Colorado and Kunkle promoted to Senior Policy Analysts at SHEEO

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The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) announces the promotion of Jessica Colorado and Kelsey Kunkle to the position of Senior Policy Analyst. Both Colorado and Kunkle have previously served SHEEO as policy analysts.

Jessica Colorado joined SHEEO in 2021. Colorado assists in a variety of policy areas, including research and data, finance, and student success projects. Colorado primarily oversees the development, administration, and analysis of SHEEO’s Strong Foundations survey of state postsecondary data systems to highlight the value of student unit record systems and promote the use of the survey data for increased advocacy for data collaborations across state agencies and nationally among peers. Colorado also contributes to the development of technical assistance and professional development materials for state practitioners attending SHEEO’s Community of Practice convenings. In addition to Strong Foundations, Colorado also supports the SHEEO Tuition and Fee survey administration.

Kelsey Kunkle also joined SHEEO in 2021, first starting as a state policy intern. Kunkle currently leads the State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) project, which examines the trends, context, and consequences of state higher education funding decisions using detailed data on state and local funding, tuition revenue, and enrollment, with interactive data visualization materials. In her role, Kunkle also supports several other finance and policy projects at SHEEO, including Examining Funding Models for Unintended Disparities and Communities of Practice for Supporting Student Borrowers.

Learn more about our team at https://sheeo.org/about/sheeo-staff/.

SHEEO welcomes Brenna Mathews as new Administrative Coordinator

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The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) welcomed Brenna Mathews as its new Administrative Coordinator.

In her role, Mathews will support SHEEO staff in events, communications, and clerical duties on a variety of SHEEO projects. 

Prior to joining SHEEO, Mathews served as the graduate assistant for the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education’s administrative staff and worked with special programs. Mathews’ experience includes coordinating the Governor’s Teaching Fellows, an outreach program hosted by the McBee Institute to train faculty from across the state of Georgia, and across disciplines, to improve pedagogical techniques. 

Mathews found her passion for higher education during her time in undergraduate education when she served as an admissions ambassador and orientation leader. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky University in political science and Arabic language and culture, and a Master of Education from the University of Georgia.

Learn more about our team at https://sheeo.org/about/sheeo-staff/.

SHEEO Seeking State Policy Summer Interns for 2024

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The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) is excited to announce an opportunity for students interested in higher education policy and governance, policy analysis, and research methods. SHEEO is seeking candidates for its paid State Policy Summer Internship for the summer of 2024.

This internship is ideal for motivated, active learners pursuing graduate study or a career in higher education, public policy, public administration, or related fields. Interns will have the opportunity to work remotely or on a hybrid schedule in either SHEEO’s Boulder, Colorado, or Washington, D.C., office.

Selected interns will collaborate with SHEEO on a variety of projects depending on their skills and interests. The internship duration is flexible, lasting approximately 10 to 14 weeks, beginning in May or early June. Interns will receive a living stipend for those relocating for the summer, and remote interns are invited to visit one of the two offices for a week-long stay at the beginning of their internship period. Interns will have the chance to attend and help host the SHEEO Higher Education Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., from August 5-8, 2024.

Interns will be engaged in diverse duties and responsibilities, including maintaining state policy and news inventories, conducting data analysis, generating website content, contributing to meeting agenda planning, drafting various publications, and completing an independent research project using SHEEO resources.

Applicants should have a demonstrated interest in higher education policy, a commitment to advancing equity and student success, experience with large quantitative datasets, proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, and excellent written and oral communication skills. Interns are considered non-exempt employees and are expected to work a minimum of 25 hours per week, with schedules determined by mutual arrangement. This is a paid internship ($23 per hour).

The application deadline is March 1, 2024. Interested candidates are encouraged to review the full job listing and complete the application process.

SHEEO is dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities and believes that recruiting and developing a diverse and inclusive staff is essential to the organization’s success.

For more information about the State Policy Summer Internship program, please find the full job posting here.

Sean Baser joins SHEEO as senior policy analyst

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The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) welcomed Sean Baser this week as a new senior policy analyst. In his new role, Baser will provide support on a variety of projects and initiatives, including efforts to improve noncredit postsecondary education opportunities and state authorization, as well as the development and analysis of SHEEO’s membership report and Strong Foundations survey of postsecondary data systems.

