Meet the five new members joining the board and three who are taking on new roles
Get to Know the URMIA Leadership
As we start a new “governance year” for URMIA, we want to help you get to know those who are leading the organization for the 2025-2026 year. For more information on our leadership, check out URMIA’s Board of Directors home page and our posts on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn).
Miguel Delgado, President of URMIA
Miguel is taking over the presidency after serving as president-elect for URMIA last year. He has served on the board of directors since 2021 and has been in higher ed risk management for 13 years. He is currently the associate vice president and chief risk officer at Carnegie Mellon University, a position he just started within the past year.
On the personal side of things, Delgado shared that mentoring young men is a cause that he is very passionate about.
Susie Johnson, President-Elect
Susie was elected the association’s president-elect in July of this year. She will assume the presidency next October at the annual conference in Philadelphia. Johnson has been on the board of directors since 2022 and worked in higher ed risk management for 17 years. She is currently the risk management director at Iowa State University and has been a member of URMIA for 15+ years.
Johnson shared that education for all is a cause that she is passionate about. She believes that the more a person can learn about the world around them, the better our world becomes.
Tristan Tafolla, Secretary
Tristan was appointed by President Delgado as URMIA’s secretary after having served on the board of directors for a year. He is the senior director, finance operations and strategic risk management at Columbia University where he has worked since 2016.
Tafolla says that finding a cure/prevention for ALS is a cause that he is really passionate about. His father-in-law passed away quickly after a diagnosis with the terrible disease.
Jacob Sajinyan, Assistant Treasurer
Jacob is URMIA’s assistant treasurer on the board of directors having been appointed in this position by the president with the intent to take over the treasurer role in 2026-2027 for the association. This is Sajinyan’s first year on the board of directors having served the past four years as chair of the association’s Finance Committee. He is the director of risk management at Washington State University, a position he has had since 2022 when he moved cross-country from Massachusetts to Washington.
The transparency in how systems work – whether or not one would consider it a cause – is something that Sajinyan is very passionate about.
Emily Hochstatter, Board Member
Emily is beginning her inaugural three-year term on URMIA’s board of directors having been elected in July. She has spent 15 years in higher education risk management and is currently the executive director of risk management and chief of staff to the chief financial officer at Northern Illinois University.
Simply providing for those who aren’t able to provide for themselves is a cause that Hochstatter is really passionate about. Food banks, food drives, clinics with free medical screenings, school supply and backpack drives – those are the types of causes that call to her.
Samantha McClelland, Board Member
Samantha was elected to URMIA’s board of directors in July for her first three-year term as a director. She is the director, operational risk management at George Mason University and has spent 17 years in higher education risk management and joined URMIA in 2008.
McClelland is passionate about providing support to disadvantaged youth and their families.
Christine Packard, Board Member
Christine is also a new director on the association’s board of directors having been elected to the position in July. She has been in higher ed risk management for the past 6 years and is currently the assistant vice president, enterprise risk management at the University of Massachusetts President’s Office. She has been an URMIA member since 2019.
Packard shared that supporting young professionals, especially young women, is a cause that she is passionate about.
Colorado Robertson, Board Member
Colorado is our fourth director starting a three-year term this year on URMIA’s board of directors. He just recently became the director of risk management at Louisiana State University, moving back to the university after having worked at Mississippi State University in risk management for 4+ years. He has 15 years’ experience in higher ed risk management.
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