Name: Meredith Keating White
Pronouns: She/Her
Officer Position: President
Bio: Meredith Keating White received her undergraduate degree in Human Resource Education from Louisiana State University (Geaux Tigers), and her masters degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs from Old Dominion University. Meredith became a “Georgia peach in training” with her first full-time position at Reinhardt University in 2016, and has been a professional in the state of Georgia ever since, with the majority of her professional service being at Mercer University in the Office of Campus Life and Student Involvement. Meredith has been involved in ACPA since graduate school, and she is excited to continue that service on the state level. Meredith enjoys reading, cheering on ATL United, cuddling with her cats, Rouge and Luna, and playing her newest hobby of pickleball when she is not working.
Name: Dr. Sarah Wells Kaufman
Pronouns: She/Her
Officer Position: Past-President
Bio: Sarah Wells Kaufman, PhD, holds a Bachelors of Music in Piano Pedagogy and a Masters of Music degree in Musicology. She pivoted to the field of education and received a Doctor of Philosophy in Education, Curriculum Studies, with a dissertation on feminist pedagogy in the music history classroom. Currently, Sarah works at Berry College in Rome, GA as the Associate Director of Academic Transitions, a position that focuses mainly on leading faculty, staff, and students in offering the first-year seminar and co-curricular first-year programming. Sarah is excited to serve another year on the GCPA board as the board continues to strengthen and build connections in Georgia. Sarah’s 5pm to 9am includes indulging in video games, walking her dog on campus trails, and reading science fiction and fantasy novels.
Name: Lex Baker
Pronouns: She/Her
Officer Position: Conference Chair
Bio: Lex Baker has done higher ed work from the time she was an undergraduate student at the University of Utah. This is where her passion for DEI work began. One of Lex’s biggest personal achievements was founding the University of Utah first ever Black Cultural Center, which is what officially fueled her passion for DEI work. From there, Lex went on the serve the students at Florida State University. She worked closely with the Black Student Union and created many DEI opportunities in their housing department, which includes creating a DEI position for their Residence Hall Association and serving on a committee that drafted FSU’s first ever inclusion housing proposal. As a Hall Director at Georgia Tech. Lex’s passion for DEI work continues. Over her last 3 years here, Lex has been able to create signature programing around Cultural Appropriation vs Appreciation and conduct several identity-based facilitations for various departments at tech. She has served on several planning committees such as the HRL DEI committee and the Juneteenth planning committee.
Name: Margaret Rooyakkers
Pronouns: She/Her
Officer Position: Conference Chair-Elect
Bio: Margaret is a proud double bear with a B.S. in Public Health and an M.Ed. in Higher Education Leadership from Mercer University, where she now is serving as the Assistant Director of Service and Civic Engagement. She advises the student programming board for service, MerServe, and the voter engagement board, Mercer Votes. Before returning to Mercer, Margaret’s first higher education job was as the Program Manager for Leadership and Community Engagement at Central Washington University, where she worked alongside a team to reestablish service learning as a primary researcher and oversaw the implementation of service opportunities for students. Margaret is a newer professional in Higher Education and is looking forward to growing professionally with GCPA. Outside of work, Margaret enjoys reading Manga, getting outdoors for hikes, and baking sweet treats.
Name: Elise Cain
Pronouns: She/Her
Officer Position: Faculty Member at Large
Bio: Elise J. Cain, PhD, received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from St. Bonaventure University, Masters of Science in Adolescence Education from St. Bonaventure University, and Doctor of Philosophy in Community and Public Affairs from Binghamton University. Currently, Dr. Cain works at Georgia Southern University in the College of Education as an Assistant Professor. She joined ACPA in 2009 when she was a Residence Hall Director at SUNY Oneonta and believes being a member of your state organization is a great way to get involved and meet other people from your area! A few fun facts about her are that she grew up in the rural town of Schenevus, NY and her primary research agenda includes studying college students who came from rural areas and place-based identities. In Dr. Cain’s free time, she likes to spend time with her family, bake cookies, and play board and video games.