Prior to joining SHEEO, Baser served as a graduate research assistant and research associate with the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. In this role, he provided quantitative and qualitative expertise by collecting and reporting data, conducting advanced statistical analysis, synthesizing academic literature and policy trends, and developing visualizations and dashboards to improve decision-making on a wide range of higher education topics (namely, strategic enrollment management).

Baser’s research interests lie at the nexus of education politics, policy, and governance. His recent work has focused on state authorization, interest groups, dual enrollment, community college governance, state-level changes to tenure policies, and the role of political nonprofits and “dark money” in education.

Baser earned an associate degree in business administration from Tulsa Community College in 2014, dual bachelor’s degrees in political science and management information systems from Oklahoma State University in 2015, and a master’s in education in higher education from the University of Houston in 2016. He is currently a Ph.D. student in the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia.

Learn more about our team at sheeo.org/about/sheeo-staff/.

About SHEEO

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit sheeo.org. 

SHEEO welcomes Kristine and Pearson as state policy interns

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The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) welcomes Kristine Jan Cruz Espinoza and Pearson Brown as state policy interns. 

During her internship at SHEEO, Kristine will work on the state higher education finance (SHEF) project, assist with data collection on federal grant funds to Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), and help construct an MSI funding project dataset.

Kristine is a Ph.D. student studying higher education and completing a graduate certificate in program evaluation and assessment at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Her research interests include race-based higher education policies, currently focusing on Minority-Serving Institutions and racial data classification. Kristine most recently worked as a graduate assistant for a National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education HSI grant-funded professional development program. She also serves on UNLV’s MSI Student Council, which involves undergraduate and graduate students in decision-making around campuswide MSI efforts. Prior to doctoral study, Kristine worked full time as a student affairs officer in the UCLA Asian American Studies Department. Kristine attended Long Beach City College, transferring to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, where she earned bachelor’s degrees in biology and anthropology, and a master’s of education in educational administration.

During his time at SHEEO, Pearson will work on the state higher education finance (SHEF) project, modeling a federal free-college program, and assist with the FASFA simplification project. 

Pearson is a Ph.D. student in the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia with research interests in funding sources for higher education and state appropriation processes. Pearson also serves as a graduate assistant for the University System of Georgia’s Division of Research and Policy Analysis. He has recently worked on projects pertaining to gateway course completion, ways course outcomes differ across modalities, and graduates’ earnings. Pearson earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration in professional selling from Baylor University and his master’s of education in college student affairs administration from the University of Georgia. 

Learn more about our team at https://sheeo.org/about/sheeo-staff/.

About SHEEO

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit sheeo.org. 

SHEEO Announces Promotion of Klein and Weeden to Position of Associate Vice President

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) today announces the promotion of Carrie Klein and Dustin Weeden to the position of associate vice president. Both Klein and Weeden have served SHEEO as senior policy analysts.

Klein joined SHEEO’s Washington, D.C. office in May 2021. She leads SHEEO’s Strong Foundations survey and reporting project, through which she advances SHEEO’s efforts to promote effective use of state postsecondary data resources and P20W connections. Building on prior postsecondary institutional experience and analytics research, Dr. Klein develops productive relationships with partner organizations and provides relevant content expertise and technical assistance to state agency research and data policymakers to improve state and student outcomes.

Weeden joined SHEEO in October 2017, working out of SHEEO’s Boulder, Colorado, office. He leads SHEEO’s research and policy analysis related to state authorization and college affordability.Weeden currently leads efforts directed at helping states prepare for implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act, and spearheads SHEEO’s focus on improving state consumer protection policies. 

“Both of these team members have done excellent work, taking on increased responsibilities and embodying leadership traits that help advance the work of SHEEO among our member organizations,” said Rob Anderson, SHEEO president. “We are excited to recognize their efforts publicly and look forward to seeing their continued growth.”

Learn more about our team at https://sheeo.org/about/sheeo-staff/.

About SHEEO

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit sheeo.org.