Demarée Michelau

President, WICHE

303.541.0201dmichelau@wiche.edu

Demarée K. Michelau is the President of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). Located in Boulder, Colorado, WICHE was established through the Western Regional Education Compact and works to share knowledge, create resources, and develop innovative solutions that address some of society’s most pressing needs. From promoting high-quality, affordable postsecondary education to helping the region leverage their technology investments and addressing behavioral health challenges, WICHE improves lives across the West through innovation, cooperation, resource sharing, and sound public policy. As WICHE’s president, Michelau serves as the chief executive officer of the organization and at the pleasure of the WICHE Commission. Prior to serving as WICHE’s president, Michelau was WICHE’s vice president of the Policy Analysis and Research unit and oversaw externally funded projects. The author of numerous reports and policy briefs, she has experience in a variety of higher education policy issues, including those related to postsecondary attainment, governance, strategic planning, adult learners, transfer, accelerated learning options, affordability, and workforce. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC) and the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). Previously, she held positions with the National Conference of State Legislatures and with former Colorado Congressman David Skaggs. Michelau received her bachelor’s degree in public law from Northern Illinois University and master’s and doctoral degrees in political science from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Raymonda Burgman Gallegos

Vice President of Programs and Services

303-541-0222rbgallegos@wiche.edu

Raymonda Burgman Gallegos serves as the Vice President, Programs and Services. In this role, alongside a team of dedicated and knowledgeable professionals, she pursues increasing student access to postsecondary education and training, building and enhancing collaborations between institutions and their leadership, and efficient procurement and contracting for college and university staff. The Programs and Services unit impacts students, academic leaders, and operations team members. It has three regional tuition savings programs, which include the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP), and the Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP). The unit also manages the Western Alliance of Community College Academic Leaders (the Alliance) and the Western Academic Leadership Forum (the Forum). These two membership groups serve the leadership development and networking needs of chief academic officers in the region. The Alliance and Forum spurred the development of the innovative student transfer initiative, Interstate Passport ®, and fostered the creation of the Western Academic Leadership Academy. Programs and Services recently added a program for humanities faculty interested in academic leadership. The unit also partners with the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) to provide institutions with operational savings through two programs, MHECare Student Health Solutions and Technology Contracts. Previously, Burgman Gallegos served as director of programs and research for eight years at HERS (Higher Education Resource Services), a nonprofit leadership development organization focused on women and gender-diverse leaders who work in postsecondary settings. She also served as an administrator at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and in academic affairs and the office of the president at New College of Florida, in Sarasota, Florida. Burgman Gallegos was a tenured professor in economics and management at DePauw University. She also taught at two other institutions in Florida, Santa Fe College and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. She received a bachelor’s degree in economics from New College of Florida and a doctorate in economics from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.

Van Davis

Executive Director of WCET – the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies and Vice President, Digital Learning

303.541.0306vdavis@wiche.edu

Van Davis – Van joined WCET in 2021 as chief strategy officer, and in 2025, he became WCET’s executive director and WICHE’s vice president for digital learning. Davis oversees all strategic and operational responsibilities of WCET’s membership, the State Authorization Network (SAN) that assists institutions with interstate compliance, and Every Learner Everywhere, which advocates for successful academic outcomes for all postsecondary education students through advances in digital learning. 

Van has over 25 years of experience in higher education as a faculty member, academic administrator, state policy maker, and edtech leader. He holds a Master’s and PhD in 20th Century US history with an emphasis in civil rights from Vanderbilt University and a Bachelor’s in history from Southwestern University. Prior to joining WCET and WICHE, Davis served as principal at Foghlam Consulting, associate vice president at Blackboard Inc., director of innovation at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and a faculty member and academic administrator at several public and private universities with historically underrepresented student populations.  

Van’s expertise includes artificial intelligence policy, federal and state distance education policy, degree completion initiatives, competency-based education, the cost and price of distance education, and the future of higher education and digital learning.  

Please reach out if with media inquiries or if you are interested in speaking with Van. 

Van lives outside of Austin, Texas, and will be relocating to WICHE headquarters in Boulder, CO, later this summer with his beloved wife, Lisa, and two cats. When not working, Van collects Lego models and dreams of the day he can complete his western US camping trip. 

Patrick Lane

Vice President, Policy Analysis and Research

303.541.0266plane@wiche.edu

Patrick Lane is the Vice President of WICHE’s Policy Analysis and Research unit. In this role, he oversees a range of work focused on improving access to and excellence in postsecondary education through sound public policy and research. This portfolio of work includes efforts to improve the value of postsecondary education, address students’ behavioral health needs, increase affordability, and ensure robust regional collaboration. He previously was WICHE’s director of data initiatives leading efforts to improve linkages between state data systems. Prior to this role, he coordinated WICHE’s efforts on adult learners and improving postsecondary access for low-income students. He came to WICHE after spending several years working in education policy in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Lane completed a doctorate in public administration at the University of Colorado Denver in 2015.

Craig Milburn

Chief Financial Officer

303.541.0282cmilburn@wiche.edu

Dennis Mohatt

Vice President, Behavioral Health Program

303.541.0256dmohatt@wiche.edu

Dennis Mohatt is vice president for behavioral health at WICHE, leading since 2001 its behavioral health program and its Center for Rural Mental Health Research. He has over 30 years of public mental health service. His work has included direct clinical care, clinical supervision, and CEO tenure in a rural CMHC serving Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Additionally, he led a HRSA-funded effort in the early 1990s to successfully integrate mental health and primary care in multiple rural family practice settings. During the late 1990s, he was deputy director for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, also serving as the state’s commissioner of mental health. He has served as a member of the National Rural Health Advisory Committee, and led national efforts relating to rural mental health including a role as chief consultant to the president’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. He is actively engaged in efforts focused on improving services to Veterans, Guard, and Reserve and their families; rural mental health policy; workforce development, and increasing adoption of integrated approaches to behavioral and primary care practice. His graduate training, supported by a NIMH Fellowship, focused on rural community-clinical psychology. 

Melanie Sidwell

Vice President, Communications

303.541.0237msidwell@wiche.edu

Melanie Sidwell is the vice president of communications at WICHE, where she supports our mission through strategic communications, media relations, and content services. Prior to joining WICHE, she served in marketing and communications, alumni relations, and advancement roles at the University of Colorado, and she worked as a journalist for newspapers in Nebraska, Florida, and Colorado. A first-generation college graduate, Sidwell holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master’s degree in media studies from the University of Colorado Boulder.