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Biography

Dr. Danette G. Howard, a member since 2015, is global director of education and corporate responsibility at Cummins, Inc. and Cummins Foundation. Dr. Howard leads Cummins READY, a comprehensive strategy to power the pathway to education and career success for at least one million learners and workers by 2030.

Previously, Dr. Howard served as the inaugural Executive-in Residence at the University of Southern California’s Race and Equity Center.  She was also Lumina Foundation’s senior vice president and chief policy and strategy officer, overseeing several portfolios designed to increase Americans’ attainment of high-quality postsecondary degrees and credentials, including work in both state and federal policy and efforts to leverage states as the drivers of credential attainment. She also led the Foundation’s Equity First efforts to embed racial equity and justice in all aspects of Lumina’s strategic work and operations.

Prior to joining Lumina Foundation, Dr. Howard served as Secretary of Higher Education in Maryland, leading the state’s postsecondary education agency, the Maryland Higher Education Commission.  As secretary, she oversaw Maryland’s statewide financial aid program, approved new academic programs and institutions seeking to operate in the state, and advised the governor and legislators on higher education policies and initiatives.

A nationally regarded analyst and thought leader, Dr. Howard previously served as director of research and policy analysis at the Maryland Higher Education Commission. 

Dr. Howard is a summa cum laude graduate of Howard University where, in 2015, she received the University’s Distinguished Alumni Award. Dr. Howard is a member of the University’s Board of Trustees where she is chair of the Academic Excellence Committee. She also received her master’s degree from Harvard University and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.