Dr. Christopher M. Mullin serves as Director of Strong Start to Finish, an initiative of the Education Commission of the States. In this role, he leads an emerging network of committed postsecondary leaders and philanthropists, working together to recalibrate institutional practice and rewrite policy across the nation and bring equity to education by significantly increasing the number and proportion of low-income students, students of color and returning adults who succeed in college math and English and enter a program of study in their first year of college.

Prior to serving in this role, Chris was the executive vice chancellor of the Florida College System, where he oversaw academic and student affairs, research and analytics, and financial policy; as the assistant vice chancellor for policy and research at the State University System of Florida, Board of Governors, where he provided leadership and direction regarding academic and student affairs policies and programs, strategic planning, research, analysis, and special projects in support of 12 universities; and as the program director for policy analysis of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in Washington, DC. Before that, he worked for the Illinois Education Research Council, an entity statutorily charged with providing policy research for the state’s P-20 Council. Chris has taught at the early childhood, elementary, middle and high school levels, and at four universities. He continues to serve as a guest lecturer at institutions across the country.

A prolific researcher and writer, Chris has co-authored books, journal articles, and policy briefs on the influence of state P-20 education structures on the educational decisions of both institutions and individuals. His work has been reported on in The Wall Street Journal, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Education, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education and EdWeek among others.

He earned his doctoral degree in higher education administration, as well as his bachelor’s degree, from the University of Florida. He also holds a master of education degree from Teachers College of Columbia University.