Sarita E. Brown is Co-Founder and President of Excelencia in Education, a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to accelerating Latino success in higher education by linking research, policy, and practice to serve Latino students. < Back to Our People Page Sarita E. Brown President Excelencia in Education Email: sbrown@EdExcelencia.org DOWNLOAD BIO Sarita E. Brown is Co-founder & President of Excelencia in Education, a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to accelerating Latino success in higher education by linking research, policy, and practice to serve Latino, and all, students. A recognized leader and advocate for equity in higher education, she began her career at the University of Texas at Austin, where she built a national model for increasing the number of students of color in graduate education and in the academy. Once in Washington, DC, Sarita served in leadership roles in higher education associations, at American University and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute. She was appointed as the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans during the Clinton Administration. As Excelencia’s President, Sarita is responsible for the vision and governance of the organization, working with the Board of Directors to communicate with stakeholders and identify forward-thinking partners, funders and investors to support Excelencia’s mission. With over 30 years of experience catalyzing and supporting higher educational institutions and leaders to address equity, she applies her skills and energies to expanding Excelencia in Action (E-Action), Excelencia’s national network of college and university leaders who have committed to making their institutions learning environments where Latino, and all, students thrive.

This factsheet provides an overview of the Latina population and college enrollment and educational attainment of Latinas at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). < Back Latinas at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) Excelencia in Education March 2023 DOWNLOADS/LINKS Fact Sheet SHARE RESEARCH LinkedIn Facebook X (Twitter) Copy link Overview The Latino population in the United States has grown significantly over the last decade, and Latina representation has grown more quickly than Latinos. This factsheet provides an overview of the Latina population, as well as the college enrollment and educational attainment of Latinas at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) — a critical set of institutions enrolling and graduating Latinos, and other post-traditional students, in the U.S. Suggested Citation: Excelencia in Education. (March 2023). Latinas at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). Washington, D.C.: Excelencia in Education. Infographics to share Return to Research Library Related Research by Issue Area - Education Pathways Financial Aid Institutional Practices Student Success Workforce

Deborah A. Santiago is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Excelencia in Education, America's premier authority on efforts accelerating Latino student success in higher education. < Back to Our People Page Deborah A. Santiago Chief Executive Officer Excelencia in Education Email: dsantiago@EdExcelencia.org DOWNLOAD BIO Deborah A. Santiago is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Excelencia in Education, America's premier authority on efforts accelerating Latino student success in higher education. As an innovator, thought leader, and educational visionary, she has led research and advanced evidence-based practices and strategies for more than 20 years. She has held leadership positions with education organizations around the country, including the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans and the Los Angeles Alliance for Student Achievement. She co-founded Excelencia in Education in 2004 to inform policy, compel action, and collaborate with those ready to accelerate student success with an unapologetic Latino lens. Among her many contributions, Deborah has addressed federal legislative issues in higher education at the Congressional Research Service and informed program and policy implementation at the U.S. Department of Education. She also improved awareness and education opportunities for Latinos with federal agencies as the Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Among Deborah’s community efforts, she has provided program design and implementation for dropout prevention and parental engagement for the ASPIRA Association and translated data for community engagement at the Los Angeles Alliance for Student Achievement. As CEO, Deborah leads Excelencia’s programming and engagement efforts, including expanding and leveraging community-informed research in improving educational opportunities for students, working directly with education leaders, and informing campus practices as well as state and federal policies. Driven by a deep desire to advance asset based, student-centered understanding of the needs and opportunities for the Latino community, Deborah is a sought-after speaker about Hispanic Serving Institutions, college affordability, and equity in higher education. Her work has been cited in numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economist, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. She serves on the Advisory Board of TheDream.US . and the technical panel for the Carnegie Classification led by the American Council on Education.

Mary Ann Villarreal is President of California State University, Dominguez Hills and part of Excelencia in Action network. < Back to E-Action Main Page California State University, Dominguez Hills Mary Ann Villarreal President Institution website: https://www.csudh.edu/ Bio Page: https://www.csudh.edu/president/presidents-bio/ Mary Ann Villarreal is President of California State University, Dominguez Hills and part of Excelencia in Action network.

Jose Gomez is President of Pasadena City College and part of Excelencia in Action network. < Back to E-Action Main Page Pasadena City College Jose Gomez President Institution website: https://pasadena.edu/ Bio Page: https://pasadena.edu/about/president/biography.php Jose Gomez is President of Pasadena City College and part of Excelencia in Action network.

** is President of CUNY Stella and Charles Guttman Community College and part of Excelencia in Action network. < Back to E-Action Main Page CUNY Stella and Charles Guttman Community College ** President Institution website: https://guttman.cuny.edu/ Bio Page: https://guttman.cuny.edu/about/office-of-the-president/ **. is President of CUNY Stella and Charles Guttman Community College and part of Excelencia in Action network.

Reetika Dhawan is President of Arizona Western College and part of Excelencia in Action network. < Back to E-Action Main Page Arizona Western College Reetika Dhawan President Institution website: https://www.azwestern.edu/ Bio Page: https://www.azwestern.edu/about/office-of-the-president/biography Reetika Dhawan is President of Arizona Western College and part of Excelencia in Action network.

Trendsetting colleges and universities across the country are on the journey to more intentionally SERVE Latino students in partnership with Excelencia in Education. The Journey to Intentionally Serve Latino, and All, Students Trendsetting colleges and universities across the country are on the journey to more intentionally serve Latino, and all, students in partnership with Excelencia in Education. By identifying opportunities to do things differently and investing in transformation on their campuses, they are becoming places where Latino, and all, students thrive. As a trusted partner, facilitator, and guide, Excelencia meets institutions where they are on their journeys to increase Latino, and all, student success with intentionality and impact. We leverage over 20 years of experience listening to, learning from, and working with colleges and universities to empower those in our network to expand awareness of who they serve, conduct analysis of what works, and take action that ensures their students are served well. Outcomes from the Journey Excelencia sees colleges and universities through the milestones of the journey to more intentionally serve Latino, and all, students. Specifically, we support institutions to: Advance a mindset and culture among campus leadership of increasing institutional capacity to more intentionally SERVE Latino, and all, students. Improve enrollment, retention, and completion rates for Latino, and all, students. Improve data collection methods to better analyze students’ current and future needs. Galvanize systemic change efforts across institutions by cultivating champions that enhance intentionality in serving Latino, and all, students within institutions and broadly. Build sustaining relationships within and across institutions, as part of Excelencia’s approach to creating a community of common cause. Support institutional strategic planning by increasing understanding of the Seal of Excelencia framework , which integrates essential components of data, practice, and leadership. Institutions on the Journey Excelencia in Action national network represents more than 141 higher education leaders committed to making their institutions learning environments where Latino, and all, students thrive. This network represents only 5% of colleges and universities yet enrolls 26% and graduates 29% of all Latino students nationwide. Affiliation with the network affirms commitment to increasing Latino, and all, student success, and institutions have unique opportunities to go further by participating in Excelencia’s collaborative learning and support. PARTNER WITH EXCELENCIA Evidence-Based Practices on the Journey For 21 years, Excelencia has brought attention to noteworthy efforts to increase Latino, and all, student success in higher education, inspiring educators, community leaders, funders, and policymakers to bring to scale evidence-based practices. Essential to this work is Examples of Excelencia , the only national, data-driven effort to identify programs with evidence of effectiveness in increasing Latino student success amongst all served. Institutions on the journey have the opportunity to share programs on their campus with evidence of effectiveness in serving Latino, and all, students. We equip program leaders to measure their impact with our Examples of Excelencia Program Profile Submission Guide , and support opportunities to learn about and connect with programs recognized by Excelencia . Click here to explore what works for student success and to connect with the leaders of evidence-based programs. SHARE YOUR IMPACT Resources on the Journey Excelencia’s robust capacity building strategy informs institutional efforts to advance awareness, analysis, and action — important steps on the journey to more intentionally serve Latino, and all, students. Intentionally serving students begins with self-assessment, which Excelencia facilitates through the Seal Serving Institutional Transformation Assessment (SSITA) , a tool and cohort-based experience for institutions to assess who they serve with a Latino lens. From there, Excelencia’s Capacity Building Institutes offer curated content and community building that support institutional teams as they learn, share, and implement strategies to align student success efforts across data, practice, and leadership. EXPLORE TA OPPORTUNITIES

Vinicio J. López is President of Evergreen Valley College and part of Excelencia in Action network. < Back to E-Action Main Page Evergreen Valley College Vinicio J. López President Institution website: https://www.evc.edu/ Bio Page: https://www.evc.edu/people/vinicio-lopez Vinicio J. López is President of Evergreen Valley College and part of Excelencia in Action network.

