News & Updates
Achieving the Dream, a national reform network committed to advancing community colleges as accessible hubs of learning, credentialing, and economic mobility, is pleased to announce that its November 2025 board of directors meeting, the board approved a new slate of officers who will assume their positions, effective Jan. 1.
Suzanne Walsh, who has served on Achieving the Dream’s board of directors since 2021, and recently as vice chair, stepped into the chair position. Walsh was appointed president of City University of Seattle in July 2025. Her life has been deeply intertwined with community colleges and the Achieving the Dream Network, graduating from Hudson Valley Community College and working early on in her career at Cuyahoga Community College. While employed at The Heinz Endowments, she played a pivotal role in supporting seven Pennsylvania community colleges as they joined the ATD Network in 2006. Later, at the Gates Foundation, her portfolio included funding large-scale community college transformation efforts, including Completion by Design. Prior to her current presidency, Walsh served as president of Bennett College, a historically Black liberal arts college in North Carolina, for six years. She has also held leadership roles with Lumina Foundation. An author and editor of several books and journal articles on educational transformation, Walsh has received numerous awards, honors, and fellowships, earning national recognition for her work at the intersection of innovation, technology, learning, and postsecondary reform.
Dr. Monte Randall, a member of ATD’s board since 2023, now serves as vice chair. The president of the College of the Muscogee Nation in Oklahoma, Dr. Randall maintains a research interest in Native American culture, problem-solving abilities, and leadership — topics on which he frequently presents. He is a Mellon and Aspen Fellow as well as a Carnegie Foundation commissioner and a contributor to the Tribal College Journal.
Remaining in his role as treasurer is Larry Kubal, founder of Labrador Ventures, a venture capital firm focusing on seed and early-stage investments in technology. Previously, he worked as a strategy consultant advising Fortune 500 companies. Kubal serves on the national board of Narrative, a nonprofit that advances literature in the digital age by supporting writing talent and encourages reading across generations.
Dr. Marcia Ballinger, one of the newest members of ATD’s board, has taken on the role of secretary. Dr. Ballinger has served as the president of Lorain County Community College in Ohio since 2016, where she has led the college to be widely recognized as a trailblazer among community colleges in the realms of student success, economic and workforce development, strategic planning, and institutional advancement. She helped lead the establishment of OhioTech Net, a consortium of Ohio’s community colleges and five public universities collaborating to advance Ohio’s manufacturing workforce strategies, and played a crucial role in positioning the college at the forefront of the burgeoning semiconductor industry in Ohio as a key player in talent development.
Achieving the Dream President and CEO Dr. Karen A. Stout commented on her appreciation for the new slate of officers and the leadership that preceded it. “Achieving the Dream is deeply grateful to outgoing board chair Dr. Gregory Williams for his remarkable leadership and for the steady guidance and commitment he brought to the organization,” she stated. “We are fortunate to be steered by a board whose leadership reflects the breadth, depth, and values of our Network. Suzanne Walsh, Dr. Monte Randall, Larry Kubal, and Dr. Marsha Ballinger each brings a powerful combination of experience, insight, and commitment to expanding access and advancing student and community success. I am thankful for their willingness to serve in their roles and confident that, under their direction, ATD will continue to strengthen community colleges as engines of opportunity, mobility, and community vitality nationwide.”