Who We Are:
Commissioner Biographies

ACCSC Executive Committee

Carol Palacios
Chair of the Commission
School Commissioner (Administrative)
Carol Palacios is the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Executive Director of Atlantis University in Miami, Florida. Carol brings over 15 years of higher education administration and distance education experience, and extensive knowledge and operational experience of federal and state guidelines, regulatory matters involving international students, and standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education. For over a decade, she has been responsible for providing leadership and support to institutional operations at Atlantis University while ensuring compliance, institutional oversight and monitoring within the organization. Carol earned a Master's degree in Business Administration from Adolfo Ibáñez School of Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Missouri – Columbia. Carol is an ACCSC Certified Accreditation Professional.

DaKenya Douglas
Vice Chair of the Commission
VA-Public Commissioner (Administrative)
DaKenya Douglas is the Senior Vice President of Student Services at Unitech Training Academy in Lafayette, Louisiana, where she oversees Compliance, Career Services, Admissions, and Financial Services. With a progressive and efficient-style approach, DaKenya focuses resources on initiatives and strategies that advance and support employees, students, and communities across the 3 states Unitech Training College serves. For over 20 years, DaKenya has worked in higher education in various roles including Title IV administration, compliance, career services, admissions, education, and operations. In addition, DaKenya has volunteered as an ACCSC Team Leader since 2019, supporting the Commission through the on-site evaluation process. DaKenya holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and a master's in business administration from the University of Phoenix.

Susan Naples, Ph.D.
Secretary of the Commission
School Commissioner (Administrative)
Since 2011, Susan Naples has served as Campus President/Regional Campus President at Lincoln Technical Institute in Shelton, Connecticut, where she is responsible for the day to day campus operations. She brings over 26 years of higher education experience that includes roles as Director of Academic Advising, National Director of Education, Corporate Academic Specialist as well as her most current role as an online Mathematics Professor at Thomas Edison State University. Susan has dedicated her educational and professional path to the field of higher education and accreditation practices and standards. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education and Leadership from Capella University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Susan also holds a Masters of Education in Adult Education from Chester, Pennsylvania, a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Rosemont College in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, as well as a Distance Education Facilitator Certification.

Vickie Clements
Treasurer of the Commission
School Commissioner (Administrative)
Vickie Clements is the Director of Compliance at Aviation Institute of Maintenance headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Throughout her career, Vickie has been an active volunteer with ACCSC serving on the Progress Review Committee which is charged with supporting the Commission's efforts in the review and assessment of successful student achievement at accredited institutions, as well as since 2013 serving as a Team Leader. Vickie earned Master of Business Administration from University of Phoenix and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education/Math from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Vickie is an ACCSC Certified Accreditation Professional.

ACCSC Commission

Vusala Aranjo
School Commissioner (Administrative)
Vusala Aranjo serves as the Director of Education Compliance and the Title IX & 504/ADA Coordinator for the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), headquartered in Carlsbad, California, where she oversees regulatory compliance, policies, accreditation and state licensure for GIA's US and global campuses and satellite locations. She has been an ACCSC volunteer since 2007, conducting on-site visits as a Team Leader, presenting at the PDC and delivering webinars. Vusala holds a Master of Studies in Law degree from the University of Southern California and a Master in Management degree from the California Coast University. Vusala is a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP) and a member of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE). She is a Certified Accreditation Professional (CAP), a certified Title IX, and a 504/ADA Coordinator and Investigator.

Kathryn Dodge, Ph.D.
Public Commissioner (Academic)
Kathryn Dodge, Ph.D., is founder of Dodge Advisory Group, LLC, and co-founded Radio Higher Ed, a national podcast that provided information and commentary on education policy issues and their broader implications, over 60 podcasts were produced from 2011 to 2018. She also founded and facilitates affiliation groups for senior leaders in New England and engages with doctoral students in the classroom and on committees at the University of New Hampshire and New England College. In addition to serving as a public commissioner on Commission for Physical Therapy Education and ACCSC, she is on the founding board of National Council – State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement. Dodge works with institutions domestically and globally on efforts aimed at strengthening capacity for institutional effectiveness through a commitment to quality and student success. Kathryn earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Human and Organization Systems and her Master of Science in Human Development from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California. She also earned a Master of Arts in Guidance and Counseling/ Student Personnel from Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey, and her Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Literature from King's College in New York, New York.

Norbert Kreuzer
VA-Public Commissioner (Administrative)
Norbert Kreuzer, M.B.A., has been an experienced higher education/post-secondary school professional for over 20 years. He is also an experienced audio engineer and media creative with internationally award-winning production credits. Throughout the 1990s Norbert worked in the music/entertainment industry in Germany, and later in Florida. Norbert started his career in education in 2003 as an educator at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, where he began sharing his professional experience with students in production environments. In 2007, he took over the career services department at the Institute of Production and Recording in Minneapolis, Minnesota, then became campus director in 2016, and later was President/CEO of the Institute of Audio Research in New York, the oldest audio/recording school in the world, from 2016 - 2017. Since 2018, Norbert has been building Diverse Media Institute in St. Paul, Minnesota, a new school that provides technology job training to underprivileged inner-city minorities. Norbert became a Team Leader for ACCSC in 2012 and served as a Commissioner from 2014-2018 and again in 2022, continuously serves on various ACCSC committees, and recently completed the ACCSC Education Specialist Training.

