Thanks to a transformative investment from Lumina Foundation, in 2017, LEDA launched the LEDA Policy Project, which trains and positions young leaders from underrepresented backgrounds to lend their voices to federal policy discussions pertaining to postsecondary education. The Policy Project builds on LEDA’s mission of ensuring that diverse voices are at the table where decisions are made.

 

Opportunities to Partner and Engage

LEDA seeks partners who can:

• Incorporate the voice of LEDA students at education policy events and convenings
• Ensure that your organization’s work incorporates the student perspective in discussions about the creation and implementation of federal education policy solutions, especially related to college access, affordability, and completion
• Engage the perspectives of LEDA students on how to best support underrepresented students throughout higher education

 

LEDA Policy Corps

In its inaugural year of 2018-2019, members of the LEDA Policy Corps participated in an in-depth training on advocacy and federal education policy in Washington, D.C., and participated in 13 prestigious national conferences, including the 2018 Southern Education Foundation’s Annual Issues Forum and SXSW EDU 2019. They also wrote op-eds that were published in numerous education policy blogs and websites, including:

• Student Voice: A First-Generation Advocate for Equity in Education, an interview with Moises Mendoza (LEDA Cohort 10)
• More Than Access, written by Diego Tum-Monge (LEDA Cohort 10)
• Student Voice: Universities overlook graduate students’ mental health, written by Aya Waller-Bey (LEDA Cohort 5)
• Student Voices: Hearing and Supporting Native/Indigenous Students, written by Charlie Scott (LEDA Cohort 8)

Additionally, the LEDA Policy Corps has identified a set of key policy issues that impact LEDA Scholars and their communities. These issue areas are:

• College access and completion for historically marginalized students
• College affordability
• Higher education data and transparency

To address these issues, the Policy Corps recommended that:

• Higher education laws and policies should adapt to the needs of the changing demographics of college students, and practices should include supports for historically marginalized students.
• Efforts to improve college completion should include holistic and culturally competent supports.
• Higher education institutions should be transparent in how they communicate the true cost of college and financial aid awards.
• Higher education outcome data should be transparent, easily accessible, and disaggregated by race and income.

The following 15 Scholars and Fellows represent the LEDA Policy Corps for the 2019-2020 term, which runs from August 1, 2019, through May 31, 2020.

Harvard University ’22 Abel Berhan	Bryn Mawr College ’18 University of Missouri – St. Louis ’20 Abbygail Brewster	Princeton University ’21 Jessica Cobian	Bard College ’20 Getzamany Correa
University of Notre Dame ’21 Willian De Faria	Harvard University ’22 Jessica Dias-Jayasinghe	Tufts University ’21 Carolina Espinal	Pomona College ’20 Jorden Favors
University of California, Berkeley ’21 Luis Gallardo	Brown University ’22 Heidy Mejia-Puerta	Georgetown University ’22 Martin Moreno	University of Richmond ’22 Mysia Perry
Wesleyan University ’20 Anthony Price	University of California, Berkeley ’20 María Romo-González	University of Richmond ’22 William Walker

Please direct questions about the program to Amber Briggs, Project Director, at amberbriggs@ledascholars.org.