Emergency Student Aid: How Postsecondary Leaders Scaled for Impact in a Time of Urgent Need

May 11, 3:00 pm ET

Postsecondary students faced unprecedented challenges over the past two years, requiring innovation and agility from those who could provide emergency student aid. We'll explore key lessons from this story of rapidly scaling emergency aid, grounded in the perspective of postsecondary field leaders who were part of the evolution. Join us to hear about the conditions and the levers of change that enabled scaling completion grants and other emergency programs. We'll dive into research and data, policy, case-making, communities of practice, philanthropic involvement, evolution of student success, and impact of the pandemic that enabled scaling in order to consider how these lessons can be applied to other student success scaling efforts.

This webinar is organized by the Postsecondary Access and Attainment (PSA2) Impact Group.

This event is intended for members and other education grantmakers. There is no cost to attend this program. The session will run for one hour.

Registration closes 15 minutes prior to the program time. Thank you for your patience; we review each registration in advance.

About the Presenters

Dr. Anna Drake Warshaw
Managing Director
University Innovation Alliance

Dr. Anna Drake Warshaw has studied and led student-centered innovation and change in higher education for over 10 years. As Managing Director of the University Innovation Alliance, Anna facilitates design and implementation of the UIA’s network strategy and collaborative initiatives focused on improving equitable postsecondary outcomes. 

A graduate of Davidson College, Anna began her career in nonprofit development and university advancement in North Carolina. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Texas at Austin, where she held the College of Education Dean’s Research Fellowship. Prior to her current role, Anna served as University Innovation Alliance Fellow and assistant director of the Center for Higher Education Innovation at the University of Central Florida, and later as Director of Partnerships, Learning, and Evaluation for the UIA. 

Dr. Mei-Yen Ireland
Program Officer, Postsecondary Success Team
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Mei-Yen Ireland is the senior program officer responsible for strategic investments in advising solutions as a part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s postsecondary success strategy.  Mei-Yen works with grantees and partners to advance the postsecondary success strategy focused on transforming colleges and universities to ensure that more students, particularly Black, Latino, and Indigenous students, and students from low-income backgrounds obtain quality, affordable credentials offering value and mobility. Mei-Yen invests in promoting institutional transformation through the redesign of advising and student supports, specifically advancing the quality, interoperability, and affordability of relevant solutions in the advising technology market and investing in a network of experts and partners that deliver advising redesign services to institutions across the nation. Prior to joining the foundation, Mei-Yen was the Executive Director of Holistic Student Supports at Achieving the Dream (ATD) through which she led ATD’s strategy, thought leadership, and services to help  institutions implement seamless, proactive student support experiences that leverage technology and data. Mei-Yen’s background includes a focus on organizational change, student development theory, equity and inclusion, qualitative research methods, and change leadership.

Dr. Amelia Parnell
Vice President for Research and Policy
NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education

Amelia Parnell is vice president for research and policy at NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, where she leads many of the Association’s scholarly and advocacy-focused activities. Amelia’s policy and practitioner experiences include prior roles in association management, legislative policy analysis, internal audit, and TRIO programs.

Amelia writes and speaks frequently about topics related to student affairs, college affordability, student learning outcomes, leadership in higher education, and institutions’ use of data and analytics. She is the author of the new book, You Are a Data Person: Strategies for Using Analytics on Campus and host of the new podcast, Speaking of College.

Amelia currently serves on the board of directors for EDUCAUSE and is an advisor to several other higher education organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in higher education from Florida State University and masters and bachelor’s degrees in business administration from Florida A & M University.