Speakers

Having worked for the Graduate School USA(GSUSA) for over 30 years, Cynthia Hawkins possesses the knowledge of various aspects within a training environment.  Starting her career with GSUSA as a Program Assistant, Ms. Hawkins has seen the operations of a training environment from myriad perspectives as she advanced throughout her career.  Initially, she began in the Career and Life Planning curriculum where she worked with individuals who sought guidance in how to navigate their career to those who were close to ending their career and needed retirement preparation.  The importance of planning became an overarching theme for both groups of audiences.  As Ms. Hawkins developed in her career, she worked with in Operations where she was provided oversight of the responsibilities that served both internal and external customers.  Later, she moved back to the curriculum aspect of the department, serving as the Program Manager for Communications and Business Skills and Executive, Management and Supervision. In addition to curriculum, 

When Ms. Hawkins moved to the Center for Leadership and Management in 2006 where she found her niche.  Ms. Hawkins was fascinated by the impact the leadership program had on the lives of the participants, both professionally and personally.  Her time in the Center permitted her the opportunity to work with all the Center’s leadership programs and appreciate what each provided to their respected audiences. With a strong passion for leadership, she leads by example and welcomes opportunities to help others reach their full potential.  She understands the importance of mentoring and creating environments that values everyone.  The need to work more cohesively is critical now more than ever given the multi-cultural and generational differences that exists. The workforce has expanded and there is so much potential in it. Ms. Hawkins’ philosophy is built on a belief that we all possess the ability to positively impact the lives of people within our organizations, our community, and the next generation. Ms. Hawkins has proudly served as a key member of the W. Edwards Deming Award committee for the past six years.   

In addition to her professional career, Ms. Hawkins is certified in the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Science in Administration with a concentration in Leadership. 

Steve Somers was appointed President of Graduate School USA in January 2022. He has spent almost 10 years in the education industry, serving most recently as Vice President of Corporate Development at Kaplan, Inc. for five years, where he executed over 15 deals as a strategic partner across Kaplan’s various business units. Previously, he was Vice President of Corporate Development, Investor Relations & Treasury at Rosetta Stone, where he helped expand Rosetta’s language business through two acquisitions and enter the literacy business with the acquisition of Lexia Learning.

Before his time in the education space, Mr. Somers led M&A and IR at two public companies — first in the wireless industry with SunCom Wireless, where he led its sale to T-Mobile and then at GSI Commerce, in the e-commerce industry, where he helped grow GSI before its sale to E-Bay. Earlier in his career, Mr. Somers was an equity research analyst at DLJ.

Mr. Somers is a Charted Financial Analyst (CFA) and earned a B.S. in Business and Economics with a concentration in Finance from Lehigh University and an MBA from Villanova University.