Yolanda Moses, PhD
Co-Director and Co-Principal Investigator

Dr. Moses currently serves as Professor of Anthropology and is the former Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Excellence at the University of California, Riverside. Dr. Moses’ research focuses on the broad question of the origins of social inequality in complex societies through the use of comparative ethnographic and survey methods. She has explored gender and class disparities in the Caribbean, East Africa and in the United States. More recently, her research has focused on issues of diversity and change in universities and colleges in the United States, India, Europe and South Africa. Dr. Moses’ published volumes include: How Real is Race: A Sourcebook on Race, Culture and Biology (with Carol Mukhopadhyay and Rosemary Henze) and Race: Are We So Different? (with Alan Goodman and Joseph Jones). Dr. Moses was a distinguished Fulbright Scholar in Australia in 2016-2017 and has been named an AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Fellow. Dr. Moses is former President of the City University of New York/City College, The American Association for Higher Education, and the American Anthropological Association. Dr. Moses earned her PhD in Anthropology from the University of California, Riverside.

Beverly Lindsay, PhD, EdD
Co-Director and Principal Investigator

Dr. Beverly Lindsay was a Visiting Professor at the University College London–Institute of Education [now Honorary Emeritus] and at Oxford University–Green Templeton College.   She held distinguished Fulbrights in Myanmar, Indonesia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Korea. She was the Principal Investigator/Project Director for National Science Foundation (NSF) grants that compared graduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs between the United States and England. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), and an elected member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She was the Inaugural University Fellow and Professor at Dillard University in New Orleans and a former Visiting Professor at the University of the West Indies, Kingston. At both Hampton University (Virginia) and Pennsylvania State University (University Park), she was the International Dean – now Professora Emerita at the latter. 

Her scholarship examines international and domestic higher education and public policy issues in international affairs. Her books include inter alia: Higher Education Policy in Developing and Western Nations (Foreword by Ambassador Tatiana Gfoeller); Comparative and International Education (Foreword by Ambassador Horace G. Dawson, Jr.)  Universities and Global Diversity (with Wanda J. Blanchett – Foreword by Ambassador James Joseph); Ralph Johnson Bunche: Public Intellectual and Nobel Peace Laureate (Foreword by Presidential American Medal of Freedom Awardee - John Hope Franklin); Terrorism’s Unanswered Questions (with Alan Lowther); and The Quest for Equity in Higher Education (with Manuel Justiz). Dr. Lindsay earned her PhD from American University, Washington, DC and her EdD from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Juliet Garcia, PhD
National Advisor

Dr. Garcia is the first female Mexican-American president of a college or university, serving as the President of University of Texas Brownsville starting in 1986, and became a national leader in higher education. Under her leadership University of Texas Brownsville has more than doubled in size and has produced 35,000 graduates. In 2009, Time magazine named her one of the top 10 college presidents in the nation, and in 2014 she was named one of the top 50 world leaders by Fortune magazine. As a former Senior Advisor to the Chancellor of the University of Texas System, President of University of Texas Brownsville, and a member of the Ford Foundation Board of Trustees, Dr. Garcia has established deep and authentic ties with Mexican institutions, and she has worked tirelessly to give under-served populations on both sides of the border new hope and opportunities for civic engagement. She has created new communities where there were none, and built trust, community, and civic engagement activities that have begun to transform the geographic space of South Texas and Northern Mexico as “new space.” She is now a Professor of Communications at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Dr. Garcia earned her PhD at the University of Texas, Austin.

Shelby F. Lewis, PhD
National Advisor

Dr. Lewis is Professor Emerita of Political Science at Clark Atlanta University. She was a Senior Fulbright Lecturer at the National University of Lesotho and co-founder of the Women’s Research Collective. Dr. Lewis established Network: A Pan-African Women’s Forum and Development Consultants Network in Zimbabwe. She subsequently served on the Board of the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) and the J. W. Fulbright Scholarship Board. As Vice President for International Development for the United Negro College Fund Special Program (UNCF/SP), she established Partnerships between American and international universities in 32 countries. As a WorldWID Fellow she conducted research on women in transitional societies and participated in a Workshop in Djibouti for women from war torn societies. Dr. Lewis also served as President of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS) and the African Heritage Studies Association (AHSA). Her PhD was awarded by the University of New Orleans.

Shari G. McMahan, PhD
National Advisor

Dr. McMahan is President of Eastern Washington University and formerly served as Provost and Vice President for the Division of Academic Affairs at California State University, San Bernardino. She was the first woman in the university’s history to lead the division. With more than 1,000 faculty and staff and an annual budget that exceeds $90 million, Dr. McMahan was responsible for managing the largest unit on the campus. She oversaw the university’s five academic colleges as well as several other related entities. Previously, she served 16 years at Cal State Fullerton where she held a myriad of leadership roles, including Interim Associate Vice President for Research, Creative Activities and Technology Transfer, Dean of the College of Health and Human Development, and most recently, Deputy Provost. She has been awarded more than $5 million in external funding, authored more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, given dozens of scientific and community presentations, and served on numerous professional task forces. Dr. McMahan has been a member of the Association of American Colleges and Universities since 2012. She earned her Ph.D. in Social Ecology from the University of California, Irvine.

Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann, MA
National Advisor

Ambassador Neumann is the President of the American Academy of Diplomacy, an organization of former senior US diplomats dedicated to improving American diplomacy. Ambassador Neumann was Ambassador to Algeria (1994-97), Bahrain (2001-04), and Afghanistan (2005-07) as well as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Middle East and a senior officer in Iraq (2004-2005). Earlier he served in Senegal, the Gambia, Iran, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates. He has returned frequently to Afghanistan since his retirement in 2007. He is the author of Three Embassies, Four Wars: A Personal Memoir and The Other War: Winning and Losing in Afghanistan as well as numerous articles and book chapters. He was an infantry officer in Vietnam. Awards include the Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal and State Department Superior and Meritorious medals. Ambassador Neumann earned a BA in History and MA in Political Science from University of California, Riverside.

Ambassador Cynthia Shepherd Perry, EdD
National Advisor

Ambassador Perry is the Honorary Consul General of Rwanda in Houston and the Southwest Region. She was appointed Ambassador to Sierra Leone (1986-1989) to Burundi (1990-1993) and as US Executive Director to the Africa Development Bank in Abidjan/Tunis (2001-2008). She was Chief of Education and Human Resources at USAID (1982-1986) designing and monitoring education and training support to the African Region (1982-1986). She lived and worked in various capacities in 43 countries of Africa with US, UN agencies, and the private sector. She was Professor of Education and Dean of International Student Affairs at Texas Southern University. She has authored critical papers on aid to developing nations and has published her memoir, All Things Being Equal: A Woman’s Journey. She has seven honorary doctorates in Law and Public Service including University of Massachusetts, University of Maryland, Coppin State University, Chatham College, and University of Burundi. Ambassador Perry earned her EdD from University of Massachusetts, Amherst.