Postsecondary Spotlight: The Shifting Landscape for Young Men

April 8, 1:30-3:00 pm ET

Today, young men have lower academic outcomes and earn fewer college degrees than their female peers, with especially large gaps for men of color. Social attitudes are also in flux, with increasing numbers of younger men believing that men today face more discrimination. These trends reveal not just an educational challenge but a potential pipeline to grievance and disengagement that demands urgent attention. This session brings together leading researchers and practitioners to examine these alarming trends and their far-reaching implications for education and society. Ultimately, we explore how supporting male educational success can simultaneously advance multiple philanthropic priorities including civic engagement, mental health and wellness, school and campus climate, workforce development, and violence prevention – making this a strategic funding opportunity that delivers compound impact.

This event is intended for members and other education grantmakers.

There is no cost to attend this Grantmakers for Education program.

Registration closes 15 minutes prior to the program time. By registering for this program, you agree to our Learning Environment Commitment. Thank you for your patience; we review each registration in advance.

About the Speakers

Pasha Dashtgard
Director of Interventions
Polarization & Extremism Research and Innovation Lab

Pasha Dashtgard is the Director of Interventions for the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL). He has a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the department of Psychological Science at the University of California, Irvine, and was formerly a postdoctoral Fellow at Loyola Marymount University’s Psychology Applied Research Center (PARC). He has an MA in Mental Health Counseling and an Ed.M. in Education from Columbia University, Teacher’s College. Pasha’s research interests include masculinities, online radicalization, PTSD, and large-scale mental health policy/service delivery. Research projects include analysis using his Male Supremacy Scale (MSS) and its intersections with online behavior, PTSD in solitary confinement, and various projects intervening with populations beset by misinformation, conspiratorial thinking, and political polarization.

Joelle Deleveaux
Strategy Officer for Innovation and Discovery
Lumina Foundation

Joelle Deleveaux is the strategy officer for innovation and discovery for Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis committed to making learning opportunities beyond high school available to all. Working from Lumina’s Washington, D.C., office, she manages the foundation’s efforts to develop new strategies to respond to the vital question, education for what?

Through this work, she supports research, early-stage grantmaking, and incubation for work that connects higher education to key societal issues, including democracy preservation, civic engagement, and climate change. She also explores new topic areas, builds new relationships, and promotes systemic approaches to prepare people for work in an increasingly complex society.

Before joining Lumina, Deleveaux worked at CityWorks DC, where she led implementation of a registered apprenticeship program, created and expanded adult learning opportunities, developed new partnerships, and led projects related to employee development and retention. She also worked on a multi-year, mixed methods research project that examined school improvement, teacher training, and accountability systems in the Memphis, Tenn., public school system.

Earlier in her career, Deleveaux managed client relationships at a national executive search firm and worked at CityBridge Education, where she focused on K-12 policy research and program evaluation. She also joined the team at Matriculate, part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ CollegePoint Initiative, to launch a college access and success program in 2015.

Deleveaux earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Princeton University and a master’s in education policy from George Washington University.

Frank Harris III
Director, Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL)
San Diego State University

Dr. Frank Harris III is a professor, scholar, and wellness coach whose work centers on identity, belonging, and well-being in higher education. He supports students, student-athletes, educators, and leaders in strengthening resilience, purpose, and human connection. Dr. Harris is the director of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL) at San Diego State University, where his scholarship has shaped national conversations on race, masculinity, student success, and identity development.

Widely regarded for his expertise with community colleges and other open-access institutions, Dr. Harris has supported more than 100 colleges, universities, community organizations, and nonprofits across the country in improving student experiences and outcomes. Since 2021, he has served as SDSU’s NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative, providing strategic leadership to ensure the academic success and well-being of nearly 500 Division I student-athletes and contributing to some of the highest academic outcomes in the university’s history.

His research and commentary have been featured in major national media outlets—including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, and The Chronicle of Higher Education—and he has been recognized among Education Week’s top 200 scholars shaping education policy and practice. A husband and father of five, Dr. Harris offers coaching, workshops, keynotes, and consultation that help institutions create identity-affirming, wellness-centered environments where diverse students and educators can thrive.

Saúl Valdez
Director, Higher Education Male Achievement Collaborative
American Institute for Boys and Men

Saúl Valdez is the director of AIBM’s Higher Education Male Achievement Collaborative, where he leads strategy, programming, and partnerships to improve postsecondary access, persistence, and completion for men. Saúl’s work focuses on building evidence-based, scalable solutions that close gender gaps in higher education.

His career spans philanthropy, nonprofit management, and college access and success initiatives. Before joining AIBM, Saúl led grantmaking portfolios at ECMC Foundation focused on increasing college persistence, two-year transfer, and bachelor’s degree completion for students from underserved backgrounds. Saúl also worked with the Seattle Foundation’s philanthropic advising team where he advised a portfolio of donors and philanthropic partners and managed a youth grantmaking board. Earlier in his career, Saúl worked at the Seattle Region Partnership and served as the program manager for the Latin American Association in Georgia. He is an alumnus of Coro’s Lead LA fellowship program and Hispanics in Philanthropy’s (HIP) Líderes fellowship program.

Saúl currently serves on the Board of Directors for HIP. He holds a master of arts in public administration with a nonprofit management certificate from the University of Washington and a bachelor of science in international business and bachelor of arts in Spanish from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

In his free time, he enjoys reading, running, traveling, and exploring new coffee shops and public parks with his wife and son.