Dr. Joy Gaston Gayles is Head of the Educational Leadership, Policy, & Human Development Department and Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Professor in the College of Education at North Carolina State University. Dr. Gayles is internationally recognized for her research and scholarship on women and people of color in STEM fields and her work in intercollegiate athletics in higher education. Issues of equity, inclusion, and justice undergird the collective body of her work. 

Dr. Gayles is one of the primary thought leaders in her field of study. She was recently named one of 25 innovative women leading higher education in DIVERSE: Issues in Higher Education magazine. She served as the 2022 President of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), the primary professional association for studying post-secondary education issues.

Dr. Gayles is nationally known for her work in partnership with the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD), the largest faculty development center in the United States. She serves as a faculty success coach and campus workshop facilitator. She has coached over 125 faculty across the country and conducted over 60 campus workshops on mentoring, tenure and time management, mid-career faculty success, and writing through resistance. 

Over the course of her career, she has won numerous awards for her scholarly contributions and for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education. In 2020, she received the Chancellor’s Creating Community Award for Outstanding Faculty at NC State and was named University Faculty Scholar in 2018, two of the highest faculty awards at NC State University. She also received the Zenobia L. Hikes Woman of Color in the Academy Award for advancing the development of young women of color in their pursuit of excellence. She is a community builder at heart and values engaging in work that makes a real difference in the lives of others.

Dr. Corey Seemiller is a seasoned educator, researcher, and speaker on Generation Z. Her work has been featured on NPR and in The New York Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, Popular Science, USA Today, Business Insider, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, as well as in several other news publications and more than 3,300 academic articles and books. She has been interviewed for podcasts as well as TV and radio shows worldwide and has engaged in market research consulting for Fortune 10, 50, and 500 companies. With now more than a quarter million views, her on Generation Z at TEDxDayton showcased how Generation Z plans to make a difference in the world. Her books include Generation Z Goes to College, Generation Z Leads, Generation Z: A Century in Making, Generation Z Learns, and Gen Z Around the World.

Dr. Seemiller led the Global Gen Z Study where she worked with 91 research collaborators from around the globe to better understand cultural differences among Generation Z. More than 30,000 participants from 81 countries took part in the study, making it one of the largest Generation Z studies ever conducted.  She recently completed her fifth study, Generations in the World of Work, and her book by the same name will be released in January from Routledge Publishing.

Dr. Seemiller received her Bachelor's degree in Communication, Master's degree in Educational Leadership, and Ph.D. in Higher Education. She serves as a professor in the Department of Leadership Studies in Education and Organizations at Wright State University.