Kate has over 14 years of experience in higher education leadership, specializing in guided pathways strategy, equity-centered institutional transformation, and strategic planning. A cultural anthropologist by training, she brings a systems-thinking approach to complex organizational change, combining project management rigor with facilitation expertise to help institutions execute large-scale student success initiatives.

Kate's higher education career includes eight years of direct experience implementing state-mandated policy in Washington State's community and technical college system. As Executive Director of Guided Pathways at Seattle Central College, she managed a $1.6 million portfolio to execute Washington State Legislature's HB 2158 (2019), successfully integrating multiple transformational projects into long-term college operations. These initiatives included English and math directed self-placement, Black solidarity decision-making processes, comprehensive program mapping, and pathway website redesigns. She also played a major role in aligning the college's federal Title III grant with pathways implementation goals. Prior to this role, Kate served as Associate Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, where she managed 100+ union employees across 19 departments while launching the college's initial guided pathways work.

Since founding Learn Consulting in 2024, Kate has expanded her impact at the systems level. She serves as both coach and consultant for the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, where she is building and executing statewide learning communities for AI and guided pathways implementation. Her focus is developing administrator capacity for leading student success initiatives and transformational change across Washington's 34 community and technical colleges. Her consulting work extends nationally through partnerships with organizations including Complete College America, where she provides planning and implementation support and strategic guidance to state systems and institutions.

Kate's approach combines her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification with her background in cultural anthropology and ethnographic research. She has designed and taught curriculum on race, class, gender, globalization, and environmentalism, and brings this equity lens to all her consulting work. Her methodology emphasizes building effective interdepartmental teams, establishing clear priorities and work structures, and executing change through proven project management tools and techniques. 

Kate holds a Master's degree in Cultural Anthropology and a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology. She is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP) and maintains extensive facilitation training.

Expertise and Practice Areas:

Guided pathways strategy and implementation

Change management and organizational transformation

Project management and interdepartmental team building

Strategic planning and systems-level coordination

Facilitation and workshop design

Leadership development and coaching

Student success initiative design and execution

Equity-centered program development

Grant management and alignment

Community of practice development

Assessment and data-informed decision-making

Qualitative and ethnographic research methods.

Kerry Condon is a strategic advisor and higher education leader with over a decade of experience designing, evaluating, and scaling learner-focused innovations that improve access, affordability, and economic mobility. She brings deep expertise in financial aid policy, institutional transformation, and workforce alignment to help postsecondary institutions, state agencies, and philanthropic organizations achieve equitable, sustainable impact.

Kerry most recently served as Strategic Advisor to the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, where she staffed the design, launch, and setup of the MA DHE Innovation Hub, directing $3M in strategic investments across capacity-building, non-degree credentials, cooperative education, and financial aid innovation. She negotiated and managed complex grant agreements and led innovation pilots across Massachusetts with postsecondary institutions, third-party providers, and nonprofit partners to identify and scale promising practices in student success.

Prior to this role, Kerry served as Principal at Tyton Partners, a national strategy consulting firm, where she led client engagements in postsecondary education, workforce development, and philanthropy. Her work included directing a $1M impact evaluation of foundation investments in education-to-workforce data systems and co-authoring longitudinal research on institutional practices and policies that close equity gaps. Earlier in her career, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she led strategic finance initiatives including co-directing over $100M in COVID relief funds and designing budget allocation models for approximately $1B in tuition and state appropriations.

Kerry's career is rooted in a commitment to equity and student success shaped by her own educational journey as a high school dropout and community college transfer student. As Special Assistant to the President at Paul Quinn College, she raised $3M for the institution and contributed to the growth of the Urban Work College model. Her consulting portfolio has spanned research and evaluation, strategic planning, and partnership development with organizations including rpk GROUP, Duke University, Say Yes to Education, and SRI International.

Kerry holds a Master of Public Policy from Duke University, where she was a Rubenstein Public Service Fellow, and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science from UNC Chapel Hill, where she graduated summa cum laude. She serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate with Boston CASA, representing the best interests of children in foster care.

Expertise and Practice Areas:

Equity-focused systems change

Financial aid policy and strategy

Impact and program evaluation

Institutional transformation and change management

Non-degree credentials

Strategic finance and resource allocation

Strategic planning and implementation

Workforce development and talent pathways.

Lori Lindenberg is a higher education executive with more than a decade of experience leading institutional research, data strategy, strategic planning, and budget optimization across community college and university systems. Her work is driven by a commitment to expanding access, strengthening public institutions, and building data-informed cultures that enable transformative student and organizational outcomes.

