CPPHE Executive Committee

 

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Meet the CPPHE Executive Committee

Meredith Billings, Sam Houston State University
Meredith S. Billings was elected to CPPHE in 2020. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at Sam Houston State University and she teaches courses on higher education policy, governance, finance, assessment, and program evaluation. Her research agenda broadly focuses on college affordability, college access and success, and state and institutional finances. Currently, she is conducting research projects on free college/promise programs, guaranteed tuition plans, college advising programs, and state funding for higher education during periods of economic recession.

Kayla Elliott, The Education Trust
Kayla holds a master’s degree from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, and has worked with a range of nonprofit education organizations, including Lumina Foundation, the Southern Education Foundation, and Teach For America. A proud HBCU alumna and advocate, Kayla earned a B.S. in business administration from Fisk University, where her experience serving as a student representative on the university’s board of trustees piqued her interest in higher education advocacy.


Kelly Rosinger, Pennsylvania State University
Kelly Rosinger is an assistant professor in the Department of Education Policy Studies and a research associate in the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Penn State University. Her research examines the barriers students face going to and through college and how postsecondary policies, practices, and interventions shape educational outcomes. Kelly has published research in Educational Researcher, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, AERA Open, Education Finance and Policy, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Review of Higher Education, and The Journal of Higher Education. Kelly was an Institute of Education Sciences’ postdoctoral fellow in education policy at the University of Virginia. She earned a Ph.D. in higher education and a master’s degree in public administration and policy, both from the University of Georgia, and a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


Frank Fernandez, University of Mississippi
Frank Fernandez is Assistant Professor of Higher Education. He examines educational policy and equity issues. He has published in American Educational Research Journal, Review of Higher Education, Higher Education, Educational Policy, and Penn State Law Review, among others.


Vanessa Sansone, University of Texas at San Antonio
Vanessa A. Sansone was elected to CPPHE in 2020. She is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). She is Latinx, a critical policy scholar, and a former Senior Institutional Research Analyst who worked within the University of Texas System. As a Professor, her areas of research interest focus on understanding college affordability, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and power & governance structures, especially for students from Latinx, military-affiliated and rural backgrounds. Her empirical work has been published in such outlets as The Review of Higher Education, Review of Educational Research and New Directions for Student Development Services. She was named one of the 35 most outstanding women in higher education in 2020 by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. She holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Higher Education from UTSA, a Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies with an emphasis in Higher Education Administration from UTSA, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from St. Mary’s University, San Antonio.

Raquel Muniz, Boston College
 

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 Past CPPHE Chairs:

• Deshawn Preston (2021)
• ​Jason Taylor (2020)
• Emily Calderon Galdeano (2019)
• Tiffany Jones (2018)
• Lorelle Espinosa (2017)
• Nick Hilliman (2016)
• Leticia Osegera (2015)
• Marvin Titus (2014)
• Jennifer Delaney (2012-2013)
• Will Doyle (2011)
• Colleen O'Brien (20109-2010)
• Patricia Yaeger (2008)
• Donald Heller (2006-2007)
• Scott Thomas (2003-05)
• Karen Card (2001-2002)
• Les Goodchild (1998-2000)
• Bob Hendrickson (1996)