CLDE Coalition Leaders

The following leaders are working together on the next-level CLDE strategy to make civic learning in postsecondary education an expectation for all students and to collaborate with K-12 civic and history learning reforms.

Jonathan R. Alger
President, American University

Robert E. Anderson
President, State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO)

Martha Kanter
Board President and CEO Emerita, College Promise; Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education (2009-2013); former Chancellor of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District

Bobbie Laur
President, Campus Compact

Lynn Pasquerella
President, American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)

Yolanda Watson Spiva
President, Complete College America

Ashley Finley
Vice President for Research and Senior Advisor to the President, American Association of Colleges and Universities

Tom Harnisch
Vice President for Government Relations, State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

Nia Woods Haydel
Vice President for Institutional Transformation & Scaling, Complete College America

John Lane
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Equity Initiatives, State Higher Education Executive Officers

Lenore Rodicio
Senior Fellow, The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, and former Executive Vice President and Provost, Miami Dade College

Carol Geary Schneider
Interim Director, Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement Coalition (CLDE) and the CLDE Multi-State Collaborative (MSC)

David Paris
Senior Advisor, Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement, and Professor of Government Emeritus, Hamilton College

Richard M. Freeland
Senior Advisor for Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement (CLDE) and Co-Chair, Multi-State Collaborative for College Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement (MSC); and former Commissioner of Higher Education for Massachusetts; President Emeritus of Northeastern University

Nancy Shapiro
Senior Advisor for Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement (CLDE) and Co-Chair, Multi-State Collaborative for College Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement; Research Scholar, University of Maryland College of Education and former Associate Chancellor, University System of Maryland

Siah Annand
CLDE Program Manager

Carol-lynn Swol
CLDE Program/Research Associate

CLDE Educational Advisors

Fay Akindes
Director, System-wide Professional and Instructional Development, University of Wisconsin System

Charles Ansell
Former Vice President for Research, Policy, and Advocacy Complete College America (CCA)

Melody Barnes
Executive Director, UVA Karsh Institute of Democracy

Ronald Crutcher
President Emeritus and University Professor, University of Richmond; President Emeritus, Wheaton College (MA)

Ashley Finley
Vice President for Research and Senior Advisor to the President, American Association of Colleges and Universities

Jodi Fisler
Senior Associate for Assessment Policy & Analysis at the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)

Richard M. Freeland
Former Commissioner of Higher Education for Massachusetts; President Emeritus of Northeastern University; and Senior Advisor to CLDE and Co-Chair, Multi-State Collaborative for College Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement (MSC)

Ari Hoy
Vice President for Program and Resource Development at the Bonner Foundation

Elaine K. Ikeda
Executive Director of LEAD California

John Lane
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Equity Initiatives, State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO)

Mary Beth Love
Executive Director, Metro Student Success Program and Professor of Public Health, San Francisco State University

Elaine Maimon
Senior Advisor, Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement, Advisor, American Council on Education; President Emerita, Governors State University and University of Alaska-Anchorage

Caryn McTighe Musil
Distinguished Fellow, American Association of Colleges & Universities and National Field Leader, Bonner Foundation, and lead author of the 2012 AAC&U report A Crucible Moment.

Sonny Ramaswamy
Former President, Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Nancy Shapiro
Research Scholar, University of Maryland College of Education; former Associate Chancellor, University System of Maryland; and Senior Advisor to CLDE and Co-Chair, Multi-State Collaborative for College Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement (MSC)

David Paris
Professor of Government, Emeritus, Hamilton College; Senior Advisor to CLDE

Verdis LeVar Robinson
Interim Executive Director of the National Issues Forums Institute

David Scobey
Director of Bringing Theory to Practice (BTtoP)

Carol Geary Schneider
Senior Advisor, Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement Coalition (CLDE) and the CLDE Multi-State Collaborative (MSC)

Dawn Whitehead
Vice President, Global Citizenship for Campus, Community and Careers, American Association of Colleges and Universities

Falecia D. Williams
President, Prince George’s Community College, and former President of Valencia College’s West and Downtown Campuses.

