Who We Are
Business and university leaders join the Forum to lead innovation that meets the changing talent needs of learners, workers, and businesses. For our members and partners, we:
- Convene action-oriented summits and roundtables
- Rapidly prototype, implement, and scale talent solutions that bridge learning and work
- Illuminate emerging talent needs and skills gaps
- Advocate for transformative business-higher education partnerships
We believe that complex challenges require collaborative solutions. Our work empowers committed, innovative leaders to build strong pathways and partnerships across education and employment. Our work enables our partners to achieve the following results:
- Improved career and academic outcomes for learners
- Rapid development of responsive and replicable credentials and pathways that prepare a workforce with critical skills
- Earlier connections to new talent prepared for the workplace
- More diverse talent pipelines
- More systemic capacity for industry-aligned educational pathways that produce talent for critical professions
The Business-Higher Education Forum is a national network that connects pioneering corporate and higher education leaders to co-develop solutions that address talent gaps. We empower and catalyze collaborations that deliver accelerated, inclusive, and effective solutions across education and work.
The Business-Higher Education Forum Board of Directors
The Board of Directors of the Business-Higher Education Forum reflects a diverse range of expertise and experiences that enhance its mission of bridging the gap between education and employment. Comprised of visionary leaders from corporate, academic, and nonprofit sectors, the board brings together individuals with deep knowledge in workforce development, innovative education strategies, and industry-aligned credentialing systems. Their varied backgrounds in technology, public policy, business, and higher education ensure a collaborative and comprehensive approach to addressing the nation’s talent gaps. Together, they empower the Forum’s efforts to foster inclusive and effective partnerships that drive systemic change and improve career and academic outcomes for diverse learners.
Staff and Senior Advisors
Staff
With deep expertise in designing, funding, and implementing new workforce and education strategies and programs, the Business-Higher Education Forum catalyzes creative solutions that drive impact. Our team brings critical expertise, skills, and a spirit of partnership, curiosity, and entrepreneurship to our work.
Experienced in leading and facilitating change, team members provide insights on issues impacting high-performing business-higher education collaboration and the future of work.
-
Kristen Fox
CEO -
Jennifer Thornton
SVP and Chief Programs Officer -
Stacey Brown
SVP and Chief Financial Officer -
Frank Avery
Managing Director for Partnerships -
Stephanie Blochinger
Senior Director of Member Engagement -
Suzanne Amoonarquah
Director, Operations and Human Resources -
Candace Williams
Director of Regional Initiatives -
Madison Myers
Manager, Workforce Partnerships
Senior Advisors
Our senior advisors play a pivotal role in shaping the direction of our organization, bringing decades of real-world experience in workforce development and education. Their insights inform our programs and initiatives, ensuring that we remain responsive to the evolving needs of the communities we serve. By drawing on their extensive expertise across various sectors, they help us enhance our strategies and broaden our perspective on the challenges and opportunities in workforce and education. Their guidance strengthens our ability to deliver impactful, innovative solutions that create meaningful change.
- Yvette Burton
Senior Advisor - Susan Elrod
Senior Advisor - Myk Garn
Senior Advisor, Faculty Innovation Fellowship - Deb Hodge
Senior Advisor - Elizabeth Hughes
Advisor, Research and Insights
Members, Partners, and Funders
Business and university leaders join the Forum to lead innovation that meets the changing talent needs of learners, workers, and businesses.
We’re the trusted advisor to leaders of the nation’s top businesses, educational institutions, philanthropies, and government agencies.
American higher education set the gold standard for innovation, economic development, and social good. Yet our current educational systems and pathways are not adequately or inclusively connecting learners and workers to economic opportunity and the careers and skills of the future.
And, technology advancements are accelerating changes across the workforce, growing persistent shortages across critical occupations, and widening the gap across the skills and competencies needed for success in the workplace. Higher education and business leaders need spaces to co-create and experiment with more inclusive, agile and effective paradigms for recruiting, developing, and connecting talent to opportunity.