About the IACBE

Archish is a professor of accounting, management and healthcare administration and a director of Graduate Programs at the Rowland School of Business at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Maharaja’s industry experience includes working as a purchasing manager and accountant, serving as a financial advisor on a corporate and personal level and being employed as a health care administrator and physician practice manager.

He has served IACBE in several capacities from being a board member, Vice Chair of Board of Director, a member of Strategic Planning committee. He has participated in numerous site visits on behalf of IACBE around the world as well as has been a promoter of IACBE’s mission and vision.

Archish is highly experienced and accomplished in student learning assessment, quality advancement, and accreditation, and is passionate about helping others to succeed and creating educational opportunities for students around the world as well as improving quality of education.

As Chief Compliance and Accreditation Officer, Ms. Livengood oversees all compliance and accreditation-related activities of the Assembly. She also serves as an accreditation liaison, mentoring schools with accreditation processes, maintaining compliance with IACBE policies, and providing guidance on outcomes assessment.

Cecilia brings with her almost two decades of experience in higher education compliance and accreditation. For many years she served as the senior executive responsible for accreditation, compliance and ethics, risk management and policy, and government/regulatory affairs for enterprises that span multiple jurisdictions and serve diverse populations. She has worked with multiple institutions on accreditation and licensing activities involving more than fifty regulators at the federal, state, programmatic and professional oversight level. She holds a Master of Jurisprudence with a concentration in Business Law and a Certificate in Corporate Compliance from the Loyola University School of Law and is a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional.

Cecilia is a dynamic leader focused on development, mentorship, and fostering partnerships for ongoing quality improvement. Before coming to IACBE, she spent years of successfully leading diverse institutions through multiple accreditation cycles at both the institutional and program level. She is well-practiced in monitoring rulemaking activity and interpreting multiple levels of regulations to ensure institutional and programmatic compliance in an ever-changing regulatory environment.

Cecilia is originally from Pittsburgh, PA and currently lives in Western Pennsylvania, having spent several years in the interim in Chicago, IL and the Bay Area of California.

As Director of Accreditation, Dr. Yates serves as the IACBE Staff liaison to assigned schools: mentoring Members, facilitating site visits, and conducting comprehensive reviews of accreditation and compliance-related submissions. She is responsible for supporting Members for the ongoing quality improvement of their business program and monitoring member compliance.

Laurie has also held a number of volunteer positions with IACBE over the past decade. She served as the President and Vice President of the Pacific Northwest region, a site visit team member and chair, and a member of the Board of Commissioners, including terms as Chair and Vice Chair. In 2020, Laurie was the recipient of the Dr. John L. Green Service Award for commitment and dedication to IACBE and the academic profession. Laurie also has an extensive background in industry, having served in a variety of leadership and management positions in organizations from small entrepreneurial businesses to large corporations.

Dr. Yates currently serves as a Visiting Professor at Oregon Tech (Oregon Institute of Technology) in Wilsonville, Oregon. Since 2000, she has held numerous teaching and administrative positions in higher education. She holds a Doctor of Management from George Fox University and an MBA from the University of Oregon.

Ms. Caedo is the Director of Finance for the IACBE and is responsible for managing all financial operations of the IACBE. Kim’s duties include financial planning, budgeting, and the general management of the Assembly’s financial affairs. In this capacity, she ensures that the IACBE’s financial activities are carried out in a fiscally-sound and responsible manner. Kim manages the collection and disbursement of the Assembly’s funds, coordinates the development of the annual budget, and oversees other internal accounting functions of the IACBE. In addition, Kim is responsible for preparing various financial and management reports, for financial analysis and forecasting, and for coordinating all activities associated with the annual external audit of the Assembly’s financial affairs.

Ms. Caedo holds a bachelor’s degree in business accounting from the University of Kansas.