Kate Osio, Ed.D.
School Commissioner (Academic)
Kate Osio, Ed.D. is the Chief Compliance Officer for Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology where she oversees regulatory compliance for a system of 4 career colleges located in 3 states. Kate has extensive experience working with regionally, nationally, and programmatically accredited institutions. Kate's experience ranges from teaching in the classroom and serving as Academic Dean at a regionally accredited college, to various operations, regulatory affairs, accreditation, and compliance positions for nationally accredited colleges. Kate began volunteering with ACCSC in 2008 as a founding member of the Progress Review Committee and added to her ACCSC volunteer resume by becoming a Team Leader in 2016. The ACCSC membership elected Kate to the Nominating Committee in 2019, which is tasked with selecting the slate of candidates for Commissioner election and appointments. Additionally, Kate was honored as ACCSC's 2019 Outstanding Volunteer. Kate holds a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership with Emphasis on Education from the University of La Verne in La Verne, California, a Master's Degree in Organizational Behavior from the California School of Professional Psychology, and a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from California State University.

Cedric Page, Ph.D.
Public Commissioner (Academic)
Dr. Cedric D. Page is a Professor Emeritus from University of New Mexico-Los Alamos, where he served as the Dean of Instruction, Professor of Geography, and Executive Director. He previously served as Dean of Faculty at DigiPen Institute of Technology and on the faculty of the University of Colorado-Denver and of the U.S. Air Force Academy. Cedric is also currently affiliated with the Regional Development Corporation (NM) Board of Directors and the Santa Fe NAACP. Previously, he served on the board of directors for the United Way of Northern New Mexico and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Northern New Mexico, and president of the New Mexico Association of Community Colleges. Cedric has also volunteered as an ACCSC Team Leader, Education Specialist, and an Appeals Panel member. Cedric earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Urban and Social Geography and Master of Arts in Quantitative and Urban Geography from Rutgers University, and his Bachelor of Arts in Geography from Syracuse University. Additionally, Cedric serves as a Public Commissioner on the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) and as a member of the New Mexico Military Institute Board of Regents.

Michael Romano
School Commissioner (Administrative)
Michael Romano is the Vice President of Student Experience for Universal Technical Institute (UTI) in Phoenix, Arizona. He brings over 16 years of higher education experience related to operations, administration, regulatory compliance, and student engagement to the Commission along with serving as a Team Leader since 2014. In addition to his service to ACCSC, Mike also serves on the Arizona Private Postsecondary Education board as Vice Chair. and has served on this board since 2017. This board licenses and regulates 217 private postsecondary educational institutions operating vocational and degree programs. These private universities, colleges, career colleges, and vocational schools annually serve approximately 265,544 students. Michael received his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the Fenn College of Engineering at Cleveland State University and his MBA from Baldwin Wallace College. He is also a graduate of the Harley-Davidson program from Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Phoenix, Arizona.

P. Kevin Rudeen, Ph.D.
Public Commissioner (Academic)
Dr. P. Kevin Rudeen is a Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus from the College of Allied Health at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he had extensive administrative experience in medical school and allied health academic centers. Kevin was also involved in the preparation and review of numerous professional accreditors for nine programs. Before retiring in 2017, he garnered substantive federal and private research grants, published over 160 research manuscripts, abstracts and book chapters, and taught medical students, residents, allied health students and caregivers in numerous health care settings. Kevin served nearly two decades with the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions (ASAHP), where he received recognition and numerous awards for his dedication and contributions to the organization. He currently serves as a Commissioner for the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) in the position as Education Administrator on the Central Panel. Kevin has been an ACCSC Education Specialist since 2018 as well as a member of the Program Review Committee. Kevin holds a Doctor of Biomedical Science from the University of Texas Health Science Center, located in San Antonio, Texas and a Bachelor of Science in Physiology from Utah State University in Logan, Utah.

Jessica Sanders, Ph.D.
School Commissioner (Administrative)
Jessica Sanders is the Chief Compliance Officer for Ancora Education, based out of Hurst, Texas, where she oversees regulatory compliance for a system of 26 career colleges located in 9 states. Throughout her 20-year career in higher education, Jessica has managed the accreditation and state licensure process for schools across 20 states, with 8 programmatic accrediting agencies, and 3 institutional accrediting agencies in addition to ACCSC. Since 2002, Jessica has volunteered as an ACCSC Team Leader, mentored new team leaders, provided training at the ACCSC Professional Development Conference, and developed new and revised training materials for use by team leaders. Jessica is an ACCSC Certified Accreditation Professional (CAP) and a member of the National Association of State Administrators and Supervisors of Private Schools (NASASPS) and the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE). Jessica holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Management and Leadership and a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Studies from Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. She also holds a Master of Science in Legal Studies: Law and Public Policy.

Wayne Zellner
School Commissioner (Administrative)
Wayne Zellner serves as the Vice President of Operations for 4 IntelliTec College campuses located in Colorado and New Mexico. Wayne has over 25 years of experience as an operations manager in Higher Education, with a strong emphasis in campus and corporate operations, student experience and satisfaction, financial management and analysis, state and federal regulatory compliance, and financial aid rules and regulations. Wayne has been an active volunteer with ACCSC serving as a Team Leader since 2014 and as a member of the Progress Review Committee since 2016. Wayne earned a Master of Business Administration Degree from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Organizational Communication from the University of New Mexico.

Joanne Wenzel
Public Commissioner
Joanne Wenzel served as a Commissioner from 2018 until November 2022. For 19 years, she worked in various capacities for the California State oversight agency for private postsecondary schools in California, most recently serving as the Bureau Chief, California Bureau of Private Postsecondary Schools, a position from which she retired in 2017.  Joanne passed away in 2023 and her friends at the Commission carry with them her passion for students and education in their hearts.