Dr. Gabriel E. Gallardo, associate vice president for Student Services and Academic Support Programs with the University of Washington’s Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity, has been elected to serve as president-elect of the Northwest Association of Special Programs (NASP).
As president-elect, Dr. Gallardo will work with colleagues from across the region to provide educational opportunities to students from non-traditional backgrounds who attend higher education institutions (including community colleges and four year institutions) across the states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
NASP is an organization that represents the interests of professional educators who work with low-income, first-generation and disabled students under the federally funded TRiO Programs in Region X (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington) of the U.S. Department of Education.
TRiO is a set of federally funded college opportunity programs that motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue a college degree. TRIO programs includes: Educational Opportunity Centers, Talent Search, Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math-Science, Veterans Upward Bound, Student Support Services, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, and the Training Program for Federal TRIO Programs Staff.
Dr. Gallardo’s three-year appointment with NASP includes serving as president-elect the first year, president the second year, and past-president the third year.
As a representative of NASP, Dr. Gallardo will serve on the Board of Directors of the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), headquartered in Washington, D.C. COE serves as an advocacy organization that advances the interests of low-income, first generation, and disabled students throughout the United States. The membership of COE includes more than 1,000 colleges and agencies dedicated to providing access and retention services to the target population.
More information about these organizations, visit the NASP and COE web sites.