Executive Board

ACUHO-I’s Executive Board members have led vibrant and accomplished careers. Now, they bring that expertise and experience to help lead ACUHO-I to new heights.

Spurred by a strategic plan and committed to the ACUHO-I Constitution and bylaws, their work directs resources where and when they are needed while also ensuring that its programs, policies, and practices adhere to our shared vision and mission. Meet the 2024 ACUHO-I Executive Board and learn more about their responsibilities.

2024 Executive Board

ACUHO-I President

Gay Perez
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Executive Director of Housing and Residence Life
University of Virginia

Gay Perez, along with overseeing more than 3 million square feet of residential building space and almost 7,000 student residents in her professional role, serves as the ACUHO-I President. Her previous ACUHO-I involvement includes chairing the ACUHO-I Foundation Board, serving as the Residence Education Director on the Executive Board, and being a James C. Grimm National Housing Training Institute faculty member. She has represented the Association at the inaugural Collegiate Way conference in Durham, England, the Roelf Visser South Africa Housing Training Institute, and the Global Housing Training Institute in Geelong, Australia. She is also past president of the Southeastern Association of Housing Officers.

ACUHO-I President-Elect

Kathy Bush Hobgood
Associate Vice President for Auxiliary Enterprises
Clemson University

Kathy Bush Hobgood has made involvement with ACUHO-I and regional associations a cornerstone of her professional career. Along with completing the James C. Grimm National Housing Training Institute and the Professional Standards Institute, she has regularly contributed to the Talking Stick magazine. Her prior leadership service includes time as the chair of the ACUHO-I Foundation, serving as Publications Coordinator on the ACUHO-I Executive Board, and as historian and president of the Southeastern Association of Housing Officers. At Clemson, she oversees all housing and dining operations, parking and transportation, the child development center, and the university bookstore.

ACUHO-I Vice President

Olan Garrett
Associate Vice President for Student Affairs
Temple University

Olan Garrett, an active ACUHO-I presenter and volunteer, previously served as the ACUHO-I Finance and Corporate Records Officer. Along with completing the ACUHO-I Professional Standards Institute, he has been a James C. Grimm National Housing Training Institute faculty member and was a core member of the Program Committee and Regional Affiliation Task Force. An active supporter of regional associations as well, Garrett has been involved in both the GLACUHO and MACUHO regions, serving in various appointed and elected roles. He was president of MACUHO as well as a multiple-time faculty member for the MACUHO/NEACUHO Regional Entry Level Institute.

Finance and Corporate Records Officer

Kirsten Kennedy
Associate Vice President for the Residential Experience
University of South Carolina

Kirsten Kirsten has served ACUHO-I in multiple roles including as a faculty member for the James C. Grimm National Housing Training Institute, the Senior Housing Officer Institute, and the Professional Standards Institute. She edited and co-authored the ACUHO-I published book Making a Difference: Improving Residence Life Assessment Practices in 2016. She also was the Finance and Corporate Records Officer for the ACUHO-I Foundation. As associate vice president of the residential experience at the University of South Carolina, her units include university housing, the office of sustainability, faculty-led living-learning communities, divisional construction and renovation, and divisional information technology.

Business Practices and Enhancement Director

Andrew Naylor
Senior Director of Housing Administration
Florida International University

Andrew Naylor has been an active ACUHO-I volunteer for several years. Among his roles, he has been the local arrangements chair for the Business Operations Conference in 2015 and the conference chair for the 2016 event. He also has served multiple years, including as chair, on the ACUHO-I Awards and Recognition Committee. As senior director of housing and residential life, he provides overall leadership and programmatic direction for more than 1.5 million square feet of residential building space housing more than 3,800 on-campus residential students.

Facilities & Physical Environment Director

Steve McKenzie
Director of University Housing Facilities
University of Oregon

Steve McKenzie brings to his role several years of experience in commercial construction as well as more than two decades of leadership in higher education facilities management and housing operations. A long-time member of the ACUHO-I Housing Facilities Services Committee, McKenzie also is an APPA Certified Educational Facilities Professional and has seved as a webinar facilitator for the APPA CEFP program. At the University of Oregon he provides direction to more than 100 facilities professionals who care for more than 2 million square feet of housing that includes residence halls, apartments, and single-family homes. He is also a member of Oregon’s incident management team.

Globalization Director (2023-2025)

Lanché van Tonder
Head of Residence Management and Student Life
University of Pretoria

Lanché van Tonder is no stranger to ACUHO-I and other associations, regularly attending and presenting at conferences and symposiums worldwide. Since 2021 he has served on the ACUHO-I Southern African Chapter Executive Board. He also is the co-director of the Roelf Visser Student Housing Training Institute. van Toner has been with the University of Pretoria since 2015 where his responsibilities include the day-to-day management of approximately 9,000 students in 28 residences as well as the planning, management, and execution of the student life activities and programs.

