Executive LEadership TEAM

Dr. Pedro J. Santana has worked within progressive leadership positions within Academia for over two decades cultivating relationships with individuals, businesses, K-12 school districts, higher education and government. He served on numerous boards, and held several teaching appointments, served as an accreditation evaluator and compliance reviewer and holds several memberships in professional organizations, community groups and societies. In his professional capacities as a university administrator and educator, he interacted with thousands of parents, students, alumni, and community leaders on initiatives that aligned with institutional goals and priorities. 

Dr. Santana completed doctoral work in business and holds multiple master’s degrees in student personnel administration/higher education, organizational management and completed significant coursework in global affairs. In addition to his formal schooling, Dr. Santana also completed the Institute for Education Management at Harvard University. Santana also participated and received a certificate in fundraising management (CFRM) from the Indiana University, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Other notable executive leadership programs that Dr. Santana participated in included the year-long Leadership New Jersey Fellows program, and the Executive Leadership Academy (ELA), a year-long program cosponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and the American Academic Leadership Institute to prepare experienced provosts and vice presidents to become successful presidents.

Evelyn Fernandez-Ketcham, LCSW is Executive Director of Workforce Development at Hostos Community College (CUNY) – Division of Continuing Education and Workforce Development, where she manages a portfolio of federal, state, and city contracts, including privately funded projects for workforce development and literacy programs. She is a PH.D. candidate in the Social Welfare program at Yeshiva University – Wurzweiler School of Social Work and holds a Master of Science from Columbia University’s School of Social Work. 

Mrs. Fernandez-Ketcham’s professional and scholarly interests focus on the “intersection of education, workforce and economic development.” She has traveled extensively to better understand education and workforce development practices, including: the Polytechnic of Central London, CDS International’s 2 week tour of Germany’s dual education system and apprenticeship model in Cologne and Berlin, and as a Marano Fellow with The Aspen Institute.

She established the non-profit New Heights Neighborhood Center as part of a five-year grant from the US Department of Labor’s School-to-Work Initiative, developing a comprehensive service model for youth (18-24 years old), marrying education, workforce and economic development. 

Evelyn is an active board member of the New York City Water Board, appointed by the Mayor of the City of New York in 2017. Board member of Dominican Studies Association (DSA) and a CUNY Dominican Studies Institute (DSI)Fellow. Member of the 2020 Conference Committee for the Council for Adult Education (CAEL). 

Evelyn Fernandez-Ketcham was born and raised in Washington Heights in New York City; she resides in the Bronx with her husband and four children.

Dr. Wanda M. Davis | is Professor Emeritus within the graduate faculty at SUNY Buffalo State and has served various institutions of higher education for over 30 years both in academic and student affairs | served in the roles of Chair and on the faculty in the graduate department of Higher Education Administration at Buffalo State and as an Associate Vice President and Dean of Undergraduate Studies. She also served in administration, advancing from resident director to Associate Dean for Student Life | serves as a Senior Lead Consultant with Deal With Management |serves as an Educational Consultant for curriculum and grant development | member or trustee on several foundation boards | chaired and conducted searches for cabinet level positions | served on SUNY Wide Faculty and Diversity Award Review Board | developed and delivered resident and online courses and serves on several national editorial boards | member on numerous assessment committees | chaired personnel and curriculum committees for department and College Senate | serves as a trustee and as an expert consultant to several national foundation boards | served as NCATE reviewer for undergraduate education | designed and delivered several successful faculty development initiatives | continues to conduct research and publish to expand the depth and breadth necessary for an informed professional practice |is a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow. 

Dr. Lewis A. Leitner is currently Professor of Management at Stockton University in southern New Jersey. His college courses and research have focused on leadership, organizational excellence, stress, customer service, entrepreneurship, total quality management, rethinking the future and strategic planning. Dr. Leitner has extensive experience as a human resources trainer and organizational consultant. He has conducted hundreds of workshops in the areas of strategic planning, leadership, customer service, executive team building, quality improvement and stress management. He is a recipient of a Speaker’s Award from the International Management Council. Dr. Leitner has also served as Project Director for several extensive visitor profile surveys for New Jersey shore communities and has designed and conducted comprehensive customer service and leadership development programs for several Atlantic City casino hotels. Dr. Leitner has been invited to keynote many conferences and organizational retreats. His most recent keynote addresses have focused on the topics of “Leadership and the Demands of a Changing World”, “Competitive Skill Sets for the 21st Century”,  and “Exploring an Unimaginable Future”. He has been a speaker at the World University Forum in British Columbia. He has also published dozens of articles in a variety of journals and has presented papers at a variety of academic conferences and meetings.

Vicki T. Sapp, PhD | Director, Student Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion & Assistant Professor Department of Medical Education, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. Dr. Sapp has over 20 years of experience in higher education and 15 have been directly focused on inclusion, diversity, equity, access, retention, and success (IDEA+RS). Dr. Sapp is an administrator, researcher, educator, scholar, mentor, and service provider. Her research, scholarship and publications focus on making the inVISIBLE visible. She focuses on first-generation and student of color populations, college access, retention and success, social justice, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and healthcare topics. 

Dr. Sapp is responsible for bringing the Safe Zone project (LGBTQA+) to GCSOM. Additionally, she trains, coordinates and is responsible for the design, development and continuous enhancement of the GCSOM Professional Identity Formation Cultural Humility Curriculum: 3-Part Series Inclusive Conversations Curriculum; 3-Part Series Implicit Bias Curriculum, and 3-Part Series LGBTQA+ Curriculum. Moreover, Dr. Sapp is responsible for implementing initiatives such as the Diversity Challenge Pledge, Diversity Video, Courage Card, Cultural Humility Certificate Program, Cultural Bazaars, Admissions Diversity Presentations, Cultural Biographies, Cultural Banner Series and several other small programs and sense of belonging initiatives for students, faculty, and staff. 

She is also a Title IX Resources Advisor, Emotional Intelligent Coach, Cook Ross Implicit Bias, Green Dot Sexual Assault Bystander Intervene, Safe Zone (LGBTQA+), and Mental Health First Aid Trainer. She has her Title IX Level One Coordinator certificate. She serves as a board member on several boards: Geisinger’s Diversity and Inclusion Council, GCSOM Accessibility and Learning Environment Committees, Geisinger’s Employee Resource Group Black Outreach and Leadership Development (BOLD) – Co-Chair, Black Scranton Project – Director for Community Health Initiatives, Northeastern Pennsylvania Diversity Education Consortium (NEPDEC) – Membership and Recruitment, Co-Chair, NEPA Rainbow Alliance – Education, Robert A. Davis Scholarship – Lifetime Member, Sapp Family Scholarship Fund, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and National Association for the Advancement of Color People (NAACP) Wilkes Barre Branch #2306.

Dr. Cesar Cabrera was born in the Dominican Republic and came to the United States at the age of eight. He learned English in the city public schools when there was genuine bilingual education available. He is a graduate of D’Youville’s Educational Leadership Doctoral program. Dr. Cabrera also completed a certificate with the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, the Executive Education Program at the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs. Dr. Cabrera’s research includes the K-20 schooling of Latinx students and other racialized groups in the United States. Recently his scholarship focuses on the intersection of Latinas in STEM education, the persistent underrepresentation of this population in high tech occupations, and the institutional biases Latinas encounter in the sciences in schooling and in the workplace. Other areas of expertise are Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), and the impact HSIs have on the retention and graduation completion rates of Latinx STEM students.      

Dr. Cabrera has served as a director on numerous boards including Hispanics United of Buffalo, Los Tainos Senior Citizens Center, Public Policy and Education Fund, and Aids Family Services. In addition, he was one of the founders of La Prensa Hispana, a Hispanic monthly newspaper. Mr. Cabrera served a four-year term as a member of the City of Buffalo’s Citizens Planning Council. He has received several awards including the Buffalo Bills/NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award, 2015. He was voted one of Ten Emerging Twenty-Something Western New Yorkers by the Buffalo News in 1995. In 2002, Mr. Cabrera was named to the “40 Under Forty” honor roll by Business First. In 2004, Mr. Cabrera was a nominee for the United Way’s Community Hero Awards.  

Alex Rodriguez helps successful companies raise their visibility, transform their brand, and attract more 

business. His specializes in attractive launch campaigns for brands, events, products, and ideas. 

Throughout two decades, he has developed successful online experiences for renowned brands such as Disney World, Disney Land, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Herschend Family Entertainment, HSN, Publix Supermarkets, Sony Music Entertainment, AB InBev among others, and many of these have produced millions of dollars in sales in record periods of time. 

Alex has produced strategic digital content for clients in 4 different continents and three different languages (English, Spanish, and Mandarin). 

He has also received some of the most prestigious awards in Web, Advertising, and Social Media, including:

Webby Awards, Official Honoree

Tampa Bay Business Journal, “Best Use of Social Media” 

(two years consecutively)

Addy Awards

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Gulf Guardian Award 

Alex heads the team at YMMY Marketing, a creative digital agency specialized in helping businesses connect their brands with potential customers, using a wide variety of digital tactics and we are excited that he is the latest addition to the Deal With It Management Team.

Since very young, he discovered the power of digital media to connect an individual’s need with an accurate solution.

He is the author of the Amazon best-seller, Digital BACON: Make Your Online Presence Irresistibly Attractive, and Sell You Before You Sell, the host of the iTunes New & Noteworthy podcast The Digital Marketing Minute, as well as a bilingual speaker for conferences and events.