Cindy Lopez is an experienced higher education leader, educator, facilitator who is passionate about serving students, especially those underserved. She leads executive searches and supports college board education in a variety of areas, including using student success data and understanding higher education trends and reforms.
Until recently, she was the Executive Director of Network Engagement at Achieving the Dream (ATD), where she oversaw support for Network colleges seeking to improve the student experience and student outcomes. Her responsibilities included overseeing multiple complex initiatives supporting groups of colleges through their ATD experience, including Tribal Colleges and Universities and rural colleges. She guided ATD coaching for these projects and codesigned, led and facilitated learning events and experiences that supported college data capacity building and student success reform work in holistic student supports, workforce preparation and other areas. She also presented this work at higher education conferences.
Prior to working at ATD, Ms. Lopez worked for ACCT where she facilitated state and regional board institutes to facilitate understanding of key student success metrics and evidence-based higher education reforms. She has also instructed undergraduate and graduate students and served as a university program administrator.
Ms. Lopez is from Oklahoma. She went to Cottey College and Mount Vernon College for her undergraduate work and Johns Hopkins University for her master’s degree. She is English/Spanish fluent.
Consultant spotlight
1. Who was your earliest professional influence?
My mother. She was a first-generation college student, then a teacher, Jr. High Principal, and later the Assistant Superintendent of a rural school system. She cared a lot about students and their families. I learned about the value of education from her and how family support for it can affect short and long-term outcomes. I also learned how important it is to continue your own formal and self-led education from her.
My second professional influence was Stephanie Funk, who is now about to retire as a Senior Foreign Service Officer for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). I interned in the office she worked in at the start of her career and learned a lot about office politics, the positives and negatives of development work and overall professionalism.
2. What are you most proud of personally and professionally?
Personally, I am proud of my 30+ years of marriage, my loving children and that I have been able to stay connected with many friends and former students.
Professionally I am proud to have successfully designed and led a major transformational change effort at US Tribal Colleges and Universities through which they continue to build data capacity and implement evidenced-based reforms. Several colleges are now ATD leader colleges, and one won ATD's highest award in 2024. Now they are also mentoring other colleges. I also encouraged TCUs to write about different aspects of their reform work and published these stories in ATD's newsletter which helped raise national visibility of TCUs and funding for their work.
I am also proud to have led a business leadership program at the University of Oklahoma for several years that impacted the lives of young adults. I believe the program really helped students think about how they can positively impact others and the world. Many of my former students are now accomplished leaders.
I am also proud that I have continuously built and adapted my skills to new professional adventures. This helped me make important professional transitions in my life as we moved around.
3. What is your favorite pastime or hobby?
I love to read, walk/hike, dance and travel. I have been to 20+ countries.
4. If not Higher Ed, what?
I am worried about our mother earth and feel that environmental preservation needs more education/advocacy. I am still figuring out how I might support such efforts.
5. What was the best piece of advice you have received?
You cannot change how others behave, but you can control how you react to their behavior.
6. What is your favorite drink?
Anything with grapefruit in it as long as it isn't too sweet.
7. What is your favorite cuisine?
I don't have one favorite, but I am a foodie and love trying new flavors and combinations as long as the food isn't too spicy.
8. What is your favorite movie?
About Time and How to Train your Dragon
9. Fun fact?
I used to be in Show Choir in High School and enjoy most genres of music. I have lived in Bolivia, Mexico and Colombia in addition to the US.
