Wayne Taliaferro is a strategy director for student success at Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. In that role, he leads a grantmaking portfolio focused on enhancing student success at community colleges. He previously supported a portfolio focused on affordability.
Prior to joining Lumina, Taliaferro was a senior policy analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). While there, he helped drive policy advocacy on issues of college affordability and economic opportunity.
Before his work at CLASP, he was a research analyst in the University of Maryland’s Office of Institutional Research. His work there informed the university’s enrollment, budget, and planning decisions. It also supported reporting and special projects for institutional and systemwide audiences.
He also served as a data consultant for Collegiate Directions, Inc., as a coordinator and analyst at D.C. Public Schools, and as a graduate intern in the Office of Research, Planning, and Accountability at Providence Public Schools.
Taliaferro holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morehouse College and a master’s in urban education policy from Brown University.
