Tracee Matthias

Tracee Matthias is the LIFT Academy Coordinator in the Pre-College Programs in Undergraduate Studies at the University of Maryland. She is also a full-time doctoral student in the Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership program in the College of Education. With a focus on education policy and leadership, she is interested in investigating the feasibility of making federal financial aid available for workforce training courses offered through community colleges.

The nature of work is changing, and people need to acquire skills at a faster pace. Micro-credentials, industry certifications, and other short-term workforce training courses are designed to meet immediate industry needs but are not eligible for federal financial aid.

She started her undergraduate education at Towson University, where she completed a BS in Economics with a minor in Business Administration, a graduate certificate in Management and Leadership Development, and MA in Liberal and Professional Studies. She also completed her MBA at Frostburg State University. Tracee is the first person in her family to earn a college degree.

Tracee has been awarded nearly $1.2 million in a mix of federal, state, and foundation grants. The awards funded projects that served students enrolled in K-12 and adults interested in college. Areas of focus included robotics education, youth literacy, period poverty, youth employment, and college access services.

Before devoting her time to full-time doctoral studies, Tracee worked in higher education for more than 20 years. Her time was evenly split between workforce development departments at community colleges and grant-funded initiatives serving primarily low-income and first-generation students and youth released from juvenile detention. Her experiences in workforce development and continuing education departments influenced her research interests. She is extremely good at researching policies and procedures to find resources and money to support initiatives. Her future research initiatives will contribute to policies that make it easier for students to fund their skill development.