Steven Taylor | ED2WORK

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STEVEN TAYLOR, D.B.A.

Founder and Principal

Dr. Steven Taylor is the Director and Senior Fellow for the Future of Work at Stand Together Trust. He leads the investment and partnership strategy and builds issue-focused coalitions to educate policymakers on reforms that empower and motivate all individuals to leverage their skills and education to pursue meaningful work and contribute to a vibrant democratic society.

His career spans roles in public and private higher education and workforce and organizational development. In July 2024, Taylor was appointed by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin to serve a 4-year term on the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the Commonwealth’s coordinating body for higher education.

In 2019, Taylor founded ED2WORK® to help postsecondary institutions, states, workforce intermediaries, and employers address the critical needs of adult and working learners. Between 2019 and 2021, he held affiliated roles as senior adviser on upskilling at Greater Washington Partnership and managing consultant of the National Task Force on the Transfer and Award of Credit at the American Council on Education (ACE).

Before launching ED2WORK, Taylor directed national programs and initiatives at ACE focused on teaching and learning transformation, alternative credit and credentials, credit for prior learning, and quality assurance. He was the principal investigator on three major postsecondary education practice and research grants to advance teaching effectiveness, competency- and work-based learning, and build flexible credentialing pathways. Between 2014 and 2020, he taught and developed courses on organizational development, training and development, and experiential learning at Wilmington University (DE).

Early in his career, Taylor led and secured funding for the first Texas Pre-Freshman Engineering Program (TexPREP) in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, a pre-college summer enrichment program for middle and high school students to study STEM in a college setting. He also worked in academic and student affairs at the University of North Texas and Dallas County Community College District. During his time at the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society, he led teams of subject matter experts to develop training and certification courses for healthcare regulators and professionals.

As a first-generation college student and Pell Grant recipient, he is passionate about expanding educational opportunities for underserved learners and improving the value and relevance of education and credentials. Taylor began his postsecondary education journey at Mt. San Jacinto College in southern California, where he earned two associate of arts degrees before transferring to Texas A&M University, Commerce where he graduated with a bachelor's in health education and political science and a master's in training and development. More than a decade later, he earned his doctorate in business administration (D.B.A.) from Wilmington University in Delaware, where his research focused on employee motivation and engagement in performance improvement efforts.

FEATURED ARTICLES

OP-EDS & ONLINE ARTICLES

Skills-Based Hiring Is Hot, but Dropping Degree Requirements Is Just the First Step, Jun 10, 2024. Governing.
Canceling Student Debt Won’t Fix Higher Education. Donors Must Think Bigger. Feb 29, 2024. Chronicle of Philanthropy.
To Support a More Inclusive Workforce, Va. Lawmakers Must Unite Around this Bill. Feb 29, 2024. Virginia Business.
It’s time to rethink welfare-to-work policies. This bipartisan workforce bill is a good start. Jan 12, 2024. The Hill.
OPINION: Here’s why a costly college education should not be the only path to career success. Oct 17, 2023. Hechinger Report.
Our Nation’s Primary Workforce Training Program Is Broken. Here’s How to Fix It. Aug 31, 2023. Work Shift.
Idaho Launch Will Create More Skilled Workers. Now, Idaho’s Employers Must Hire Them, Jul 12, 2023. Idaho Statesman.
Virginia's Workforce Training Overhaul Will Boost Business, Economy, May 16, 2023. Richmond Times Dispatch.
Even a Divided Congress Can Do Much to Help Today´s College Students, Apr 26, 2023. RealClearEducation.
I Visited an ‘Unconventional’ School: Here’s Why ‘Normal’ Needs to Change, July 4, 2022. Inside Sources.
Looking Beyond Debt Forgiveness to Solve the Student Loan Problem, Mar 16, 2022. RealClearEducation.
The Giant ‘Gainful Employment’ Loophole, Feb 10, 2022. National Review.
#DoublePell Costs Three Times as Much, Jul 30, 2021. RealClearEducation.
What We Really Need to Do to Make College Affordable, Jul 2, 2021. RealClearEducation.
Are We Actually Preparing People to Navigate Future Work and Learning?, Feb 20, 2021. LinkedIn.
First 100 Days: A Future-Focused Approach to Strengthen the Education-to-Work Continuum, Jan 25, 2021. ED2WORK.
What Faculty Can Do to Help Learners Prepare for the Gig Economy, Dec 22, 2020. LinkedIn.
The Gig Economy is Here: Are We Ready?, Oct 3, 2020. LinkedIn.
COVID-19 as a Catalyst for the Intentionally Designed Continuous Learning Model, Jun 6, 2020. The EvoLLLution.
Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants: Leveraging Both in a Successful Post-COVID Workplace, May 21, 2020. LinkedIn.
Learning by Doing Through Apprenticeships and Flexible Completion Pathways, Aug 2, 2018. ACE.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Skills-Based Hiring is Not Just an Executive Order [Recording]. ASU+GSV Summit, San Diego, CA. 2024.
Graduating Students with Less Debt and More Skills [Recording]. ASU+GSV Summit, San Diego, CA. 2024.
Solutions on the Sidelines: Policy and Funding Reforms to Unleash Education Innovation. ASU+GSV Summit, San Diego, CA. 2024.
The 2024 Election & Higher Education Policy [Recording]. SXSWedu, Austin, TX. 2024.
Skills-Based Hiring: A Primer [Recording]. Whiteboard Advisors. 2024.
Removing Barriers of a College Degree. State Policy Network 23rd Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL. 2023.
Six Decades, Trillions of Dollars, and Millions of Lessons - Charting the Future of Financial Aid [Recording]. Reagan Institute Summit on Education, Washington, DC. 2023.
Higher Education & Workforce Development Subcommittee Member Retreat. U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 2023.
Reskilling, Upskilling, and Flexible Development Opportunities Are Top Priorities. Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association International, TechNet Cyber 2023, Baltimore, MD. 2023.
Help Wanted: Responsive & Innovative Workforce Development. 6th Annual Policy Circle Leadership Summit, Fort Worth, TX. 2022.
Master Plan for Higher Education Advisory Committee Meeting [Webinar]. PA Board of Education. 2021.
Is Accreditation a Barrier to Innovation? ASU+GSV Summit, San Diego, CA. 2021.
Transfer Policy and Practice Recommendations from the ACE National Task Force. AACRAO Annual Meeting. 2021.
How Students Experience and Perceive Transferring Earned Credit: A National Perspective [Webinar]. American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO). 2020.
From Training to Employment: Rebuilding America’s Workforce Post-COVID-19 [Webinar]. Merit. 2020.
Getting America Back to Work: Skills-Based Hiring for Small and Medium-Sized Firms [Webinar]. Saylor.org. 2020.
Rethinking Career-Relevant Instruction in Pandemic Times [Webinar]. ACE Engage. 2020.

