Our Team

Higher education’s measurement of student success is in the midst of an evolution. For nearly five decades, success efforts focused on access, then two decades with completion as the horizon for success, and now the focus is extending to student outcomes beyond completion.

Credit for prior learning helped Loyce Shelley see herself in a new way — and complete her degree.

Deborah Santiago’s parents always made clear she and her three siblings would go to college.

Long before COVID-19, America’s most vulnerable students were struggling to access not only education and skills training, but the social connections that open doors to great careers. Aimée Eubanks Davis, founder and CEO of Braven, says the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on low-income and minority communities has also laid bare inequities in the education-to-workforce ecosystem. It’s time, she says, to level the playing field so all college graduates can secure strong first jobs that lead to long-term career success.

Strada partners at the Community Education Coalition in Southeast Indiana are engaging with educators, employers, policymakers and community organizations to improve postsecondary education and build a talent pool that will serve area businesses for decades to come.

Strada cast the net wide in 2019 to identify and support seven new partners who are creating opportunities for learners across the country to move seamlessly between education and meaningful careers.

The high stakes for students from underrepresented backgrounds.

I know it’s difficult to believe, but the best part of my job in philanthropy is not giving away money. That’s fun, to be sure, but much more rewarding is building relationships and collaborating with Strada Education Network’s grant recipients, creating stronger pathways between education and employment.