Julie Peller

Julie Peller has spent more than two decades working to make postsecondary education more flexible, more connected to work, and more effective for the people it’s supposed to serve. Her career spans federal policy, institutional practice, and workforce alignment, with a consistent focus on building the systems and coalitions that turn good ideas into real outcomes for students.

Julie is the Founder and CEO of Peller Strategies, a consulting practice focused on policy, strategy, and operations in higher education and workforce development. Her current work centers on competency-based education, skills-first credentialing, and the policy infrastructure needed to create meaningful pathways between learning and work.

Before launching her firm, Julie founded and led Higher Learning Advocates (now the Today’s Students Coalition) for eight years, building bipartisan coalitions that drove federal policy change on Pell Grant eligibility, financial aid transparency, workforce-aligned education, and emergency aid. Earlier, she served as Deputy Staff Director on the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, playing a central role in the last reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. She then became the first Director of Federal Policy at Lumina Foundation.

Julie’s commentary has been featured by NPR, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, and The Hill. Washingtonian Magazine named her one of the 500 most influential people shaping policy three years running. She holds a master’s in public policy from Georgetown University.