Lori currently serves as Senior Associate Vice President of Institutional Research, Planning, and Budget at Scottsdale Community College, where she leads analytics, grants, and fiscal teams while overseeing strategic and operational planning. As a member of the President’s Cabinet and chair of the Strategic Planning and Resource Allocation Committee (SPARC), she is guiding the college through a multi-year budget reallocation, mission and vision development, and a comprehensive strategic plan refresh.

Previously, Lori served as Senior Director of Data Strategy and Asset Orchestration in Arizona State University’s Provost Office, where she led enterprise-wide data initiatives, data  governance programs, and the ASU Datacademy professional training platform. She also served as District Director of Enterprise Analytics & Strategy for the Maricopa Community Colleges District, where she led a team to build the organization’s first ever enterprise dashboards, developed compelling and action-driving data products, and scaled modern data infrastructure serving more than 100,000 students and 10,000 employees. Earlier in her career, Lori held leadership and analytic roles at Phoenix College and the University of North Dakota, advancing enrollment forecasting, incentive-based budgeting, and institutional research capabilities.

Lori is a frequent national presenter at higher education conferences and her work advancing institutional analytics was a part of the project that earned Maricopa’s Innovation of the Year Award in 2022. She serves on the Complete College America AI Council and is the co-founder of Kea Consultants, where she supports colleges and universities in strengthening analytics, planning, and decision-making systems.

Lori is a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership at Northern Arizona University and holds both a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Public Administration from the University of North Dakota.

Expertise and Practice Areas:

Data strategy and analytics

Strategic and operational planning

Institutional research

Financial process improvement and budget optimization

Dashboard and data product development

Data storytelling & process visualization

Data governance and infrastructure

Agile project and portfolio management

Higher education analytics and decision support

Institutional effectiveness and performance management.

Reyna M. Flores brings 15 years of experience in student success, academic advising, and equity-focused program development, specializing in college access and persistence strategy. She is an educator, researcher, and equity-driven leader who partners with schools, colleges, and universities to design and implement strategies that strengthen student access, persistence, and completion. 

Her higher education career spans student affairs and academic support roles at private and public 4-year institutions. Her experience encompasses recruiting students into one of Texas’s top engineering programs, coordinating retention and academic support services for first-generation, economically disadvantaged, and racially minoritized students, and leading grant-funded initiatives with multi-staff operations and formal assessment components. Her doctoral research at The University of Texas at Austin focused on college persistence among students of Mexican descent from farmworking backgrounds in south Texas, contributing to national conversations on belonging, identity, and educational equity. 

Since founding Rosa Pathways, Dr. Flores has expanded her impact by advising school districts and colleges on strengthening college access pipelines, improving persistence strategies, and designing student-centered interventions grounded in asset-based frameworks. Her approach integrates qualitative data, stakeholder engagement, and culturally sustaining practices to translate research into scalable strategies that inform policy and practice across PK-16 systems and higher education institutions. 

Dr. Flores is an active leader in national and state-level higher education organizations. She currently serves as Secretary of the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE) State Board and has held leadership roles with the St. Edward’s University CAMP Alumni Association and the Hispanic Faculty/Staff Association at UT Austin. She has received recognition from the Latino Texas Policy Center (Policy Fellow), TACHE (Graduate Fellow), the Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators (Thomas Moorman Fellow), and has received competitive funding and recognition from NASPA, TACUSPA, AERA, ASHE, and The University of Texas at Austin. 

She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy from The University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Education degree in higher education and student affairs from Texas State University, and a Bachelor's degree in psychology from St. Edward’s University, where she graduated cum laude. 

Expertise and Practice Areas: 

College access and persistence strategy design 

Equity-centered student success initiatives 

First-generation and migrant student success 

PK-16 and cross-sector partnership development 

Culturally responsive and asset-based program design 

Qualitative research  

Student advising, retention, and transition strategies 

Program development, implementation, and evaluation 

Policy-informed practice and systems change 

Belonging, identity, and student experience design es here

David has over 15 years of experience as a higher education researcher and strategic consultant dedicated to improving and creating more equitable educational outcomes and economic mobility.

While at EAB, the global research and technology firm, he led teams that produced in-depth studies on academic advising, student success change management, academic program evaluation, and overcoming barriers to equitable outcomes. He was responsible for serving over 300 chief academic officers and over 200 community college presidents in the firm's research membership programs.

