Advancing Mission-Aligned Pathways and Enrollment Efforts in Medical Education - October 14

Art is a founding partner of EducationCounsel LLC, where he provides policy, strategic, and legal counseling services to national non-profit organizations, postsecondary institutions, school districts, and state agencies throughout the country. As a national leader on issues of student and faculty diversity, equity and inclusion, Art supports national non-profit organizations and higher education institutions in their efforts to advance DEI aims in legally sustainable ways with a focus on mission-aligned objectives and principles of innovation.

Gisele Armond Abron currently serves as the associate dean of admissions and assistant professor for the University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine. Dr. Abron is responsible for overseeing the mission-based holistic admissions process, pathway program development and implementation, and financial planning and registrar services.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from North Carolina State University, a master’s degree in technology education from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and an educational specialist degree in educational leadership from Liberty University. She also earned a Ph.D. in leadership studies from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in 2019.

There's not a day that goes by where she does not enjoy spending time with her beautiful daughters and husband.

Emily Sharp-Kellar is the Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. In this role, she partners with admissions faculty leadership to oversee all aspects of the medical school admissions process, as well as financial aid and scholarship awarding for MD students. She received her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and her undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama.

Ed Smith serves EducationCounsel as a Senior Policy Advisor, working at the intersection of higher education law, policy, and practice.

Mike Woodson began working for Tulane University School of Medicine in June 2017 as the Assistant Director of Admissions but was promoted to his current role of Director of Admissions in March 2019.  In his current role, he oversees the day-to-day operations of the School of Medicine Admission’s office, while serving on several committees within the School of Medicine such as the Admissions Review Committee, Multicultural Affairs Committee, Professionalism and Promotions Committee, and the LCME Accreditation Committee.  He was also a member AAMC MCAT Validity Committee.  

Prior to Tulane University School of Medicine, Dr. Woodson worked in admissions at the University of Houston (Houston, TX) and Randolph-Macon College (Ashland, VA).  Prior to his time in higher education, he worked in secondary education as a high school athletic director.