Michele Perkins joined Stevens Strategy as a Senior Consultant in 2023. She served 22 years at New England College, as Senior Vice President, President, and as Chancellor. Dr. Perkins became the 15th president of New England College in 2007 and moved to the position of Chancellor in 2022. During her time at NEC, the College quintupled its enrollment to 5,000 students in multiple program delivery models, including on-campus, on-location, low-residency, and online programs. Under her leadership, in 2019, NEC successfully completed a merger with the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, now the Institute of Art and Design at New England College. In 2021, Dr. Perkins led the creation of the College’s first nursing program (RN/BSN), an innovative three-year program. She led the founding of NEC’s School of Graduate and Professional Studies, which currently offers diverse masters and doctoral programs on campus, online, in low-residency modes, and in various remote settings. Graduate and online enrollments are currently higher than traditional residential undergraduate, allowing for balanced operating budgets that produce positive margins annually. Prior to serving NEC, Dr. Perkins held positions in admissions and enrollment management at White Pines College, New York Law School, Trinity College, and Emerson College. As an independent consultant, she has worked with colleges and universities across the country on a wide range of projects focused on admission marketing strategies, enrollment management, and long-range planning. She was a co-founder of the National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals (NAGAP). Early in her career she taught speech and theatre at Curry College and Emerson College. Dr. Perkins served on several boards and advisory groups in higher education while president. She was Chair of the New Hampshire College and University Council, Chair of New Hampshire Campus Compact, and Chair of the New Hampshire Higher Education Commission. She served on the Board of Directors of the New England Council, Project Pericles and remains a longstanding board member of the New England Board of Higher Education. Dr. Perkins is a former board member and executive committee member of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC). She is a past member of the Executive Committee of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. In 2020 she accepted an appointment to co-lead the CIC Presidents Governance Academy, which is held annually at the CIC Presidents Institute. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Theatre and Performance Studies from Northwestern University and Emerson College, respectively. She earned her doctorate in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania.