John A. Burtka IV is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He graduated from Hillsdale College with degrees in French and Christian Studies and earned a graduate degree in theology from La Faculté Jean Calvin in Aix-en-Provence, France. Johnny began his career at ISI, where he served as a development officer. He returned to ISI after four years at The American Conservative magazine, where he served as...

Spencer Kashmanian is Chief of Staff for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. As a member of ISI’s leadership team, Spencer works closely with ISI’s President and other senior leaders on strategic planning, organizational management, development administration, and special projects. Prior to joining ISI, Spencer worked at American Philanthropic as a fundraising and marketing consultant to nonprofit organizations. He also previously managed...

Paul Rhein is the Vice President of Operations at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He graduated with a degree in economics from the University of Detroit Mercy and completed graduate work in distance education technology at the University of Maryland. A former Coast Guard volunteer, he is active in his parish and in the Delaware Saengerbund, the area’s German historical society. Mr. Rhein lives in northern Delaware with his wife and...

Daniel McCarthy is vice president for the Collegiate Network at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and editor of ISI's journal Modern Age. He is responsible for ISI's college journalism programs, which support independent campus publications and provide internships and fellowships to outstanding student reporters, writers, and editors. He has an extensive background in journalism, including as a columnist for The Spectator and past editor of...

Claire Aguda is the Director of Alumni and Faculty Relations for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Claire received her BA in English literature and international affairs and her MS in sociocultural and international development education studies from Florida State University. She previously worked at the James Madison Institute in Tallahassee, FL, and was a fellow at the John Jay Institute. Claire serves on the board of trustees of the...

Jon Elordi is the Director of Marketing for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Working to produce innovative and exceptional marketing for ISI and the conservative movement is a priority for him. Jon is the owner of a conservative marketing blog found on his website. He previously worked as the marketing director of a conservative startup New Founding and as a proud Michiganander, he has worked for General Motors. He holds a BA in Economics...

Marlo Slayback is National Director of Student Programs for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. She is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied political science and poetry. She is a former ISI Collegiate Network fellow at National Review and led an ISI Society on her campus, where she also helped launch a Collegiate Network newspaper. Marlo is a 2021 Publius Fellow with the Claremont Institute and joined the ISI team...

Ethan Swain is a Director of Major Gifts for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. As a student at Villanova University, he led the ISI Society on campus and was an ISI Honors Scholar. Ethan received his BA from Villanova in Humanities as well as Theology and Religious Studies, and he was a visiting student at Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford. He received an MS in Commerce with a finance concentration from the University of Virginia....

McKay Stangler is a Regional Director of Major Gifts for ISI. After earning a Ph.D. with a dissertation on Richard Weaver, McKay worked as a college professor for five years—where he saw firsthand just how critical ISI's mission is for today's students and faculty. He then joined the world of development and advocacy, serving on the fundraising team of a small Catholic college in Kansas City. A lifelong bird nut, Stangler then served as...

Callie Erk is a Regional Director of Major Gifts for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Callie received her BA from Baylor University’s Honors College with concentrations in Religion, Politics and Society and Great Texts, and she was a visiting student at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford. She received her Masters in Applied Theology with a concentration on faith, sexuality and gender from the University of Oxford. Prior to joining ISI,...

Hannah Rowan is managing editor of ISI’s journal Modern Age. She graduated from Hillsdale College, where she studied English and journalism. She has been Hilton Kramer Fellow in Criticism at the New Criterion and managing editor at the American Spectator, as well as associate editor for Bombardier Books. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Examiner, the Lamp, the Wall Street Journal, and other publications. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Hannah Sailer is the Development Assistant for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Hannah received her BA in Writing and Rhetoric with a focus on Journalism and Professional Writing from Hobart and William Smith Colleges. While in school, Hannah completed her year-long Honors Program project: Free Speech for Thee, But Not for Me: The Violations of Free Speech Within Institutions of Higher Education. She is a former ISI Honors Scholar and...

Grace Collins is the Social Media Marketer for Intercollegiate Studies Institute. She graduated with a Business Accounting degree in 2020. She also participated in a year-long apprenticeship where she completed multiple marketing projects for a variety of small businesses. She has a great love for creativity and promoting conservative principles and is excited to help ISI in its mission to educate college students. Originally from Tennessee, she...

Sasha von Spakovsky is the Alumni Engagement Associate for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. In 2019, Sasha received his BA in French and Spanish from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas north of Kansas City. While in school, Sasha studied abroad in Valladolid, Spain and Lyon, France as part of his double major. Previously, he interned at The Heritage Foundation in the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom. He also worked in customer...

José Sáenz Crespo is a Program Operations Manager at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from American University and a BA in Political Sciences from The Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina. Before joining ISI, José worked as an Employee Leadership and Development Consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank, the most important development bank for Latin America and the...

Tom Sarrouf is an Associate Programs Officer for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He graduated from Boston College in May 2022, where he earned a B.A. in Secondary Education, History, and Philosophy from the Lynch School of Education and Human Development. Recently hired by ISI, Tom is excited to engage students in the conservative intellectual tradition, offering them a place to think about issues in ways that are not encouraged or...

Bridget Ruffing is the Program Officer at the Collegiate Network, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s student journalism program. She graduated from Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in New Hampshire, where she earned her BA in Liberal Arts. There, she developed her love of writing and of studying art, literature, and philosophy. Bridget worked in Thomas More’s Publications Department as a writer, proofreader, and photographer for the...

Ashley Kondracki is an Associate Programs Officer for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Originally from Beaver, PA, Ashley now lives in Chester County, PA. She received her BA in Political Science and History and MA in Catholic Studies all from Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH. She was also a postgrad fellow with the John Jay Institute where she further pursued studies in her interest in the intersection of faith and public life....

Gina Arnold Fake is the Social Media Manager for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. She graduated from Villanova University’s School of Business with a major in management and a minor in humanities. While a student, she did marketing work for IBM, Ford, a tech start-up in London, and an architectural firm based in New York City. Gina was also involved in College Republicans as an officer and led weekly political discussions at...

Josie McDonell is an Associate Programs Officer for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. She holds a B.A. in Music and English Literature from Seattle University and is set to complete her M.A. from NYU’s Gallatin School with a Concentration in Performance Studies in May of 2023. Josie loves being part of an organization that encourages students to engage with ideas and art that might otherwise be difficult for them to seek out at their own...

Josh Evans is the program manager for the Collegiate Network at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He earned a BA in political science with a minor in communications from Grove City College, where he also worked on the student newspaper, The Collegian, eventually rising to the position of editor-in-chief. Most recently, he managed the Writing Fellows Program at America's Future, along with a number of the organization's other professional...

Patti Hubbard is Accounting Associate for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Prior to joining ISI, she was a Senior Records Specialist with the University of Delaware, where she developed an extensive data-integrity background. She lives in Middletown, Delaware, with her son and their recently rescued Silky Terrier.

Raquel Roberts serves as the office manager at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Delaware and a Masters in Elementary Education from Cabrini College. She has been an active volunteer for various local charities and organizations, as well as her church and her children’s school. Prior to her volunteer work, Raquel was a legal secretary for several law firms in the...