Melinda is a nationally recognized expert on improving students’ transitions to college and supporting them once there. She founded Phase Two Advisory after nearly twenty years conducting research and working with colleges on education reform as the Assistant Director at the Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University. The proud granddaughter of refugees, Melinda works with national and institutional leaders, campus-based faculty and staff, and philanthropists to ensure that all individuals have the opportunity to realize the intergenerational mobility higher education provides. She frequently writes, speaks, and comments on education reform at professional meetings, in the media, and in academic forums. Melinda holds a BS in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University; and both an MA and a PhD in Sociology and Education from Columbia University. She chairs the Effective Advising Practice Guide Panel for the Institute of Education Science’s What Works Clearinghouse, and she is a member of the inaugural editorial team for the Journal of Postsecondary Student Success. In 2022, Melinda was selected for the prestigious 2022-2023 Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship.