News & Updates
The Achieving the Dream Board of Directors today announced that it has selected Lenore Rodicio, Ph.D., a longstanding champion for community colleges and their students, as its incoming president and CEO.
The former executive vice-president and provost of Miami Dade College and trusted advisor to philanthropies, higher-education organizations, and college presidents has been a national leader in redesigning higher education systems for student success.
“Among an impressive field of candidates, Dr. Rodicio’s deep experience within community colleges and across organizations that serve them made her the right leader for ATD’s next step,” said Dr. Gregory D. Williams, president of Odessa College in Texas and chair of the ATD Board of Directors. “She will lead ATD’s continuing efforts to shift the focus of the student success movement beyond increasing graduation rates to also advance graduates’ social and economic mobility and transform the economic health and overall well-being of the communities we serve.”
Dr. Rodicio is a first-generation college graduate who, after earning a Bachelor of Science and Ph.D. degree in chemistry, began her community college career in 2002 as an adjunct professor at Miami Dade College. “That experience made it clear to me that my calling was to work in the community college sector where I could have real impact by serving the diverse students and communities that rely on these institutions,” said Dr. Rodicio.
She taught full-time at MDC for eight years before taking on numerous administration positions at the college, including department chairperson, dean, project director, vice-provost and executive vice-president and provost. Dr. Rodicio left MDC in 2020 to serve as a strategic advisor to several influential higher education organizations and foundations, including the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence program, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Complete College America, and the Partnership to Advance Transformation in Higher Education. From 2021 to 2022, she also served as the elected chair of the Board of Directors of the American Association for Colleges & Universities.
Not least, she has collaborated closely with ATD’s partners, coaches, and leaders for over a decade, both as a recipient of ATD services at Miami Dade College and in recent years as an ATD leadership and strategy coach.
“This is both a challenging and exciting time for community colleges and Achieving the Dream,” notes Dr. Rodicio. “We have the responsibility to ensure that learners who have previously been left out of higher education have affordable access to college, have the support they need to complete their certificates and degrees, and find sustainable pathways to careers. As culturally rich and community-serving institutions that bring lifelong learning, credentialling, jobs and new vibrancy to our communities, community colleges can help reclaim higher education’s value and relevance to the next generation, our communities, our policymakers, and the nation’s economic future.”
“I have worked closely with Dr. Rodicio and know her to be a leader of leaders and a strategic force for advancing student and community success,” says Dr. Karen A. Stout, who has led ATD’s growth and expanded impact since 2015. “Her blend of experience. including her deep work with Achieving the Dream, positions her and the organization to move into its next climb to reach even higher levels of performance and influence.”
Dr. Rodicio will assume her full responsibilities as ATD president and CEO on July 1, 2026.