State of the University 2026: Guest Panelists

Michele L. Heath, D.B.A., is faculty director of the CSU Talent Hub and associate professor of management in the Monte Ahuja College of Business, where she teaches courses in health care administration and human resource management. She conducts health care research focused on how clinicians and organizations respond to new technology and implementation challenges. Her research also examines vulnerable populations, including low-wage workers and the ways in which leadership, governance, culture, conflict, team composition and change management shape their organizational experiences. Her work has been published in journals including Human Resource Management, Health Care Management Review, Health Policy & Technology, Information Systems Management and American Journal of Business. It has also appeared in The Journal of Management Education, Information & Management and Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, as well as in the proceedings of the Americas Conference on Information Systems, the Southern Management Association, and the Midwest Association for Information Systems. Heath serves as president of the Midwest Academy of Management and is the incoming Professional Development Workshop chair for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Division of the Academy of Management.

Janine Kaiser serves as the inaugural executive director of the CSU Talent Hub, focused on partnerships and operations. Before joining CSU in August 2026, she led an independent consulting practice for over 10 years, focused on strategy and implementation in education, workforce and economic development, especially related to helping students and workers advance in their careers.

Kaiser’s previous experience includes working on the economic forecasting team of Eaton Corporation, implementing a randomized control trial research study in Mexico on a Fulbright grant and serving as a senior consultant at SF Bay Area-based Collaborative Economics. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Case Western Reserve University and a master’s of public policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Kristina Milia is a visiting assistant college lecturer and doctoral student in the School of Education and Counseling within Levin College of Public Affairs and Education. She also serves as faculty advisor for the Education and Social Services Collective and the Ohio Education Association's Aspiring Educators. Before entering higher education, Kristina worked in special education, where she observed significant gaps in interdisciplinary collaboration across schools and alternative education programs. Milia has been an engaged partner with the Talent Hub and has developed a curricular proposal that connects academic learning, career readiness and experiential opportunities across education and health science majors. She was drawn to the initiative because of its potential to strengthen collaboration across disciplines and colleges and to help students identify and navigate clearer, more equitable pathways toward earning their degrees and pursuing meaningful professional goals.