SHEEO welcomes two new policy staff – Cuellarsola and Walker

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The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) recently welcomed two new staff members to support state policy initiatives to help advance student success and strengthen postsecondary systems. Lily Cuellarsola joined SHEEO as a Senior Policy Analyst on July 20, while Joshua Walker joined as a Policy Analyst on July 27.

Lily will support SHEEO’s policy initiatives and projects in basic needs data, academic programs, and student success. Before SHEEO, Lily built a career across higher education, most recently serving as Senior Research Manager at Excelencia in Education, where she led a research portfolio and directed the development and publication of reports advancing Latino student success. As a Research Associate at EAB, she advised institutions on aligning curricula with labor market demands. She began her career as a Research Assistant in Wellesley College’s Office of Institutional Research, supporting the college’s reaccreditation and annual reporting.

Lily is a first-generation college graduate with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Wellesley College.

Joshua will support SHEEO’s policy agenda by conducting research and analysis, providing technical support for state higher education agencies, and creating resources to translate evidence into actionable policy solutions.

Before joining SHEEO, Joshua served as an Associate at Education Strategy Group, where he worked on state and system-level initiatives focused on postsecondary attainment, adult learner success, workforce alignment, dual enrollment, and institutional strategy. Prior to his time at Ed Strategy Group, he was a Policy Analyst at The Hunt Institute, where he supported research and technical assistance projects centered on educator workforce, school choice and finance, state longitudinal data systems, and other initiatives aimed at advancing systems change and improving student outcomes. 

Joshua earned a Master of Public Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the inaugural MPP cohort and completed a Graduate Certificate in Innovation for the Public Good. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Learn more about SHEEO staff on our website: https://sheeo.org/about/sheeo-staff/

Sachith Patabendi joins SHEEO as new Executive Assistant/Operations Manager

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The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) is pleased to welcome Sachith Patabendi to the team. Sachith joined the SHEEO staff as Executive Assistant and Operations Manager earlier this week. In this role, Sachith will manage the daily operations of the organization and the Washington, D.C. office. He will focus on supporting the SHEEO staff, streamlining organizational workflows, managing complex scheduling, assisting with SHEEO events, and ensuring the office remains an efficient and productive environment for the team.

Prior to joining SHEEO, Sachith spent over eight years supporting senior leadership in an office manager and executive assistant role at Nokkam Inc., a graphic design firm based in Rockville, Maryland. There, he oversaw a wide range of cross-functional initiatives, including financial reporting and strategic communications, bringing a unique blend of operational rigor and creative problem-solving to his work. 

For more information about SHEEO staff, visit our staff webpage.

SHEEO welcomes State Policy Interns 

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The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) is pleased to welcome two State Policy Interns for the summer. Mya Haynes and Jaden Mikoulinskii joined SHEEO’s team this week.

Over the next few months, Mya Haynes will support SHEEO’s Holistic Advising for Student Success project, including analyzing baseline assessments of seven states’ advising ecosystems and identifying research on best practices at the state level. Jaden Mikoulinskii will aid SHEEO’s efforts in creating a state higher education governance database to better document the complexities that SHEEO agencies function within, and she’ll develop a tool to help SHEEO agencies identify peers from a functions perspective.

Jaden is a doctoral student at the University of Georgia’s Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education. She currently serves as a Research Assistant with the University System of Georgia’s Division of Research and Policy Analysis, where she conducts quantitative and policy analyses to support system leadership and state decision-makers. Her research interests exist at the nexus of higher education policy, political economies, and funding. 

Jaden earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Jaden also holds a Master of Arts in Higher Education, Student Affairs, and International Education Policy from the University of Maryland, College Park. While at Maryland, Jaden engaged with institutional, state, and federal higher education governance systems, learning valuable insights to bridge policy, research, and practice.

Mya is a Ph.D. candidate and Provost’s Fellow studying education with a concentration in higher education at the University of Southern California. She is also a Research Assistant at the Race and Equity Center and the Pullias Center for Higher Education. Mya draws on interdisciplinary perspectives from higher education policy, psychology, sociology, and critical studies to examine how sociopolitical contexts and policy shifts shape students’ experiences on campus. Her research focuses broadly on issues of race and equity in higher education, examining how racial disparities shape access and success for marginalized students, faculty, and staff. Mya’s commitments to equity in higher education are directly informed by her identities as a Black woman and first-generation college graduate.

Mya earned a bachelor’s in sociology and a master’s in higher education with a concentration in public policy from the University of Michigan, where she was a Rackham Merit Fellow. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, Mya worked as a Senior Analyst at Ithaka S+R.

Learn more about SHEEO’s staff and current work at sheeo.org.

SHEEO welcomes Mayfield as new Senior Policy Analyst

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The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) welcomed Dr. Stephen Mayfield to the team earlier this week. In his role as Senior Policy Analyst, Dr. Mayfield will focus on supporting SHEEO’s research and policy initiatives, with a focus on state postsecondary data systems, noncredit mobility, and student basic needs.

