Updates from the Council for Opportunity in Education with
Dr. Sari Byerly
Plenary Speaker
Dr. Sari Byerly
Plenary Speaker
Dr. Sari Byerly
Dr. Sari Byerly is the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs at Idaho State University, where she has the pleasure of overseeing nine U.S. Department of Education grants. Her leadership with Idaho State University's Access and Opportunity Programs spans across six campus/outreach locations, 21 high schools, and 250+ miles of the state of Idaho. During Dr. Byerly's tenure at ISU she has taken the reach of TRIO programs from three TRIO grants to its current level of service delivery to include: two TRIO Talent Search, TRIO Upward Bound, TRIO Upward Bound Math Science, TRIO Veterans Upward Bound, TRIO Educational Opportunity Center, TRIO Student Support Services-Classic, TRIO McNair Scholars, and a College Assistance Migrant Program. Dr Byerly has been blessed to have worked for TRIO programs since 2002, starting her journey with the TRIO Upward Bound program at the University of Utah as a student employee. She personally feels she found her home when she began working for TRIO. She was a first-generation college student herself and now holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master’s of Science in Social Psychology from the University of Utah as well as a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Administration from the University of Idaho. She strongly believes in the positive impact College Access and Success programs have on people's lives at all levels whether a participant, an employee, the institution, or the community. Over the years, Dr. Byerly has had the privilege to work towards educational access through her various leadership roles. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Idaho Association of TRIO Professionals (IATP), regionally on Board of Directors for the Northwest Association of Educational Opportunity Programs (NAEOP), and nationally with the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE).
Maureen Hoyler
Plenary Speaker
Maureen Hoyler
Plenary Speaker
Maureen Hoyler
On October 1, 2013, Maureen Hoyler assumed the position of President of the Council for Opportunity in Education, a nonprofit organization that provides professional development, program improvement, and advocacy for nearly 2,800 federally funded college opportunity programs at more than 1,000 colleges and universities nationwide. Ms. Hoyler has been a voice for low-income, first-generation students and individuals with disabilities. As President, she oversees management of the Washington office and the fiscal affairs of the Association also while serving as the primary liaison between the Association and the United States Congress, the Executive Branch, all Governmental Agencies. She is the official representative of the Association with all other postsecondary educational associations.
Under her leadership, the Council has launched several new initiatives, including the Executive Leadership Institute for College Opportunity Professionals, which brings educational opportunity chapter leaders to institutions such as Princeton, Cornell, and Yale for instruction in various topics such as transformational leadership and public policy as well as provides on-going mentorship by highly experienced college access and success leaders. Hoyler also spearheaded the creation of the First-Generation College Celebration, during which hundreds of campuses recognize their first-generation students and faculty on the anniversary of the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (November 8). She has brokered partnerships with corporations such as Comcast to promote careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for underrepresented students.
Hoyler began her career at the Educational Opportunity Program at Marquette University as an assistant to the then Director, Dr. Arnold Mitchem. Ms. Hoyler moved to Washington in 1981 to establish the Council’s office. As the organization’s Chief Operating Officer, she has played an integral role in the growth of the organization over the past 33 years, starting from a staff of one full-time professional. Ms. Hoyler has lectured widely on federal law and regulations. Over the years, she has received numerous awards from TRIO-based associations. She received her B.A. and her law degree from Marquette University from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.