A Letter from the Senior Vice President of Global Network & Strategic Initiatives

It’s hard to believe, but we are approaching the one-year anniversary of the Mills merger with Northeastern, and it will likely be behind us by the time you receive this magazine. As Northeastern’s senior vice president for global network and strategic initiatives—and someone who has spent a lot of time on the Oakland campus over the last two years— it’s remarkable to look back and marvel at how much has changed, but also how much remains the same.

I was intimately involved in the conversations between Mills and Northeastern back when they first started in spring 2021, and it was a fascinating process right from the start. Our first discussions centered on what we could do together that we could not accomplish alone. Many things came up during that conversation, including compelling ideas around scaling the impact that the legacy of Mills College could have across the Northeastern global university system.

In December, we took a big step toward fulfilling that goal by hiring Nicole GuidottiHernández as the first executive director of the brand-new Mills Institute. In short order, a lot of discussion has been sparked as staffing increases and programs are designed. While we wait for the academic elements of Mills College at Northeastern University to fully form, I’m so excited to see how our students, faculty, staff, and alums will continue to make impact— especially across the worldwide Northeastern network. Given my own experience in the corporate world, it’s inspiring to already see the impact we can make together on issues of gender inequality and underrepresented populations.

As we had anticipated, Mills College at Northeastern University is now taking on the administrative structure of the network’s other campuses. Renee Jadushlever serves in the role of vice president of campus administration, and in the 2022–23 academic year, Professor of Chemistry Beth Kochly took on the role of interim dean of Mills College at Northeastern.

In addition, other key staff have been hired to support the campus and expand our partnerships and entrepreneurial exploration throughout Oakland, Silicon Valley and across the network.

Carrie Maultsby-Lute, MBA ’11, who is former director of the Center for Transformative Action and a marketing professor at Mills, has been efforts of Christie Chung, associate dean for research, scholarship, and partnerships, will be critical in providing learning, research and workforce opportunities for our students and the Oakland community. appointed head of partnerships on the Oakland campus. A longtime Oakland resident, Carrie brings a wealth of relevant leadership experience to this new role. (Read more on page 5.) And Shea Tate-Di Donna has joined the Oakland campus as our head of entrepreneurship. She will be responsible for developing strategies, programming, and staffing to develop the entrepreneurial mindset and skills of our students, faculty, staff, alums, and community while enabling the creation and support of new businesses. Shea has worked for and founded several startup and venture capital businesses and was a strategic advisor to the Melinda Gates Foundation on women’s initiatives.

My own journey to spending much of these past two years with the Mills community is one that is perhaps not so unfamiliar to many of you: I grew up in Walnut Creek back when it was a sleepy little town, and I didn’t earn my own college degree until I was in my 30s. Before that, I was a full-time waitress and the young mother of three sons, and I thought a degree in accounting was the way to improve my circumstances. It did, in an indirect way, and not in the way I expected.

Both Carrie and Shea will be actively and directly engaged in Oakland, across Northeastern’s global network, and with corporate and local community groups to develop partnerships, entrepreneurial initiatives, and innovative programs. Their work, in combination with the

I then spent 20 years in the private sector—working full-time while studying to obtain my MBA and a PhD in public policy analysis. (I truly believe that lifelong learning was an unlocking condition for my family and me.) Then, nearly six years ago, I joined Northeastern as an assistant professor in the College of Professional Studies, and my experience has been lifechanging. I have always wanted to be a teacher as I come from a family of teachers, and supporting our students in achieving their learning goals is a particular passion of mine.

I’m sure that my path will continue to cross with Mills alums, and I look forward to more meaningful interactions that have shaped so many of these reflections of the last two years. It’s been an honor to meet all of you, to hear your stories, and to understand the history of this important place as I’m walking around this beautiful campus. When it’s misty and you can smell the eucalyptus leaves, you can feel the legacy of these more than 150 years of Mills in Oakland. It’s a visceral experience. I want to take this opportunity to express my deepest appreciation to all of you for your continued support and for welcoming me into your community. I will look forward to deepening our shared partnership and being a part of all that we will accomplish together.