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
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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.  

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The Business-Higher Education Forum Board of Directors

Laura K. Ipsen,* President and Chief Executive Officer, Ellucian, and Chair, BHEF Board of Directors

Jeffrey D. Armstrong, President, California Polytechnic State University, and Vice Chair, BHEF Board of Directors

Timothy D. Sands,* President, Virginia Tech, and Immediate Past Chair, BHEF Board of Directors

Jae Lynn Akin, HR Executive, State Farm

Joseph E. Aoun,* President, Northeastern University

Terrence Cheng, Chancellor, Connecticut State Colleges and Universities

John J. DeGioia, President, Georgetown University

Lisa Gevelber, Chief Marketing Officer, Americas Region, Google and Founder, Grow with Google

Earl F. "Marty" Martin, President, Drake University 

Ryan Oakes,* Managing Director, Accenture

Jay A. Perman, M.D., Chancellor, University System of Maryland 

Madeline Pumariega,* President, Miami Dade College

Chris Reber, President, Hudson County Community College

Kristen Fox, CEO, Business-Higher Education Forum
Ex Officio

*executive committee member

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.

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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.