Advancing Representation in Higher Education

We are committed to ensuring Massachusetts will always be open, welcoming, and inclusive of students of color and other students typically underrepresented in higher education.

Table of Contents

Meeting the Moment in Higher Education

Ahead of the Supreme Court’s decision on the legality of race-based higher education admissions criteria, Governor Maura Healey formed the Advisory Council for the Advancement of Representation in Education (ACARE) to ensure that Massachusetts will always be open, welcoming, and inclusive of students of color and other students typically underrepresented in higher education.

In addition to convening the Advisory Council, Governor Healey last year issued joint guidance with Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell to support the state’s higher education and K-12 institutions in their work to further equal access and representation in post-secondary education.

Additional Resources

Members of ACARE

Tyra Anderson-Montina 
President and Chief Operating Officer, Thrive Scholars

Yanelis Ortiz Aquino
Student Representative, Salem State University

Denise Barton
Chief Deputy General Counsel, University of Massachusetts

Joseph Bonilla
Student Representative, Westfield State University

Genesis Carela 
State Senior Policy Analyst for Massachusetts, The Education Trust

Gregory Chery 
Executive Director, Minds Matter

Greer Spatz Croxford 
General Counsel, Division of Occupational Licensure

Clinton Dick 
General Counsel, Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation

Harry E. Dumay 
President, College of Our Lady of the Elms

Brant Duncan
Secretary-Treasurer, American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts

Zachary Dyer
Student Representative, UMass Chan Medical School

Amanda Fernández 
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Latinos for Education

Manuel Fernandez
President, Association of Massachusetts School Equity Leaders

Aisha Francis 
President and Chief Executive Officer, Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology

Yvette M. Frisby
Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, Urban League of Springfield

Angel Garcia
Student Representative, North Shore Community College

Traci Griffith
Racial Justice Program Director, American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts

Rahsaan D. Hall  
President and Chief Executive Officer, Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts

Dale R. Hendricks 
Deputy Dean of Admission and Financial Aid, Amherst College

Taylor Hope
Student Representative, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

Bahar Akman Imboden 
Managing Director, Hildreth Institute

Mary R. Jeka 
Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Tufts University

Kenzler Joseph
Student Representative, Framingham State University

John D. Keenan  
President, Salem State University

Michael A. Kippins 
Lauren Sampson Fellow, Lawyers for Civil Rights

Beth Kontos
Special Projects Manager, American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts

Kevin Lang 
Lawrence A. Bloom Professor of Economics, Boston University

Vina Le
Student Representative, Worcester State University

Suzanne Lee 
Affiliated with Massachusetts Asian American Educators Association and Chinese Progressive Association

Darie Martinez
Student Representative, Middlesex Community College

Robert J. McCarron 
President and Chief Executive Officer, Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts

Kathleen McCartney
President Emerita, Smith College

Max Page
President, Massachusetts Teachers Association

Lyssa Palu-Ay
Dean of the Office of Justice, Equity, and Transformation, Massachusetts College of Art and Design

David Podell 
President, Massachusetts Bay Community College

Aaron Polansky 
Superintendent, Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School

Colleen Richards Powell  
Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, American Tower

Cassandra L.M. Prince

Ginette Saimprevil  
Executive Director, Bottom Line

Amanda Hillman Seider 
Executive Director, One Goal

Joyya P. Smith 
Vice President for Diversity, Access & Inclusion, Suffolk University

Femi Stoltz 
Massachusetts Policy Director, uAspire

Mary Strother 
Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Northeastern University

Tanisha M. Sullivan 
President, NAACP Boston Branch

Jessica Tang
President, American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts

Abigail Taylor
Deputy Attorney General, Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General

Henry Thomas, III 
President Emeritus, Urban League of Springfield

Nefertiti A. Walker 
Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion & Professor of Sport Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Raquel J. Webster
Attorney, National Grid

Mindy Wright 
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Upward Project

Rebecca Yee
General Counsel, Massachusetts Teachers Association

Derrick Young, Jr.  
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Leadership Brainery

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