After graduating from Liberty County High School in 1996, he enrolled at then Tallahassee Community College and immediately started working as a work-study student. He was the College's first enrollment call center employee, balancing his responsibilities while pursuing his Associate in Arts degree, which he completed in 1998. He then earned a B.S. in Communications from Florida State University in 2000 and later a master's degree in Educational Leadership from the American College of Education in 2011.

Jason expanded his professional expertise by working with the Liberty County School District from 2005 to 2013. During this time, he served in various roles, including Guidance and Business Education instructor and later as the Coordinator of Technology, Alternative Education, and Special Programs. 

In 2013, Jason returned to the College to work in Information Technology. His dedication and expertise led him to serve as a Network Technician and then as the Director of IT Infrastructure, where he played a pivotal role in advancing the college's technological capabilities. His efforts in updating infrastructure systems played a large role in the College's ability to transition to a fully remote learning environment in just a week during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both Jason and his wife, Mandie, are proud TSC alumni. Their two children, Eric and Sally, dual enrolled at TCC during high school. Eric graduated from the College with an AA in 2017 and later attended the Florida Public Safety Institute where he earned a Law Enforcement Certification and graduated the Florida Fish and Wildlife Academy in 2018. Sally earned her degree as a Registered Nurse in 2021. The academic paths of both Eric and Sally were supported by the College's tuition waiver benefit program, continuing the family tradition of education at TSC.

Under her leadership, the College launched and completed a $10 million comprehensive campaign in just one year, ultimately raising more than $14.5 million and securing the two largest gifts in TSC’s history. She also conceptualized and developed Cleaver and Cork, the College’s signature fundraising event series, which has become Tallahassee’s ultimate food and wine showcase. 

Prior to her work at the College, Mitchell served as President and CEO of United Way of the Big Bend, where she led regional fundraising campaigns that generated more than $65 million in support of health and human services. During her tenure, she also championed the development of an innovative homeless shelter, now recognized as a statewide model for community collaboration. 

A proud graduate of both Chipola College and Florida State University, Mitchell has long been engaged in community leadership. Her service includes board positions with Goodwood Museum & Gardens, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Big Bend, the Big Bend Continuum of Care, FSU’s Opening Nights, the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, Tallahassee Economic Development Council, Leadership Tallahassee, and the Junior League of Tallahassee. In 2015, she was named one of the 25 Women You Need to Know by the Tallahassee Democrat. 

She and her husband, Mark, are proud parents of two daughters, Jaynie and Elise, and find great joy in their role as grandparents to Margo.

As Vice President for Student Affairs, she provides strategic oversight for admissions and records, academic and career advising, student life and services, athletics, international students, veterans’ success, and the College’s enrollment call center. Since returning to TSC in 2016, she has played a central role in shaping policies and practices that support retention, equity, and holistic student development. 

Her prior experience includes serving in the University System of Georgia during a period of institutional consolidation and SACSCOC-level transition. There, she held dual roles as Vice President for Enrollment Management and Assistant Provost for Student Success, helping lead the institution through structural change while advancing student-centered initiatives. 

Within the Florida College System, Dr. Rowland has held a variety of leadership roles and continues to serve the broader higher education community. She is an on-site reviewer for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), an Achieving the Dream coach, and a past chair of the Florida College System Council of Student Affairs. She previously served on the NASPA James E. Scott Academy Board and is a graduate of Leadership Tallahassee, Class 36. 

Her professional honors include selection as a 2019–2020 Aspen Presidential Fellow, recognition as a Certified Pathways Coach, and the NISOD Excellence Award for her contributions to student affairs. 

Dr. Rowland earned a Doctor of Education in higher education from Florida State University, as well as a Master of Arts in Psychological Counseling, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, both from Southeast Missouri State University. 

Prior to joining TSC in 2025, Dr. Smit served as the National Advocacy and Research Specialist at Florida Virtual School. In that role, she helped shape legislative strategy, guided organizational development, and expanded strategic partnerships. Her work included monitoring and influencing national education policy, coordinating high-level meetings, and managing cross-functional projects—experience that informs her leadership at the College. 

Dr. Smit’s career in education spans more than a decade and includes service as a paraprofessional, classroom teacher, and associate dean. She has led faculty development, school improvement planning, and student support initiatives in districts across Florida. Her work has consistently emphasized equity, mental health advocacy, and innovative approaches to teaching and learning. 

