Campus Compact and the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) are pleased to announce the 10 civic leaders who will serve as advisors for their Higher Education Democracy Exchange (HEDEX) project.
Developed in partnership with More Perfect and the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy, HEDEX will be a digital platform designed to help campuses find the data, resources, models, and connections they need to scale and strengthen democratic engagement efforts. Its goal is to center inclusion, access, and shared impact—turning isolated democratic engagement efforts into a collective movement that advances democracy goals. Campus Compact and AAC&U will jointly launch HEDEX in summer 2026.
The HEDEX Advisors will offer strategic visioning and leadership throughout the platform’s development and launch. The individuals selected as HEDEX advisors include current students, recent graduates, established higher education faculty and staff, nonprofit leaders, and experts who will contribute a variety of perspectives and deep knowledge of effective democratic engagement work. Advisors will each participate in small working groups focused on one of the four core functions of the HEDEX platform: civic indicator dashboards, civic credential clearinghouse, resource hub for scaling innovative practices, and civic experts network.
Throughout the fall of 2025 and spring of 2026, Advisors will meet virtually and in-person to lend their knowledge and expertise to content curation, offer recommendations and feedback, and test platform functionality as HEDEX comes into being. Learn more below about the HEDEX advisors, their working groups, and how their essential contributions will bolster HEDEX development.
Advisors
Civic Credentials Clearinghouse Advisors
Advisors focusing on the civic credentials clearinghouse will lead efforts to curate the HEDEX platform’s clearinghouse of high-impact civic credentials that are available to students, faculty, and staff. Advisors will ensure that credentials are relevant, aligned with professional development needs, and accessible while offering feedback based on their expertise in civic programming.
Melanie Booth
Dr. Melanie Booth is the Principal of Nectary Solutions, where she leads and supports transformation initiatives across postsecondary and workforce learning ecosystems. With over 25 years of experience, she has worked with hundreds of colleges, universities, and other organizations to advance equitable, relevant, and innovative approaches to learning and work. Her expertise lies in the intersections of employability, work-based and experiential learning, recognition of prior learning, competency-based education, microcredentials, heutagogy, distance education, and quality assurance. Melanie has contributed to numerous national initiatives, including work with AAC&U, the Competency-Based Education Network, the Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, and the American Council on Education, and has held executive leadership roles such as Executive Director of the Higher Learning Commission Credential Lab, Vice President at The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements and WSCUC, and Founding Executive Director of QA Commons. She has also served as an academic dean, faculty member, and director of academic and student services in support of new majority learners in various postsecondary institutions.
Noah Geisel
Noah Geisel serves as Micro-credentials Program Manager at the University of Colorado Boulder, as well as founder and coordinator of the annual Badge Summit Conference. His background is as a world Languages, EdTech, and digital badges consultant and teacher passionate about helping educators and students make awesome happen. He has 20 years of experience teaching Spanish, English, and Technology, and was recognized as the 2013 ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year. He is a constant collaborator in online communities and professional associations. As a community organizer and champion of digital badge credentials, he seeks to amplify others’ efforts to change the world. He is a learner, sharer, traveler, and giver of high fives. Noah makes his own buttons, collects ViewMasters, and takes his fun uncle duties to Lilah and Jonah very seriously.
Civic Indicators Dashboard Advisors
Advisors focusing on the civic indicators dashboard will develop methodologies for curating, collecting, analyzing, and updating civic impact data that highlights higher education’s role in advancing democracy. They will shape the indicators and data visualizations featured on the HEDEX dashboard, ensuring they are meaningful and impactful.
Marisol Morales
Dr. Marisol Morales is Executive Director of the Carnegie Elective Classifications and Assistant Vice President at the American Council on Education (ACE). She leads the classifications' strategic direction and operations across the U.S., Australia, and Canada, advancing public purpose institutional transformation. Previously, she served as Vice President for Network Leadership at Campus Compact and held community engagement leadership roles at the University of La Verne and DePaul University. She teaches Latino higher education policy in the ENLACE Higher Education Master’s Program at Northeastern Illinois University. Dr. Morales was a 2024–25 ACE Fellow and MSI Aspiring Leaders Program participant. She serves on editorial boards and nonprofit organizations, including The Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, The Puerto Rican Agenda of Chicago, the Illinois Latino Legislative Caucus Foundation, and College Unbound. Born and raised in Chicago with roots in Puerto Rico, she holds degrees from DePaul University and an Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership from the University of La Verne.
Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg
Dr. Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg is a leading expert in youth civic engagement and education. As Newhouse Director of the Center for Information & Research on CIvic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University, she expanded the center’s impact and advanced research addressing social and political inequities among diverse youth. Dr. Kawashima-Ginsberg has contributed to major civic education initiatives, including serving as a commissioner for the Our Common Purpose report and as a Principal Investigator of the Educating for American Democracy initiative. She helped develop and then later integrate the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement into CIRCLE’s portfolio, and her expertise has been featured in major media outlets. Dr. Kawashima-Ginsberg has served on the boards of organizations such as March for Our Lives, Generation Citizen, and Democracy Works. Currently, she is developing a national initiative on youth civic engagement at America’s Promise Alliance. She holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Loyola University Chicago, with a focus on child and adolescent development and community psychology.
