Melissa L. Freeman, Ph.D., is the Chair of the Educational Leadership Department and LEAD program. She is also the founding director of the HEAL program where she secured a nearly $300K grant from the US Department of Education, FIPSE fund to provide the seed money to start the program in 2009. She also served as a Project Director on the Title V PPOHA grant from 2014 to 2020. Dr. Freeman has presented and authored numerous presentations and publications related to Latino/a Student Success including her co-edited monograph “College Completion for Latino/a Students: Institutional and System Approaches” in New Directions for Higher Education.
The Adams State LEAD program offers graduate courses in Educational Leadership for K-20 professionals, expanding from its original focus on postsecondary education to include the entire K-20 pipeline. The program, supported by a US Department of Education grant, emphasizes equity, social justice, and cultural competency, and has been recognized for its success in promoting Latino/a graduate student achievement.
