Our Team

Cynthia Linhart, Ph.D.

Dr. Cynthia Linhart serves senior management and board members of colleges and universities, educational institutions, and a wide variety of nonprofit organizations in:

• designing and facilitating strategic, operational, and capital planning processes
• assessing board and internal governance effectiveness
• conducting program and administrative productivity reviews
• guiding executive searches

First serving with KPMG Peat Marwick and throughout her consulting career, Dr. Linhart has focused on providing highly personalized assistance to educational and nonprofit organizations in building commitment to change. At the centerpiece of her consulting approach, she designs processes, quantitative models, and benchmarking tools to support data-based and informed decision-making about organizational futures and issues. She also facilitates strategic discussions among management and constituent groups, often representing disparate views, to build consensus.

Prior to initiating her consulting career in 1986, she served and gained twelve years of management experience at the University of Pittsburgh. While at the University, she provided support to the President and senior staff by conducting special analytic studies and preparing documents for policy development, planning, and decision-making. Included in her work were studies related to intercollegiate athletics, including academic support services, academic progress assessment, and facilities. She also served as Executive Secretary of the Commission for Commonwealth Universities and represented The Pennsylvania State University, Temple University, and the University of Pittsburgh at the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities where she worked in collaboration with representatives from Pennsylvania's other higher education sectors. In addition, she represented the Commonwealth Universities at all State Board of Education meetings and worked closely with the Commissioner for Higher Education on special issues.

Dr. Linhart contributes to the educational and nonprofit communities through her presentations, training seminars, and publications. She has presented papers and published articles reflecting a wide variety of issues in education and nonprofit management, including strategic planning and finance. She assisted the Presidents Commission on Collegiate Athletics of the American Council on Education as it deliberated the impact of various national athletic governing bodies on institutional management. In addition, Dr. Linhart was a contributing author to KPMG Peat Marwick's proprietary strategic planning toolkit, The Resource Development System, and served as an instructor in strategic planning seminars for many diverse nonprofit organizations. As an adjunct faculty member, she has designed and taught graduate courses in educational planning and management and in statistics, research design, and evaluation methodology at the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Linhart received a B.A. with honors in Psychology from Chatham College, and a M.A. degree in Educational Research and a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Pittsburgh.

Patrick Meskell

Mr. Patrick Meskell provides expertise in growing organizational and individual capacities to perform at a consistently higher level. He has extensive experience and knowledge in:

• creating positive and enduring organizational cultures based on the empowering concepts of ownership, commitment and accountability
• building team alignment and effectiveness
• establishing goal setting and measurement systems on a personal and organizational level
• designing and implementing company and unit wide systems for
• change management
• personnel
• customer satisfaction measurement
• executive and management coaching and development

Mr. Meskell has over thirty years experience in creating and leading organizations. He has led recruitment, training and development functions in the ESB, Ireland’s largest electric utility, with over 12,000 people. He has been founder of two software companies that created and distributed innovative software products to the global financial markets. As Director of Organizational Development for the Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae), he was responsible for leading company-wide efforts to improve the financial bottom line, the customer experience and the performance culture. As Executive Vice President of Operations and member of the Board of Silver Diner, a regional restaurant company, he was responsible for all elements of company operations including: strategy design, execution, planning, budgeting, goal setting, leadership development, brand delivery, customer experience and workplace culture development. He was responsible for all elements of operational and financial performance.

Mr. Meskell has opened and closed facilities, allocated or reallocated staff and resources, operated under expanded or reduced budgets, developed and implemented strategies, plans and budgets, led or endured rapid changes in an organizations or its leadership, hired and fired, promoted and demoted.

Through his experience working in many different industries, in different countries and cultures, with different company sizes including startups and established and successful corporations and working closely with highly diverse workforces of all ages from many different countries, Mr. Meskell has developed a unique set of perspectives, understanding, strategies and tactics to successfully confront the many challenging and changing issues that 21 st organizations face. For example, his experience in creating and operating de novo businesses links to the need for athletic associations and conferences to be nimble and adaptable while continuing to focus on their core mission. His experience in creating high performance cultures in restaurants directly connects with the need for athletic departments to grow their own organizational performance culture that is less reliant on mandates from management and more based on developing each individual’s capacity and desire to contribute.

Mr. Meskell retired from Silver Diner in 2011. He currently sits on some non-profit boards, coaches young leaders on a voluntary basis and has a private consulting practice.

He is married to Darlene S. Meskell and lives in Washington DC

Mr. Meskell has a B.A. in European History and Politics and an honorary degree of M.Sc. Philosophy from University of Limerick. He studied in the Masters Program of Organizational Learning and Development at George Mason University. He has several certificates in the fields of Total Quality Management and Training.

