Complete College America today announced that Katie Zaback, who currently serves as Senior Strategy Director for Data and Evidence, will be leaving her post at the national nonprofit to serve as Senior Director of Policy, Partnerships and Innovation at the Colorado Department of Higher Education. She will transition to her new position on November 27.
Zaback joined Complete College America in 2015 to lead the organization’s data efforts, in
cluding assisting Alliance members in identifying completion needs, leveraging data to catalyze reform, and designing processes to measure the impact of CCA’s Game Changer implementations. During this time, Zaback helped to expand the versatility of CCA’s data use and worked to refine the collection process.
On behalf of the organization, she also co-authored policy briefs, including On-Time Pell: Maintain Access, Ensure Completion and Serving the Equity Imperative: Intentional Action Toward Greater Student Success. She also played a critical role in the development of the national report Corequisite Remediation: Spanning the Completion Divide and CCA’s new web platform, which will be released at the 2017 Annual Convening.
In her new role at the Colorado Department of Higher Education, Zaback will lead and advance the policy work of the Department and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, including directing state policy development and state and federal affairs. She will also oversee various partnerships initiatives, including those with other state agencies, private foundation and philanthropy partners, and others engaged in talent development.
“Katie has been a champion for students and a devoted partner in our work since long before she joined our team in 2015. She understands the power of data to drive change and works diligently to ensure we are shining a light on the numbers that matter most,” said CCA President Tom Sugar. “In her new role, Katie will focus more deeply on making an impact in her own community, but we know our work together is far from over. Our Alliance is a network of collaboration and action, and Katie’s work in Colorado will help us fuel change throughout this country.”
About Complete College America
Established in 2009, Complete College America is a national nonprofit focused on significantly increasing the number of Americans with quality career certificates or college degrees and closing attainment gaps for traditionally underrepresented populations. For more information, visit https://completecollege.org/.
