Timothy Herron Email & Phone Number

Washington, United States

With only 50% of Washington students pursuing postsecondary credentials, the Washington State Initiative (WSI) focuses on supporting the transitional point in a student’s education journey: enrollment after high school in a postsecondary program that will lead to meaningful employment. We place special emphasis on students who face the highest barriers, including Black, Latino, Indigenous and rural students, and students from low-income backgrounds. As Deputy Director, I provide leadership for the team leading two critical bodies of work within the WSI strategy: • Data, focused on strengthening the data capacity of regional partners and addressing the statewide need to strengthen the P20W data ecosystem, with a particular focus on the high school to workforce part of the continuum at the state and local level; and • Regional Partnerships, focused on investing in building the capacity of cross-sector partnerships in our focus regions to lead and implement collaborative efforts and innovative solutions to drive postsecondary enrollment within their communities.

Tacoma, Wa

The culmination of several years of deliberate and thoughtful succession planning, I moved into a new role focused on building and expanding innovative programs and technology to accelerate Degrees of Change's mission.• Led program innovation efforts to evolve and design new program offerings to advance the organization mission amidst rapidly shifting higher education and workforce development ecosystems.• Led the design, implementation and continued enhancement of a comprehensive program data and technology platform to engage with stakeholders, manage day-to-day operations, evaluate impact and make data-driven strategic decisions. Leverage emerging generative AI technology to expand organizational capacity, spark creativity and drive innovation. Active member of Microsoft Power Platform Customer Advisory Board and featured in a Microsoft Customer Story.

Tacoma, Wa

• Founded and grew organization from inception to $3.5 million annual operating budget with 30 staff supporting seven program sites across the Northwest and Midwest, serving more than 500 low-income, first-generation, and/or BIPOC students per year.• Conceived, secured executive commitments, and launched Seed Teachers, an innovative partnership with Tacoma Public Schools and Pacific Lutheran University to recruit and prepare diverse cohorts of public-school teachers. • Designed, developed and sold a commercial cloud-based software service to enable school districts to identify and address racial equity gaps by automating the analysis and visualization of postsecondary enrollment outcomes. Secured $3.6 million grant from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to design and build the project with internal team and external vendors. Negotiated sale of product, including a license-back from buyer to continue development of the product within Washington State.• Continue leadership of the Act Six network, maintaining 80% graduation rates while launching three new program sites in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Chicago and Indianapolis, adding eight new partner colleges, and doubling the number of scholars selected annually. Leveraged $110 million in institutional scholarships for 1,500 scholars.• Launched and expanded Seed Internships to enhance the ecosystem for diverse professional talent across the Puget Sound by consolidating and improving recruitment, application, matching and professional development systems for summer internships. Engaged 30 corporate, small business, government and nonprofit employers to place 144 interns for 10-week paid experiences, with program satisfaction over 90% for interns and supervisors.• Conceived and secured $3.8 million, six-year grant to launch cohort-based Ready to Rise program to support 1,000 underrepresented students on the journey through public two- and four-year colleges and return to leadership in their home communities.

Tacoma, Wa

• Created and directed comprehensive college access and leadership development program sending multicultural cadres of underrepresented students from Tacoma, Seattle, Portland, Spokane, and the Yakima Valley to eight private colleges with more than $30 million in financial aid and retention and graduation rates near 90%.• Designed and delivered seven months of leadership curriculum to scholars each year, focusing on intercultural communication, service, community development, college writing, time management, and academic skills.• Initiated replication of the model in other US cities and created Central Office to support new affiliate programs, developing scholar training curriculum, staff development program, operations manual, and a comprehensive measurement and evaluation system.• Secured and managed over $2 million in private program grants and donations since inception of program.

Tacoma, Wa

• Managed daily operations for organization with $2.5 million annual budget.• Developed improved financial, information technology and communications systems.• Successfully led organization through first federal A-133 audit.

Tacoma, Wa

• Created 7th Street Learning Center in converted garage behind our Hilltop home, providing free academic tutoring, computer lab, and in-school advocacy to K-12 neighborhood youth.• Formed partnerships with other local learning centers to promote innovative model of high-quality neighborhood-based academic support centers in urban communities.

Tacoma, Wa

• Provided comprehensive college advocacy services to Lincoln HS students including college tours, SAT prep classes, individual counseling, application assistance, family financial aid workshops, and post-graduation support.

Tacoma, Wa

• Supervised wide range of community-based K-16 educational support programs including after-school enrichment, academic tutoring, college advocacy, and college scholarship.• Developed innovative, responsible partnerships between faith- and community-based organizations and public schools to serve urban youth.

Tacoma, Wa

• Planned and delivered practical, interactive, standards-based secondary mathematics methods workshops to adult students in Alternative Routes to Certification program.

Tacoma, Wa

• Developed Tacoma Public Schools’ first AP Statistics course, tripling number of Lincoln students studying college-level mathematics. Taught additional AP Calculus and freshmen-level mathematics courses.• Motivated AP students to commit over 75 additional morning and weekend class hours each year, resulting in an average AP exam pass rate of 60%, compared to overall Lincoln AP exam pass rate of less than 20%.• Collaborated with administration and staff as AP Coordinator to significantly increase AP course offerings and double student participation in AP courses

Tacoma, Wa

• Taught eighth grade algebra, pre-algebra and science.• Selected by Washington State Mathematics Council as one of 30 teacher-leaders to participate in year-long Making the EALRs a Reality study group.

Doctor Of Education (Ed.D.), Higher Education Leadership And Policy

Master Of Arts In Teaching (M.A.T.), Mathematics And Computer Science

Bachelor Of Science (B.S.), Mathematics And Computer Science

Activities and Societies: Summa Cum Laude