Jeff is an experienced and long-term educator specializing in diversity, equity, and inclusion. He has worked for many years with diverse populations including college age students, K-12 students, campus alums, community entities, business leaders, and religious organizations. Jeff joined Wilder in 2024.
Jeff is experienced in working with faculty, staff, and professionals across a wide spectrum in higher education. His philosophy is grounded in a place of truth and reconciliation, utilizing skilled collaborative tools to promote the kind of dialogue that brings us to a place of healing and transformation. In Jeff’s early years, he served as a college admissions director and worked to increase the population and enhance the experience of underrepresented and underserved students entering their college years at predominantly majority institutions. His focus was on DEI work to help expand the college environment for students, faculty, and staff, as well as alums and community stakeholders, building what the late Congressman John Lewis called “the beloved community.”
Jeff comes to Wilder Research with a depth of professional and life experiences having grown up in rural Tennessee as the youngest of nine children born to a working mother and a disabled father. Jeff’s experience growing up in poverty only served to sharpen his lens when working with diverse groups and typically marginalized communities. Jeff has a master’s in student personnel services from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a bachelor’s in political science from Middle Tennessee State University.