Juana H. Sánchez is passionate about expanding postsecondary opportunity for students of color and low-income adults. A systems thinker, she is experienced at facilitating diverse groups and collaborative processes to reach consensus and catalyze action. She has a decade of experience in higher education consulting and collective impact, supporting senior leaders across sectors to increase postsecondary attainment, close equity gaps, and drive inclusive economic growth. Her areas of expertise include: systems change strategy; policy development; policy implementation; policy advocacy; change management; stakeholder engagement; and strategic communications. She has worked on initiatives that serve students of color, low-income adults, undocumented immigrant students, systems involved young people, and transfer students. As a consultant Sánchez has supported such initiatives as: the California Student Aid Commission’sStudent Loan Debt Relief Work Group and Cal Grant Reform Work Group; Lumina Foundation Strategy Labs; the Ohio Cradle to Career Network; Tackling Transfer; and the Texas Transfer Alliance, among others. She presently directs the Beyond Transfer Policy Advisory Board on behalf of Sova, and coaches higher education system teams as part of the NASH Equity Action Intensive. Previously, Sánchez led collective impact efforts to increase postsecondary completion in Los Angeles County. Through the L.A. Compact, she launched regional partnerships that facilitate successful student transitions, including the CSUN Connections reverse transfer program, which won a California Governor’s Award for Innovation in Higher Education and designation for the region as a Lumina Talent Hub. Sánchez also co-founded the Foster Youth College Advancement Project under the L.A. Opportunity Youth Collaborative, leveraging private and public investment to build the capacity of public education and child welfare agencies to support foster youth to college. As director of postsecondary initiatives at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, she further mobilized business and civic leaders to advocate on issues of college access, affordability and student success at the state and federal level. Sánchez began her career working to strengthen minority-serving institutions and programs from within. A former academic advisor and retention coordinator, she brings a nuanced understanding of how policy and institutional practice shape the student experience. Sánchez is the proud daughter of immigrant parents and a first-generation college graduate.