Wesley R. Whistle
Wesley Whistle is a higher education and policy professional based in Washington, DC. Currently, Wesley works for New America as the Project Director for Student Success & Affordability for the Higher Education Program. Previously, Wesley served as a Biden-Harris Administration appointee in the Office of the Under Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. Whistle also worked on Capitol Hill advising a U.S. Senator on education issues, from early education to higher education. Before working in federal education policy, Wesley worked in various roles at colleges and universities.
Additionally, Wesley is a PhD candidate at the University of Kentucky College of Education studying higher education. He is broadly interested in the economics and politics of higher education. His interests include leadership, student debt and affordability, stratification and inequity, quality and accountability, access, finance, and more. Wesley’s work is informed by his academic training, work in institutions, and lived experience as a first-generation college graduate and former Pell Grant recipient.
Policy Experience
As an appointee in the Biden-Harris Administration, Wesley served in the Office of the Under Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. His responsibilities encompassed a broad spectrum of higher education policy issues and initiatives. Within this capacity, he functioned as a senior advisor to the Under Secretary, offering strategic guidance on pivotal policy matters spanning the Department and the broader Administration. His role involved the formulation of Departmental regulatory proposals, including accreditation, state authorization, and distance education. In addition to these issues, he had a particular emphasis on student success policy, student loans, and short-term programs. Furthermore, he spearheaded the development of speeches and other communications for the Under Secretary, which included crafting official correspondences and preparing Congressional testimonies.
Wesley has worked at think tanks in Washington, DC on higher education issues, including quality, accountability, affordability, and access. He also served as the principal education advisor to U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), a member of the HELP Committee.
Higher Ed Administration
Wesley also has experience working in institutions of higher education. Most recently, he served his alma mater as the Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Research. In this role, he led data analysis and reporting, assessment and program evaluation, and benchmarking and institutional data reporting, including federal and state governmental agency requirements like IPEDS and NSLDS. He held other roles in institutional research and assessment at the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky.
Read Wesley’s Work
Wesley and his work have been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fox News, The Hill, Inside Higher Ed, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and more.
Selected Works:
Millennials and Student Loans: Rising Debts and Disparities
Ripple Effect: The Cost of the College Dropout Rate
Here’s A No-Brainer: Students Should Know What Their College Costs Will Be
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer Announces Free College For Frontline Coronavirus Workers
Let’s connect.
Wesley is available for consulting for institutions of higher education, policy organizations, and political campaigns.
Wesley R. Whistle 