In her role as Chief of Staff of the IACBE, St. Laurent manages day-to-day operations for the organization and helps the President advance strategic priorities. By driving operational efficiencies, she enables the accreditation team members to focus on the IACBE’s quality assurance and accreditation mission and deliver their best work.

Previously she worked Deloitte where she managed operations for Energy, Resources, and Industrials accounts and led special projects for the Client & Market Growth HR team. Before that, she served as Executive Assistant to the CEO at a public relations firm and Assistant to the Dean at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.

St. Laurent earned her MBA from Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Illustration from Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

In her role as Operations and Compliance Coordinator, Cummings supports IACBE in both operator and project manager capacities, providing support and coordination for the organization and its members.

Cummings joins IACBE bringing years of experience within higher education. She comes to us from the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies, where she coordinated events and managed finances. She has also held the role of Event and Advancement Services Coordinator at the University of North Carolina School of Nursing and served as Program Coordinator for the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at Texas A&M University.

Cummings holds a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University.

As Ambassador for South Asia, Mr. Harshavardhan Erra leads IACBE development by identifying growth opportunities, strengthening existing client relationships, and expanding IACBE brand awareness in South Asia. Often serving as the first point of contact for prospective clients, Mr. Erra shares information about accreditation and provides guidance to institutions as they advance through the stages of membership. In addition, he meets regularly with IACBE team members to provide updates on progress in the region.

Mr. Erra also heads South Asian operations of a French educational entity, Groupe IGS. Previously, he worked at public Indian organizations including India Post and Food Corporation of India. He holds a master’s degree in Life Sciences from Osmania University in India. In his spare time, he delivers guest lectures on social entrepreneurship to various institutions and mentors young Indian social entrepreneurship start-ups.

Dr. Randy L. Frye is the Founding Dean of the Shields School of Business and Professor of Business Administration at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania. With a B.A in Social Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh in Johnstown, an MBA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Arts in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations from Saint Francis College, and an Ed.D. in Management and Policy Studies from the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Frye brings over four decades of experience to his roles. He is a founding board member of the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE), advocating for its developmental and collaborative approaches to fostering continuous improvement and excellence in collegiate business education.

Dr. Frye enthusiastically embraces outcomes-based assessment for business programs and views IACBE membership and its accreditation process as a means of formulating a recipe for a stronger, more impactful business school. He has led numerous site review teams and presented at various conferences on managing and marketing business schools. Recognized for his excellence, Dr. Frye has received prestigious awards, including the Dr. John Green Excellence in Business Education Award in 2013.

Overseeing 10 undergraduate programs, three graduate programs, and initiatives like the Saint Francis Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Dr. Frye actively contributes to regional economic development. He’s been consistently honored as one of the Top 100 Business Leaders by the Pennsylvania Business Central and operates an independent consulting practice. Outside academia, Dr. Frye enjoys reading, traveling, and sports like racquetball, basketball, swimming, and golf. He resides in Johnstown with his wife, Barbara, and they have three adult sons.

Dr. Ralph “Chip” Mason has served as Dean of the Business School for the past fifteen years at Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi. He has over twenty years’ experience as a Professor in Leadership and Management, serving at Belhaven University and as a Visiting Professor at Duke University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina, and he earned an undergraduate degree in Economics from Duke University. He previously served on the Board of Directors for the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE) after spending six years on the board of Commissioners. He has chaired over a dozen site visits for Business Schools seeking accreditation in the United States and in Latin America and Asia. In 2016 he was recognized by the IACBE with their highest award, their Founder award for Excellence in Business Education.

Dr. Mason has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on Leadership and Motivation, Business Leadership, Ethical Leadership, Organizational Behavior, Fundamentals of Management, High Performance Teams, and others. His research interests include leadership, mentoring, and team dynamics.  As a principal at Mason Consulting Group, his consulting portfolio spans Aerospace, Chemicals, Higher Education, and Postal Delivery sectors.

Dr. Mason has been married over 30 years, and his wife is a medical professor at a nearby University. He has two grown children who live in Washington DC and Asia.