Dr. Maria Baez, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Education Assessment, Texas A & M International University

Dr. Maria M. Baez is Assistant Director for Undergraduate Education Assessment. She joined Texas A&M in June 2020. In her current role she coordinates the general education/core curriculum learning outcomes assessment process per state mandate and accreditation requirements. Prior to joining Texas A&M, she was Executive Director of Academic Accreditation and Compliance at Laureate Education. Within Laureate Education, she also held previous positions as Director of Accreditation and Academic Affairs and Manager of Regulatory Affairs. Her earlier career involved positions as Director of Faculty and Curriculum and Coordinator of Assessment at the Ana G. Mendez University System, South Florida Campus. Dr. Baez holds a PhD in Psychology and a BA in Psychology from the University of Puerto Rico where she was the recipient of the Academic Excellence Award.

Elizabeth Piwonka, Associate Director, Office of the Provost – Institutional Effectiveness & Evaluation, Texas A & M International University

Elizabeth Bledsoe Piwonka began full-time work in assessment in 2013. In her current position as Associate Director for Assessment at Texas A&M University she supports and facilitates ongoing assessment efforts at the program, college, and institutional level including program assessment, curriculum mapping, general education assessment, and the assessment of educational requirements such as the International Culture & Diversity and Cultural Discourse requirements. Elizabeth graduated from Texas A&M University with a double major in English and Communication, and is a proud member of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of 2011. She has worked at Texas A&M University since 2013 where she started her assessment career in what was then the Office of Institutional Assessment. Since that time the office has grown to become the Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Evaluation where she is now the Associate Director for Assessment. She holds an MA in Educational Policy and Leadership Studies with a focus on Student Development and Student Affairs from the University of Iowa and is in the process of completing her research and dissertation requirements for a PhD in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University.

Suzanne Carbonaro, Director of Academic Partnerships, AEFIS

Suzanne Carbonaro, M.Ed, MS, CE School Administrator, is the Director of Academic Partnerships at AEFIS. Suzanne has 27 years experience in higher education teaching, curriculum design, assessment and leadership. Most recently, Suzanne served as the Director of Assessment at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy at the University of the Sciences where she designed the real-time assessment process for the newly implemented competency-driven doctor of pharmacy curriculum. She came to USciences from Rider University where she served as Director of Assessment and Strategic Partnerships at the College of Education. Here she redesigned their assessment process and managed over a million dollars in grants. Suzanne has led successful self-studies and re-accreditation efforts for the doctor of pharmacy and teacher and leader education programs. She is a proud member of the team who successfully received the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) 2019 Award for Excellence in Assessment. Suzanne was invited to present her research and development of Comprehensive Learner Records (CLRs) to IMS Global at the 2018 Learning Analytics Summit, 2019 IMS Global Digital Credentials Summit and was a finalist for Learning Impact Awards at the Leadership Institute in May 2019. She received the USciences 2018 Founder’s Day Award for Innovation and has presented at AALHE (2018, 2019, 2020), Drexel Assessment Conference (2018, 2019, 2020), IUPUI (2018, 2019, 2020), AACP (2019) as well as regional assessment conferences, and the Competency-Based Education Network (2019, 2020).