Meet the experienced consultants guiding institutions worldwide. Our team brings decades of leadership in higher education to every project.
Senior Consultant & Faculty Development Expert at Stanford University, USA
Senior Consultant specializing in European educational policies and strategies
Ph.D., Civil Engineering – Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA
Executive Education, Educational Leadership – Harvard University, USA
Executive Education, Executive Management – MIT, USA
M.S., Civil Engineering – Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
B.E. (Honors), Engineering – National Institute of Technology, Trichy, India
Dr. Senthil Nathan is the Co-Founder of Edu Alliance and a senior higher education leader with over 30 years of experience in the UAE and the broader Middle East. He has successfully directed over 60 Edu Alliance projects for more than 30 universities in the region, including New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), Zayed University (ZU), the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), and Khalifa University (KU).
Senthil played a pivotal role in the establishment and growth of HCT, the UAE’s second university, where he served for 24 years in academic and leadership roles—faculty, Chair, Dean, and College Director—before becoming Deputy Vice Chancellor of Planning and Administration for 8 years. In this capacity, he led strategic planning, budgeting, operations, HR, IT, Ed Tech and workforce development across 17 campuses.
As Dean of Engineering and Health Sciences, he pioneered more than 35 industry-sponsored degree programs and spearheaded commercial initiatives as Chief Planning Officer for CERT Technology Park.
Certificate Executive Management, Wharton School of Business, Pennsylvania
M.S., University of Louisville, Kentucky
B.A., Urbana University, Ohio
Dean Hoke brings more than 40 years of experience as a higher education leader, consultant, and storyteller. As Co-Founder of Edu Alliance, a higher education consulting services firm located in Bloomington, Indiana, and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, he helps institutions navigate change, foster innovation, and build sustainable futures both in the U.S. and internationally.
A Senior Fellow at The Sagamore Institute, Dean is passionate about strengthening rural colleges, which serve as vital economic and social anchors in their communities. His past leadership includes serving as President and CEO of the American Association of University Administrators (AAUA), where he championed ethical and effective leadership in higher education.
Dean is also a pioneering voice in higher education podcasting. He co-founded HigherEd PodCon and produces and co-hosts the Small College America podcast, which spotlights the challenges and innovations shaping small colleges today. Whether speaking, writing, or consulting, Dean brings deep insight and a global perspective to the evolving landscape of higher education.
D.P.A., Public Administration – University of Southern California
M.P.A., Public Administration – University of Southern California
M.A., Government and International Affairs – University of Virginia
A.B., Government – Harvard University
Dr. Chet Haskell brings over four decades of leadership and consulting experience in higher education, with a career spanning the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and Asia. He has held senior roles including President of the Monterey Institute of International Studies and Cogswell Polytechnical College, Dean and de facto Provost at Simmons College, and 13 years of leadership positions at Harvard University and five in senior administrative roles at the University of Southern California.
As Provost and Chief Academic Officer of Antioch University, he helped lead the creation of the Coalition for the Common Good, a groundbreaking alliance with Otterbein University. Internationally, Dr. Haskell has advised universities in Mexico, Spain, Holland, and Brazil and served as a consultant to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Council on International Quality Group.
A respected accreditation expert, he has served as a WSCUC peer reviewer and as an international advisor to ANECA (Spain) and ACAP (Madrid). He is a frequent speaker at global conferences and meetings.
PhD (Urban Planning), Harvard University
M.R.P. (Regional Planning), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
B.A. (Geography) and Certificate in City Planning, The University of Akron
Dr. Bruce Taylor is a seasoned international higher education leader, accreditation expert, and former president of three universities.
He has extensive working experience in the UAE and several other countries, including Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Macau, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. His line of work includes overseeing, developing, and assessing higher education programs that align with regulatory and accreditation standards.
He has extensive experience in administrative, academic, research, and accreditation roles at reputable institutions. While serving as the Commissioner of the UAE Commission for Academic Accreditation, he also served as an editor for the UAE Higher Education Commission Self-Study for the External Review, the 2011 edition of Standards for Licensure and Accreditation (in use through 2019), and the 2013 e-Learning Standards addendum, as well as secretary to the Council of Commissioners.
He has served as the President of MENA College of Management, Dubai; President, Emirates College of Technology, Abu Dhabi; President, American University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia; and Vice President, KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Doctor of Education (Ed.D) in Organizational Leadership, University of La Verne, California
M.A. in Communication(Intercultural), The American University in Cairo, Egypt
B.A. in Communication, The American University in Cairo, Egypt
Coaching Certification Program, Columbia University, New York
Dr. Sanford is a seasoned leader and administrator at Stanford University with a career spanning 25 years. She is currently the Director of Faculty Professional Development and an executive coach at the Stanford University School of Medicine, having stepped down from her previous role as the University’s Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity (2013-2019).
