Patrick Crane

Patrick Crane, Ph.D., is the strategy director for state policy for Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis committed to making learning opportunities beyond high school available to all. He leads the development and implementation of Lumina’s state policy strategy and oversees the portfolio of grants aimed at increasing credential attainment and value.

Crane was vice president of strategic initiatives for North Carolina Community College System, leading efforts to improve educational outcomes and strengthen workforce development across the state’s community colleges.

Before that, he was the director of the Office of Community Colleges and Workforce Development for the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission, where he led statewide efforts to advance student success, workforce alignment, and higher education policy. He also served as director of policy and strategic initiatives for the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and as an education policy advisor to then-Governor Joe Manchin.

Crane holds a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Georgia, a master’s in higher education from the University of Oslo, and a bachelor’s in anthropology from Wesleyan University.