About
First Name:
Last Name:
Title and Organization:
Bio:
Deborah A. Santiago is the co-founder, chief operating officer and vice president for policy at Excelencia in Education. For more than 20 years, she has led research and policy efforts from the community to national and federal levels to improve educational opportunities and success for all students. She co-founded Excelencia in Education to inform policy and practice, compel action, and collaborate with those committed and ready to act to increase student success. Among her experiences, Deborah has worked in federal government as a policy analyst at the Congressional Research Service and in the Office of Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education informing program and budget efforts. She also served as the Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Among Deborah's community work, she has provided program design and implementation for the ASPIRA Association and translated data for community engagement as the Vice President for Research and Data at the Los Angeles Alliance for Student Achievement. Deborah's current research focuses on state and federal policy, financial aid, institutions serving Hispanics, evaluation of effective institutional practices, and student success in higher education. She serves on the board of the National Student Clearinghouse, and the advisory board of thedream.us and Univision's Education campaign. Deborah is a Fellow of the 13th class of the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Fellowship Program
Class