He also led the consulting team for the Moon Shot for Equity, an initiative that convenes community colleges and four-year institutions to eliminate equity gaps in graduation rates across entire regions of the United States. In both his research and consulting capacities at EAB, he led dozens of interactive workshops for college and university leaders including provosts, presidents, deans, and department chairs. 

At the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, David served as the Director of Research and Knowledge Management. He oversaw the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence in 2022 and 2023, including the site visits to the ten finalist institutions and supported the Prize jury with documentation of the strengths and weaknesses of each institution. David's research team produced studies on rural community college excellence and equity in STEM programs. Finally, David led the research and cohort management efforts for the joint Aspen-Community College Research Center Unlocking Opportunity Network, a coalition of ten community colleges dedicated to moving more students into high-value academic programs that contribute to economic mobility and talent development. 

David’s career in higher education began when he staffed the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Academic Plan Steering Committee in the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. He holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science and Spanish from UNC Chapel Hill. 

Expertise and Practice Areas:

Academic advising reform

Guided pathways strategy

Program portfolio management

Academic program review

Student success technology utilization

Student onboarding redesign

Qualitative research.

Spencer Barney is a research and analytics leader specializing in higher education market strategy, workforce economics, and institutional research. His work centers on helping colleges and universities better understand labor market trends, student demand, and emerging economic opportunities to support sustainable growth and strategic decision-making.

At Western Governors University, Spencer led research initiatives supporting more than 120 academic programs serving over 200,000 students nationwide. His work integrates labor market intelligence, economic analysis, demographic research, and competitive benchmarking to evaluate program opportunities and inform institutional strategy. He has developed forecasting models, workforce pathway frameworks, and executive reporting systems used to guide academic investment and operational planning.

Spencer’s background includes extensive experience translating complex quantitative and qualitative research into accessible insights for executive leaders and cross-functional stakeholders. His areas of expertise include market analysis, workforce strategy, business intelligence, and economic trend evaluation, particularly as they relate to higher education transformation and workforce alignment.

He earned his BS in Psychology from Brigham Young University, and his MBA from the University of Utah’s Eccles School of Business with an emphasis in Business Analytics.

Expertise and Practice Areas:

Institutional Research

Labor Market Analytics

Workforce Strategy

Market Insights & Competitive Intelligence

Economics & Trend Analysis

Higher Education Transformation

Strategic Forecasting

Program Demand Analysis

Executive Reporting & Visualization

Cross-Functional Research Leadership

Dr. Jarrett Carter is a learning design executive with more than 13 years of experience building academic programs, faculty ecosystems, and digital learning environments that have reached learners in over 180 countries. As Founder and Principal Consultant of Collaboratix, LLC, he partners with colleges, universities, and mission-driven organizations to design and strengthen learning systems — connecting instructional quality, technology strategy, and student outcomes into a coherent whole.

Jarrett's design work has operated at scale. As Associate Vice President for Integrative Learning Design at the University of Maryland Global Campus, he oversaw the learning design infrastructure for more than 1,000 courses serving 90,000 students worldwide. His work there encompassed curriculum quality, faculty development, edtech governance, and alternative credential development — including industry partnerships with Amazon, AWS, and SHRM that produced bootcamps and apprenticeships aligned to workforce demand.

At the University of Maryland's Smith School of Business, Jarrett led a team that designed and launched executive learning programs reaching more than 200,000 professionals globally. Earlier in his career, he contributed to foundational innovations at UMGC including the University System of Maryland's first MOOC and early competency-based pilots, and delivered faculty development programs across three continents. His international work includes the Akilah Institute in Kigali, Rwanda— the country's first all-women's college— where he partnered with the Chief Academic Officer to design and launch a new blended learning model and build faculty capacity to bring it to life. He is a Certified Leadership Coach, and brings that lens to the faculty and staff development work that makes learning transformation durable. Jarrett regularly speaks at conferences, on podcasts, and sits on national boards.

Jarrett holds an Ed.D. in Educational Technology from the University of Florida, an M.A. in Educational Technology from Adelphi University, and a B.A. in Mass Communications from St. John's University.

Expertise and Practice Areas:

AI adoption strategy and institutional readiness

Change management and organizational transformation

Alternative credentials and workforce-aligned program design

Learning design and student success strategy

Equity-centered program development

Faculty development and instructional innovation

Executive coaching and leadership development

Executive facilitation and stakeholder engagement

Research, Labor Market Intelligence, Workforce Analytics & Higher Education Strategy

Ludwig P. Linares is a bilingual research and analytics leader with more than 11 years of experience delivering analytical work across labor market intelligence, higher education, workforce strategy, and client-facing consulting. His work focuses on translating complex data into actionable insights, executive-ready narratives, and decision-support recommendations that help institutions align academic programs, workforce demand, student outcomes, and strategic priorities.