CLDE Community College Working Group

Charles Ansell
Former Vice President for Research, Policy, and Advocacy Complete College America (CCA); former Chief Operating Officer, Community College System of New Hampshire

Melissa Bell
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Success at the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE)

Nicola Blake (Co-Chair)
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at Guttman Community College of the City University of New York (CUNY)

Bill Coppola
Former President, Tarrant County College Southeast and Board of Directors, Campus Compact

Brian Dille (Co-Chair)
Political Science Faculty, Mesa Community College

Bret Eynon
Consultant, Achieving the Dream

Ashley Finley
Vice President for Research and Senior Advisor to the President, American Association of Colleges and Universities

Linda Garcia
Executive Director of the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE) at The University of Texas at Austin

John Garcia
Instructor, Liberal Arts Division at William Rainey Harper College

Connie Jorgensen
Assistant Professor of Political Science, QEP Director/Civic Engagement Coordinator at Piedmont Virginia Community College

Carrie Kisker
President, Kisker Education Consulting

Jason Leggett (Co-Chair)
Associate Professor; Director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Kingsborough Community College (CUNY)

Karen Mayo
Provost (Vice President, Academics, & Student Services) at Bluegrass Community and Technical College

Diane McMahon
Professor of Sociology and Faculty Director, College to Community Partnership Center at Allegany College of Maryland

Caryn McTighe Musil
Distinguished Fellow, American Association of Colleges & Universities and National Field Leader, Bonner Foundation, and lead author of the 2012 AAC&U report A Crucible Moment.

Deborah Moeckel
Assistant Provost for Assessment and Community College Education at State University of New York (SUNY)

Monica Randall
Deputy Executive Director at Maryland Association of Community Colleges

John Reiff
Director of Civic Learning and Engagement at the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education (BHE)

Patty Robinson (Co-Chair)
Faculty Director, Civic and Community Engagement Initiatives at College of the Canyons

Verdis LeVar Robinson
Interim Executive Director of the National Issues Forums Institute

Kimberly Rosenfeld
Chair, Education Department and Chair, Gender and Women's Studies at Cerritos College

Joanne Russell
Vice President of Academic Affairs at Mesa Community College

José Sebastián Terneus
Assistant Teaching Professor of English at Wake Forest University and former faculty at Miami Dade College

Janna Vice
Senior Fellow for Policy Development, Academic Excellence and Student Success at the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE)

Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo
Associate Vice Chancellor of the Center for Excellence in Inclusive Democracy at Maricopa Community Colleges

CLDE Participation and Proficiency Indicators Working Group

David Paris (Chair)
Professor of Government, Emeritus, Hamilton College; Senior Advisor to CLDE

Courtney Adkins
Director, Center for Community College Student Engagement, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin

Charles Ansell
Vice President for Research, Policy, and Advocacy, Complete College America (CCA) (through May 30, 2025)

Sanda Balaban
Executive Director, Project Pericles

Natalie Cartwright
Director and Chief Data Officer, Office of Advanced Data Analytics, Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education 

Maria Cruse
Political Science Faculty, Chemeketa Community College

Arielle del Rosario
Associate Director, Project Pericles

Joshua Eastin
Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Politics and Global Affairs, Portland State University

Mary Evins
Research Professor|Coordinator, American Democracy Project, Middle Tennessee State University

Ashley Finley
Vice President for Research and Senior Advisor to the President, American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)

Jodi Fisler
Senior Associate for Assessment Policy & Analysis, State Council of Higher Education for Virginia

Eric Giordano
Executive Director, Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service, University of Wisconsin System Administration

Angela Graves
Assistant Professor of Global & Diversity Studies, Alfred State: SUNY

Nia Woods Haydel
Vice President for Institutional Transformation & Scaling, Complete College America

Jason King
Beirne Chair and Director, Center for Catholic Studies, St. Mary’s University

Jillian Kinzie
Associate Director, National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), Center for Postsecondary Research, Indiana University School of Education

Jason Leggett
Associate Professor; Director of the Center for Civic Engagement, Kingsborough Community College: CUNY

Layli Liss
Dean, Center for Academic Innovation, Chemeketa Community College

Kate Drezek McConnell
Vice President for Curricular and Pedagogical Innovation and Executive Director of VALUE, AAC&U

Abdou Ndoye
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs, Northern Kentucky University

Saul Peterson
Executive Director, Engage NJ 

Beverly Sanford
Executive Vice President, Chief Program & Fellowships Officer, Citizens & Scholars

Tom Schnaubelt
Assistant Director of the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions, Stanford University

Jamienne Studley
Senior Advisor and Past President, WASC Senior College and University Commission

Nancy Thomas
Executive Director, Institute for Democracy and Higher Education (IDHE); Senior Advisor to the President for Democracy Initiatives, AAC&U