Barbara Gellman-Danley assumed the presidency of the Higher Learning Commission in July 2014. 

Prior to joining HLC, Gellman-Danley was the President of University of Rio Grande/Rio Grande Community College in Ohio. She previously served as Vice Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, President at Antioch University McGregor, Vice President at Monroe Community College, and Vice Chancellor at the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. She also held positions at the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA) and Cox Cable Communications in Oklahoma City.

Gellman-Danley currently sits on the boards of Credential Engine (chair) and GlobalMindED. Previous board and commission memberships include National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), and the Association of Governing Boards (AGB) Council of Presidents.

Gellman-Danley holds a Bachelor of Science in Speech/English Education from Syracuse University, a Master of Library Science from Simmons University, a Master of Business Administration from Oklahoma City University, and a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Oklahoma. She also completed post-graduate work at New York University, Cornell University, Harvard University, the University of Chicago, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In April 2019, Gellman-Danley was awarded Honorary Membership in Phi Theta Kappa due to her lifelong commitment to students. 

Gellman-Danley holds coaching credentials as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC), a Certified Executive Coach and a Certified Life Coach, She also holds certifications in other specialized coaching, Change Management, AGILE and Lean Six Sigma.

Dr. Mac Powell serves as President of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), a federally recognized institutional accreditor overseeing 138 institutions and over 3 million students in California, New York, Arizona, and the Pacific. He was the youngest college president in the United States at the time of his first installation and served as president of three universities, including John F. Kennedy University, where he led the institution’s successful efforts to become a service-learning institution and a federally recognized and funded Hispanic Serving Institution.

 Dr. Powell has contributed to the strategic direction of higher education through his service as Chair of the American Council of Education’s Commission on Educational Attainment and Innovation, as a Commissioner on the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Commission, as a graduate of the WASC Assessment Leadership Academy, and as Chair of the Council of Applied Master’s Programs in Psychology. 

 He currently serves as Vice Chair of The Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC) and on the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) Committee on Recognition. 

His most recent scholarship focuses on the value of higher education and the role of accreditation in promoting institutional transformation to serve all students.

Dr. Powell holds bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and sociology, a master’s degree in sociology, and a doctorate in sociology from the University of Missouri, as well as an MBA from National University and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Antioch University.

Dr. Lawrence Schall is the President of the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). He joined the Commission in 2020. Under his leadership, NECHE has transitioned from a regional to a national accreditor and added over 40 institutions both across the United States and globally. He spends much of his time these days in Washington DC advocating on behalf of our nation's higher education institutions. Previously, he served as President of Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia for 15 years. During his tenure, Dr. Schall led the transformation of Oglethorpe from an at-risk institution to a university boasting a doubled class size and rigorous spending safeguards, raised over one hundred million dollars, and secured a solid financial outlook for the institution. Schall serves on the Board of Spelman College, the highly-ranked historically Black women’s college also in Atlanta.

President Schall received his undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College and his J.D. and Ed.D from the University of Pennsylvania. After practicing law as a civil rights attorney in Philadelphia for a decade, he served as Vice President of Administration at Swarthmore for 15 years before assuming the Presidency of Oglethorpe.

You can learn more about President Schall and his work at the Commission by visiting his blog, NECHE On The Road.

Selena M. Grace, PhD, NWCCU President. She previously served as Executive Vice President for NWCCU and provided strategic counsel on internal affairs and engagement with external state and federal regulatory agencies such as C-RAC, NACIQI, and state/federal legislators. She provided support to a portfolio of institutions with a focus on supporting the Tribal Colleges and federally recognized Minority Serving Institutions. Her work included building internal capacity, strategic planning, supporting substantive changes in processes and procedures, supporting peer evaluator capacity, and updates and revisions to handbooks. Previously, she served as Vice Provost for Academic Strategy & Institutional Effectiveness at Idaho State University. Dr. Grace brings significant experience leading transformational change in education policy and practices, as well as bringing diverse constituents together. She was a member of the inaugural cohort of the WICHE Western Academic Leadership Academy, and her previous experience includes Chief Academic Officer at the Idaho State Board of Education where she was the primary author and manager of the Complete College Idaho Plan. Dr. Grace has supported NWCCU as an Evaluator, Evaluation Team Chair, and Accreditation Liaison Officer, and has deep knowledge of accreditation and higher education regulations.

