NPEA Welcomes New Advisory Board Members

The National Partnership for Educational Access (NPEA) is proud to welcome seven new members to its Advisory Board . These new Advisory Board members were selected from a competitive application process, with more than 45 nominees, and will greatly assist in moving the critical work of NPEA forward. In particular, the new Advisory Board members will join our current board members in serving as ambassadors and champions for NPEA in its mission of connecting the people, practices, and innovations essential for eliminating barriers to educational access and college and career success for underserved students. Congratulations to all and welcome!

To view full bios for all new and current NPEA Advisory Board members, please visit our website and view our official press release to learn more.

Bryan Baldwin , Principal , COCUITY (FL) Bryan Baldwin founded COCUITY in 2015 on the heels of more than 20 years of service to public higher education, international organizations, and policy think tanks. His work focuses on guiding leaders and senior teams - hailing from business, government, academia, international institutions, and the nonprofit community - along the path of becoming more purposeful and strategic. From 2002 to 2015, he held a variety of senior administrative positions at Bridgewater State University (MA) including: Chief Strategy Officer, Vice President for University Advancement, and Chief of Staff to the President.

Rob Evans , Executive Director , Independent School Alliance (CA) Rob Evans has been a teacher and administrator in public and private schools for nearly 20 years. Currently, Rob serves as the Executive Director of the Independent School Alliance. He functions as the chief executive officer of the organization and works to ensure educational access for underrepresented racial groups and advance the organization's long-term viability. Rob also serves on the boards of the Southern California People of Color in Independent Schools (SoCalPOCIS) and The Drinking Gourd, which provides resources to college-bound students.

Heather Jenkins , Managing Director, Service Impact and Evaluation , City Year Boston (MA) Heather Jenkins is the Managing Director of Service Impact and Evaluation at City Year Boston. She has 17 years of experience working for equity and access in education including as a teacher and administrator at the K-12 level, diversity education and research consultant for secondary and postsecondary institutions, public and private school college readiness consultant, and more. Heather co-authored a book titled, “ Class Warfare: Class and Race in Affluent and Elite Secondary Schools .”

Dennis Lacewell , Senior Director of Institutional Effectivenes s, Urban Prep Academies (IL) Dennis Lacewell currently serves as Senior Director of Institutional Effectiveness for Urban Prep Academies.  From 2006-2015, he served as the founding Principal of Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men – Englewood Campus, the nation’s first public charter school for young men. Since 2008, Dennis has served on the Steering Committee of the University of Chicago’s Consortium on School Research, which for 25 years has led the nation in researching and analyzing the progress and challenges facing urban schools; identifying how programs and policies are working; and illuminating what really matters for school and student success.

Nicole Maloy , Associate Dean of Equity & Access, Office of Undergraduate Admissions , University of Pennsylvania (PA) As Associate Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania, Nicole Maloy focuses on outreach to prospective students from historically underrepresented, low-income, or first-generation college backgrounds. In her prior role as Director of Multicultural Outreach in Penn Alumni Relations, she oversaw programming for alumni with an interest in celebrating cultural identity, and organized the university’s inaugural Penn Spectrum alumni diversity conference. Nicole is currently pursuing an M.S. in Nonprofit Leadership at the Penn School of Social Policy & Practice.

Asabe Poloma , Assistant Dean for International Students, Office of the Dean of the College , Brown University (RI) Asabe Poloma is the Assistant Dean for International Students in the Office of the Dean of the College at Brown University. She also serves as Associate Director of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program, a pipeline program to increase the number of students from historically underrepresented groups who pursue careers in the professoriate. Previously, Asabe served as Executive Director of the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers (IRT) and as program staff at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Nicole Suozzi , Senior Director of Leadership Programs & Research , The Enrollment Management Association (NJ) Nicole Suozzi currently serves the Senior Director of Leadership Programs & Research at The Enrollment Management Association (EMA), a non-profit membership association providing resources and tools to K-12 independent school enrollment leaders in nearly 1,000 schools in the US, Canada, and worldwide. Prior to joining EMA in 2005, Nicole spent nine years at the Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington, DC, a hands-on think tank equipping leaders to rise above institutional barriers and build effective systems that prepare youth for postsecondary education, careers, and citizenship.