Monique Ositelu was a senior policy advisor for data and research with the Education Policy Program at New America. As a member of the higher education team, she conducted policy research and data analysis to promote college access and degree completion for historically underserved students.
Prior to joining New America, Ositelu was an education policy analyst for the Florida Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability. She previously worked for the College Autism Network as a quantitative researcher and Florida State University’s Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement as the interim director for the College Reach Out Program, exposing underserved Leon County high school students to postsecondary opportunities.
Ositelu was an honoree for the Dissertation of the Year Award from the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education (AABHE). Her dissertation focused on the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA's) Academic Progress Rate (APR). During her doctoral studies, she was awarded Outstanding Independent Graduate Student Research, FSU Fellow, McKnight Dissertation Fellow, Leslie N. Wilson-Delores Auzenne Fellow. She was an active presenter at national conferences.
Ositelu earned her PhD in higher education, with a specialization in public policy, from Florida State University (FSU); her master’s degree in public administration, with a concentration in public policy, from the University of Texas at El Paso; and her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Furman University.