Cheryl Oldham

Consultant

Cheryl Oldham was designated in July 2008 by the President of the United States to be Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education while also serving as the Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of Education. She held both positions until January 2009. As Acting Assistant Secretary, Ms. Oldham oversaw an office of 200 employees and a budget of over $2 billion. The Office of the Under Secretary was responsible for implementing the work of the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education as well as coordinating polices, programs and activities related to vocational and adult education, postsecondary education and federal student aid. As Chief of Staff, she was the senior advisor on both policy and strategy as well as oversaw the coordination of the programs and policies for which the office was responsible.

The US Secretary of Education appointed Ms. Oldham Executive Director of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education in September 2005. The Commission was the first of its kind to look at needed reforms in higher education related to accessibility, affordability and accountability. The Secretary tapped a bipartisan group of higher education experts from the fields of business, education, public policy and research to study potential reforms and produce a report. In her capacity as executive director, Ms. Oldham was responsible for the management of the Commission's work, its members and staff. Following 10 months of intense work which included 6 commission meetings, 2 public hearings, numerous task force meetings and negotiations over several drafts, she successfully executed the Secretary's mandate to develop and deliver to her the final report entitled A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education.

While serving as Executive Director, Ms. Oldham also served as the Department of Education's White House Liaison. As Liaison, she oversaw the recruiting and hiring of political personnel to more than 100 positions, advised the Secretary, and served as the White House's contact to the Department on matters of personnel and political affairs. In addition, she was responsible for the recruiting and appointing of over 50 individuals to serve on the Secretary's boards and commissions. Both positions provided her with extensive knowledge of education stakeholders as well as private sector leaders with education expertise.

Ms. Oldham began her career working in the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations in Washington DC handling policy matters under the umbrella of health and human services. She moved to the White House transition team in January 2001 and then to the Office of Presidential Personnel where her primary responsibility was the recruiting and hiring of senior appointees to the Departments of Health and Human Services and Education as well as several sub-cabinet agencies. She went on to serve as Associate Director in the Office of Cabinet Affairs before moving to the Department of Education in January 2003.

Ms. Oldham is currently working as an independent consultant in both federal relations and public affairs. She received her Juris Doctor from St. Mary's University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from Texas Christian University. She resides in Alexandria, VA with her husband and two sons.