Anna Leigh Bostwick Flaming is the Assistant Provost for Teaching & Learning and Director of the Center for Teaching, where she leads a team of educational developers in designing programs that center equity and excellence in teaching and learning and support faculty, graduate student, and organizational development. At the University of Iowa, Anna is a member of the Teaching Effectiveness Task Force, the Excellence in Teaching and Learning Network, and a founding member of the Provost’s Task Force on First Generation College Students. She has served on many institutional boards and committees, including the General Education Curriculum Committee, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inclusive Excellence 3 (HHMIie3) grant leadership team, the Path Forward Student Success Work Group, and the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies Humanities for the Public Good Advisory Board. She previously led the Early Career Faculty Academy, which she launched and facilitated for seven years; the annual Course Design Institute, which she launched in 2016; the TILE (Transform, Interact, Learn, Engage) Program; the Extraordinary Teaching Project web video series; and the Keep Teaching podcast. Anna’s scholarly interests include inclusive teaching, course and curriculum design, organizational development, the Scholarship of Educational Development (SoED), the history of higher education, and the history of gender. She frequently speaks on a variety of topics, and her work has appeared in publications including the International Journal for Academic Development, the Journal on Centers for Teaching, To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, and EDUCAUSE Review. She is completing a four-year term (chair-elect, two years as chair, and past-chair) leading the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education’s Scholarship Committee, which supports the POD Network’s strategic goal of “advancing evidence-based practice.” She currently serves as a contributing editor for To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development. Anna is affiliate faculty in the Department of Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies. 

Selveyah Gamblin is a fourth-year undergraduate student from Peosta, IA. She is majoring in Political Science with minors in Public Policy and Theatre Arts. Originally from Chicago, IL, Selveyah struggled to find her footing as a Black woman in a new environment, so she fought to be academically active and an advocate for other marginalized communities. At the University of Iowa, Selveyah became involved in leadership through Undergraduate Student Government where she advocated on behalf of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives on campus. After finding her passion for advocacy and promoting inclusive initiatives, she found herself participating in many advisory roles and committees for the Dean of Students, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the UI Honors Program. In the spring of 2022, Selveyah was awarded the 2022 Wynonna G. Hubbard Scholarship through the Celebration of Excellence and Achievement Among Women. She has been awarded several Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates (ICRU) Fellowships from 2021-22. Upon graduation, Selveyah hopes to pursue her passion for political and legal advocacy and continue to provide representation to marginalized voices. She is grateful for the sacrifices her friends and family have made to ensure she is the first of her family to graduate from college and hopes to continue uplifting students after her to succeed. 

Jan Wessel grew up in a small town in the rural countryside near Germany’s border with the Netherlands. In 2008, he became the first in his family to graduate from college when he received a Psychology degree from Germany’s largest university, the University of Cologne. He then went on to earn a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neurology from the Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Diego. In 2015, he established his own NIH-funded lab at the University of Iowa, where him and his colleagues study the human brain’s ability to control thoughts and actions. In 2018, Jan received a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. He used part of the funds included with this award to establish a First-Generation Brain Research Workshop at the University of Iowa. This free multi-day workshop allows first-generation students with interest in neuroscience to explore the methods of human brain research and to gain insights into the world of academic science. In his free time, Jan enjoys camping, woodworking, sports, and playing with his dog.

Michael Aragon-Jacques, Originally from West Liberty, Iowa, Michael is a proud first-generation college student at The University of Iowa. In his time at The University of Iowa, Michael has been an Iowa Edge participant and peer leader. He has also led two Hawkeye Service Break trips including one sponsored by the Center for Diversity and Enrichment. As a first-generation college student, Michael knows the importance of first gen visibility in empowering other first gen students to get involved and he has always strived to be a role model. Michael is a senior at The University of Iowa and will graduate with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communication as well as a certificate in Entrepreneurial Management.

Miguel Angel Jacobo is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Spanish and Interdepartmental Studies on the Pre-Med track. Miguel was born and raised in West Liberty, Iowa. This small town, which has a population of fewer than five thousand residents, is situated just outside of Iowa City and was the first town in Iowa to have a majority Hispanic population. Miguel, who is the oldest of four siblings, has long dreamt of coming to the University of Iowa, especially given its close proximity to his home town. Growing up in a household where neither parent had attended college made the reality of enrolling at the University of Iowa somewhat intimidating. Even though Miguel had always excelled in high school, he arrived at the university feeling uncertain with whether or not he could be just as successful in college. However, because of the numerous academic resources and developmental opportunities available to students, Miguel has continued to excel academically. In addition, upon his arrival Miguel struggled to meet peers with similar interests as his, and he initially found it difficult to connect to campus. Eventually Miguel discovered organizations like the Association of Latinos Moving Ahead (ALMA), the Iowa Edge (TIE) student organization, and other minority-based communities on campus that helped him successfully transition to his new surroundings. Miguel is now president of the Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Director of Public Relations for TIE, a 3rd year Peer Leader for the Iowa Edge Program, a mentor through ALMA, a tutor for TRIO Student Support Services, a Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) Scholar, and a proud student leader that helped push the social media campaign, #DoesUiowaLoveMe. While Miguel has received numerous awards for his academic achievements and service to the University of Iowa and its surrounding communities, he attributes much of his success to the many mentors he has been blessed to cross paths with.