Who We Are: Commissioners

ACCSC Executive Committee

Vickie Clements
Chair of the Commission
School Commissioner (Administrative)
Vickie Clements is the Director of Compliance at Aviation Institute of Maintenance and Centura College 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.

Kathryn Dodge, Ph.D.
Vice Chair of the Commission
Public Commissioner (Academic)
Kathryn Dodge, Ph.D. is founder of Dodge Advisory Group, LLC, focused on excellence in policy and practice in higher education. She brings over 30 years of experience in a variety of sectors: publishing, career education, public liberal arts education, and a decade as Executive Director at the New Hampshire Higher Education Commission, a state regulatory commission. In addition to teaching a graduate course in higher education policy to doctoral students at New England College, she is a Governor appointee to Education Commission of the States. She founded and facilitated affiliation groups for senior leaders in New England, served for eight years on National Council – State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (NC-SARA) and co-founded Radio Higher Ed, a national podcast that provided information and commentary on education policy issues, producing 60 podcasts 2011 to 2018. 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.

Jessica Sanders, Ph.D.
Secretary of the Commission
School Commissioner (Administrative)
Jessica Sanders is the Chief Compliance Officer for Ancora Education, based out of Arlington, Texas, where she oversees regulatory compliance for a system of 22 career colleges located in 9 states. Throughout her over 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. Prior to joining the Commission Jessica volunteered as an ACCSC Team Leader for 18 years. 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.

Michael Romano
Treasurer of the Commission
School Commissioner (Administrative)
Michael Romano is the Divisional Chief Operations Officer for Universal Technical Institute (UTI) in Phoenix, Arizona. He brings over 17 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, Michael 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.

ACCSC Commission

Vusala Aranjo
School Commissioner (Administrative)
Vusala Aranjo is an experienced compliance and higher education professional specializing in legal operations, internal investigations, regulatory matters, policy development and implementation. Vusala is the Director of Legal Operations and Title IX & 504/ADA Officer at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). She oversees strategic planning and execution of legal workflows, risk assessment, corporate governance, regulatory compliance and develops recommendations to maximize resources and operational performance. Additionally, Vusala oversees the Title IX compliance program by monitoring the prevention efforts, implementing formal and informal complaint and resolution measures, investigating complaints, developing and implementing policies and procedures, and providing training and education to students and staff. Vusala holds a Master of Studies in Law degree from the University of Southern California and a Master in Management from California Coast University. Vusala is a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP), Certified Accreditation Professional (CAP), and the ATIXA certified Title IX and 504/ADA Coordinator and Investigator. She has been an ACCSC volunteer since 2017, as a team leader and school commissioner, as well as presenting at the PDC and delivering webinars to member institutions.

DaKenya Douglas 
School Commissioner (Administrative)
DaKenya Douglas is the Senior Vice President of Compliance at StrataTech Education Group, where she oversees compliance with all state, accreditation, agency, and Department of Education laws and regulations. Her focus on ensuring adherence to regulatory and legal requirements, commitment to process improvement, building efficiencies through policies and procedures, and hiring and retaining compliance and regulatory staff members, have resulted in improved operations, continued compliance, and organizational excellence. 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.

Dan Levinson
Public Commissioner (Academic)
Dan was responsible for providing overall leadership for several of the Art Institute campuses as well as other colleges within the Education Management Corporation (EDMC) portfolio and CEO and Board Member for Bay Area digital arts college Ex'pression College, He leverages more than 30 years of multiple management and education experience included roles as audio and video faculty member, Academic Director, Dean of Academic Affairs, Campus President, Regional VP, Group VP, and CEO. In his volunteering with ACCSC, he was previously a Team Leader and Education Specialist, as well as serving a prior term as a Commissioner, and was honored as the ACCSC 2022 Outstanding Volunteer award recipient. Dan holds a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University and a Bachelor of Music in Music Composition from Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts now known as the University of the Arts.

Tommy Mosley, Ed.D.
Public Commissioner (Academic)
Tommy Mosley spent 35 years in Alabama public schools serving at all levels including coaching, counseling, and administration. He held the position of State Specialist in Trade Industrial and Technology Education for the Alabama State Department of Education and spent the last six years prior to retirement as the Superintendent of Education for Etowah County School System. Since retirement, Tommy was involved in with over 150 on-site accreditation visits with several different accrediting agencies. Tommy served as an ACCSC Education Specialist starting in 2015, visiting over 70 accredited schools. He holds a Doctorate in Educational Administration from the University of Alabama as well as a master's and an educational specialist degree in Counseling. He was a Licensed Professional Counselor in Alabama for over 30 years. In 2020, he was selected as the Outstanding Volunteer for ACCSC.

Susan Naples, Ph.D.
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. 

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.

Carol Palacios
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.

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 previously served 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.

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.