**Inclusion and Equity Director (2024-2025)**

Marykatherine Woodson
Associate Director of Residence Life
Rochester Institute of Technology

Marykatherine Woodson has served as an ex officio trustee member of the ACUHO-I Foundation board and has been a leader in implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion recommendations for ACUHO-I. Woodson was also part of the inaugural class of the ACUHO-I Leadership Academy, an initiative to create opportunities and pathways for increased involvement by mid-level staff of color. At RIT she has worked first as an assistant director and currently as an associate director for student success. In her role, she focuses on the complete residential experience for students.

Knowledge Enhancement Director (2024-2026)

Janie Sacco
Assistant Director of Occupancy Management
University of Washington

Janie Sacco has repeatedly leveraged her desire to create and share knowledge. She has done so as the chair of the ACUHO-I Research Committee as well as a faculty member who has taught classes on educational leadership as well as women’s, gender, and ethnic studies. Sacco has served the NWACUHO region in multiple roles, including as the association’s president. She also was a member of the 2021-2022 ACUHO-I Leadership Academy cohort. Before becoming the assistant director for occupancy management at Washington, she was the associate director for housing and residential Life program at Saint Martin’s University, where she oversaw operations and residential education.

Regional Affiliations Director

Tiffany Bromfield
Associate Director of Residence Life
SUNY- Buffalo State University

Tiffany Bromfield brings a wide range of experience to her role, having provided leadership on the executive boards of both the SWACUHO and NEACUHO regional associations. In support of ACUHO-I, Bromfield has been chair of the Black Professionals Network, an alum of the Leadership Academy, and served on the steering committee for the 2023 ACUHO-I Leadership Academy. At Buffalo State, Bromfield she supervises the residence life team, supports the assistant dean in decision-making, and is responsible for all large-scale diversity and inclusion programming for residential students. Additionally, she serves on the Student Affairs Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Residence Education Director

Casey Tullos
Associate Vice Chancellor
University of North Carolina Charlotte

Casey Tullos’s desire for education has never slowed throughout her career. She has completed the ACUHO-I Senior Housing Officer Institute as well as the University of North Carolina System Executive Leadership Institute. That same focus informs her work on the Executive Board as she helps members establish and improve the learning experiences of their residential students. As the associate vice chancellor for student affairs, she is responsible for the strategic development of the housing and residence life organization, which supports 6,225 residential students. Previously, she served as a residence coordinator, coordinator of conference and guest housing, assistant director for academic initiatives, and director of residence life.

Workforce Development Director

Stephanie Lynch
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs
Georgetown University

Stephanie Lynch has served as the chair of the Mid Level Leadership Institute committee and has been a three-time faculty member for the James C. Grimm National Housing Training Institute. She has contributed her subject matter expertise multiple times as a presenter and for online courses. In 2019, she was honored with the Carmen L. Vance Herstory Award. At Georgetown, Lynch oversees residential education, the veterans office and key initiatives related to the Capitol Campus and student housing master planning. For almost eight years, she provided leadership for the Office of Residential Living, which included housing assignments, housing operations, summer conferences, marketing, technology and data security, and residential education

(ex officio) Future of the Profession Initiative Director

Steven T. Herndon
Assistant Vice President for Student Living
Syracuse University

Steven Herdon’s career has been filled with active engagement in regional and international associations. He has been a faculty member of the James C. Grimm National Housing Training Institute and a co-chair for ACUHO-I’s Anti-Racism Task Force. Since 2022 he has led the ACUHO-I Future of the Profession initiative, helping focus the energies of dozens of volunteer contributors. Herdon was recognized in 2022 as an ACPA Diamond Honoree. At Syracuse, Herdon oversees a department that houses more than 6,500 undergraduate students. He also supports the dean of students in promoting and advocating for students’ academic, social, and personal success. Specifically, he serves as a Title IX investigator and a member of the Division of Student Development’s Campus Awareness, Response, and Evaluation Team.

(ex officio) Business Development Director

T.J. Logan
Executive Director
Brailsford & Dunlavey

T.J. Logan has always approached his work in the campus housing field with an entrepreneurial spirit. For ACUHO-I, he has been the Business Practices and Enhancements Director on the Executive Board as well as a faculty member for the Senior Housing Officer Institute. He has presented numerous times on a variety of topics, including being the keynote at the CUBO annual conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, the AACUHO annual conference in Melbourne, Australia, the Higher Ed P3 Summit in San Diego, California, and, most recently, at the Global Housing Training Institute.

(ex officio) CEO | Executive Director

Mary DeNiro
CEO / Executive Director
ACUHO-I

ACUHO-I’s CEO and executive director since 2015, Mary DeNiro oversees the association’s home office and works closely with the Executive Board to fulfill the strategic plan and serve the needs of association members. 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.

Future of the Profession