Emily House has served as the Executive Director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation since January 2021. Prior to assuming this role, she served as the agency’s Deputy Executive Director and Interim Executive Director.

Emily formerly led the THEC/TSAC Research and Planning team and College Access teams as the Chief Research and Policy Officer. In this capacity, she developed and executed the State of Tennessee’s higher education research agenda, and worked with executive and legislative leaders to design, implement, and evaluate higher education initiatives including Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect.

Previously, Emily served as a Teach for America corps member, and currently teaches Statistics and Research Design courses to doctoral students at East Tennessee State University and Vanderbilt University.

A native of Rochester, New York, House earned her Bachelor’s degree at Cornell University, her master’s of Public Policy at Vanderbilt University, and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Michigan. She is a graduate of the Tennessee Government Executive Institute, and is the recipient of the inaugural THEC Presidential Fellowship.