Alumni Advisory Board Welcomes New Executive Committee and 3 New Members

Seasoned board members assume executive leadership roles while new nominees join the ranks of the Rollins College Alumni Advisory Board.   

The Alumni Advisory Board supports and advances the mission of Rollins College by providing leadership and guidance in the areas of alumni programming, volunteerism, and engagement. Each spring, a new executive committee takes the helm and new board memberships are selected and confirmed.  

EXPERIENCED LEADERSHIP 

John Henry ’88 ’90MBA P’18, Robiaun Charles ’94, and Laurie Strehl ’75 have stepped into the executive committee roles of Immediate Past President, President, and Vice President, respectively. The leadership and wisdom of these dedicated members will elevate the partnership between the Board and the Division of Institutional Advancement and Office of Alumni Engagement.  

After completing two 3-year terms on the Alumni Advisory Board, John Henry now begins a new term as Alumni Trustee on the Rollins College Board of Trustees. His volunteerism with Rollins began in 2004 with the Rollins Alumni Dallas Regional Council and Rollins alumni network. That same year, Henry’s daughter was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes, inspiring him and his wife, Pam ’90, to found the MyCareConnect Foundation, serving over 40,000 people through partnerships with K-12 schools and Children’s Hospitals around the United States. He is the proud father of two Rollins alumni.

Of his dedication to the Rollins community, Henry states, “Simply put, serving on the Rollins Alumni Board is my way of fulfilling another passion: Rollins and the discipline of a liberal arts education.”  

Beginning her first term on the Alumni Board in 2004, Robiaun Charles’s second and current term began in 2020. Charles is the senior consultant and managing partner at ECG (Eynonye Consulting Group) and she serves as the National Co-Chair of the Rollins Annual Fund. An accomplished leader in higher education and nonprofit organizations, Charles holds a master's degree from Georgia State, attended Harvard’s Graduate School of Business, and earned a doctorate in higher education from Vanderbilt. In 2019, she was the commencement speaker for the Rollins College of Liberal Arts graduating class. 

“One of my favorite quotes from an anonymous author is ‘If serving is beneath you, then leadership is beyond you.’ I was afforded many opportunities as a Rollins student. The opportunity to give back to my alma mater by serving on the alumni board is a tremendous honor and one that I deeply hope inspires future alumni leaders who represent the kaleidoscope of diversity in our world today.”  

After retiring from a career in the molecular biological and pharmaceutical fields, Laurie Strehl moved back to the Central Florida area where she actively volunteers and serves her community. In addition to serving her third year on the Rollins Alumni Board, she volunteers at the Freedom Ride Therapeutic Horseback Riding Program providing therapeutic horseback riding and related activities for children and adults with disabilities. Strehl also serves as secretary of the University Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. and is a member of the Rollins Cloverleaf Society. 

Embarking on her third year with the Alumni Board, Strehl states “I feel being a member of the board is a wonderful combination of being useful to the Rollins community and a great deal of fun.” 

FRESH PERSPECTIVES 

The Alumni Board is a model of leadership to all alumni, serving as ambassadors and advocates of Rollins College. New members Joseph Berguiristain ’18 ’19MBA, Jasmine Flores ’18, and Geoffrey Higgins ’94 look forward to bringing new voices and insights to the upcoming 2023-24 term.  

A real estate attorney based in Miami working with lenders, borrowers, investors, and developers on commercial real estate transactions, Joseph Berguiristain handles the acquisition, construction financing, and disposition of various property types across multifamily, commercial, and industrial asset classes. He also advises on leasing matters involving commercial properties. While a student at Rollins, he was a member of the men’s soccer team and served as president of the Interfraternity Council, where he was voted as the Fraternity & Sorority Life’s Leader of the Year.    

An alumna of the Holt School, Jasmine Flores was actively involved in the Alumni Engagement Office during her time as a Rollins student. While working as community relations manager at Massey Services, Inc., she is passionate about serving with various non-profit organizations. She is currently president of The Rotary Club of Maitland, chairperson for the Maitland Rotary Art Festival Foundation and serves on several nonprofit boards, including Aeras Foundation, the Sharing Center’s Young Professional Board, and Junior Achievement of Central Florida’s Leadership Council. 

An English major and former resident of Los Angeles, Geoffrey Higgins has spent the last three decades working in the video game industry. He currently holds the position of executive producer for game development company Amplifier Studios (formerly Amplifier Game Invest), guiding his team to successfully navigate the development process and ship profitable titles. Higgens began attending Alumni Weekend in 2016, rekindling his love for Rollins, and is excited to join this year’s Alumni Board.