Strada is focused on one goal: helping clear the path between education and opportunity.
To accomplish that goal, the organization deploys a diverse range of tools — from research to investing to grantmaking — to foster collaboration between the institutions that serve students and the employers who need them. In 2023, Strada added policy advocacy to its collection of tools and brought on board Gabriella Gómez, executive vice president of policy, advocacy, and communications, to lead the work.
Under her leadership, Strada’s policy work is focused on developing effective public policy solutions that demonstrate how postsecondary education can create equitable pathways to opportunity. Last year Strada released its first policy agenda, focused on generating systems-level change that benefits large numbers of individuals, especially those who face the greatest challenges.
“Today’s students, despite the fact that many of them are facing significant hurdles in life, are demanding the information and resources they need in order to advance economically,” Gómez said in a recent interview. “I believe that at the heart of this determination and drive is a simple desire to work hard, contribute to society, and thrive.
“If postsecondary education can be responsive to their needs and adapt to the constantly changing needs of our very busy and data-driven world,” she continued, “then we really have a chance at achieving our goals.”
