Faculty
Jessica Elmore
Dr. Jessica Elmore, a dynamic scholar-practitioner, and expert in educational advancement and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), is dedicated to transforming and elevating the landscape of philanthropic engagement through innovative DEIB strategies. With over a decade of experience, Dr. Elmore's work bridges the gap between cultural community engagement and educational advancement, ensuring that all voices and experiences are heard and valued.
Dr. Elmore joined CASE as the Senior Director of Cross-Cultural Learnings within the CASE OIC: Opportunities and Inclusion Centerᵀᴹ. In this role, she has been instrumental in developing CASE’s first online DEIB course, "The Journey Starts with You: DEIB in Advancement," and delivering bespoke training through CASE@Campus. Jessica is responsible for developing the training and content vision for upskilling, enhancing job performance, boosting organizational culture and contributing to the overall growth of an organization's outreach and engagement with their diverse alumni, donors and stakeholders.
Previously, the California native relocated to the Midwest and served as the point person and leader for community relationship building and engagement programming for diverse domestic and international alumni and students for the Kansas State University Alumni Association. In Dr. Elmore’s progressive role, she cultivated over $600,000 from diverse donors and organizations; established a successful diverse volunteer leaders board pipeline, executed over 300 cultural-affiliated alumni and student events, garnering national recognition and professional organization industry awards; served as co-editor for the Association’s first diversity-devoted alumni magazine issue, and was a steadfast campus connector who accumulated an immense amount of social capital resulting in successful collaborations with various campus entities including but not limited to, international programs, athletics, and campus administration.
Jessica's expertise lies in creating award-winning external programming and cultivating relationships with domestic multicultural and international alumni and students. She is an interactive trainer and communicator with a proven track record of helping individuals grasp complex concepts through engaging and approachable methods. Her ability to create environments where people feel confident to navigate new spaces and contribute meaningfully sets her apart in the field of educational advancement. Jessica excels in breaking down intricate ideas into easily digestible insights, empowering participants to not only understand but also apply their knowledge in impactful ways.
Dr. Elmore holds a doctorate in educational leadership, a master’s degree in business administration from Kansas State University, and a mass communication degree from Grambling State University. Her diverse educational background equips her with a unique perspective on the interconnection and nuances of educational advancement.
Driven by a vision of inclusive excellence and social mobility, Dr. Elmore believes in the transformative power of education to create equitable opportunities for all. Her approach is rooted in empathy, collaboration, and a deep understanding of the diverse needs of alumni and donor communities.
Benjamin R. Fiore-Walker
Benjamin R. Fiore-Walker, Ph.D. (He/Him) is originally from Southampton, PA in suburban Philadelphia. Ben received a Ph.D. in neuroscience (psychobiology) from the University of Virginia, and has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. His research area of focus was in the development of brain circuitry as they relate to epilepsy and autism.
Ben comes to his position as the senior director for the Opportunity and Inclusion Center (OIC) after close to 25 years working in the diversity space. Before coming to CASE, Ben was the manager of the Office of Diversity Programs at the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Washington, DC, where he had a broad mandate to develop strategies to build out relationships and initiatives from across the society in order to help ACS live into its core value of diversity, equity, inclusion and respect. Before ACS, he served as a senior managing director for diversity and inclusion at Teach for America (TFA), where he was responsible for devising and quantifying diversity metrics for TFA for the development of initiatives to diversity staff and corps member populations. Prior to TFA, he spent 19 years at the Georgetown University School of Medicine where he was the Associate Dean for Diversity & Inclusion. This work has taken Ben into many elementary and middle schools in underserved areas of the D.C. metro region, where he uses neuroscience to get kids excited about STEM fields and higher education.
Ben has written on and studied diversity climate in higher education and the workplace and is a firm believer that diversity & inclusion matters. Ben believes that even though heterogeneity is the key ingredient to success—with diverse teams being more productive and creative than non-diverse teams, it’s all for not if the members of those diverse teams don’t feel their differences are celebrated or valued. We need both, diversity and inclusion to reach our full potential.