Elif Yucel, PhD, supports the learning and evaluation efforts that inform the Foundation’s grantmaking and advance our commitment to sharing knowledge internally and with the field. Prior to joining ECMC Foundation, Elif worked in higher education for over a decade, holding roles in college advising, student services and prison education. Elif holds a PhD in Urban Education Policy from the University of Southern California, where her dissertation examined reentry programs and support for formerly incarcerated students on community college campuses and the role these programs play in the reentry and higher education landscapes. Her research has also examined equity issues facing community colleges and higher education policy, with an explicit focus on transfer, developmental education and access and completion for justice-impacted students.

Elif holds an M.Ed. in Education Policy and Planning from the University of Texas at Austin and a BA in Chinese from Trinity University.