Ludwig has deep experience working with large-scale labor market, education, demographic, and economic datasets. His practice centers on the integration of quantitative analysis, labor-market signals, skills intelligence, and institutional research to support program planning, academic portfolio strategy, workforce alignment, and evidence-based decision-making. He brings advanced technical experience in Python, SQL, SAS, Tableau, Snowflake, APIs, machine learning, statistical modeling, and data visualization, with a strong emphasis on analytical rigor, quality assurance, methodological consistency, and reusable research frameworks.

Most recently, Ludwig served as Senior Research Analyst at Western Governors University, where he supported School of Technology leaders by translating labor market, academic, and student outcome data into strategic recommendations for program planning and transformation initiatives. In this role, he designed executive-ready studies, presentations, and insight narratives for academic and administrative stakeholders, ensuring that analytical outputs were clear, actionable, and aligned with institutional decision-making needs. He also applied Python-based AI and machine learning methods to support new offering development, program track analysis, and portfolio planning, including work related to a new master’s degree in data analytics.

Earlier at Western Governors University, Ludwig conducted quantitative research using internal, government, and external datasets to evaluate labor market trends, future skills, and student outcomes. He developed reusable analyses, structured workflows, and standardized approaches that improved consistency and efficiency across recurring research deliverables. His work helped academic leaders and cross-functional teams better understand how labor market and economic conditions affected planning priorities, workforce alignment, and student success outcomes.

Before joining Western Governors University, Ludwig worked at Lightcast, formerly Economic Modeling Specialists International, where he held Data Scientist and Researcher-Developer roles. There, he led end-to-end analytical workstreams spanning labor economics, higher education, machine learning, and large-scale data analysis. His client-facing work included career pathways research for the American Psychological Association, where he translated complex findings into presentations, visualizations, and strategic recommendations. He also developed labor market workflows using SQL and APIs, conducted national migration analysis using ACS/Census data, and contributed to salary modeling, skills-based analytics, economic impact studies, enrollment forecasting, and occupation-level lifetime earnings models.

Earlier in his career, Ludwig served as a Teaching Assistant and Research Assistant at Washington State University, where he taught undergraduate courses in statistical methods and economics research and supported applied agricultural economics research.

Ludwig holds an M.S. in Statistics and an M.A. in Economics from Washington State University. He also earned a B.A. in Economics from the National University of St. Augustine in Arequipa, Peru. His additional credentials include a Certificate in Machine Learning from the University of Washington, a Data Analytics Skills Certificate from Western Governors University, and an Agentic AI Nanodegree from Udacity.

Expertise and Practice Areas:

Labor market intelligence and workforce analytics

Higher education strategy and academic portfolio analysis

Education-to-workforce alignment and skills analysis

Program planning, optimization, and decision support

Quantitative research and statistical analysis

Machine learning and applied AI methods

Labor economics, occupational analysis, and salary modeling

Large-scale data transformation and validation

ACS/Census, demographic, and migration analysis

SQL, Python, SAS, Snowflake, Tableau, APIs, AWS, and Spark

Executive-ready reporting, presentations, and analytical storytelling

Quality assurance, methodological documentation, and reusable frameworks

Client-facing research, consulting, and stakeholder communication

Workforce-aligned program design and institutional strategy

Administrative Professional

Stephanie Boyle is an administrative professional with a background in building and running remote-first operations for small businesses. As founder and CEO of byFriday, a fully remote operations and administrative services agency, she has spent the past five years designing systems, processes, and support structures that help small business owners reclaim their time from client and vendor communications to financial tracking, recruiting coordination, and day-to-day operational management.

Stephanie's approach centers on practical, iterative problem-solving: identifying where a business's administrative load is creating friction and building lightweight, sustainable systems to resolve it. Her work spans a range of operational functions, including employee onboarding and handbook development, recruiting and candidate tracking, billing and collections support, access and security management for distributed teams, and content and communications planning. She has supported clients across industries including consulting, creative services, and education.

Prior to founding byFriday, Stephanie worked at Arbella Insurance Group. She holds a B.A. in Communications from Bridgewater State University.

Expertise and Practice Areas:

• Remote operations and administrative systems design

• Recruiting coordination and candidate tracking

• Client and vendor communications

• Financial tracking and collections support

• Employee onboarding and handbook development

• Access management and security coordination for distributed teams

• Content planning and communications strategy