Civic Experts Network Advisors
Advisors focusing on the civic experts network will guide strategies to make the platform’s peer-to-peer connection and coaching tools relevant to the broad spectrum of higher education audiences, including current students, young professionals, established faculty and staff, and senior leaders.
Sanda Balaban
Sanda Balaban is passionate about helping young people understand their individual and collective power, at and beyond the ballot box. She serves as Executive Director of Project Pericles, a national consortium committed to making college more connected to real life, real people, and real change by embedding civic and community engagement across the curriculum and campus. Previously, Sanda co-founded and led YVote/ Next Generation Politics, a cross-partisan initiative equipping Gen Z changemakers for their roles and responsibilities as citizens shaping a more just world. Sanda has held leadership roles in education and youth development in the public sector at the New York City Department of Education, in education philanthropy at the Ford Foundation and the Goldman Sachs Foundation, and in nonprofits including Facing History and Ourselves, the Boston Private Industry Council, and The Teachers Network. An alumna of Swarthmore College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Sanda brings to her work a systems lens, cross-sector fluency, and unwavering belief in the civic potential of young people.
Alex Edgar
Alex Edgar is a Gen Z civic leader transforming how communities and institutions engage young, diverse audiences. Passionate about bridging generations, Alex designs systems and strategies that foster intergenerational collaboration, strengthen trust and engagement in institutions, and move beyond tokenization. Alex currently serves as Youth Engagement Manager at Made By Us, a national coalition of museums and cultural institutions joining forces to engage younger generations. He leads the Youth250 National Advisory Bureau, a group of 100 Gen Z civic leaders shaping how the U.S. reflects on its 250th anniversary in 2026. Alex serves on multiple boards, including Points of Light and the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement, and was formerly the youngest federal appointee in U.S. Department of Commerce history through his service on the Census Bureau’s 2030 Census Advisory Committee. He regularly advises foundations, nonprofits, and corporations on Gen Z engagement strategies. Alex has a degree in political science and public policy from the University of California, Berkeley, and is a former Newman Civic Fellow.
Karyme Flores
Karyme Flores is the oldest daughter of Mexican immigrants who grew up on the United States-Mexico border. She is a student of political science at Texas Woman’s University (TWU) and is involved with JOLT Action at TWU, an organization dedicated to increasing the Latino vote in Texas. During the 2024 presidential election, TWU’s chapter of JOLT Action registered over 200 students and community members to vote. Back in her hometown of Eagle Pass, Texas, Karyme is a founding member of the Eagle Pass Border Coalition, where she advocates for the protection of border communities. Karyme has worked as Administrative and Communications Director for the Office of State Representative Donna Howard, and this summer, she is interning on Capitol Hill with Congressman Henry Cuellar. In the future, Karyme plans to attend law school and continue to serve the state of Texas and the Latino community.
Scaling Civic Innovation Resource Hub Advisors
Advisors focusing on the scaling civic innovation resource hub will support the development and curation of the HEDEX resource hub, ensuring it houses high-quality tools that support the scaling and adoption of best practices in higher education democratic engagement work. Advisors will establish inclusion criteria, identify key content areas, and advise on technical integration and content maintenance.
Rashawn Davis
Rashawn Davis is a nonprofit leader, writer, and public speaker focused on strengthening democracy, advancing civic technology, and inspiring public leadership. A Newark, NJ native, he made history at 21 years old as one of the youngest candidates to qualify for the city’s municipal election ballot. Rashawn has led national initiatives at the Andrew Goodman Foundation and Change.org. He has served on Newark’s Police Review Board and speaks regularly at universities, public agencies, and private companies. Rashawn holds degrees from Georgetown University and New York University's Wagner School and serves on the Board of Directors for the W.E.B. DuBois Scholars Institute.
Gabe Lerner
Gabriel (Gabe) Lerner is the publisher and founder of Democracy Notes, a trade publication for funders, practitioners, and researchers working to improve US democracy. Before founding Democracy Notes, Gabriel was program director at More Perfect (formerly the Partnership for American Democracy) and a consultant at Bain & Company. He received his M.A. in China studies from Peking University, where he was a Yenching Scholar, and his B.A. in public policy from the University of Michigan. Gabriel lives in Washington, DC.
Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo
Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo serves as Associate Vice Chancellor, overseeing the Center for Excellence in Inclusive Democracy (CEID) at Maricopa Community Colleges. A native Arizonan, she spent over a decade in community outreach roles with Mesa Community College and Mesa Public Schools. Before entering education, Deanna worked in municipal government and began her career coordinating youth programs and Hispanic ministry for a local church. She holds a BA in psychology and a Master of Public Administration from Arizona State University and is currently pursuing a doctorate in community college leadership at Kansas State University. Deanna is a 2014 graduate of the Flinn-Brown Civic Leadership Academy and a 2012 recipient of Valle del Sol’s Profiles of Success Leadership Award. An engaged community member, she also enjoys spending time with her family and caring for her home menagerie, which includes three dogs, two tortoises, backyard chickens, and a potbelly pig.