Office of the Chancellor

In his role as President, Julian Schuster serves as chief academic officer and chief advisor to Chancellor Elizabeth (Beth) J. Stroble and has direct involvement in the strategic and day-to-day leadership of the institution.

Schuster assumed his position at Webster in July 2010, after serving as Founding Dean of the Hamline School of Business at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Prior to that, he served in several capacities at the University of New Haven from 1996 to 2006, including chair of the Department of Economics and Finance, director of the doctoral program, director of the Executive MBA Program and associate dean and dean of the School of Business.

Over the course of his career, Schuster has pioneered global alliances and promoted strategic investment in academic excellence, strengthening and expanding collaborations with more than a dozen international partner institutions.

Schuster received bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in economics from the University of Belgrade, one of the oldest and largest universities in the western Balkans. He currently serves on the Board of Governors of the University Avenue Business Association and on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Pluralism and Economic Education. Schuster's professional memberships include the American Economic Association, the Eastern Economic Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies.

Lisa Blazer serves as the Vice President for Enrollment Management. In this role, she leads strategic enrollment efforts, including oversight for Admissions, Registrar, Enrollment Technology, Financial Aid, International Admissions and Services, Online Learning Center, and Military Campus Operations. In collaboration with academic units and university departments, campuses and partners, Blazer oversees the development and implementation of the University’s strategic enrollment plan, building initiatives to expand opportunities for students to attend Webster’s online and face-to-face undergraduate and graduate programs.

Prior to joining Webster, Blazer served as the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services at Texas A&M University and served in multiple roles at the University of Texas at San Antonio, including Senior Associate Vice Provost for Academic Innovation, Interim Vice President for Strategic Enrollment and Associate Vice President for Financial Aid & Enrollment Services. Blazer is the recipient of the Alan W. Purdy Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). She served as the 2016-2017 NASFAA National Chair, and served as president in state and regional associations. She earned her bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Missouri Baptist University, and her master’s degree in organizational development and her doctoral degree in education with a focus on organizational leadership from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.

Lisa Brown is Webster University’s Vice President of Global Marketing and Strategic Communications and Chief Communications Officer (CCO). She has nearly four decades of experience in the communications field. Brown was hired by Webster University in 2020, after serving as director of communications for Eden Theological Seminary, located across the street from Webster University.

Before entering higher education, she co-founded and managed Salty Underground LLC, an international company that provided specialty products to aquarium hobbyists, for 12 years. In that role, she oversaw ecommerce sales, marketing, and the aquaculture faculties.

Prior to that, Brown was a marketing manager for Fleming Pharmaceuticals, was an account supervisor for the marketing and public relations firm Brighton Agency and worked in the newsrooms for ABC National News in Washington, D.C. and for television affiliates for CBS and NBC in Missouri. She also worked for Sargent & Potratz Advertising and PR, Wehrman & Company Graphic Design.

She has a bachelor’s in communications from American University and certifications from Google, Hootsuite, the Midwest Digital Marketing Conference and the Vermont Story Lab.

Ryan Elliott is primarily responsible for performance strategy development; departmental information systems and technology; gift/pledge processing and reporting; financial and business data reporting; process optimization; donor research and management; and constituent data integrity and biographical records management for 250,000+ records. Elliott represents the Office of Advancement in various University-wide planning and implementation committees involving the Chancellor President, Provost, Academic Affairs, Finance, Information Technology, Office of Research and Sponsored Grants, Student Affairs and more.

Elliott has 20+ years of progressive responsibility and experience in government, nonprofit agency and higher education environments, starting his career working in the U.S. House of Representatives, Third Congressional District-Missouri Office, of the Hon. Richard A. Gephardt, and as a fundraiser for the National MS Society-Gateway Area Chapter where he Implemented donor-based fundraising campaigns and special projects.

Elliott earned his Master of Arts in Media Communications with an emphasis in Public Relations from Webster University in 2004 and both a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Missouri. Additionally, he earned a certificate in fundraising from the IUPUI Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and is a multiple-time Ironman finisher.

Nancy Hellerud leads the Office of Academic Affairs, oversees Student Affairs and six of Webster’s international campuses.

As Vice President for Academic Affairs, Hellerud is responsible for Academic Affairs divisions and programs that support and strengthen student success, including Academic Advising, the Reeg Academic Resource Center and the Faculty Development Center. She is coordinating collaborative initiatives among the schools and colleges of Webster University. In support of global mobility for students and faculty, she oversees Study Abroad, Global Program Development, the Webster International Network of Schools (WINS) Program and the Confucius Institute. In addition, she manages Webster’s institutional accreditation and oversees the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.

Prior to joining Webster in 2011, Hellerud served as interim dean and associate dean of the Hamline University School of Business in St. Paul, Minnesota. She holds a JD from the University of Oregon School of Law, an MA in Liberal Studies from Hamline University and a BA in English and German, also from Hamline.

Rick Meyer is the University’s Chief Financial Officer. His position is part of the University’s senior leadership team and President's Council.

Meyer is a Missouri-licensed CPA with extensive experience in executive leadership, board management, nonprofit management, finance and accounting, construction and engineering, forensic accounting, litigation support, insurance, M&A and ERP implementation.

His previous experience includes a Big-4 CPA firm, regional construction company and a large international construction/engineering firm. Meyer is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and serves as the voluntary CFO of two nonprofit Veteran Service Organizations.

Jeanelle Wiley is responsible for managing all official correspondence with Trustees, maintaining official records of all trustees and trustee committee meetings, keeping official records of actions taken by trustees and providing assistance in interpreting policies and matters of jurisdiction and governance. She collaborates with the Chancellor, the President and Trustees to address issues of institutional governance, such as privacy, security, equity and communications. Wiley also serves as the University's liaison to external counsel for all legal issues institutionally.

In her role as Senior Privacy Director, Wiley serves as the main link and point of contact between University's privacy program and University´s Senior Leadership, Board of Trustees and various committees. She is responsible for the organization's privacy program system-wide including daily operations of the program, development, implementation, and maintenance of policies and procedures, monitoring program compliance, investigation and tracking of incidents and breaches and insuring constituents’ rights in compliance with international, federal and state laws and regulations. Wiley works closely with internal and external stakeholders at each of Webster University’s international campus locations and/or partner locations.

Wiley is a graduate of Central College in Pella, Iowa, where she received a bachelor's degree in French and International Management and received certification in Business and Economics from Institut Catholique in Paris. She began her career as a high school teacher and went on to receive teacher certification in French from Washington University. She also received certification in paralegal studies from Boston University and has more than 16 years of legal experience working with St. Louis area law firms. Wiley holds a Master of Arts in International Relations, graduating summa cum laude, from Webster University.

Currently, Wiley serves on the Board of Directors for Carney’s Kids, a nonprofit organization in St. Louis that provides financial support and creates positive publicity for not-for-profit organizations whose primary goal is to improve the lives of children.