Yetunde Smalls is a higher education professional whose work centers on expanding college access, strengthening K–12 and postsecondary partnerships, and creating pathways that help students successfully navigate their educational journeys. She currently serves as the K–12 Partnership Outreach and Student Engagement Coordinator at Lawrence Technological University, where she works with students, families, schools, and community partners to increase awareness of and engagement with postsecondary opportunities.
Yetunde’s professional and academic experiences have shaped her commitment to educational equity, public service, and community-centered policy. Her background includes work in diversity, equity, and inclusion at Carhartt and public service with the City of Detroit Mayor’s Office, where she conducted government and legal research and supported community engagement initiatives. These experiences inform her interest in how institutional practices and public policy can either expand or constrain access to opportunity.
Yetunde earned her Master of Business Administration from Lawrence Technological University in May 2026 and holds a Bachelor of Science in Politics, magna cum laude, with a minor in Spanish from Ithaca College. At Ithaca, she served as a Student Trustee on the Board of Trustees and Vice President of Campus Affairs for the Student Governance Council. She was also recognized as a Newman Civic Fellow and Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar.
Through her work and participation in TICAS’s Leaders of Color program, Yetunde is particularly interested in advancing policies that make higher education more accessible, affordable, and equitable. She is passionate about ensuring that students, particularly those from historically underserved communities, have the information, resources, and institutional support necessary to access and succeed in higher education.
