Amanda DeLaRosa brings to the Adams State University Board of Trustees practical experience coupled with a passion for equity, affordability, and student success.
“Serving our community is at the heart of our mission and purpose statement, and we can’t ever waver from that responsibility.”
Starting out as a student advocate and a first-generation graduate, her career centered on higher education policy especially equity, affordability, and student success. DeLaRosa believes the Alamosa community grows up seeing the beautiful buildings on campus and envisions the day they will attend.
“It is familiar, renowned, and respected – and that comfort removes one major barrier to students’ success particularly acute for first-generation and students of color.”
Today’s learners are older, more diverse, and have more family commitments than in generations past and DeLaRosa wants them all to have a voice in decision making. She supports policies and structures that make progress on outcomes like enrollment, persistence, retention and completion of workforce-aligned degrees.
“I appreciate the opportunity to share my goals in support of our stellar President Cheryl Lovell as a member of the Adams State Board of Trustees.”
DeLaRosa was appointed to serve on the Adams State Board of Trustees on December 31, 2020. “There is a lot to celebrate in what ASU, the board and Dr. Lovell have been able to achieve in the last couple of years, but I have a few commitments that I’ll bring to my board service.”
The state’s master plan also calls for the eradication of gaps in outcomes by race/ethnicity and income. As the state’s premier Hispanic Serving Institution, Adams State is well positioned to lead on the achievement of that goal.
“If we keep focused on our intended equitable outcomes and continue aligning our policies, practices, and resources to that end, I think Adams can be the first institution to erase its equity gaps in the state. This will be my primary focus as a trustee.”
Moving out of the pandemic, DeLaRosa wants to help leverage programs like COSI, the Displaced Worker Grant Program, opportunities in the funding formula, and other strategic partnerships.
“I am committed to telling the remarkable story of Adams to more people, more often. As we celebrate Adams’s 100-year anniversary, we have to reinvest our innovative spirit, our best ideas, and our resources in the mission, the role, and the scope of this treasured Hispanic Serving Institution,” DeLaRosa added.
DeLaRosa currently serves as strategy officer of state policy at Lumina Foundation. Her grantmaking portfolio typically benefits state higher education leaders who are focused on educational equity and justice through the adoption of supportive policies like funding formulas, attainment goals, need-based financial aid, and adult learner success strategies. Prior to that, she served as Chief of Staff at the Colorado Department of Higher Education.
“I have a lot to offer Adams just as Adams has a lot to offer me and the San Luis Valley and the state’s master plan for higher education. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to learn and serve.”
