HCM Director of State Policy and Research, Stephanie Murphy, discusses credentials of value in recent newsletter from The Job.

HCM CEO and Founding Partner, Kristin Hultquist, is featured as an expert in the Chronicle for Higher Education article, “Think Workforce Pell Is a Jackpot? Think Again”.

HCM releases “Lessons (So Far) From Lumina Foundation’s FutureReady States Initiative”

HCM CEO and Founding Partner, Kristin Hultquist, joins The Key with Inside Higher Ed, discussing “What to do About the Pell Grant Running out of Money”.

Victoria Griffin joins HCM as a communications fellow where she will work collaboratively with our team on client initiatives to improve postsecondary outcomes.

HCM CEO and Founding Partner, Kristin Hultquist, is featured as an expert in the Forbes article, “The Jobs Report Tells A Story About The Future Of Work. Are We Listening?”.

Welcome to our newest Senior Affiliate: Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier.

Sukai Kato-Hopkins joins HCM as a policy fellow where she will work collaboratively with our team on client initiatives to improve postsecondary outcomes.

In our first publication of 2026, State Strategies for Scaling Emergency Aid: Insights from a Florida Landscape Analysis, explores how states can expand emergency aid grants as a systemic strategy to support college student retention and completion.

HCM CEO & Founding Partner Kristin Hultquist has been appointed by U.S. Department of Education as primary negotiator for the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee.

HCM welcomes our newest policy Fellow, Jaden Mikoulinskii.

The release of the fourth policy paper in the ongoing partnership between HCM and CHEPP.

HCM welcomes Madeline Price as our new Director of State Policy & Strategy.

HCM welcomes two new Senior Affiliates: Dr. Autumn Blanchard and John Fischer.

HCM welcomes our newest policy Fellow, Gus Gluek!

HCM welcomes our newest policy Fellow, Rachel Rivas!

With our latest report, we’re reflecting on 25 years of Lumina Foundation’s transformative leadership and meaningful impact in state policy and higher education reform.

We are thrilled to announce the promotion of Dr. Kelley Ditzel to Senior Adviser at HCM Strategists. Since joining us as a consultant and Senior Affiliate, she has strengthened our firm’s ability to serve clients through her deep commitment to increasing opportunity and degree completion among underserved populations, including students of color, those from rural communities, and others facing systemic barriers to higher education.

The release of the third policy paper in the ongoing partnership between HCM and CHEPP.

Announcing the launch of the Rural Talent Development and Attraction Lab (Rural Talent Lab), a multi-year initiative led by Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges (ARRC) in collaboration with HCM Strategists (HCM) and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO).