Dr. Nancy Finazzo is the director for education success at Emsi Burning Glass, working with community college clients to leverage best-in-class labor market tools and analytics to help student success efforts. Nancy has been a data coach with Achieving the Dream since 2011, and has recently served as a colleague coach with coaches in universities in South Africa, an ATD affiliate called Siyaphumelela (“we succeed”) funded by the Kresge Foundation.
Dr. Finazzo volunteered for the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, serving as examiner, senior examiner, team leader, examiner on the national case study review team, technical editor, and training facilitator. She has also volunteered for the Michigan Quality Council in developing and delivering training materials for state-level examiners.
Dr. Finazzo has received instruction at the Summer Institute for Survey Research at the University of Michigan, studying Experimental and quasi-experimental research design and question testing methods. She is passionate about bullying in higher education and her qualitative dissertation, “The Impact of Bullying on Women Administrators in Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study,” studied the lived experiences of women who were targets of bullying by other women.
Education
Ph.D. (Higher Education) | University of Toledo
M.S. (Administration); B.A.A. | Central Michigan University
Past Experience
Dean for Student Success; Associate VP & Dean for Adult Degree Program | Northwood University
Executive Director of Research, Planning, Quality & Accreditation; Director of Institutional Research | Oakland Community College
How has education changed your life/your family?
Losing my father suddenly at a young age left my mother, sisters, and I with a void and a strong impetus to be self-sufficient women in the workforce. Education provides opportunity, confidence, and self-actualization. For women in particular, continual self-reflection through learning allows us to be greater contributors in the ever-changing field of higher education. Finishing my Ph.D. later in my career was a long-term goal. I continue to look for opportunities to “pay it forward” by helping women early in their careers to navigate their goals and pathways.