Andrea Rodriguez

A Latina graduate with over 10 years of experience supporting higher education systems and communities, Andréa Rodriguez serves as Director of the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU)/Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). In this capacity, she partners with private foundations and federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Education (DOE), Lumina Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Andréa drives the Frontier Set initiative, a major Bill and Melinda Gates grant in APLU/USU’s portfolio where she leads process mapping, continuous improvement, and design thinking sessions with Presidents, Chancellors, faculty, and staff. Before this role, she held positions at both 2-year and 4-year universities, supporting faculty, students, and staff on multiple initiatives. Besides her work at APLU/USU, Andréa serves part-time as the Principal Research Assistant with Gold Enterprises, LLC, co-leading Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) efforts. With a particular emphasis on equity, access, and social justice, her experience and knowledge give her the ability to lead multiple organizational and institutional projects. Andréa earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts from The College at Brockport, SUNY. She later pursued a Master of Education from the George Washington University. She is currently completing her Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Leadership and Management, focusing on Policy at Drexel University.