Linking Learning and Work Through Career-Relevant Instruction. Lilly Conference, San Diego. 2020.
Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Motivation to Engage in Faculty Development. Lilly Conference, Bethesda, MD. 2019.
Evolving Roles of Colleges and Universities. Reimagining the Higher Education Ecosystem Challenge Convening. US Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, Washington, DC. 2018.
New Pathways to Growth: Student-Centered Approaches That Lead to Institutional Success (Moderator). AGB National Conference on Trusteeship, San Francisco, CA. 2018.
Innovation-Driven Approaches to Teaching Effectiveness. ACE 100th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC. 2018.
Advances at the Frontier of Work and Learning: GE-Northeastern University-ACE EQUIP Advanced Manufacturing Partnership. ACE 100th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC. 2018.
Developing Inclusive Classrooms: Teaching Outcomes Worth Considering. Lilly Conference, Anaheim, CA. 2018.
Measuring the Impacts and Outcomes of Faculty Development. POD Network Conference, Montréal, CAN. 2017.
EQUIP: Innovation in Education & Training. Software & Information Industry Association, Washington, DC. 2017.
Instructional Quality, Student Outcomes, and Institutional Finances. ACE 99th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC. 2017.
Creating Alternative Education Pathways. UPCEA Summit for Online Leadership and Strategy, Washington, DC. 2016.
Creating Alternative Education Pathways. Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Austin, TX. 2016.
Competency-Based Micro-credentials. CBExchange, Phoenix, AZ. 2015.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Taylor, S.C., & Kilgore, W. (2021). Enabling the transfer and award of academic credit for prior learning. In Reimagining Transfer for Student Success, 83-98. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
Cini, M., & Taylor, S.C. (2020). A promising work-and-learn model: A case study of the TranZed Academy for Working Students [White paper]. Washington, DC: ED2WORK.
Kilgore, W, Taylor, S.C., & Pineda, K. (2020). A national snapshot: How students experience and perceive transferring earned credit [White paper]. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
Taylor, S.C., & Haras, C. (2020). Beyond classroom borders: Linking learning and work through career-relevant instruction. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
Taylor, S.C., & Soares, L. (2020). Quality assurance for the new credentialing market. In N. Maxwell & S.R. Gallagher (Eds.), Credentials for a new era of work and learning, New Directions for Community Colleges, 189, 67-82.
Taylor, S.C. (2019). Exploring non-tenure-track faculty motivation to engage in faculty development: An expectancy theory perspective (Dissertation). Wilmington University. www.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.14010.44480
Collins-Brown, E, Haras, C., Hurney, C., Iuzzini, J., Magruder, E.D., Sorcinelli, M.D., Taylor, S.C., & Wright, M. (2018). A center for teaching and learning matrix. POD Network and American Council on Education.
Struthers, B., MacCormack, P., & Taylor, S.C. (2018). Effective teaching: A foundational aspect of practices that support student learning [White paper]. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
Haras, C., Taylor, S.C., Sorcinelli, M.D., & von Hoene, L. (Eds.). (2017). Institutional commitment to teaching excellence: Assessing the impacts and outcomes of faculty development. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.