Dr. Mayfield most recently served as a Research Education Analyst at RTI International, where he worked on analytic tasks for the U. S. Department of Education’s major postsecondary studies, including the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), and the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS). Dr. Mayfield led teams contributing to federal reports such as the Condition of Education and the Digest of Education Statistics, and conducted research on the nation’s college and university landscape for the National Science Foundation. 

Earlier in his career, Dr. Mayfield directed institutional research efforts at Gwinnett Technical College and served as Assistant Director of Foundation Relations at Georgia Gwinnett College.

Dr. Mayfield holds a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Georgia and a bachelor’s degree in international economics and modern languages from Georgia State University.

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

SHEEO welcomes Gheesling as new Associate Vice President

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The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) is pleased to welcome Dr. Corey Gheesling to the team. In his role as Associate Vice President, Dr. Gheesling will focus on building SHEEO’s workforce development portfolio to complement and engage state higher education agencies in their continued efforts to meet economic and workforce demands. With a distinguished career in higher education policy and practice, Dr. Gheesling brings expertise in aligning academic systems with evolving workforce needs and fostering cross-sector collaboration.

Dr. Gheesling joins SHEEO from the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, where he most recently served as Associate Director for Workforce Development. In that role, he led statewide efforts to align academic programs with economic and workforce development priorities, supported strategic outreach around South Carolina’s Public Agenda for Higher Education—Ascend 60×30—and advanced frameworks for transfer efficiency and credit mobility.

Dr. Gheesling’s previous roles include leading the academic affairs division at the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, where he managed more than $20 million in Coronavirus Relief Funds and chaired a statewide task force on the Future of Work and Higher Education. Dr. Gheesling began his career in education as a social studies teacher and coach before transitioning to higher education as an instructional designer and technologist at Furman University. 

He is a 2025 graduate of the Furman University Riley Institute Diversity Leaders Initiative Fellowship and a former participant in LEAD Tennessee, the state’s executive leadership development program.

Dr. Gheesling holds a doctorate in higher education leadership and policy from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University, a master’s degree in youth development leadership from Clemson University, and a bachelor’s degree in history and sociology with secondary educator certification from Furman University.

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

SHEEO welcomes McGuire and Castrejón as State Policy Interns

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The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) is pleased to welcome Adalberto “Beto” Castrejón and Lauren McGuire as State Policy Interns this summer.

Over the next few months, Beto will support SHEEO’s Examining Funding Models for Unintentional Disparities project, including synthesizing curated equitable funding research for state policymakers and highlighting actionable steps SHEEO agencies can take toward analyzing existing higher education funding structures. Lauren will support SHEEO’s Strong Foundations project, where she will analyze the 2025 survey results and share the findings through reports and dashboard developments. Lauren will also support the rural focus of this project by conducting focus groups and analyzing the findings to share with research and data professionals at SHEEO agencies. 

Lauren is a doctoral candidate at North Carolina State University studying educational leadership, policy, and human development. Her research interests include labor organizing in higher education, state policy diffusion and collaboration, civic education, and college access.

Lauren earned her bachelor’s degree in urban and regional planning from Michigan State University, where she learned the value of research-practice partnerships. She also holds a Master of Public Policy from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development. While at Vanderbilt, she leveraged her data analysis skills to improve academic affairs policies and procedures, in addition to gaining valuable research administration experience.

Beto is currently a doctoral student in the educational policy studies program at UW-Madison, where he is also an Interdisciplinary Training Program in Education Sciences (ITP) Fellow and Education Graduate Research Scholar (Ed-GRS) in the School of Education. He holds a B.A. in business marketing from the University of Northern Iowa and an M.A. in Higher Education and Student Affairs, along with a graduate certificate in Institutional Research and Effectiveness from the University of Iowa.

Beto seeks to promote equity in college preparation, access, and success using quantitative research methods to evaluate policies and programs aimed at enhancing equitable outcomes for historically underserved communities. His research interests have been formed from his identity as a first-generation Mexican American, his professional work in college admissions, and in supporting college student success.

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

SHEEO seeks Associate Vice President to strengthen workforce connection

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About the position:

SHEEO is looking for an Associate Vice President to lead policy analysis, research, and project management on initiatives that strengthen the connection between higher education, workforce needs, and state economic development. Your work will focus on key higher education policy areas, including postsecondary attainment, student success, and workforce development, ensuring that state postsecondary agencies are responsive to labor market demands and contribute to state economic vitality. This position will report to the Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff. The Associate Vice President will collaborate with state agencies, policymakers, and institutional leaders to develop strategies that align education pathways with workforce opportunities, improve student career outcomes, and support state economic development objectives. Key responsibilities include managing projects that advance workforce-aligned higher education policies, conducting research and policy analysis on postsecondary education and labor market trends, developing publications, presentations, and learning experiences to inform stakeholders, collaborating with partners and funders, contributing to annual conference planning, and providing support to our members across the country.  

The successful candidate will have expertise in higher education policy, workforce development, and economic strategy. This role offers an opportunity to contribute to the development of successful education-to-career pathways and strengthen state-level policy responses to workforce needs.    

