The Burgess Institute's executive in residence program is a cornerstone of hands-on learning and mentorship. By bringing seasoned leaders to campus, the program offers students direct access to professionals who excel in the global marketplace. This exposure provides students with invaluable insights into real-world business practices, leadership and industry trends, regardless of their academic focus.
Beyond classroom knowledge, the program fosters student networking, potentially opening doors to internships and future career opportunities. Ultimately, by connecting students with accomplished executives, the institute aims to enhance the Dickinson degree and equip graduates with a competitive edge in finance, banking, economics and related fields.
2024-25 Executives in Residence
Ted Kohnen '00, CEO, Park & Battery
Ted Kohnen '00 is the CEO of the global agency Park & Battery, ADWEEK’s 2024 Agency of the Year and an Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Agency of the Year two years running.
Over his career, Kohnen has been focused on helping hyper-growth start-ups and multinational enterprises alike to activate their brands—telling their stories in meaningful and compelling ways to their most important audiences in order to accelerate awareness, interest and action.
As CEO, Kohnen works closely and empathetically with CEOs, CMOs and other marketing decision makers on the development and execution of business and marketing strategies in order to accelerate business performance.
Over his career, Kohnen has led key accounts such as ADP, Boeing, Columbia University, HP Enterprise, Meta, NCR, Oracle, Thermo Fisher Scientific, the State University of New York (SUNY), UBS, the U.S. Department of State, Weight Watchers and Western Union.
Ted earned his B.A in international business & management from Dickinson and his M.S. from Columbia University. Most importantly, he is dad to three amazing daughters. Kohnen is part of the ownership group of the Oakland Roots and Oakland Soul professional soccer teams.
Susan Miller '81, President and CEO, ATIS, Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions
Susan Miller '81 is president and CEO of ATIS, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, and has served in this role since 1999. By bringing an innovative, market-driven approach to the development of technology solutions, she has expanded the organization’s activities, reach and impact. Under her leadership, ATIS redefined how the information and communications technology (ICT) industry collaborates to address its shared solutions-development needs. Key to this approach is engaging a board of directors made up of C-level executives from the leading ICT companies to set the organization’s priorities.
ATIS’s robust agenda addresses leading industry imperatives such as setting the U.S. on the global leadership path for the research and development of 6G, the global standardization of 5G, leveraging artificial intelligence to advance ICT industry objectives, creating new business opportunities through distributed ledger technologies and self-sovereign identities, Smart Cities, securing government supply chains, mitigation of unwanted robocalling, and spurring cross-industry collaboration by creating solutions that will advance the internet of things with other vertical markets.
Miller represents ATIS before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the U.S. Department of State, the Department of Commerce as well as other U.S. federal agencies. She has created and fostered global collaborative relationships with numerous industry organizations, to include ATIS’ role as a founding partner in the Third Generation Partnership Project for wireless technologies and services and a founding partner in oneM2M for machine-to-machine technologies.
Miller was recognized by the University of Pennsylvania, Annenberg Public Policy Center’s report, the Glass Ceiling in the Executive Suite: The 2nd Annual Analysis of Women Leaders in Communications Companies as well as the National Journal, as the only woman president and CEO among the 13 most influential U.S. telecommunications associations. She was further recognized by Technology Daily as the only woman president and CEO within the ranks of the top 25 technology associations. Miller was also named one of the top 10 women in telecom by Fierce Telecom; and one of the top 10 most influential people in the telecommunications industry by Billing/OSSWorld.
Prior to her appointment as President and CEO in 1999, Miller was ATIS vice president and general counsel. Before joining ATIS, she practiced communications law for the Wall Street firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges and worked for GTE.
Miller graduated from 蘑菇视频 in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature and art history, with a minor in economics. She received her Juris Doctorate in 1984 from Catholic University Columbus School of Law.
Nate Mitchell ’09, co-founder and CEO of Mountaintop Studios and co-founder of Oculus
Since graduating from Dickinson in 2009, Mitchell's career has lived at the intersection of technology and entertainment. Mitchell is the co-founder and CEO of Mountaintop, the venture-backed game studio dedicated to delivering ground-breaking multiplayer experiences. Previously, he co-founded Oculus (acquired by Facebook for over $2 billion), the virtual reality pioneer, where he served as VP Product for over seven years. In 2016, Mitchell was named to Forbes’ "30 Under 30" list, which recognizes the “brightest young entrepreneurs, breakout talents and change agents." Before Oculus, Mitchell was a senior software engineer at both Gaikai, the cloud gaming startup, and Scaleform, the leading UI solution for games.
Amy Nauiokas ’94, founder and CEO, Anthemis Group, and chair of Archer Gray
Nauiokas began her career on Wall Street, culminating with senior posts at Cantor Fitzgerald and Barclays. She then co-founded Anthemis, the industry leading VC widely credited as the first firm to focus on the multi-trillion-dollar fintech industry. Along with her Anthemis team, she supported more than 250 companies and thousands of entrepreneurs. Amy is also the founder of Archer Gray, an award-winning production company responsible for Academy Award-nominated Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Tony Award-winning Broadway sensation Once and standouts like Diary of a Teenage Girl and Lost Girls. Nauiokas’ generosity has been essential to the college’s work in keeping impactful West African programming an integral part of global education at Dickinson, matched equally by her ongoing support of scholarships for our students.