Carol Eddy, M.A.

Providing Expertise in:

• developing and managing constituency-based institutional advancement programs
• designing development programs and targeted fund raising strategies
• training and motivating staff, volunteers, and Board leadership in a wide range of fund raising techniques
• preparing solicitation materials, proposals, and publications
• improving donor records management and research

Most recently, Ms. Eddy has completed a year-long project with Amnesty International USA to design, staff, and implement an expanded major gifts program which successfully increased income by 20%. Her responsibilities included identifying and recruiting donors at or above the $10,000 gift level, creating gift categories, preparing leadership for donor visits, staging cultivation events, and creating materials. Past projects include assisting the American Museum of the Moving Image with long-term cultivation of new prospects, providing the Westchester Arts Council with technical assistance to mid-size organizations, and assisting the Environmental Defense Fund with program planning.

From 1987 to 1993, Ms. Eddy was Director of Major Gifts at the Environmental Defense Fund’s New York headquarters. She was responsible for $3 million in annual gifts; worked with trustees on face-to-face solicitations; handled special events, mailings, proposals, and overall fund raising program design; and coordinated nation-wide fund raising activities for six offices. Her tenure included the establishment of donor records management and gift tracking systems that enabled segmented solicitations.

Prior to 1987, she served as Director of Development of the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University for three years where she managed annual campaigns, foundation/corporation giving, and a $4 million capital project and recruited members of new executive board and volunteer committees. She also served as Director of the DeGolyer Estate, a division of the Dallas Department of Cultural Affairs, where she was responsible for program development and fund raising for a cultural center, event planning, volunteer management, and consensus building in city-wide arts projects. Preceding her fund raising career, Ms. Eddy was Assistant Director of Education at the Joslyn Art Museum, managing the Museum’s education program, including an extensive series of fine art classes.

She is affiliated with the National Society of Fundraising Executives, the Planned Giving Group of Greater New York, and Women in Financial Development and has trained in development with the Grantsmanship Center, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, and the Williamsburg Development Institute. An active workshop leader and trainer herself, she has presented for the Support Center of New York, the American Council for the Arts, the Nonprofit Management Association, and many more organizations.

Ms. Eddy holds a B.A. with distinction in Fine Arts from Indiana University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a M.A. in Humanities from the University of Texas at Dallas. Ms. Eddy is also a fine artist in the medium of ceramic sculpture, with several gallery and exhibition projects to her credit and several years of experience as an art instructor.

Richard Laskowski, Ed.D.

Dr. Richard F. Laskowski has just completed his 30th year as an administrator in higher education. His first nineteen years were at St. John's University where he served as the first full time academic counselor for the student athletes, then as the Assistant Director of Intramurals, Recreation, and Club Sports, the Director of Intramurals, Recreation and Club Sports, Assistant Director of Athletics, and then the Associate Director of Athletics. In 1993 he accepted the position of Dean, Physical Education and Athletics at Stony Brook University with the Athletic Director as a direct report. His first mandate was to elevate the athletic program to Division I from Division III. He achieved this goal in 1999 and joined the America East Conference in 2001.

While at St. John's, Dr. Laskowski's responsibilities included radio, television, and arena contracts, scheduling for men's basketball, the department’s liaison for the men’s basketball trip to Spain and served as the St. John's representative to the NIT’s summer basketball tour of Australia. He was the Chair of the Big East Tennis Committee, and a member of the baseball and soccer committees. At the 10th anniversary of the Big East, he was recognized as an "Outstanding Administrator " in the conference.

During Dr. Laskowski's ten-year tenure at Stony Brook the athletics budget grew from less than $1,000,000 per year to the current $9,300,000. New facilities included the $26,000,000 LaValle stadium, home for the Seawolves football, lacrosse, and soccer teams, a new softball stadium, and six new tennis courts. Major improvements to the baseball facility, the Sports Complex arena, the Pritchard Gym, the weight training facility, and all outdoor practice facilities also were implemented. Revenue increased from 50K to more than $1,500,000 this year. The department now funds 200 athletic scholarships as compared to zero in 1994. The athletics staff tripled in size and its diversity improved dramatically. In its second year in the America East Conference, five teams played in the Conference championship games in their respective sports.

Dr. Laskowski has extensive experience in college athletics, having been a scholarship student athlete, a coach, an umpire, a counselor and advisor, a member of the faculty, and an administrator. He served on the Board of Directors of the New England Collegiate Conference and the America East Conference, and presently serves on the Board of Directors for the ECAC. He has recently been nominated for the Board of Directors of Florida Atlantic University's MBA Sports Management program.

