A forward-looking initiative to design a stronger, healthier, and more sustainable campus housing profession.
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Stewards of the profession.
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, the Foundation receives donations from individuals and corporate partners to help advance the ACUHO-I mission, empower those working in campus housing and the residence life profession, and engage the broader higher education community. Guided by a set of bylaws and a mission to support ACUHO-I’s strategic efforts, the ACUHO-I Foundation board is dedicated to fostering a stronger future.
2025 Positions Open
Serving on the ACUHO-I Foundation Board of Trustees can be the highlight of your housing career. Our Trustee Board has a proven and effective structure and is a dynamic team of individuals committed to fundraising and stewardship that allows the work of ACUHO-I to thrive.
Tim Touchette
Assistant Dean of Student Affairs
Brandeis University
Tim Touchette oversees the Brandeis University departments of community living, new student orientation, and the behavioral intervention care team. He attributes his professional growth to his involvement in the North East Association of College and University Housing Officers (NEACUHO). Touchette has served as the Annual Conference Chair, Parliamentarian, President (2014-2015), and Past President (2016-Present). Tim is also an active member of ACUHO-I. He formerly served as ACUHO-I Foundation Regional Cabinet Member for NEACUHO (2018-2020).
Crystal Lopez
Associate Vice Chancellor, Campus Operations and Special Projects
Rutgers University
Bio coming soon.Tim Touchette oversees the Brandeis University departments of community living, new student orientation, and the behavioral intervention care team. He attributes his professional growth to his involvement in the North East Association of College and University Housing Officers (NEACUHO). Touchette has served as the Annual
Tom Hardy
Executive Director of University Housing and the Resident Experience
University of Louisville
With more than 27 years in various positions within campus housing, Tom Hardy has demonstrated a strong commitment to professional development amongst his team and has served on the Governing Council for the South East Association of Housing Officers (SEAHO) for more than a dozen years in various roles. He has served on four host teams for SEAHO, and he served as chair of the annual conference in 2008 and 2014. In 2015 SEAHO honored Hardy with the Founders Award, their highest honor. He has also served internationally on the ACUHO-I host team, been the Exhibits Committee chair, the SEAHO representative to the ACUHO-I Foundation, and the Vice Chair for Individual Giving and Outreach.
Ray Gasser
Assistant Vice President for Residence Education and Housing Services
Michigan State University
In his role at Michigan State University, Ray Gasser’s responsibilities include oversight of 27 residence halls, three apartment complex facilities with a total occupancy capacity of nearly 17,000 beds, a $70 million annual operating budget, and providing leadership and vision to a department of more than 300 full-time employees. Before beginning his work with the ACUHO-I Foundation, Gasser previously chaired the Campus Housing Index Committee and the annual conference Program Committee. He also has presented numerous programs at both regional and national conferences, as well as been a faculty member for the James C. Grimm National Housing Training Institute.
Sasha Masoomi
Assistant Director of Residence Life
Miami University
As the assistant director of residence life at Miami University, Sasha Masoomi supervises a staff of 11 live-in professionals and oversees the departmental leadership and coordination of professional and paraprofessional staff trainings and development. In addition, Masoomi has served as the on-campus advisor to the Miami University Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH), as well as recently serving as the Central Atlantic Regional NRHH Advisor for the National Association of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH). For ACUHO-I, she has served as a member of the ACUHO-I membership Committee, the ACUHO-I Foundations Annual Giving Committee, and from 2017-2019 a faculty member for the ACUHO-I STARS college.
LaFarin Meriwether
Associate Director for Residence Life
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Since she arrived at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2019, LaFarin Meriwether has provided direction and leadership for residential education as well as the live-in staff and student crisis and support efforts. In all, she is responsible for a residential community of more than 5,600 residents, 21 professional staff, four graduate students, and more 150 student staff. For ACUHO-I, she has served as one of the guest editors for a themed-issue of the Journal of College & University Student Housing on “housing while black.” She is also co-host of the “The Meeting After the Meeting” podcast.