Dr. Grace is a first-generation college graduate. She has a B.A. in English with a writing emphasis and a minor in Native American Studies from Boise State University, an M.F.A. in creative writing, non-fiction from George Mason University, and a Ph.D. in public policy and administration from Boise State University. Her research focused on representation of American Indian teachers in public K-12 education and how that impacted access and performance of American Indian students.

Dr. Pruitt was installed as the new president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) on August 1, 2025. 

He started his education career as a high school chemistry teacher in Fayette County, Georgia. During his career, Pruitt has amassed education policy, assessment, and instructional background at the local, state and national levels. At the national level, he had worked closely with state agencies and educators around the country to improve policy and practice in science education. In Georgia, Pruitt served as science and mathematics program manager, director of academic standards, associate state superintendent for assessment and accountability and chief of staff for the Georgia Department of Education.

He comes to the new role with more than 30 years of professional experience in the field of education. With skills and experience ranging from leading classroom instruction to, most recently, serving as the president of the Southern Regional Education Board, Pruitt’s knowledge of all aspects of education makes him highly qualified to lead SACSCOC as it enters this new chapter. 

Dr. Pruitt has earned degrees from three SACSCOC accredited institutions: a Doctor of Philosophy in chemistry education from Auburn University, a Master of Education in secondary science from University of West Georgia, and a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of North Georgia. Throughout his professional career Dr. Pruitt has led multiple education governing bodies, including as commissioner of education for the Kentucky Department of Education, and as chief of staff and associate state superintendent for the Georgia Department of Education.

With more than 35 years of professional experience in higher education, philanthropy and public policy advocacy, Jacob Fraire became president of ECMC Foundation in February 2023. Here, he leads the Foundation’s strategic grantmaking and investing to transform the postsecondary ecosystem and improve higher education and career outcomes for students from underserved backgrounds.

Before joining the Foundation, Mr. Fraire served as director of policy and strategy for the Diana Natalicio Institute at the University of Texas at El Paso. Previously, Mr. Fraire was president and CEO of the Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC) where he represented the presidents and chancellors of the state’s 50 public community college districts, which enroll more than 700,000 students. 

Under his leadership, TACC secured policymaker support for state policies and funding in favor of community college students, including the creation of the Texas Commission on Community College Finance and legislative approval for the Texas Reskilling and Upskilling through Education program, authorizing short-term credentials for adult learners. Mr. Fraire also provided leadership to advance statewide implementation of guided pathways reforms to improve completion rates, post-graduation success and other student outcomes. Mr. Fraire co-led a statewide collaboration that resulted in legislative approval of student transfer policy and a corresponding state framework for transfer efficacy. He also led efforts to realize legislation to implement co-requisite instruction to accelerate the completion of developmental education.

Before joining TACC, Mr. Fraire served as vice president of philanthropy at Trellis Company (formerly Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation). As the chief architect of corporate philanthropy, Mr. Fraire stewarded $80 million in competitive grants to advance college access, need-based financial aid, student success and research. His leadership led to the creation of today’s Trellis Foundation. Mr. Fraire also provided leadership to the company’s operational programs supporting college access and persistence, financial education, and default prevention and management services for institutions.

For a decade, Mr. Fraire served in multiple policy advocacy roles in Washington, D.C. He served as director of legislation and policy analysis at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, as the senior legislative coordinator at a firm representing research-intensive universities, and separately as principal of a firm representing multiple guaranty agencies in the Federal Family Education Loan Program.

Mr. Fraire has served on multiple national and state boards, including Grantmakers for Education, the Institute for Higher Education Policy (board chair), the Advisory Board for the Community College Research Center, the federal Committee on Measures of Student Success, the Corporate Advisory Committee of the Council for Opportunity in Education, the TACC Business Advisory Council, the Texas Transfer Working Group and the Texas Dual Credit Task Force.

The son of migrant farmworkers, Mr. Fraire grew up in El Paso, Texas. He holds a Bachelor of Science from St. Edward’s University and a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin. He and his wife, Virginia, have five adult children.