Kathy Huffman, director of employer engagement at Community Education Coalition in Columbus, Ind., was identified as a “catalyst” for change in a recent evaluation completed by Equal Measure.
Kathy was interviewed by Lumina Foundation’s Wendy Sedlak, strategy director for research and evaluation, to discuss the findings of the report and what it means to be catalyst.
Catalysts for change often work quietly, but their results speak loud and clear. At education organizations, they’re the people who build strong relationships across stakeholders, support and empower others to design and drive the work, and embrace a “student first” orientation to center students’ needs and aspirations over institutions’.
These “catalysts” work to achieve policy and practice changes in postsecondary education through partnerships across Indiana, Tennessee, and New York, a report from Lumina Foundation’s partners at Equal Measure shows. These changes include expanding and systematizing the use of credit for prior learning, setting up a Reconnect Café for students to access on- and off-campus resources, and making industry-recognized certifications the first stackable credential in earning a degree.
In short, catalysts play outsized roles in driving equitable changes to help adult students learn, earn, and succeed.
I recently sat down with Kathy Huffman to learn more about how she earned her catalyst designation. As director of employer engagement at Community Education Coalition in Columbus, Ind., she connects partners across a 10-county region to help adults eager to earn college credentials.
