Catherine Shea McConnell is the chief strategy officer and responsible for building and executing strategic initiatives that will advance Rhode Island’s ability to lead on challenges and opportunities facing postsecondary education. She will develop and oversee 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.
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.
Her experiences as an education and workforce development policy advisor in the Executive Office of Governor Gina Raimondo and as director of strategic initiatives for RIOPC provided her with a deep understanding of Rhode Island’s postsecondary landscape, its strengths, and its challenges.
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 a 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.