Andy McDade
President
Storage Squad
Andy McDade, currently president of Storage Squad, has spent more than 40 years being a trusted partner to more than 1,000 colleges and universities, connecting the needs of students, families, and campuses to meaningful services at crucial times of the student experience. He has been an active supporter of ACUHO-I and NACURH. For his many contributions, McDade received the ACUHO-I Parthenon Award in 2018.
Mari Strombom
Executive Director of Housing & Dining Services
Colorado State University
Currently serving as the executive director of housing and dining services at Colorado State University, Mari Strombom oversees housing, dining services, conference and event services, housing facilities and technology, and others. Strombom has been an active association member for ACUHO-I and at the regional level. She graduated from the ACUHO-I Professional Standards Institute in 2010 and has been repeatedly involved with the AIMHO region. For her many contributions, in 2017, she was named the AIMHO Sage.
Charles Holmes-Hope
Director of Residential Life
University of Vermont
Since 2022, Charles Holmes-Hope has served as the director of residential life at The University of Vermont. There he is responsible for bringing a relational, strategic, and coordinated approach to enact a renewed vision to the administration, leadership, and management for setting annual priorities and goals for the residential life program and operations for both students and staff. Before his time at Vermont, he served as the director of residential life at Northwestern University where he provided direction for the department’s training, development, recruitment and selection, staff supervision, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and the area programming model. For his ACUHO-I efforts, he has received the James A. Hurd Award and the Presidential Service Award.
Deanna Hughes
Associate Director for Residential Education
University of South Florida
Deanna is a proud partner, parent, and student affairs professional who enjoys quality time with her family traveling, playing sports, video games, and going to the movies. She has served within university housing as a full-time professional for 14 years within the SEAHO region, with experience in desk and mailroom operations, student and staff leadership and development, building operations management, curriculum and assessment, and conduct and care. Some of her points of pride are being a self published author, participating in the 2018 NHTI, being awarded the 2022 Carmen L. Vance Herstory Award, being in FSU’s Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Doctoral Program, serving as past co-chair for the Womxn in Housing network 2020 – 2023, and being a member of ACUHO-I’s Future of The Profession – Inclusive Communities taskforce 2023-2024.
Michael Griffel
Associate Vice President for Student Services and Enrollment Management
University of Oregon
Michael Griffel has spent his career developing student environments that foster academic success and personal development. On his campus, he currently oversees a wide range of responsibilities, including academic initiatives, dining, capital projects, business operations, and more. During his years of ACUHO-I involvement, Griffel has served two previous terms on the Executive Board as the Workforce Development Director and the Finance and Corporate Records Officer. In addition, he has chaired the annual conference program committee and been a faculty member for James C. Grimm National Housing Training Institute and the Roelf Visser Student Housing Training Institute in South Africa.
Laurel Palmer
Director of Development
ACUHO-I Foundation
Before joining the ACUHO-I Foundation, Laurel Palmer’s career spanned two decades in the Greek nonprofit sector. She served as a senior development director for the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, where she contributed to a $30 million increase in the foundation’s net assets. Palmer is passionate about fostering a culture of inclusion, where each donor is not only valued but also profoundly connected to the organization’s mission.
Mary DeNiro
CEO / Executive Director
ACUHO-I
ACUHO-I’s CEO and executive director since 2015, Mary DeNiro oversees the association’s home office. She works closely with the Executive Board to fulfill the strategic plan and serve the needs of association members while also supporting the ACUHO-I Foundation in their fundraising efforts. Previously, DeNiro was the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s chief operating officer and executive vice president and vice president of marketing and communications. She also has been the senior vice president of sales and marketing for Capital Newspapers and the vice president of advertising for Thomson Newspapers. She is a graduate of Ohio University and holds an MBA degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mary has also studied at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Of Business and the Northwestern University executive management programs.
Cory Shapiro
Arizona State University
Michelle Sujka
University of Cincinnati
TBD
Vinnie Birkenmeyer
Pace University
Paula Diaz
University of Washington
Renee Richard-Gonce
Louisiana State University
Jill Eckardt
Texas Woman's University
Rian Nostrum
North Dakota State University
Kafele Khalfani
California Institute of the Arts
