Building a Call to Action Takes Collaboration from Engaged Thought Leaders

Our Expert Advisory Committee

  • Dr. Keith Curry

    CHAIR

  • Dr. Dominique Baker

  • Dr. Edward Bush

  • Dr. Charlene Dukes

  • Cheryl Hyman

  • Dr. Royel Johnson

  • Eddie Koen

  • Dr. Christopher Nellum

  • Dr. Kara Turner

  • Dr. Eboni Zamani-Gallaher

Download Full Bios

Meet the Policy & Research Team

  • Cristen Moore

    CONSULTANT, HCM Strategists

  • Zakiya Smith Ellis

    PRINCIPAL, EducationCounsel

  • Francesca Carpenter

    DIRECTOR OF EQUITY INITIATIVES, Achieving the Dream

  • Frank Swanzy Essien, Jr., Ph.D.

    STRATEGY OFFICER FOR RESEARCH, Lumina Foundation

  • Dr. Kelley Ditzel

    CONSULTANT, HCM Strategists

  • Bethany Little

    PRINCIPAL, EducationCounsel

  • Kristin Hultquist

    CO-FOUNDER & PARTNER, HCM Strategists

  • Martha Snyder

    POSTSECONDARY MANAGING DIRECTOR, HCM Strategists

  • Katie Lynne Morton

    PROJECT ADMINISTRATOR, HCM Strategists

  • Vasilisa "Lisa" Smith

    POLICY ASSOCIATE, EducationCounsel

  • Acknowledgements

    HCM Strategists recognizes Drs. Lara Couturier and Toya Barnes-Teamer, former Principals with HCM, for the inspiration they had for this work and their early contributions.

Download our Policy Team's Full Bios

In partnership with EducationCounsel and Achieving the Dream (ATD), and with support from Lumina Foundation, our work elevates the glaring and disproportional declines in Black college enrollment and seeks to provides a set of policy recommendations at the state and institutional levels that are grounded in data and centered around learner perspectives.

Learn More About Our Organizations

  • HCM Strategists is an impact-driven consulting firm that believes in the transformative power of education and work-based learning to improve social and economic mobility for communities that have been marginalized or historically underserved. Our work delivers a consequential impact on the national narrative, policy options and leaders responsible for change.

  • Lumina Foundation, an Indianapolis-based private foundation, is committed to enrolling and graduating more students from college, especially 21st century students: low-income students, students of color, first-generation students and adult learners. Lumina's goal is to increase the percentage of Americans who hold high-quality degrees and credentials to 60 percent by 2025. Lumina pursues Goal 2025 in three ways: by identifying and supporting effective practice, through public policy advocacy, and by using our communications and convening power to build public will for change.

  • EducationCounsel is a mission-based education consulting firm that combines significant experience in policy, strategy, law and advocacy to drive improvements in the U.S. education system. We develop and advance evidence-based ideas at the local, state, and national levels to strengthen educational systems and promote expanded opportunities and improved outcomes for all students in order to close achievement gaps and significantly improve education outcomes for all children from early childhood through postsecondary education.

  • Achieving the Dream (ATD) is a partner and champion of hard working leaders at more than 300 community colleges across the country. The community colleges we work with are distinct: They choose transformation over tradition, curiosity over inaction, innovation over status quo. Drawing on our expert coaches, groundbreaking programs, and national peer network, we build customized growth plans to address the unique challenges each institution faces. We provide institutional leaders, faculty, and staff with actionable solutions grounded in years of experience and the knowledge of what it’s like to be in their shoes.