Celebrating the Leadership Journeys of Women at the HERS Leadership Conference

Published: July 01, 2026

Queensborough faculty and administrators participated in plenaries, workshops, and engaged in formal and informal networking and conversation at the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) Leadership 50th Anniversary Conference & Reunion held in early June at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.  

Reem A. Jaafar, Ph.D., Queensborough’s Dean of Institutional Effectiveness, is an alum of the HERS Leadership Institute. “I always look for opportunities to invite others into the space HERS has created for me and many other women in higher education and am grateful that QCC sent a group to Bryn Mawr this year for the 50th anniversary reunion and conference.  HERS has spent decades building the pipeline of women leaders in higher education, and seeing a community college so visibly represented in that space reminded me that leadership development belongs at every type of institution, and certainly at community colleges, where faculty and staff support a very diverse body of students.” 

Linda Bastone, Ph.D., Queensborough’s Dean of Faculty, agreed. “It was a great experience for all of us.” 

In addition to Drs. Jaafar and Bastone, ten faculty members from Queensborough attended the conference with support from the Office of Academic Affairs professional development funds. They are Drs. Mangala Tawde, Anuradha Srivastava, and Sharon Lall-Ramnarine, Biological Sciences and Geology; Drs. Moni Chauhan and Tirandai Hemraj-Benny, Chemistry; Dr. Maria Mercedes Franco, Mathematics and Computer Science; Dr. Patricia Alabre, Nursing and Dr. Parissa Assassi, Health, Physical Education and Dance. 

Dr. Jaafar presented with her cohort of HERS–Luce STEM Fellows, "From Leaders to Force: Sustaining Bold STEM Leadership Through Networks". The cohort’s work is grounded in a grant HERS received to establish the HERS–Luce STEM Leader Community, an initiative designed to support the advancement of STEM Women leaders. “Our shared goal is to build a national community that advances women in STEM in higher education,” said Dr. Jaafar. “Higher education is at a critical moment, and it takes all of us to lead with courage in uncertain times. I am grateful to QCC for sending a group of faculty and for embodying that spirit because we all have a role to play in leading our institutions with courage and expanding the community of women who can do so.” 

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