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Provide project, grants management, administrative, and logistical support to keep projects on track and ensure deadlines are met.
  • Conduct policy analysis and research on higher education and workforce alignment.
  • Produce reports, papers, and presentations to disseminate analysis and research to key stakeholders. 
  • Represent SHEEO at, and assist in planning and conducting, state, regional, and national meetings.
  • Provide thought leadership and subject matter expertise on the intersections between state and federal higher education, labor, and commerce policies.
  • Build and maintain collaborative relationships with SHEEO member agencies and partner organizations. 
  • Develop new opportunities for funded projects and build and maintain relationships with funders.
  • Respond to information requests from SHEEO members. 
  • Develop and maintain knowledge regarding current activities and future trends in public higher education.

Qualifications, Skills, and Experiences

We’re looking for a combination of the following qualifications, skills, and experiences:

  • A master’s degree in higher education, public policy, economics, workforce development, or a related field.
  • At least seven years of experience in a role with expanding responsibilities in a similar field. 
  • Leadership experience in a policy organization, government agency, higher education system, or nonprofit organization.
  • Experience developing and implementing statewide or national policies related to higher education and workforce alignment.
  • Experience collaborating with state agencies, policymakers, and business leaders. 
  • Demonstrated ability or potential to obtain outside funding for special projects.
  • Knowledge of or experience with SHEEO agencies.
  • Knowledge of or experience with partner agencies, organizations, and foundations.  
  • A passion for advancing educational and economic opportunity.

Travel: 

With offices in two locations and members across the country, the Associate Vice President will be required to participate in periodic overnight, out-of-state travel.

Salary and Benefits: 

Salary will be commensurate with the successful candidate’s level of education and experience, with a potential range of $100,00-$120,000. SHEEO is committed to supporting our staff’s physical, emotional, and financial well-being and, therefore, offers a comprehensive benefits package for you and eligible dependents. The benefits include a 10% contribution to employees’ retirement plans, 22 days of annual vacation, and 11 paid holidays in addition to the workdays between December 25 and January 1, and subsidized (i.e., 85% paid) health premiums. SHEEO also offers support for employee cost of attendance at professional meetings and for short-term courses related to an employee’s work responsibilities.  

Application Process:

The application deadline for this position has passed.

SHEEO seeks State Policy Summer Interns

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About the Position

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) seeks candidates for two paid internships for the summer of 2025. The ideal candidate will be a motivated, active learner interested in higher education policy, state governance, and policy analysis. This internship is appropriate for students pursuing graduate study or a career in higher education, public policy, public administration, and related fields. 

Interns will provide support on a variety of projects depending on the intern’s skills and interests and SHEEO’s needs. Your work will center on policy areas that may include college attainment, student success, data systems, workforce development, or higher education finance. Interns will work closely with the internship coordinator and their supervisors to develop and work toward achieving professional goals while working alongside a talented SHEEO team and their projects. 

This year, interns will be primarily working on one of the following SHEEO projects: A) Strong Foundations or B) Equity and Adequacy Funding Research. Interns will have the opportunity to work on other projects as workload permits. 

Examples of Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Create and maintain state policy and news inventories. 
  • Curate unique data sources for analysis. 
  • Perform data analysis and discover trends to support publications. 
  • Assist with active survey administration. 
  • Generate and review website content. 
  • Contribute to meeting agenda planning. 
  • Design and build data visualizations. 
  • Draft various publications (e.g., blog posts, social media content, reports). 
  • Complete an independent research project using SHEEO resources. 
  • Attend and assist SHEEO staff with our annual Higher Education Policy Conference. 

Qualifications and Experiences

SHEEO is seeking individuals with a combination of the following backgrounds and qualifications: 

  • Demonstrated interest in, enthusiasm for, and curiosity about state higher education policy or the impacts of federal higher education policy on states. 
  • Recently completed coursework or actively working in higher education, public policy, public administration, or a related field; experience with statistics or research methods is a plus. 
  • A commitment to advancing equity and student success in higher education. 
  • Experience working with large quantitative datasets and/or qualitative data, with knowledge of higher education data preferred. 
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite. 
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills. 

Goals of the SHEEO State Policy Internship Program

Through its summer internship program, SHEEO hopes to enhance future higher education policy practitioners, analysts, and researchers by: 

  • Including interns in an expansive array of higher education policy topics and projects. 
  • Advancing equity and diversity in state higher education policy discussions. 
  • Increasing the skills and knowledge of those who aim to work within the state higher education policy field. 
  • Providing opportunities to network and meet with current state agency policymakers and other higher education policy partners. 

The internship duration is flexible and will last for approximately 10 to 14 weeks, beginning in late May or early June. Interns may work remotely or on a hybrid schedule in our Boulder, Colorado, or Washington, D.C., office. Interns are invited to visit one of the two offices at the beginning of the internship. Toward the end of the internship period, interns are additionally invited to attend and help host the SHEEO Higher Education Policy Conference in Minneapolis, which will be held from August 11-14, 2025. Interns are considered non-exempt employees and are expected to work a minimum of 30 hours per week, with schedules determined by mutual arrangement. This internship is paid at $23 per hour. 

SHEEO seeks and strongly encourages individuals from historically underrepresented or marginalized groups to apply.

The application deadline for this position has passed.

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/.