HEAPCON
Growth Mindset: Embrace Your Journey

Join us for an engaging professional development event featuring guest speakers and sessions designed to help you thrive!

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https://bit.ly/HEAPCON25

SAVE THE DATE: Friday, February 28, 2025 

HEAPCON 2025
Higher Education Administrative Professionals Conference

Administrative Professionals are the unsung heroes who provide support and resources to a variety of people within a variety of organizations. The ability to manage ever-changing projects, priorities, and people, while maintaining a positive attitude and professionalism is a challenge, but a requirement for success. This conference is designed to provide relevant workshops to all levels of administrative professionals. Some of the topics include leadership, technology, project planning, staying in sync with your boss and team, dealing with people, diversity in the workplace, and much more. The overall goal is to take Administrative Professionals to the next level of success, and "Be Extraordinary!" Join our LinkedIn Page Here! 

2025 Table of Contents

Agenda  |  Speaker Bios  |  Committee

(Coming Soon)
Click Here for the Agenda and Session Descriptions

2025 Agenda

Speaker Bios

Brandon Richardson is a natural connector—someone who thrives at the intersection of government, business, and community. As the Manager of Government Relations at Lone Star College, he doesn’t just navigate policy and partnerships; he builds bridges that create real opportunities. With a background steeped in economic growth and community engagement, he’s helped forge relationships that support small businesses, nonprofits, and historically underutilized enterprises, ensuring they have a seat at the table.

A proud Texas State Bobcat, Brandon earned his Bachelor’s in Business Administration – Marketing before going on to complete a Master’s in Higher Education at Sam Houston State. But if you ask him, his real education has come from the people he’s worked with—the entrepreneurs, community leaders, and government officials who share his vision for meaningful impact.

When he’s not in the thick of advocating for stronger collaborations, you’ll find Brandon cheering on the Texans (no matter the season) or traveling with his wife, always on the lookout for their next adventure.

Alfredo Alberto has dedicated 20 years to teaching in K-12 schools, community centers, and colleges. Teaching is not just his career but his passion and calling. As the founder of AUA & Associates, Alfredo champions the belief that building a solid foundation is fundamental to future growth and success. Through his work, he strives to inspire and empower others to reach their fullest potential.

Patrick Barton is a professor of Communication Studies at Lone Star College-CyFair and also serves as Faculty Fellow for the Learning, Engagement, and Development Center. After faltering early in his academic career and spending nearly a decade in the workforce, he returned to earn his Bachelor's Degree from George Mason University and his Master's Degree from Kansas State University. In 2015, Patrick did a TEDx Talk about choice management, which spawned a series of workshops on choosing productivity. In 2022 he was an altruistic kidney donor, and continues to advocate to others to become a living donor. In his spare time, Patrick is a long-distance runner, an amateur actor, and a recreational poker player.

Renata Bump is an experienced professional with over 20 years in enterprise-level ERP systems. As a former Enterprise Application Manager for one of the largest educational institutions in the U.S., she led strategic operations across student-facing departments and successfully trained over 5,000 end users in Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise Applications. Renata's expertise in managing complex ERP deployments has earned her recognition as a trusted leader and national presenter for groups like HEUG.

Keith Coleman is the Director of Continuing Education and Professional Development for the Lone Star College-University Park campus. Before assuming this role, he worked in compliance for United Airlines in their Chicago, Illinois, headquarters office. He is a former professor at the University of Houston, AIB College of Business, and Lee College and a retired Marine Corps Officer. Even though Mr. Coleman held many ranks while serving this country, he retired as a Major. 

He was awarded the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Medal for outstanding commitment and contribution to Texas High School and College Students. In addition, he was awarded his medal at the International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence in 2017. He is the author of five books and is a guest speaker for several national events and conferences. His leadership philosophy is rooted in a phrase he coined, "Winning is Temporary; Learning is Forever." He believes winning will follow if you teach your team/ organization correctly.

Kenneth Garcia is is currently a Manager of Internal and Community Relations here at LSC. He has over 20 years of experience in Higher Education. Most of those years as an academic advisor for LSC- Tomball, Montgomery, Cy-Fair, and The University of Houston. His skills in communication were acquired through the building of many relationships through the years as a professional.

Julissa Guajardo works as a Coordinator III for Lone Star College-CyFair Learning, Engagement, and Development (LED) Center, where they use their specialization in photo, video, and graphic design creation to elevate the promotion of campus professional development initiatives.

Alexander Mai - As a proud alumnus/alumna of the University of Houston main campus, I earned a degree in Computer Engineering Technology. I gained three years of valuable experience at the UH IT department before transitioning to Lone Star College in 2011. I currently serve as the Campus Services Director at Lone Star College-Houston North.

Angel Orellana is an Instructional Designer at Lone Star College with 2 years of experience working with faculty to create engaging and accessible courses for students in face-to-face and online courses. Angel has a Masters of Learning, Technology and Design from Houston Christian University and is also a certified facilitator of Quality Matters.

Committee

• Isabelle Chen
• Elizabeth King
• Cody Kwoka
• Kentrie LeDee
• Maegan Meeker
• Sandra Moye
• Wendy Palmgren
• Jennifer Richardson
• Ashley Rodriguez
• Jennifer Sessa

For more information on HEAPCON, contact Kentrie LeDee at KLeDee@lonestar.edu 

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