Strategic Adviser

Marie is currently the provost and chief academic officer at University of the People, the first non-profit, American-accredited, tuition-free online university. Marie also serves as a strategic adviser at ED2WORK and has served in chief strategy officer and acting chief executive officer roles since joining in 2020. An accomplished senior executive in higher education and nonprofit associations, her career spans more than 25 years including extensive experience as a leader in organizations serving working learners.

Most recently, Marie served as president of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL). Marie also serves on the Board of Directors at Bryant & Stratton College. She is also a strategic advisor for Packback, a solution to help faculty lead online discussions more effectively and efficiently using AI. She served on the board of the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) where she was chair of the board for two years.

Previously, she served as provost and senior vice president at the University of Maryland University College (now University of Maryland Global Campus). Marie has also administered programs for adults at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and held increasingly responsible positions at Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, New Jersey, and at City University of Seattle in Washington.

Marie is committed to helping colleges, universities, employers and workforce agencies find points of collaboration and connection. She believes that a robust 21st-century economy depends on the lifelong ability of adults to learn new skills that connect them to evolving career opportunities.  Through her work, Marie advocates for a shift in perspective that places adult learners directly at the core of new learn-and-earn efforts.

Marie earned her doctoral (Ph.D.) and master’s degrees in social psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and holds a master’s degree in counselor education from the Pennsylvania State University.  Marie was inducted into the International Adult Continuing Education Hall of Fame in 2016.