The National College Attainment Network (NCAN) has welcomed two new members to the organization’s board of directors: Nick Lee and Keith Wickham. They are replacing Nathaniel Easley Jr., Ph.D., whose term has expired, as well as one vacant seat.
Nick Lee is a Partner with Bellwether in the policy and evaluation practice area. Prior to joining Bellwether, Lee held various roles with the federal government in the US Department of Education (ED)
and the White House Office of Management and Budget, focusing on postsecondary policy issues across three different administrations (Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden). Most recently, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Higher Education in ED’s Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. There, he was responsible for the agency’s development of budget and policy proposals on federal student aid and higher-education programs governing more than $200
billion in annual spending supporting over 15 million postsecondary students nationwide.
Lee also spent nearly a decade at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation leading grantmaking efforts to support organizations reimagining the design and distribution of public K-12 and higher-education funding to enable equitable outcomes, particularly
for systemically marginalized students.
Lee holds a master’s degree in public administration from The George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from Boston University.
Keith Witham is the Vice President and leads the Education Philanthropy team at Ascendium Education Group. In this role, he is responsible for the implementation of Ascendium’s philanthropic
strategy to elevate opportunities and outcomes for learners from low-income backgrounds so they can better achieve the postsecondary education and career goals that matter most to them. He joined the organization in 2021 as director of education grantmaking.
Previously, Witham was Managing Director of the College Excellence Program at the Aspen Institute where he led operational and programmatic growth to advance community college student success
with equity. Prior to joining Aspen, Witham was on the faculty of the College of Education at Temple University and has also held positions with Complete College America and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. He has authored numerous articles and book chapters on issues of student success, equity, finance and organizational change in postsecondary education.
Raised in New Mexico, Witham received a Ph.D. in urban education policy from the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education. He also earned a master’s degree in social service administration and a bachelor’s degree in political science,
both from the University of Chicago.
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