Strada collaborates with students, policymakers, educators, and employers across the U.S. to strengthen the link between education and opportunity.
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We prioritize policies, practices, and programs that help ensure postsecondary education provides equitable pathways to opportunity.
We advance our mission through research, grantmaking, social impact investments, public policy solutions, Strada-supported nonprofit organizations, and strategic initiatives.
Silver Creek Partners LLC
Edward R. Schmidt is president and CEO of Silver Creek Partners LLC in suburban Indianapolis. He is a retired partner of the Indianapolis-based law firm Krieg DeVault LLP, a former executive vice president of Sallie Mae Inc., and the former executive vice president, general counsel, and secretary of USA Group Inc.
Schmidt joined USA Group in 1991 and was elected to the board of directors in 1993. In 1996, he was elected to the USA Funds Board of Trustees. He served as Strada Education Network’s board chairman from 2017 to 2020.
Earlier in his career, he served as president of Commonwealth Title Services of Indiana Inc. and as senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Wainwright Financial Corp. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Susquehanna University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Notre Dame, and is licensed to practice law in the state of Indiana. Schmidt is a member of the Indiana and Indianapolis Bar Associations and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation.
Schmidt is an emeritus member and a former vice chair of the board of trustees of Susquehanna University, where he also served as chair of its compensation committee. His community activities include serving as board chair of Healthcare Initiatives Inc. and as a member of the board and executive committee of Indiana Hemophilia & Thrombosis Center. Additionally, he is a member of the Board of Chancellors of the Indiana state chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, as well as the Law Advisory Council of the Notre Dame Law School. He was a founding member of the board of directors of Lumina Foundation and served from 2001 to 2009.
He resides in suburban Indianapolis.
Strada Education Network celebrates the grand opening of the new Indianapolis office. This new space is critical as Strada mobilizes its resources to work towards its mission of “Completion With a Purpose” and make the largest possible impact on the state of education in the US.