Shelby Rogers

Shelby Rogers, Ph.D., is the strategy officer for student success for Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all.

Rogers guides Lumina’s strategy to improve retention and completion outcomes for students at four-year colleges and supports them in making lasting, student-centered changes. He brings a rich experience in higher education policy, research, and college-wide reform, grounded in a deep personal and professional commitment to advancing educational equity and student success.

His professional experience spans both campus-based and state-level leadership roles. Most recently, he served as the senior director of postsecondary innovation at the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education, where he partnered with higher education leaders across the state to develop strategies that improve student outcomes, particularly for historically underserved learners.

Before that, he was a University Innovation Alliance Fellow at Georgia State University, where he played a key role in the early development of the National Institute for Student Success. As a member of the leadership team, he co-led efforts to “pressure test” the Institute’s diagnostic model for helping colleges identify and remove barriers to student success. Through this work, he helped colleges around the country adapt, design, and strengthen their organizational models and approaches to student success.

Rogers began his career in higher education in the President’s Office at Tennessee State University, where he also earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science and education. He received his doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.