Our Team

Dr. Stephanie Gardner is a higher education leader with more than two decades of experience advancing postsecondary access, equity, and student success. A seasoned practitioner, administrator, policy advisor, and consultant, she has built a career focused on creating equitable opportunities for students and driving systemic, data-informed change. Her work is grounded in coalition building and stakeholder engagement, enabling the development of viable, proven solutions in complex and dynamic environments. With a strong equity and justice lens, Dr. Gardner collaborates closely with communities most impacted by policy and practice, positioning her to lead transformation across systems and operational levels.

Dr. Gardner’s expertise spans strategy development, project management, community engagement, higher education administration, policy advisement, assessment, student retention, and STEM program leadership. She currently serves as the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Program Strategy at the DC College Access Program (DC CAP), where she leads efforts to strengthen and expand university and community partnerships essential to the organization’s mission and the District’s postsecondary attainment goals.

Prior to joining DC CAP, Dr. Gardner worked to accelerate and strengthen complex problem-solving across higher education and workforce development systems. As a Partner at Sova, she led national initiatives focused on strategic planning, network management, research, implementation support, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B). Her work included supporting the Pathways Collaborative, a coalition of more than ten national organizations advancing pathways reform.

Earlier in her career, Dr. Gardner served as Director of Recruitment, Admissions, and Enrollment for a national nonprofit, leading initiatives that connected young adults ages 18–24 to higher education and workforce opportunities in fields such as business, banking, and technology. She also held the role of Associate Director of Academic Affairs and Policy at the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC), a cabinet-level agency responsible for K–12 and higher education policy analysis, oversight, and initiatives designed to increase educational attainment statewide.

Dr. Gardner spent several formative years at the University of Washington, Seattle, where she supported the U.S. Department of Education’s GEAR UP grant, university admissions, and recruitment efforts. She co-launched the inaugural Community and Public Relations unit within the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity and later led a multimillion-dollar grant under the National Science Foundation’s Pacific Northwest Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (PNW LSAMP). In this role, she managed complex reporting and evaluation requirements while coordinating a regional network of institutions focused on diversifying STEM disciplines. Her leadership contributed to the co-development of an international study abroad partnership with Queensland University of Technology, designed to support students of color and first-generation students in STEM, as well as the co-founding of a new PNW LSAMP undergraduate STEM center.

A former transfer student from Seattle Central College, Dr. Gardner holds a Doctorate and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Policy, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Washington. Her doctoral research examined STEM ecosystems and academic mindsets among diverse student populations. She has completed executive education through Harvard University’s Management Development Program, earned a project management certificate from Cornell University, and holds a certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace from the University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business.

In addition to her professional work, Dr. Gardner has served in several civic and governance roles, including as a mayoral appointee to Seattle’s Families, Education, and Preschool Promise (FEPP) Levy Oversight Committee and a member of the Seattle Preschool Program Engagement and Education Advisory Committee. She currently serves on the board of Broad Futures and previously served as board chair of the Dr. Stanley Ann Dunham Scholarship Fund and as a board member of the Technology Access Foundation.