Dr. Laskowski earned four degrees from St. John's University: a BA in the Social Sciences, an MA in Guidance and Counseling, a PD in Guidance and Counseling, and an Ed.D. in Administration. He was inducted into Phi Delta Kappa and the Golden Key Honor Society. He was one of seventy individuals chosen worldwide to study at the East-West Institute of Asian Studies at the University of Hawaii. In 2000, Dr. Laskowski was invited to South Africa to advise the government on promoting and marketing their sports program locally, nationally, and internationally.

Martin Maguire

Mr. Maguire is a security professional with an outstanding twenty-seven year law enforcement career with the Drug Enforcement Administration. He supervised and directed many high level and complex criminal investigations both domestically and internationally. He has managed numerous types of investigations involving narcotics, money laundering, drug related homicides and internal affairs issues. He spent several years in Germany and was the DEA's advisor to both the German Federal and State Police. His last three years with the Department of Justice were spent in the Office of the Inspector General where he was in charge of the New York Field Office of Internal Affairs.

Upon retirement from the DEA, he became the Vice President of a corporate investigative firm, Sutton Associates, with responsibility for its Due Diligence Department. He provided comprehensive intelligence concerning corporations and their principals thus enabling clients to make informed business decisions.

In 2000 he joined Major League Baseball as Director of Investigations. He helped develop and implement security procedures for all thirty Major League Baseball Stadiums in the post- Sept 11th environment. He formulated the security protocols and crowd control measures for several World Series, All Star Games and international contests and was responsible for protecting the integrity of our national pastime. As a security consultant, he has done security assessments for several school districts and professional sports teams. In 2004 he was the law enforcement liaison for the contemplated New York Jets Stadium and continues to maintain extensive liaison contacts within both the New York City Police and Fire Departments. He performed an extensive security assessment for both Yankee Stadium and the Yankee team itself during their road games' travels to enhance their security procedures.

His investigations have included specific incidents of crowd misconduct, such as the infamous Gamboa incident in Chicago during which a father and son assaulted a coach on field. He reported his findings to the Commissioner of Baseball along with several remedial action points that were subsequently initiated. His experience and foresight in recognizing potentially life threatening crowd control issues made him one of the most respected authorities in professional sports security. He continues to consult with MLB and has made presentations before stadium operations directors' conferences and other collegiate and professional sports organizations such as the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA).

Mr. Maguire is licensed and bonded as Private Investigator by the New York Department of State. He received a B.S. in History from St. Peter's College Jersey City, New Jersey.

Howard Bell, M.S., M.P.P.

President and Co-Owner
Bell & Trice Enterprises, Inc.
Washington, D.C. 2006

Howard W. Bell, Jr. is the President and co-owner of Bell & Trice Enterprises, Inc. (BTE), which for over 10 years has provided business and policy consulting and training services. BTE assists higher education institutions, nonprofit institutions, governmental agencies, and businesses identify and implement innovative solutions to complex and difficult challenges and problems. Among the services offered by BTE are financial analysis and management services, change management services, the creation of high performance teams, information technology management, and legal policy management.

Prior to managing BTE full time, Mr. Bell was the Vice President for Administrative Services and Information Technologies at the University of Cincinnati. In this capacity he was the chief business, operations, and information technology officer of the University. Earlier he was the Vice President for Finance and Budget at Fisk University where he was the chief business, finance, and budget officer. Over the last three decades, Mr. Bell has had careers in banking, real estate development, and educational administration. He has over 25 years of experience working with institutions of higher education either as an administrator or a consultant. Mr. Bell has been active in the leadership and management of major units in a variety of organizations, including the following: a private for-profit organization with operations in six states; a small historically black university; and a large, complex public university. He has been involved in the start-up and operation of a division of a for-profit organization and the development and implementation of business turnaround strategies at a number of colleges and universities.

Mr. Bell earned a B.S. in Engineering and a certificate in Science and Human Affairs from Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey where he received the M. Taylor Pyne Honor Prize, the Frederick Douglass Service Award, and the Princeton Engineering Award for Journalism. He also holds an M.S. in Management from the Alfred P. Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Masters in Public Policy (M.P.P.) from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Mr. Bell’s professional and volunteer activities are varied and have included serving on the following governing boards: Association of Public Television Stations (Lay Vice Chairman of the Board), National Black Programming Consortium (Chairman of the Board), Cincinnati Ballet-- Affiliate Board of Trustees Member, WCET-TV (Chairman of the Board for this public television station), and Greater Cincinnati Literacy Task Force.

Sheila Trice Bell, J.D.

Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Co-owner, and Co-founder
Bell & Trice Enterprises, Inc.
Washington, D.C. 2006

Sheila Trice Bell is Executive Vice President, General Counsel, co-founder and co-owner of Bell & Trice Enterprises, Inc. For over 30 years as a higher education leader, executive and consultant, she has served colleges, universities, governmental agencies, and non-profits by:

• Designing, facilitating, implementing and evaluating strategic, operational, and budgetary planning processes,
• Identifying and advising on accreditation requirements, status, and compliance plans,
• Engaging in policy development including regulatory requirements,
• Assessing and working collaboratively with clients to improve services,
• Advising governing boards regarding governance policies, procedures and effectiveness,
• Facilitating board governance activities including collaborative gap analysis and retreat facilitation,
• Advising colleges and universities on shared governance models, policies, procedures and best practices,
• Assessing and advising colleges and universities on compliance and enterprise risk management (ERM) issues,
• Coaching non-profit and higher education executives,
• Advising on executive searches,
• Advising on intercollegiate athletics organizations and operations,
• Recommending and facilitating change management initiatives

Ms. Bell’s experience includes having served as the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer for the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), which serves U.S. and international higher education institutions. As NACUA’s CEO she led the Association’s overall operations during a strategic planning process that resulted in significant growth of services and increased financial health. She was the association’s designated liaison with federal agencies and higher education associations and managed the collection, review and dissemination of information on legal developments in higher education to NACUA member institutions and their lawyers.

With over 30 years of experience in higher education law, she was the general counsel for a public university (Northern Kentucky University) and a private university (Fisk University). She was the chief board professional for a public higher education system (Colorado State University System). She has taught Higher Education Law as an adjunct professor at The George Washington University Law School.

Ms. Bell received her B.A. degree from Wellesley College and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. She is admitted to the Massachusetts, Tennessee, Kentucky and District of Columbia Bars. She is also admitted to practice before several federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court.

Ms. Bell’s professional and volunteer activities are varied. She was the Secretary/Treasurer of the Board of Directors of United Educators (UE) (an insurance company owned by and serving education institutions). She was a member of the Board of Directors of the American Council on Education, the Washington Higher Education Secretariat, and the White Rose Foundation. Her accreditation experience includes serving on: the Committee on Accreditation for the American Psychological Association; and accreditation follow-up teams of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

Ms Bell is a recipient of the 1995 Thomas S. Biggs, Jr. Award, awarded by Stetson College of Law at the National Conference on Law & Higher Education, for dedicated legal service to the university community.

In 2010, the Lumina Foundation named Ms. Bell as a source of expertise on issues related to college productivity. In February of 2015 she was honored to be invited as a thought leader in higher education to a Lumina Foundation convening to explore the redesigning of the traditional higher education model.

Ms. Bell has written and spoken extensively on a wide range of issues at numerous conferences and workshops over the past 30+ years.

Janie Williams

Assistant Athletics Director for Human Resources
Texas A&M University, Athletic Department

Janie Williams is in her 27th year with the Texas A&M Athletics Department, initially starting out as a business assistant in 1991 and working her way up to her current position of assistant athletics director for human resources.

Promoted to the assistant athletics director position in 2015, Williams supervises the daily operations of the Athletics Human Resources staff (2 full-time and 4 part-time) and also oversees for all phases of human resources from new hire through termination for the department. Williams is responsible for employee payroll for a department of 1,300 plus assisting 265 full-time employees with benefit elections. Williams is responsible for numerous other mandatory comprehensive reports, including the annual NCAA Sport Sponsorship and Demographics Report.

In addition to ensuring annual performance evaluations are completed for all budgeted staff, Williams ensures that required state and federal training is completed by all wage and budgeted staff. She also tracks all employment contracts and serves as a liaison between University Contract Administration and department administration, as well as between University Open Records Office for Athletics, Athletic Compliance and Reed Arena.

Williams has played an integral part in football post season preparations for over 25 years. She has organizing bowl logistics for football staff, athletics administrators and VIPs.

Williams also represents the Texas A&M Athletic Department on numerous committees and organizations, including the Human Resources Liaison Advisory Resource Group, the Council of Senior Business Administrators. She has been a member of the College Athletic Business Management Association for 18 years. She also is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Directors. In addition, Williams is past president of the Bryan Rotary Club of Bryan, Texas, and she currently serves on the organization’s board of directors.

The China Lake, California, native received her bachelor of business administration degree in accounting from Texas A&M in 1998, and she is scheduled to complete her master’s degree in human resource development at Texas A&M in May 2018.

The former Janie Crowson is married to Charlie Williams, and the couple resides in Bryan, Texas.