Welcome to HigherEdRisk: mitigating risk in higher education.
Read our winter issue now and subscribe to get future issues mailed directly to you at no cost.
Cyber and AI literacy. Employee and student risks you haven’t considered. Helping you to avoid the problems and controversies that aren’t on your radar. This and more in our latest issue!
Discover the key things schools need to worry about and what they need to prepare for in 2025. Stay ahead of the evolving risks that colleges and universities face.
The knowledge you need delivered straight to you.
Sign up and receive our print edition at no cost and level up your highered risk reading every season. The risks have never been higher for higher education, and you need to be ready.
Would you like to contribute your expertise to a future issue?
If you’re an expert in a field that our readers should know about, drop us a line and let’s discuss. We want to help the best voices be heard to help schools be ready for their next great chapters.
Special thanks to our Winter 2025 contributors.
Cynthia Vitters is a Managing Director at Deloitte & Touche LLP with over 20 years of higher education and federal government experience. She leads Deloitte’s higher education cyber and risk services practice, overseeing a portfolio of cybersecurity, third-party and enterprise risk, and internal audit services. Prior to joining Deloitte, Cynthia spent 22 years working for the federal government’s U.S. Department of Education. Cynthia served as the CRO for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA).
Jake Braunsdorf is a Senior Manager in Deloitte’s Government and Public Service (GPS) practice, and leads the State/Local Government and Higher Education Strategic Risk efforts, specifically enterprise risk management and compliance services. Jake has over 14 years of risk management experience in the federal government, state/local government, and higher education industries. Jake advises clients on managing enterprise risk, specifically specializing in the areas of enterprise risk management, compliance, and internal audit.
Joseph Lord is a Manager at Deloitte, specializing in Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) within Higher Education. With a passion for collaborating with educational institutions, Joseph excels in developing and implementing effective risk management programs and enjoys leveraging technology to enhance these initiatives.
Jessica Mertz is the Executive Director of Clery Center, a national nonprofit dedicated to improving campus safety. She works with legislators, ally organizations, and campus leaders across the country to enhance policies, prevention efforts, and awareness of key safety issues. With expertise in preventing and responding to interpersonal violence, Jessica was the founding Director of Penn Violence Prevention at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jody Westby spent a decade in the IT industry before becoming an attorney and founding Global Cyber Risk. She is the author of the D&O Guide to Cybersecurity: Fiduciary Duties in the Digital Age, published by the American Bar Association. Jody is also the author of four Governance of Cybersecurity reports published by Carnegie Mellon CyLab and Georgia Tech. Jody’s work on cyber governance has been featured in the CISO Executive Network and Bloomberg, and she speaks globally about these issues. A former managing director with PricewaterhouseCoopers and an attorney at two New York firms, Jody has authored six books on privacy, cybersecurity, and cybercrime. Jody advises boards and executives on cyber governance in critical infrastructure sectors and helps them develop governance frameworks and risk-transfer plans.
Lekshmy Sankar is a cybersecurity expert specializing in AI-driven security architectures. With a Ph.D. in Leadership and dual master's degrees in Business Administration and Information Systems, she leads critical infrastructure protection initiatives across multiple sectors. Her research examines AI's transformative impact on cybersecurity frameworks, combining academic rigor with practical applications to advance organizational security resilience.
Juan Azacarate III is a Senior Managing Director at Dallas College, overseeing property and casualty insurance programs and developing risk management policies. Before Dallas College, he worked at Texas Wesleyan University and Southern Methodist University. Juan has earned the Certified Risk Manager (CRM) designation. He has also served in the U.S. Army Reserve and was honorably discharged as a major. Juan holds a BA in Political Science and a Master's in Public Administration. Juan is actively involved with URMIA and will serve on the Board until October 2025.
Kalinda Watson, President and CEO of KFW Consulting, is a transformational leader with nearly two decades of experience delivering operational excellence across diverse industries. She specializes in enterprise risk management, strategic procurement, and organizational transformation, empowering clients to achieve measurable outcomes. Kalinda’s innovative approach and dedication to build lasting partnerships have established her as a trusted partner in driving organizational success. Learn more about how KFW Consulting can support your organization’s goals at www.kfwconsulting.com.
José M. Jara is an attorney at Fox Rothschild LLP, where he specializes in defending boards of directors and fiduciaries against class action litigation related to alleged breaches of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). With a profound understanding of the complex regulatory landscape surrounding employee benefit plans, José provides comprehensive legal advice to plan fiduciaries, enabling them to navigate intricate compliance matters while effectively minimizing risks and liabilities.
Hillary Pettegrew is a Senior Risk Management Counsel for United Educators. Her areas of expertise include employment law, Title IX, and study-abroad issues. Before joining the Risk Research team, she practiced employment law and handled UE education liability claims.