Akilah A. Martin, Ed.D., joins CCA as a strategy director. She began her higher education career pathway as a TRiO advisor with Lone Star College, and she continued in higher education, holding positions in admissions, student activities, and advising. Akilah served as the Alvin Community College’s director of dual enrollment and then the director of college and career pathways, championing for pathways reform for the institution. In 2020,  Akilah became the first Black dean of students in Alvin Community College’s 70-year history. Before coming to CCA, she served as dean of student transition and academic engagement at Texas Southern University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Southwest Texas State University, a master’s degree in Counselor Education from Texas Southern University, and a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership – Higher Education from the University of Houston–Clear Lake.