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.
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INDIANAPOLIS — Strada Education Network, a nonprofit social impact organization dedicated to helping people achieve their career and life goals through education or training after high school, today announced Rhonda Powell will join the organization as executive vice president and general counsel.
Powell brings a proven track record of dynamic, inspired leadership and business experience to Strada, having spent more than 30 years helping companies succeed by developing strategic goals and maintaining growth in changing economic, cultural, and regulatory environments. She will join Strada after spending four years as the chief legal officer for BuzzFeed, where she leads the legal, business affairs and compliance functions and serves as a chief advisor to the global digital media company’s CEO and chairman on governance-related matters. In her role, Powell led BuzzFeed’s acquisitions of HuffPost and Complex Networks, as well as a special purpose acquisition company merger.
At Strada, Powell will lead the organization’s legal team, partner with groups throughout the organization on enterprise-wide initiatives, and serve as the principal legal advisor to the CEO and Board of Trustees. She will start her new role on Jan. 9 and will be based primarily in Strada’s Washington D.C. office.
“As we embark on an exciting journey to help more people achieve their own unique version of the American Dream of economic mobility, we are thrilled to welcome Rhonda Powell to Strada,” said Strada President and CEO Stephen Moret. “Rhonda will bring a great deal of relevant expertise and experience, a robust track record of professional accomplishments in multiple settings, and passion for our mission, as well as an innovative and collaborative approach. I am excited to have the opportunity to work with her to help execute Strada’s ambitious new strategic plan.”
Prior to joining Buzzfeed in 2018, Powell served as chief legal officer and corporate secretary for Complex Networks, and spent more than 12 years with Scripps Networks, including as vice president for business and legal Affairs, where she used her analytical skills and judgment to assist clients in the development and implementation of their strategic and tactical plans and to provide transactional support. She has also served as senior counsel at Reuters America, where she managed the company’s non-standard transactional agreements and commercial relationships relating to the licensing of content and news, strategic relationships, acquisitions, procurement, and outsourcing. Powell began her legal career in law firm practices, including the corporate departments of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, and Proskauer Rose LLP, where she worked on transactions in the communications, media, biotechnology and e-commerce areas.
“I am excited to join Strada in its mission to connect postsecondary education and training to successful and sustainable career paths and professional development,” Powell said. “Achieving equity in education and creating and maintaining paths to career success have always been overriding themes in my board service and in my personal commitments. I look forward to the opportunity to align my personal and professional focus at Strada and to help guide the organization’s efforts.”
Powell currently serves on the national board of directors for PowerMyLearning, which seeks to advance educational equity nationwide by activating the power of collaboration between teachers, students, and families, as well as for the Food Education Fund, which seeks to prepare and empower students to continue their education and cultivate sustainable careers through experiential learning in culinary arts, hospitality, and entrepreneurship.
Powell earned her law degree from the University of Michigan School of Law, where she was a Clarence Darrow Merit Scholar. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in sociology.
About Strada Education Network Strada Education Network is a national nonprofit dedicated to helping people take advantage of education and training after high school that helps them secure a good job, do meaningful work, contribute to their communities, and lead a fulfilling life. Strada helps students succeed beyond completion of a certificate or degree through its research, charitable grants, and social impact investments, as well as through the work of Strada-supported nonprofit organizations CAEL, Education at Work, InsideTrack, and Roadtrip Nation, which directly serve learners and workers. Learn more at stradaeducation.org.
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