Andréa is a first-generation high school and college Spanish-speaking Latina. She is a forward-thinking, strategic leader with 14+ years of experience working with large and small-scale organizations. Andréa has a record of success in program design and implementation and a commitment to sustainability with diverse teams to accelerate access opportunities for underrepresented learners and communities.

Andréa currently serves as Director of the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU)/Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). In this role, Andréa leads the Frontier Set initiative, a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant, developing and implementing university and community partnerships that focus on student access and success and workforce pathways for adult- and stop-out learners. Before this role, she held various higher education student affairs positions at community college(s) and public research institutions, supporting underrepresented faculty, staff, learners, and families on multiple initiatives.

In addition to her work at APLU/USU, Andréa serves part-time as Principal Research Assistant with GELLC, co-leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, through an Asset-Based and Continuous Improvement lens. Her experience and knowledge, with a particular emphasis on equity, access, and social justice, allow her to lead cross-institutional and community initiatives. In addition, Andréa will be graduating with her Doctorate of Education in June 2022 in Educational Leadership and Management, focusing on Education Policy from Drexel University.