Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner has named Catherine Shea McConnell as the chief strategy officer.
McConnell has deep roots in higher education administration, policy and strategy. She returns to the Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner, where she previously held the title of director of strategic initiatives. In 2022, she accepted a position to join the Biden Administration at the U.S. Department of Education in the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development. She was promoted and ended her tenure of federal service in January 2025 as the senior policy advisor in the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education. In these roles, she managed teams that developed policies on career and technical education, adult education, community college, and prison education as well as facilitated strategy and engagement with the Hill on various policy priorities. She was the education and workforce policy advisor for former Governor Gina Raimondo where she led various initiatives including advising the governor on policies, programs, and strategies relating to K-12 education, higher education, and workforce initiatives, such as data collection, research, legislation, and the state budget. She was appointed project manager of a state-wide, 25-member interagency team tasked with reopening K-12, childcare, summer camp, and higher education institutions during the COVID outbreak.
As chief strategy officer, she will be responsible for developing and overseeing the design, planning, and execution of Rhode Island’s higher education agenda on behalf of the Rhode Island Council on Postsecondary Education and commissioner of postsecondary education, and in collaboration with the state’s colleges and universities.
“We’ve always been impressed by Catherine’s ability to achieve measurable results, her work ethic, and her career experience in higher education. Her impact on higher education here in Rhode Island as well as at the national level is formidable, and she is highly qualified to take on this important role for the council and office,” said Rhode Island Postsecondary Education Commissioner Shannon Gilkey, Ed.D. “Catherine’s work with the council and our stakeholders to build and execute the postsecondary strategy, in partnership with our team here at RIOPC and our institutions, will advance Rhode Island’s ability to lead on challenges and opportunities facing higher education and to meet its obligation to the needs of the public. During her service at the U.S. Department of Education, she shaped national postsecondary policy with a focus on community colleges, career pathways, and adult learners, which are all particularly critical to our state’s long-term workforce and education goals.”
McConnell holds a master’s degree in education policy and management from Harvard University Graduate School of Education; a master’s degree in special education from George Mason University; and bachelor of arts degree from Brandeis University, A former school teacher, she has taught in public schools in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., with a focus on special education.
