MEd, 2021 Kanler Cumbass is currently an senior associate at the Education Strategy Group. In his role, Kanler advises institutional, state, national organization, and philanthropic leaders on strategic planning, policy design, and network facilitation to bridge the gap between education and the workforce. His work is driven by a commitment to enhancing learners' social and economic mobility with a specific focus on the quality of non-degree credentials and their intersections with traditional postsecondary degree programs. Kanler recently served as project manager for the Non-Credit and Credit Alignment Lab, a $1.1 million, two-year initiative engaging 20 community colleges and four community college systems to better align their workforce training and continuing education programs with credit-bearing credentials and degrees. Additionally, he has led state-level attainment and non-degree strategy development across Kentucky, Montana, Hawaii, Missouri, Michigan, among several other states. Prior to ESG, Kanler served in the Office of Career Services and the Office of Student Financial Aid at the University of Georgia (UGA). During his time at UGA, Kanler worked alongside Dr. Karen Webber and Dr. Amy Stich on their WREA National Science Foundation project. He also served as the Graduate Assistant for the UGA Mentor Program and studied college affordability/access and how those factors relate to retention rates for underrepresented student populations. Kanler holds an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at UGA and a B.A. in History and Political Science from Piedmont University, where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees.
