A public voice for building pathways to prosperity.
ABOUT DR. STEVE TAYLOR
Steve’s work is personal and professional. As a first-generation college graduate and Pell Grant recipient, he knows what it means for education to open doors. Access to opportunity changed the direction of his life—and shaped a career focused on helping more people access the pathways that lead to work, independence, prosperity, and flourishing.
At the center of his work is a simple conviction: people are not problems to be managed. They are creators, contributors, workers, parents, neighbors, entrepreneurs, and leaders with the capacity to shape their own futures.
WORKING ACROSS SECTORS TO SHAPE OPPORTUNITY.
PUBLIC
SCHEV & NACIQI
He brings public policy and governance experience through his board leadership on the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and as vice chair of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI)—the federal "watchdog" over accreditors who serve as gatekeepers of federal student aid.
PHILANTHROPIC
STAND TOGETHER
Through the Stand Together community, he advances philanthropic strategies across postsecondary education, the future of work, and economic mobility to empower more people to build lives of dignity and prosperity. He also advances policy agendas by building partnerships across partisan lines and sectors.
PRIVATE
ED2WORK & ACE
At ED2WORK®, he helps nonprofits, employers, and education leaders adapt to the changing relationship between education and work. At the American Council on Education (ACE), he led national initiatives on higher education innovation and academic quality and spearheaded efforts to normalize non-degree pathways.
Featured interview with Dr. Steven Taylor: Empowering Communities to Break the Cycle of Poverty
“Get close to the problem before you try to solve it. Some of the best policy ideas I’ve seen didn’t start in a legislative hearing room; they started in a classroom, a workplace, or a community program, where someone was close enough to see the real barrier and creative enough to try something new. My advice is to spend real time in proximity to the people your work is meant to serve, build genuine relationships rather than transactional ones, and hold onto both the data and the human stakes of this work.”
Read the rest of Steve’s August 2026 interview with Higher Education Digest.
OFFICIAL BIOS
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Dr. Steve Taylor is an author, speaker, and policy leader advancing how America creates opportunity. His work sits at the intersection of education, work, public policy, philanthropy, and economic mobility, with a focus on building pathways that help more people pursue meaningful work and build lives of dignity, purpose, and prosperity. He is the founder of ED2WORK® and previously directed national initiatives at the American Council on Education. Taylor is the Policy Director and Senior Fellow for Economic Mobility at the philanthropic organization Stand Together and holds political appointments to State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity.
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Dr. Steve Taylor is an author, speaker, and policy leader focused on advancing how America creates opportunity. His work sits at the intersection of education, work, public policy, philanthropy, and economic mobility, with a particular focus on building pathways that help more people develop their talents, pursue meaningful work, and build lives of dignity, purpose, and prosperity.
Across more than two decades, Taylor has worked with leaders in higher education, workforce development, philanthropy, and public policy to design practical solutions that better connect learning, skills, work, and opportunity. He is the founder of ED2WORK®, a consulting firm created to help stakeholders address the needs of adult and working learners. At the American Council on Education, he directed national initiatives focused on teaching and learning transformation, alternative credit and credentials, and quality assurance.
Taylor is the Policy Director and Senior Fellow for Economic Mobility at Stand Together, a national philanthropic and social change organization, where he builds partnerships and issue-focused coalitions aimed at advancing reforms that empower people to develop their skills, participate in meaningful work, and contribute to society.
In July 2024, Taylor was appointed by Governor Glenn Youngkin to a four-year term on the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the Commonwealth’s policy and coordinating body for higher education. In October 2025, he was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education to a six-year term and currently serves as vice chair on the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, which advises the federal government on accreditation and institutional quality.
As a first-generation college graduate and Pell Grant recipient and with his own experience growing up in an ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) household, Taylor’s commitment to expanding opportunity is personal. His work is grounded in the belief that education and credentials should create real value for learners, open doors to meaningful work, and help people move toward long-term prosperity. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from East Texas A&M University and a doctorate in business from Wilmington University.
OFFICIAL HEADSHOTS
