Jesús Ancer Rodríguez is President of the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon (UANL), which is among the largest higher education institutions in Mexico. Ancer Rodríguez graduated from the UANL Faculty of Medicine in 1974 and went on to receive his Medical Doctorate from the same institution in 2006. He also received a Doctorate in Pathological Anatomy from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain) in 2005. He has distinguished himself in the administration of higher education as Sub-Director and Director of the UANL University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine. During his tenure the university hospital achieved quality accreditation as did the undergraduate program in medicine. He has received numerous awards and distinctions both for his medical and higher education endeavours as well as for his humanitarian activities. Before his election as Rector, he served as Academic Secretary and subsequently as Secretary General of the University.

David W. Atkinson is Presidentof MacEwan University. He held positions as President and Vice-Chancellor of Kwantlen Polytechnic, Carleton and Brock Universities, and, prior to that he served as Dean of Arts and Science and Professor of English and Religious Studies at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. President Atkinson also spent 15 years at the University of Lethbridge where he took on increasingly senior administrative positions, including Dean of Student Affairs and Associate Vice-President (Academic). Atkinson teaches in the areas of Medieval and Renaissance Literature, World Religions, and critical hermeneutics, and he has published widely, including four books and over ninety papers and reviews. His fifth book on the Scottish writer James Melville is currently in preparation. Born in England, he immigrated to Canada with his parents when very young. He attended Indiana University on an athletic scholarship, where he was an NCAA All-American in Cross Country. President Atkinson completed his B.A. at the University of Calgary and then went on to earn an M.A. and Ph.D. in English. He is member of the Board of Directors of CONAHEC.

Mary Fanelli Ayala is a Hispanic American who was raised in Philadelphia by her adoptive parents, of Italian descent.  She has a doctorate in Latin American Literature from Temple University and was a Fulbright Scholar at the Colegio de México, Mexico City. In 2001, she was named Carnegie Foundation Professor of the Year, New Mexico. Currently she is Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Professor of Latin American Literature at Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, New Mexico.

Tomás M. Jiménez is a Full Professor of philosophy at Inter American University of Puerto Rico, where he has held a number of academic and management positions.  Currently, he is the Executive Director of the President’s Office. His past positions include: Executive Assistant to the Metropolitan Campus Chancellor, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Honors Program Director.  He has been a visiting research fellow and lecturer at Oxford University Harris Manchester College. As an active member of the Society of Educators and Scholars, he has contributed greatly as researcher and lecturer.  He has published various articles concerning higher education and is currently working on a book regarding philosophy of education.

Ann Weaver Hart came to the University of Arizona from Temple University, where she served as president from July 2006 until she assumed the presidency of the UA in July 2012. Before then, she served as president of the University of New Hampshire and provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Claremont Graduate University, in Claremont, California. At the University of Utah, she served as professor of educational leadership, dean of the Graduate School and special assistant to the president.

President Hart received a bachelor of science in history, a master of arts in history and a doctorate in educational administration, from the University of Utah. Her research interests include leadership succession and development, work redesign and organizational behavior in educational organizations, and academic freedom. She has published more than 85 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, five books and edited volumes, and other articles and essays.

Among the professional and community service awards that President Hart has received are the Jack Culbertson Award in Educational Administration from the University Council for Educational Administration; the Outstanding Professional Award from the Business and Professional Women's Foundation; the PoWeR Award from the Professional Women's Roundtable; the 2009 Champion of Diversity and Access Award from the Urban STEM Strategy Group; and the Outstanding Community Service Award from the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.  In addition to serving as the 21st President of the University, President Hart holds a faculty appointment in the College of Education as Professor of Educational Policy Studies & Practice.

Patti McGill Peterson is currently Advisor to the President on Global Engagement at the American Council on Education. Previously she served as a senior associate at the Institute for Higher Education Policy. Prior to joining IHEP, she served as executive director of the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) and vice president of the Institute of International Education (IIE) from 1997 to 2007. CIES, a division of IIE, coordinates international educational exchange with 150 nations and assists the U.S. government with the administration of the Fulbright Scholar Program. Previously, Peterson was senior fellow at Cornell University’s Institute for Public Affairs where her work focused on the nonprofit sector and its role in shaping public policy in the United States and abroad. Peterson holds the title of president emerita at Wells College and St. Lawrence University, two liberal arts institutions, where she held presidencies from 1980 to 1996. She has served as chair of the U.S.-Canada Commission for Educational Exchange, National Women’s College Coalition, Salzburg Seminar on International Academic Mobility, American Council on Education’s Commission on Governmental Affairs and Public Leadership Education Network, and she is a past president of the Association of Colleges and Universities of the State of New York. Peterson has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pennsylvania State University and Master of Arts and doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She did post-graduate study at Harvard University. Her board memberships include the University of Wisconsin’s LaFollette School of Public Affairs, Council of International Education Exchange, and Ford Foundation’s International Fellowship Program. She speaks and publishes on the subjects of the United States and international higher education and public policy as it relates to higher education and third-sector organizations. An expert on various higher education issues, Peterson is well versed in trends in international higher education, internationalization of U.S. higher education, college and university administration, governance, and academic program development.

Jesús María Contreras Esparza is President of the Technological University of Leon (UTL - Guanajuato, Mexico) and President of the National Association of Technological Universities of Mexico (ANUT). He received his Bachelor's in Industrial Relations from the Univeristy of Guanajuato, his Master's in Administration from ITESM and his Doctorate in Human Development with a specialization in Education from UNIVA. He has worked in academia for many years as Coordinator of Research and Curriculum Development at UNIVA Campus Leon before assuming his position as Rector of the UTL.

David Marshall served as the eighth president of Mount Royal College (now Mount Royal University) from Sept. 1, 2003 until the summer of 2011. Prior to his arrival at Mount Royal, he served as president and vice-chancellor of Nipissing University for 13 years. In addition to teaching high school early in his career, he was director of a Canadian International Development Agency project in St. Lucia, West Indies. In 1997, Marshall was named a Paul Harris Fellow, from Rotary Foundation in appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world. In 2002, he was awarded a Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition of service to university education. He serves as a member on the Strategic Planning Committee and the Standing Advisory Committee on the Act and By-laws for AUCC. He has published extensively on the subject of leadership and administration. His specialties are administration in developing areas, teacher education, and higher education management. Marshall obtained his bachelor's at the University of Western Ontario and received his teacher education at Lakehead University. He also holds a master's in education and a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Alberta.

Marianna Velazquez is CONAHEC’s Membership Coordinator and the representative for the Student Organization of North America, SONA.  She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a minor in International Business both  from the University of Arizona. She is originally from León, Guanajuato, Mexico. For the past four years she has been working with the students involved in SONA and is currently working on organizing the Student Organization of North America's 9th conference to be held in Puebla, Mexico, from October 12-14, 2010. Please visit SONA's conference website for more information.