Strategic communications

Two students working together in a community setting.

The strategic communications team is dedicated to telling the story of how Strada works to connect education with opportunity, especially for those with the most standing in their way.

The team shares this story with those best positioned to influence the education and employment systems Strada seeks to change: policymakers, postsecondary education leaders, and employers. Through collaboration and creativity, the strategic communications team supports the organization’s most important work.

Where we focus

Communications supports the work of Strada, which is grounded in five focus areas:

Clear Outcomes: Everyone has access to accurate information about employment outcomes that can help them make informed decisions about postsecondary education.‍
Quality Coaching: Everyone has access to coaching that helps them reflect on their talents and interests, choose a career goal, map pathways through education, and navigate challenges.‍
Affordability: A quality education is within everyone’s reach. The cost of education is not an insurmountable obstacle for students.‍
Work-Based Learning: All learners have access to work-based learning experiences – including paid internships and apprenticeships – which help connect their education and career aspirations.‍
Employer Alignment: All learners have access to programs that lead to quality jobs and mobility, and employers assess and advance individuals based on skills and experience, not only degrees.

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How we advocate

The strategic communications team supports Strada’s goal of better connecting education with work through engaging with media, ensuring research is actionable and user-friendly, refining presentations, communicating updates, and telling stories about the work of the partners Strada supports.

Celebrating the best of the past, striving for the best of the future

‍In 2025, Strada’s look and brand image will change to reflect its commitment to working with focus, connection, curiosity, agility, and optimism — qualities that undergird its efforts as it tackles the hard questions about connecting education with opportunity.

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Subscribe to the Strada newsletter

Through its digital newsletter, Strada shares updates about how the programs, policies, and organizations it supports are strengthening connections between postsecondary education and economic opportunity in the U.S.

Follow Strada on LinkedIn‍

At Strada, we’re focused on one goal: helping clear the path between education and work, especially for those with the most standing in their way.

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State Opportunity Index

‍Offering a framework to help policymakers, higher education system leaders, and institutions strengthen the link between education and opportunity, the State Opportunity Index centers on five research-backed keys to improve outcomes for learners and employers alike.

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Our team

Allison Salisbury

Janet Salm

Jackson Sauls

Senior data analyst

Edward R. Schmidt, Esq.

Emeritus trustee

Grant Schroll

Platform manager, strategic investments

Amy Wimmer Schwarb

Director of content

Rob Sentz

Adam Shopshire

Chief information officer

Kimberly Sluis

Vice president and chief of staff, postsecondary education

Kathleen Smith

Senior vice president, federal government relations

Melissa Smith

Vice president, public policy, talent, and workforce development

Miriam (Mimi) Wolfe Strouse

Private equity investor

Astrik Tenney

Senior director, grants management

Olita Terry

Vice president, voice and external engagement

Nichole Torpey-Saboe

Vice president, research

Katherine Valle-Palacios

Senior vice president, public policy

Claire Viall

Vice president, public policy, postsecondary education, and finance

James Dean Ward

Vice president, research

Ruth Watkins

President, postsecondary education

Michelle R. Weise, Ph.D.

Pete Wheelan

Ben Wildavsky

Ardine Williams

Secretary, board of visitors, William & Mary

Jake Williams

Director, research

Related insights

New Report: Vast Majority of Recent Public College Graduates See Return on College Investment Within 10 Years

The 2025 State Opportunity Index Looks at Achievement After Graduation.

State Opportunity Index event brings together state leaders, highlights promising approaches

More than 300 education and industry leaders from 36 U.S. states came together to learn from one another about how states are connecting education after high school with conomic opportunity.

Policy solutions: 5 questions for Strada’s Gabriella Gómez

Over the course of her career, Strada Executive Vice President Gabriella Gómez has focused on how to use federal and state policy to provide better access to opportunities in education.

Two students walking and talking on a campus.

Celebrating the best of the past, striving for the best of the future

In 2025, Strada's look and brand image will change to reflect our commitment to working with focus, connection, curiosity, agility, and optimism — qualities that will guide us and undergrid all our efforts.

Media contact

Reach out to engage with Strada research or request an interview.