HCM Welcomes Marianna Fresquez as a 2026 Summer Policy Fellow
Marianna Joins HCM’s Policy Team as a 2026 Summer Fellow
Welcome to HCM, Marianna!
Marianna Fresquez is a higher education policy researcher, located in Austin, whose work sits at the intersection of data, policy, and equity, focusing on expanding access and improving completion outcomes for historically underserved students. Her commitment to this work is deeply personal. Growing up in Dallas and attending underfunded public schools, Marianna navigated higher education largely without guidance and spent her undergraduate tenure learning on the job. She began her college journey on a path toward teaching, drawn to education because of how profoundly it had changed her own life. However, before graduation she realized her desire to improve educational systems ran deeper than the classroom. After taking an introduction to education policy elective course, she was hooked. She realized that her lever for change was through policy and research that centers the stories of other students navigating similar barriers of uncertainty.
A first-generation college graduate, Marianna most recently served as a Programs Graduate Fellow at Trellis Foundation, where she synthesized findings across the Foundation's portfolio focused on student success and economic mobility. She also held a research role at the Texas Business Leadership Council, where she helped design and administer a statewide survey across Texas public institutions to assess emergency aid programs and their impact on persistence and completion. Previously, she also completed the UT System Archer Fellowship in Washington D.C., conducting federal policy research on issues affecting Latino communities.
Marianna holds a Master of Education in Educational Policy and Planning from the University of Texas at Austin and dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and English from the University of North Texas. Outside of work, Marianna enjoys playing soccer, watching sports, and hanging out with her dog, Cabo.
We’re excited to welcome Marianna to the team and look forward to the insights and expertise she’ll bring to our client initiatives as we work together to drive meaningful impact in postsecondary education.
About the HCM Strategists Fellowship Program
The HCM Strategists fellowship program offers a unique opportunity for professional growth and learning by granting first-hand experience in education public policy.
Our fellowship program is open to collaborative, organized problem-solvers who have a strong interest in education policy and are passionate about improving education for all students through communications and advocacy. Our fellows are enthusiastic, innovative and strategic thinkers with excellent verbal and written communications skills, and have a strong commitment to our clients and our work in the policy field. Our fellows play an important role in supporting leaders across our education team, specifically in the areas of state and federal funding, strategic finance and accountability, reporting systems and data transparency, workforce development and career-competitive learning initiatives, advancing access and opportunity for all students, and other areas of higher education policy.
HCM Strategists is an impact-driven consulting firm that believes in the transformative power of education and work-based learning to improve social and economic mobility for communities that have been marginalized or historically underserved. Our work delivers a consequential impact on the national narrative, policy options and leaders responsible for change.
