Disraelly Cruz, Ph.D.

Disraelly Cruz joined ESG in 2022 to support the Postsecondary Attainment portfolio. Prior to joining ESG, Disraelly served as the Director of Planning and Policy for the State University System of Florida’s Board of Governors, where she worked with government and university partners to review academic degree proposals, develop and update regulations on academic matters, and implement legislative policy on mathematics pathways, civics literacy, and other academic matters. Part of her duties also included reviewing university strategic plans, annual accountability plans, legislative budget requests, and quarterly spending reports for Pillars of Excellence initiatives. Previously, she was an assistant professor at the University of West Florida where she taught various classes in communication and conducted research on work-life balance and volunteering.

Disraelly holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Communication from the University of Missouri where her dissertation focused on role management theory, volunteers, and work-life balance. Her work on expanding role management theory has been published in Human Relations.

Why are you in this work?

Throughout my life, I’ve been fortunate to stumble upon opportunities that provided me with access to higher education. I initially pursued a career in higher education because I was passionate about equipping students with the tools to improve organizational practices, communication, and company culture. However, the more time I spent working in higher education, the more I became aware of barriers that impact access, student success, and degree completion. Seeing the impact of these barriers and witnessing the ways educational attainment has transformed lives, drives me to want to find ways to improve access for all.

Why ESG?

Education Strategy Group is committed to improving opportunity and education access, especially among underrepresented populations. I was drawn to ESG because I want to be around individuals and work for an organization that will ask the hard questions and is genuinely committed to finding a path forward in increasing access for others.