Leadership

KerryAnn O’Meara became Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost and Dean of the College on July 5, 2023. She is a Professor in the Higher and Postsecondary Education Program in the Organization and Leadership Department. 

KerryAnn’s scholarship focuses on creating a more diverse and inclusive academic workplace. 

Prior to joining Teachers College, KerryAnn served as Professor of Higher Education, Distinguished Scholar Teacher, and Special Assistant to the Provost for Strategic Initiatives at the University of Maryland (UMD). She served as Director of UMD’s ADVANCE program for ten years, designing evidence-based interventions that resulted in documented improvements in the hiring, professional growth, retention and advancement of a diverse faculty, and improved workload equity in academic departments in three state systems. KerryAnn also served as Associate Dean of Faculty and Graduate Affairs at UMD College of Education, as well as Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives. She developed campus-wide DEI onboarding and led the implementation of UMD’s strategic plan, was a 2021-2022 American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow, and served as President of the Association for the Study of Higher Education in 2020.

KerryAnn received her undergraduate degree in English Literature from Loyola University Maryland, an M.Ed. in Higher Education from The Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy from the University of Maryland.

Katie Embree became Vice President for Planning and Strategy, Chief of Staff to the President, and Secretary of the College in August 2021. Katie has amassed extensive administrative experience in academic affairs in progressively responsible roles and leadership positions at TC, starting in 1996 as an Administrative Assistant and then as Associate Director of the Center for Educational Outreach and Innovation. As Assistant Dean, Interim Associate Dean, Associate Vice Provost, and Associate Provost and finally as Vice Provost, Katie has overseen Student Affairs, the Office of Digital Learning, the Office of Continuing Professional Studies, the Academic Affairs Budget, Academic Affairs Administration and chaired the College’s Psychological Emergency Response Team and the Student Conduct Committee. Katie earned a doctorate in Higher and Post-Secondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and completed an MBA in Finance from Seton Hall. She earned a BA with majors in Economics and Psychology from Drew University.

Roberta Albert joined Teachers College as Vice President for Institutional Advancement on June 3, 2024. She leads fundraising, alumni relations and communications efforts in raising the College’s profile and generating resources to advance its mission. For more than a decade, Ms. Albert served as Associate Dean for Development at Columbia University School of the Arts. There she participated in two multi-billion-dollar university-wide campaigns to support scholarships, programming and the creation of the Lenfest Center for the Arts on Columbia’s new Manhattanville campus. Prior to Columbia, she served as Director of Strategic Development Projects and Director of Alumnae Affairs at Barnard College, and also held positions at New York cultural organizations and in management consulting. Ms. Albert received an M.A. in Arts Administration from Teachers College and a B.A. in art history from Barnard College. 

Tamara J. Britt was appointed General Counsel and Vice President of Teachers College on July 1, 2022. She previously served as Vice President of External and Legal Affairs at Manhattan College and has held positions as Associate General Counsel at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and as an attorney in the New York City office of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where she specialized in white-collar defense, enforcement matters and bankruptcy litigation.

Britt received her B.A. from Hampton University, an M.P.A. from George Washington University, and a J.D. degree from Rutgers University School of Law.

Dr. Tani Castañeda joined Teachers College in December 2020 and serves as Vice President of Enrollment & Student Success, overseeing the departments of enrollment management and student affairs. Prior to coming to Teachers College, she served as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management at Rutgers University where she strategically managed recruitment, marketing, communications, admissions and enrollment research/analytics. Tani earned her B.A. from Wellesley College, an M.A. in Psychology from Brandeis University and an M.A. in Counseling from Boston College. She earned her Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership from Northeastern University. 

Henry (Hank) Perkowski was appointed Vice President for Finance and Operations in September 2020. He has served as Associate Vice President and Controller since 2005 while also serving as Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration in 2018, after having joined TC as Associate Controller in 2004. Previously, Perkowski served as Director of Financial Reporting for New York University. After graduating from Fairfield University, he worked at Ernst and Young and at Habitat for Humanity, where he worked on the construction of homes for low-income families.  

Janice S. Robinson serves as the Vice President for Diversity and Community Affairs, as the TC Title IX Coordinator, and also as an Associate Professor in Higher Education. She joined Teachers College in December 2000, served jointly as Executive Director for Diversity and Community, and assumed the additional responsibilities of the College’s first General Counsel through February 2009. Previously, she held a joint appointment at Rutgers University – Newark as Special Counsel to the Law School Dean and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs; and she also served as Director for the Academic Foundations Center at the Newark College of Arts and Sciences. Previously, she was Assistant Dean, Director of the Minority Student Program, and Director of Financial Aid at Rutgers Law School. She has practiced law at the Legal Aid Society – Civil Division and taught at the Dalton School. Ms. Robinson earned her J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law, her Ed. M. and M.A. from Teachers College, and her B.S. from the University of Bridgeport. She earned two post-graduate certificates from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and was awarded a fellowship at the University of London’s Institute for Advanced Legal Studies.

Lisa Seales was appointed Vice President for Administration in September 2020. She has served as Associate Vice President for Human Resources and Chief Human Resources Officer since 2019, after having joined TC after 18 years at Columbia University in Human Resources. Previously, Lisa was a senior member of the University's Information Technology operation and developed and oversaw the execution of plans for providing the entire 40,000-member CU community of faculty, students, and staff with superior IT services. Lisa earned her BA in Social Psychology from Wheaton College and her MA in Organizational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University.