Danielle M. Santos

Danielle M. Santos supports the UIA Central Team as the Director of Strategic Learning and Impact. She primarily oversees the UIA’s learning agenda, diffusion of UIA insights and resources across the sector, high level assessment of UIA initiatives and impact, as well as promotes a data-driven and collaborative learning culture within the Alliance.

With nearly a decade of diverse experience in the non-profit, technology, and post-secondary education sectors, Danielle is committed to transforming public higher education spaces to better meet the unique needs of all underserved students and their communities. Prior to her time with the UIA, she focused on increasing college access and success outcomes at the University of Michigan. She also worked as an advocate for community partners through College Greenlight and was a two-time AmeriCorps Serve Illinois Member advising high achieving, historically underrepresented high school students in the Chicagoland area.

Danielle received both her MA in Higher Education Administration with a concentration in Student Access and Success and MPP with a concentration in Higher Education Policy from the University of Michigan. Danielle is also a proud alumna of Smith College where she received her BA in Anthropology and was an Urban Education Initiative Fellow in Springfield, MA. As a lifelong learner and scholar-practitioner, her public scholarship interests seek to understand the intersection of organizational culture change management processes and collective impact models through an anthropological, student-centered lens.