As Vice President, Tanya I. Garcia, Ph.D. is responsible for advancing TICAS’s state policy agenda, strengthening the organization’s relationships with policymakers, key partners, and foundations, overseeing the college completion policy, student basic needs, and New York policy and advocacy portfolios, and serving as an external ambassador for the organization.
Before TICAS, Tanya served as Deputy Secretary and Commissioner for Postsecondary and Higher Education at the Pennsylvania Department of Education, where she led efforts to create student-centered policies, practices, and funding and worked with partners across the Commonwealth to build learners’ sense of belonging on college campuses. As Pennsylvania’s state higher education executive in a landscape of over 350 postsecondary institutions, she advocated extensively for today’s students and supported institutional leaders on how to better serve them. She also shaped higher education and workforce policies as the agency’s representative on multiple boards, including: the Keystone Economic Development and Workforce Command Center, Lincoln University, Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, Pennsylvania Tuition Account Advisory Board, Pennsylvania Workforce Development Board, Temple University, and the University of Pittsburgh.
Prior to Pennsylvania, Tanya was the first staff member with postsecondary policy expertise to join the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. As Associate Director of Postsecondary Policy Research and Associate Research Professor, she conducted research on the relationship between education and jobs and significantly enhanced the Center’s ability to infuse an equity perspective in research conceptualization, design, and production. Her work focused on the building of learning and earning ecosystems, examining the value of postsecondary certificates and associate’s degrees, and supporting state leaders in their effort to close equity gaps in Colorado. During her tenure, she provided technical assistance to state leaders in over 30 states on expanding and using postsecondary and workforce data to increase postsecondary attainment and build a talented workforce.
Tanya’s 25+ years in the postsecondary policy space includes stints at The George Washington University, American University, New Mexico Higher Education Department, State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, and Lumina Foundation. While at the SHEEO, she designed and authored the Strong Foundations reports that became the authoritative source on state postsecondary data systems and multi-sector data sharing and which SHEEO continues to this day. Her first claim to public policy fame was leading the development of the statewide dual credit program in New Mexico.
She proudly serves on the Lincoln University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees, where she chairs the Student Affairs Committee and is a member of its Executive Committee. She is also delighted to serve on the Association of Governing Boards Trusteeship Editorial Advisory Board. In 2024-25, she served on the National Association for College Admissions Counseling Board of Directors and was a member of the Finance and Audit Committee.
A consummate student-centered advocate and first-generation student, Tanya earned a B.A. in Philosophy and a B.S. in Biology from Florida International University, an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from The George Washington University, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration from American University.
