Tues., June 27 | 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM | Grand Ballroom 5-6

The annual EACE Leadership Empowerment Series provides personal and professional development for those who are interested in starting, continuing or pushing the boundaries of their exploration and practice of leadership.

Panelists Include:

Camille Franklin – Global Executive Diversity Leader, Oracle

Camille Franklin is Oracle’s first Global Executive Diversity Program Leader, charged with leading Oracle’s executive diversity attraction and engagement strategy. Prior to joining Oracle in 2022, she served as General Dynamic Information Technology’s (GDIT) Director of Talent Experience and Strategic Programs, where she had oversight of onboarding and new hire programs, diversity recruiting, and early talent and university programs. Camille’s expertise is in talent strategy and programs, and her passion is helping high potential talent from underrepresented communities advance their careers. She has been doing this for over 25 years, including stints at Booz Allen Hamilton and Northrop Grumman. 

Camille worked in higher education career services leadership for many years serving as the Director of Career Development at the American University Career Center and the Director of Career Services at the College of Professional Studies at George Washington University.  She was an active member in EACE and NACE, having completed the NACE Management Leadership Institute and presented many times at both conferences.

Camille is a proud alumna of Howard University and received her master’s degree at George Washington University. She is an avid traveler and foodie having, among other things, lived a year in Italy trying to perfect her Italian and spent a couple of months in Germany as a Fulbright Fellow exploring early career development in Europe.

William Jones – Executive Director of Career Exploration and Success, Rutgers University

William (Wil) Jones is the Executive Director of Career Exploration and Success at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. In his role, he oversees career services for a broad array of Rutgers academic programs on the university’s New Brunswick campus. He provides leadership to the department and works collaboratively to develop strategic roadmaps for the Rutgers career ecosystem.

At Rutgers, Wil co-founded the industry-centric career cluster approach to service delivery that has become a national model. Professional associations have recognized Wil as a rising star (NACE), a leader in innovation excellence (NACE and ACPA), and most recently, the Hire Big 10 Career Consortium bestowed him with the David S. Bechtel Outstanding Career Services Professional Award. He is very active in the national career services community, serving in various leadership roles within NACE and the Big 10—including being chair of the Big 10 career consortium. He has helped contribute to the broader knowledge base within the community through various peer-reviewed articles within the NACE Career Journal and national and regional presentations.

Before working at Rutgers, Wil was the Associate Director for External Relations & Information Technology for the University Career Center & The President's Promise at the University of Maryland, College Park. There he managed the Employer Relations Team, public relations and marketing team, and the information technologies team.

Wil considers himself a "Terp for Life." He earned his master's degree from the college student personnel program at the University of Maryland, where his research interests focused on the career decision-making self-efficacy of student leaders. He also received his bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland in government and politics.

Dr. Dereck J. Rovaris Sr. – VP for Equity and Strategic Initiatives, St. Mary’s College of Maryland

Since May 2022, Dr. Dereck J. Rovaris, Sr., has served as the inaugural Vice President for Equity and Strategic Initiatives at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. This Executive Cabinet role is responsible for leading all the College’s inclusive diversity initiatives, programs, and directives. He is the former Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Lead Diversity Officer at Louisiana State University. Serving in that role from 2014-2021, he was a principal advisor to the president and provost as well as the campus community on matters involving equity, diversity and inclusion. Five of his last 6 years there witnessed record numbers of underrepresented students in each of the entering freshmen classes as well as record numbers of graduates who were students of color, first generation and Pell eligible students in each of those six graduating classes.

Rovaris’s career in higher education included 25 years of service at Xavier University of Louisiana where he directed several nationally recognized student programs. He has several publications on graduate school placement and diversity as well as a book on the legendary Dr. Benjamin E. Mays. Dr. Rovaris has served as an educational consultant, conducted workshops, and been a featured speaker on the local, national, and international level.  He recently received the W.E.B. DuBois Award for higher education from the National Alliance for Black School Educators. 

He has served and continues to serve on a variety of educational and non-profit boards including the Board of the University of Holy Cross, the Board of Notre Dame Seminary, the Council of Fellows Board for the American Council on Education, the Subcommittee on Higher Education of 100 Black Men of America, Inc., and served as national President for the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education. He earned a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Illinois, an M.A. in Guidance and Counseling from Xavier University of LA, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas with a triple major in Psychology; Human Development and Family Life; and Crime and Delinquency Studies. This son of New Orleans is happily married to Angela and together they share six adult children and their spouses, as well as nine amazing grandchildren.

Session moderated by Jill Milon, 2021-2022 EACE President