She earned a Doctor of Education in Instructional Technology and Leadership from the American College of Education. She also holds a master’s degree in educational leadership and a Bachelor of Arts in Telecommunications from the University of Florida. 

Smit is certified in Educational Leadership (K–12) and Elementary Education (K–6) and is a trained facilitator in multiple mental health and school safety programs. She is a member of the International Society of Six Sigma Professionals and Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society. 

She and her husband, Chad, have been married since 2014 and are the proud parents of two sons, CJ and Gray. 

Under her guidance, TSC won the 2024 Innovation of the Year award from the League for Innovation in the Community College for its groundbreaking Pathways to Persistence (P2P) program. By integrating data-driven strategies with personalized academic support, P2P has increased student success rates in critical courses, narrowing achievement gaps across demographic groups. 

Dr. Stringer has also been instrumental in expanding academic offerings aligned with workforce needs, including the launch of new bachelor’s and Associate of Science programs. Her commitment to accessibility led to the College’s adoption of Open Education Resources (OER), saving students more than $250,000 in textbook costs in a single semester. She also developed TSC’s STEM Center, which increased minority student participation in STEM fields by 25%. 

Her vision for early college access helped establish the Tallahassee Collegiate Academy—Florida’s first charter school authorized by a state college—offering high school students the opportunity to graduate with both a diploma and an Associate of Science degree in a STEM field, tuition-free. 

Prior to her current role, Dr. Stringer served as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Curriculum and Instruction. She began her career as a middle school teacher and later served as a mathematics faculty member at the college level. 

She holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from Florida State University, an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Central Florida, and a B.S. in Mathematics from Paine College. Known for her open-door leadership and mentorship, Dr. Stringer is deeply committed to helping students realize their potential and rise to the next level. 

Lei instituted a comprehensive program review process that enabled the institution to identify those programs that epitomize the institution’s mission and define its distinctiveness in the marketplace. She chaired Institutional Effectiveness Committee and co-chaired (with the executive vice president) the Institutional Planning Committee. Lei presented several of her research studies at the Association of Institutional Research.

From 1993 to 2004 Lei was a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Research in Educational Policy at The University of Memphis, a center of excellence in the state of Tennessee.  During that time, the Center received several collaborative grants with Johns Hopkins University from the U.S. Department of Education.  

Lei has published a number of book chapters, articles in scholarly journals and reports. The U.S. Department of Education and the State of Tennessee have used a number of her reports. She is listed in the Policy Expert Guide, and regularly servers on review committees for the Southern Association of School and College Commission on Colleges.    

Lei received her doctoral degree from the University of Memphis. She is a specialist in curriculum and instruction. She is also trained in the areas of statistics and educational research.

At TSC, she has led efforts to lower the financial aid default rate by nearly 10%, reduce personnel costs by $500,000, and revise the purchasing card program—resulting in annual rebates now exceeding $35,000. She developed and successfully negotiated a cost-sharing model for employee health insurance and has directed funding toward key academic initiatives. 

Prior to joining TSC, Dr. Wills served as Assistant Superintendent for Leon County Schools, overseeing business operations and managing a $434 million budget for the 33,000-student district. She developed the district’s strategic plan and played a lead role in securing system-wide accreditation, designing governance, leadership, and financial structures to support the process. Her work also included chairing both the District Advisory Council and the Business Advisory Council. 

Earlier in her career, Dr. Wills was Director of the Center for Education Research and Policy Studies at Florida State University, where she managed multi-million-dollar grants focused on improving educational outcomes. Her final project there was a five-year, $10 million grant awarded by the Institute of Education Sciences. 

She is deeply engaged in leadership and service, both within higher education and the broader community. Dr. Wills is a graduate of the League for Innovation’s Executive Leadership Institute and the American Association of Community Colleges’ Future Presidents Institute. Her community involvement has included service with United Way of the Big Bend, the Big Bend Continuum of Care, and Leadership Tallahassee. She has also served as a delegate for the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce and on the Envision Credit Union Supervisory Committee. In 2014, she was recognized as one of Tallahassee’s 25 Women You Need to Know. 

Dr. Wills earned a bachelor’s in political science, a master’s in public administration and policy, a Certificate in Public Management, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Florida State University. She is happily married and the proud mother of four, including a current Tallahassee State College student.