Daniel López is President of City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington College and part of Excelencia in Action network. < Back to E-Action Main Page City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington College Daniel López President Institution website: https://www.ccc.edu/washington/home/ Bio Page: https://www.ccc.edu/washington/menu/leadership/ Daniel López is President of City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington College and part of Excelencia in Action network.

This HSI factbook highlights fast facts on HSIs, eHSIs, and gHSIs, their growth over 31 years, the federal investment in HSIs through Title V, and more. < Back Hispanic-Serving Institutions: 2026 Factbook Excelencia in Education April 2026 DOWNLOADS/LINKS Publication SHARE RESEARCH LinkedIn Facebook X (Twitter) Copy link Overview Excelencia in Education develops and releases a list of HSIs every year since 2004 to inform the field of where Latinos enroll, examine institutional efforts to increase student success, and compel action to transform higher education and intentionally serve Latino, and all, students. Because the definition of an HSI is grounded in enrollment, not in mission to serve, the numbers of HSIs are dependent on the population growth and enrollment concentration of Hispanic students geographically. Therefore, Excelencia created the Emerging HSIs (eHSIs) category in 2009 and maintains this list to track the pipeline to HSI status. Further, with the authorization of the P romoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA) grant program, Excelencia began to catalogue HSIs with graduate programs (gHSIs) to identify institutions potentially eligible. This Factbook includes information on HSIs for 2024-25, the latest academic year of publicly available data, using Excelencia in Education’s analysis of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), 1994 through 2024 Fall Enrollment, Institutional Characteristics, and Completions Surveys. See additional data related to 2024-25 HSIs: List Emerging HSIs (eHSIs) List with Graduate Programs (gHSIs) List Interactive Dashboard Interactive StoryMaps Suggested Citation: Excelencia in Education. (2026). Hispanic-Serving Institutions: 2026 Factbook . Washington, D.C.: Excelencia in Education. Learn more about how Excelencia creates the list of HSIs. Return to Research Library Related Research by Issue Area - Education Pathways Financial Aid Institutional Practices Student Success Workforce

Dianey Leal serves as Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships of Excelencia in Education. Dianey is responsible for managing relationships and programs that support Excelencia’s partnership initiatives to advance institutions’ journeys to more intentionally serve Latino, and all, students. < Back to Our People Page Dianey Leal Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships Excelencia in Education E-mail: dleal@edexcelencia.org Current Position: As the Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships, Dianey is responsible for managing relationships and programs that support Excelencia’s partnership initiatives to advance institutions’ journeys to more intentionally serve Latino, and all, students. She also contributes to Excelencia’s internal learning, evaluation, and strategy development that enhance collaborations with partners and expand the organization’s impact in fulfilling its mission. Past Experiences: Dianey is a proud daughter of Mexican immigrant farmworkers and first-generation, college-going graduate raised in the Rio Grande Valley. Dianey’s professional background spans higher education, nonprofit, and philanthropy sectors, providing her with a diverse perspective on advancing opportunities for students. Prior to joining Excelencia , she oversaw corporate and federally-funded partnerships and programs aimed at supporting students’ educational journeys, including career preparation. Dianey holds a B.A. in Political Science and English Writing and Rhetoric from St. Edward’s University, a M.A. in Public Service and Administration from Texas A&M University, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education and Chicano/Latino studies from Michigan State University. Why are you bringing your talent to Excelencia ? My personal and professional experiences have fueled my passion for bridging research and practice to improve educational opportunities of underrepresented students in higher education, whether through policy, advocacy, or evidence-based programs. This role with Excelencia gives me the opportunity to listen to, learn from, and work with colleges and universities across the nation in support of that goal. How would you describe working at Excelencia ? Working at Excelencia brings me a deep sense of purpose and hope. I’ve had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the thoughtful decision-making process that Excelencia takes to support institutions at every stage of their journey. This kind of commitment reinforces my belief in the power of collective action, especially when intentionality is at the heart of our efforts. I am grateful to collaborate with a team of dedicated individuals who are mission-driven, kind, and passionate about intentionally SERVING Latino students.