As Associate Vice Provost, she created Stanford's University-wide and nationally recognized portfolio of faculty development programs, serving 2000 faculty members across Stanford's seven schools. She was trained as an Executive and Leadership Coach at Columbia University.
She is a certified practitioner in a number of psychological assessment tools and is an affiliate with the Institute of Coaching, McLean, Harvard Medical School.
Her career at Stanford included roles as Assistant Dean for Postdoctoral Affairs and Assistant Dean for Academic Services at the School of Education (2004-09). Her contributions span strategic planning and oversight of recruitment, academic and research policy, student services, and financial aid. She consults and presents on the preparation of future faculty, leadership development, curricular change, and organizational development in the US and the Middle East.
Doctor of Business Administration in Higher Education Management, University of Bath, U.K.
Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Executive Management, RoyalRoads University, Canada
Bachelor of Arts (Special), Economics, University of Alberta, Canada.
Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA)
Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Alberta, Canada
Dr. Gordon Handke is an accomplished financial executive with over 25 years of international senior university management experience and a strong record of success in strategic and financial planning, budgeting, modeling, and oversight of decision support and reporting systems, linking strategic initiatives to measurable results.
He has extensive experience with multi-unit and start-up operations in governmental and higher education organizations, developing policies and standard operating procedures and providing leadership for financial, administrative, operational, decision support, and facility planning and management functions.
He has served in many university leadership roles - as Vice Chancellor for Financial and Administrative Affairs, University of Sharjah; Vice President for Finance& CFO, The American University in Cairo, Egypt; Director, Finance, Athabasca University, Canada; Director, Budget and Planning, New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE; Director, Finance & Budget, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi; and as Head, Budget & Planning, Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Certificate, Computer Data Processing – City & Guilds, London, UK
MBA – Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK
B.Com (Bachelor of Commerce)
Jessie Kamalavani is a skilled project manager, institutional researcher, and policy coordinator with over 20 years of experience in higher education, energy, and corporate sectors. She specializes in translating business processes and user requirements into data-driven solutions that improve efficiency and reduce operating costs.
She previously served as Assistant Registrar at the Higher Colleges of Technology Central Services, where she developed and implemented student service procedures. From 2015 to 2023, Jessie worked as Project Manager for Business Development at Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), leading the creation of a 3-year departmental strategy and a 10-year strategic roadmap. She oversaw vendor selection, funding, and project delivery, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives.
Jessie also contributed to developing the Nuclear Research Policy, Localization Policy, and In-country Value Strategy, while building strong governance and operational frameworks.
PhD in political and legal doctrines from the Jagiellonian University
Executive MBA at the University of Gdanskńsk and the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
Dr.Anna Budzanowska served as Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Poland from 2019 to 2021, She was responsible for strategic projects in the ministry and led the team for implementing the higher education and science reform. She served as the Director General of this ministry from 2016- 2019.
She was also a member of the Council of the Fulbright Poland. From 2011 to 2016, she served as director for institutional cooperation in the Chancellery of the President of Poland. From 2008 to 2010, she headed the Department of Sport in the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, where she was responsible for preparations for the Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010 and London in 2012. In 2007, as deputy director of Adam Mickiewicz Institute, led the initiatives in the field of cultural diplomacy, and helped plan Poland's participation in the EXPO 2008. Currently, she is an Associate Professor at the University of Silesia in Katowice.
Her research focuses on political doctrines, public policies, and political systems. In public policy, she analyses the higher education sector, focusing on the governance of academic institutions and the implementation of structural reforms in science and higher education. She is a Champion of EuroScience Open Forum Katowice 2024.
Master’s Degree (MSARC- Urban Design;Architecture),University of Cincinnati, USA
Master planning Certificate, Harvard University.
American Management Association Certificate.
Bachelor’s Degree (Architecture), University of Cincinnati, College of Design, USA
Sustainable Land Use Planning Certificate, World Bank Group
Smarter Cities: Using Data to Drive Urban Innovation Certificate
Fellow Member, Institute of Place Management (FIPM)Academy of Urbanism.
Duraid has over 28 years of experience in all stages of design management including City and Regional Planning, Masterplanned developments, urban design, architectural design, and real estate investment. He managed international multidisciplinary teams in developing national and regional Plans, spatial planning, Tourism Destination Strategies, Transportation, infrastructure, real estate development, economic feasibility, landscape, and engineering teams for national Governments and master developers in the USA and the GCC.
He managed high-profile clients and master developers in iconic projects and delivered projects throughout the GCC. He has held positions as Director, Design Manager, Team Leader, and Manager of Regional, National, City planning, Tourism development sectors, Architecture, Large-scale strategic multi-disciplinary master developments, and architectural projects inthe GCC region and internationally.
He has lived and worked in the USA, the Middle East, Australia, Japan, Indonesia and Germany and has successfully directed, managed, led, and delivered large-scale private and government mega projects.