote a transparent, accountable and responsive financial management culture with evidence-based planning as a foundation for investment. 

Before coming to Mason, Rene was the Vice Provost for Budget and Finance at the George Washington University since 2013, where she had responsibility for developing multi-year financial goals and budgetary strategies for the academic operations of the university, including all ten schools, ensuring alignment of academic financial goals with the financial goals and mission of the University. Rene served as a strategic partner in guiding the allocation of resources to support academic priorities and the university’s strategic plan.  

Prior to joining GW, she was the Director of Planning and Assistant Director of the Office of Planning & Budgets at Michigan State University for ten years.   A career higher education finance professional, she has held senior administrative positions in finance, budgeting, treasury, academic planning and operations at Wellesley College, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and Michigan State University.  Her particular areas of expertise are higher education finance and analysis, budgeting and strategic planning, strategy and change management, institutional effectiveness and inclusive excellence.  She holds AB and Master of Public Policy degrees from Harvard University.

Professional organizations and affiliations include the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO); Eastern Association of College and University Business Officers (EACUBO); Society for College and University Planning (SCUP); People to People Ambassador Program; Phi Kappa Phi (Academic National Honor Society).  Rene was a 2009-10 American Council on Education fellow at New York University with a fellowship focus on strategic global engagement for universities and sustainable financial models for higher education. 

Rene resides in Alexandria, VA, with her husband and teenage son.

Rose Pascarell is Vice President for University Life at George Mason University. She has held several leadership positions in the University as Associate Vice President for University Life, Associate Dean for Campus Life and Associate Director of the Women's Studies Research and Resource Center. Ms. Pascarell's leadership work in University Life has focused on increasing student engagement and academic success, and the building of just communities.

Ms. Pascarell has worked on campus climate and multicultural/diversity issues for the last fifteen years. Her teaching and workshops focus on race, class, gender, sexuality, and the formation of just community through the examination of difference.

Ms. Pascarell earned a BA in Sociology, Criminology, and Conflict Analysis at the State University of New York at Albany. Her MA in Sociology is from George Mason University.

For more about University Life, go here.​

Nena Rogers was named the George Mason University's Interim Assistant Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics in October of 2022, previously serving as the university’s Senior Associate Athletic Director of Intercollegiate Athletics for Academic Services.

Rogers, who has served various roles in the Mason Intercollegiate Athletics department since 1998, earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Mason. A standout student-athlete in track and field, Rogers was a 1988 NCAA champion and Olympic qualifier in long jump. She also earned four All-America honors competing in the long jump and triple jump for Mason.

Since Rogers was tapped to lead Mason Athletics’ academic services in 2016, 394 student-athletes have achieved the George Mason Provost Scholar Athlete Award, including a record number 65 in 2020-21. The award recognizes the student-athletes who have earned at least 38 credit hours and have achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or better. 

Rogers has also supervised the Patriots’ women's volleyball and lacrosse programs since 2020, and she began overseeing women’s basketball this year. She also manages the athletics department’s Dr. Frank Pettrone Center for Sports Performance. As interim director, she will ultimately oversee all 22 of Mason’s Division I sports.

Rogers also was the driving force behind the development of Intercollegiate Athletics’ life skills program, which focuses on student-athlete welfare by coaching students on personal growth, career development, and commitment to community service. 

Rogers is chair of Mason Athletics’ Diversity and Inclusion Committee and has served on the President’s Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence. In spring 2021, Mason was named one of just 10 Division I athletic departments to post a perfect score of 100 on Athlete Ally's Athletic Equality Index.

After graduating in 1988, Rogers returned to Mason in 1998 as the assistant coach for jumps and sprints for the women’s track and field program. In 2000, she transitioned to athletics administration.  

Rogers is a double-degree holder from Mason, earning her bachelor’s degree in education in 1988 and later a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in higher education.  
 

Ken Walsh serves as Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Chief of Staff in the President’s Office at George Mason University, a position he accepted in 2020. In this role, he supports the President in realizing Mason's bold vision.  

He previously served as Senior Assistant Dean and Chief of Staff in the Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. In this capacity, he was responsible for the entire scope of planning, operations, and resource management for the School. He directed financial operations, oversaw IT support, human resources management, and capital asset management. Building on his experience in industry and at many levels in higher education, he marshalled the skill and dedication of the staff to fuel the excellence of the faculty and students.

From 2002 to 2018, Dr. Walsh served in a number of roles at San Diego State University. Here he founded the J.R. Filanc Construction Engineering and Management program and later served as chair of the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering. He also served as the founding Dean for SDSU-Georgia. This innovative program funded through the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Government of Georgia to provides US-accredited science and engineering degrees in Tbilisi, Georgia, where he lived and worked for four years.

He started his academic career in the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University, after several years in consulting engineering practice in the Phoenix area. Ken holds BSE, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University. With over $30 million in research activity, his research interests lie in production systems design in a construction setting, He has published over 100 papers in journals and conferences and served as editor of conferences sponsored by the International Group for Lean Construction and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Ken is married, with 3 grown children, the youngest a student at Arizona State leaving the cats as the only remaining denizens of the nest.  In his spare time, he enjoys woodworking, travel, and international films.