Equity in Enrollment, Persistence, and Affordability

Scott Jenkins is the strategy director for state policy at Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. In that role, he leads the development and advancement of the foundation’s state policy agenda. Jenkins has a broad and extensive background in institutional, state, and federal policy development and execution. Before joining Lumina, he served as education policy director to two governors; as director of external relations for Western Governors University; and as a deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Education in the George W. Bush administration. Jenkins holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Central Florida.

Dr. Sylvia Spears is vice president for administration & innovation, and distinguished professor of educational equity and social justice at College Unbound, Providence, which she joined in August. College Unbound is an accredited degree-completion institution focused on equity and community engagement. Previously, she was vice president for diversity & inclusion at Emerson College, Boston, a position she held for nine years. There, she helped the college implement new diversity initiatives aimed at driving excellence in inclusiveness. She served as chair of the college’s sexual assault task force and helped create policies on sexual misconduct, Title IX, interpersonal violence, and others. She has held senior leadership positions at Dartmouth College and New England College, and earned her doctoral degree at the University of Rhode Island in its joint program in education with Rhode Island College.