This month, seven doctoral students from the 2026 Belk Center Fellows cohort will travel to Indianapolis, Ind., to attend the 29th annual Innovations Conference hosted by League for Innovation in the Community College (League).

Held March 15-18, the conference is recognized as the premier gathering for professionals committed to advancing teaching and learning, leadership and management, and the overall community college experience. Each year, the event convenes educators, researchers and institutional leaders from across the country to explore forward-thinking practices and the most innovative community college programs in the field.

Launched in 2017 through a partnership with Achieving The Dream, the Belk Center’s Fellows Program was created to bring together cohorts of doctoral students to actively engage in national conversations about community colleges and student success. The program later expanded to include a partnership with the League, providing Fellows with additional opportunities to learn from and contribute to the field’s leading voices.

For members of the 2026 cohort, attending the Innovations Conference offers more than professional development. It is an opportunity to connect their research to practice, exchange ideas with peers and national thought leaders, and deepen their understanding of the policies and institutional strategies shaping the future of community colleges.

Meet the 2026 Innovations Conference Attendees

Hallie Bowen

is a residence life coordinator at NC State and a doctoral student in the university’s Community College Leadership program. Previously, she held roles at Appalachian State University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in academic affairs, events, athletics and housing. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations and a master’s degree in higher education. Professionally, she serves as the Committee Chair for Assessment and Research for the Southeastern Association of Housing Officers and has served on the host team for the North Carolina Housing Officers Annual Conference. A member of NC State’s Inaugural College of Education Advocacy in Action Fellowship, her dissertation research focuses on faculty preparedness in helping students in crisis. 

Sam Dotson

 is a research associate at the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research and a first-year doctoral student at NC State University. She is pursuing a doctorate in Educational Leadership, Policy and Human Development with a concentration in Community College and Career Education. Bringing a technical background to her current research, Dotson holds a master’s degree in advanced analytics, which she previously used to support the institutional research and effectiveness initiatives of three rural community colleges. Her research interests are rooted in the unique challenges faced by rural institutions and how quantitative frameworks can illuminate sustainable solutions. Specifically, she explores how community colleges can leverage data and insights to foster universal access for under-resourced communities and specialized student populations.

Connor Guerin

is a research associate at the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research and a doctoral student in Educational Leadership, Policy and Human Development at NC State University. As a former first-gen, low-income student, his lived experiences sparked his professional pursuits to serve several grant-funded college support programs in the community college system intended to assist underrepresented students. His previous roles focused on serving the community college system in Massachusetts, most recently as assistant director with TRIO and Gear Up programs in the city of Lowell. Guerin’s research interests focus on examining student service in grant-funded college access and success programs and the effectiveness of their partnerships with community college systems.

Jannifer (Jan) Knox

is a strategic higher education executive with more than two decades of experience in marketing, advancement and nonprofit leadership. As vice president for college advancement at Guilford Technical Community College, she leads an integrated division spanning marketing and communications, philanthropy and student recruitment, with a proven record of boosting enrollment and resource development. Her career highlights include securing over $7 million in philanthropic commitments and leading major rebranding and fundraising initiatives that elevated institutional visibility. Knox is currently pursuing a doctorate in Community College Leadership at NC State University, focusing her research on transformational leadership and donor-centric advancement in resource-constrained community colleges.

Kay Ruth

is a doctoral student in Community College Leadership at NC State University, where her research interests include guided pathways and removing barriers to learning. Since 2019, she has served as the department head for Wake Technical Community College’s Tutoring and Learning Center (TLC), leading high-impact student success initiatives, such as math bootcamps, student success conferences, the Student Resilience Awards and virtual tutoring. Ruth joined Wake Tech in 2000 as an English instructor before moving to the TLC in 2015. In 2023, she was honored with the Excellence in Leadership Award for both her division and the college.

Natasha Adams Spencer

is a doctoral student at NC State University, concentrating in Community College and Career Education. As a research associate at the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research and program assistant for the Community College Leadership doctoral program, she supports initiatives to strengthen leadership and student success across North Carolina’s community colleges. A first-generation scholar who began her journey at a community college, she earned degrees from Wake Technical Community College, Appalachian State University and East Carolina University. Aspiring to a faculty appointment, Spencer’s research focuses on transfer persistence within the community college-to-HBCU pipeline and how institutional leadership influences student learning outcomes. She holds prominent leadership roles with the Council for the Study of Community Colleges, the ASHE Graduate Student Network and the NC State Black Graduate Student Association. Through her academic and professional endeavors, Spencer embodies servant leadership grounded in access and intentional advocacy.

Amanda Jewett Zekanis

is an institutional researcher at Johnston Community College (JCC). A product of the community college system, she holds a master’s degree in history and began teaching at JCC in 2016 before becoming a full-time faculty member in 2019. In 2020, she took on the role of QEP director, where she created and delivered professional development for faculty. An active member of the North Carolina Teaching and Learning Hubs, Jewett Zekanis was named a Belk Center DREAM Fellow in 2024 and 2025. Currently a doctoral student in the Raleigh ‘23 Ed.D. cohort, her dissertation research focuses on QEP directors, with plans to graduate in May 2026.