Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva’s 25+ year career in postsecondary education spans a range of executive leadership, general management, federal government, public affairs, operations and academic officer positions. Watson Spiva serves as the President of Complete College America (CCA). Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, CCA is a bold national advocate for dramatically increasing college completion rates and closing equity gaps by working with states, systems, institutions, and partners to scale highly effective structural reforms and promote policies that improve student success. Watson Spiva is the former President & CEO of College Success Foundation (CSF), a national non-profit college readiness, access, success, and scholarship which serves nearly 12,000 low-income students, annually, through an integrated system of academic, financial, social and emotional supports to help them access and complete a postsecondary education. Prior to CSF, Watson Spiva served as CEO/Executive Director of Project GRAD (Graduation Really Achieves Dreams) Atlanta Inc., a nonprofit based in Atlanta, GA, which served as a strategic partner to the Atlanta Public School District as well as hundreds of colleges and universities across the nation to increase the number of low-income, first generation, Atlanta students of color graduating from high school and college. Prior to Project GRAD, she was assistant dean at Trinity Washington University. Watson Spiva has also held various positions with the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, DC, and Atlanta, GA. in the Offices of Postsecondary Education, Student Financial Assistance, and Policy, Planning and Innovation, culminating in her service as Region IV Public Affairs Director in the southeast regional Office of the Secretary of Education.
