E. Gerome Stephens, Ph.D.

I am a higher education strategist, organizational consultant, and facilitator with more than 20 years of experience helping institutions navigate change, strengthen their organizations, and improve the experiences they create for students and employees.

As a Senior Managing Strategy Consultant with Georgia Tech Strategic Consulting, I partner with leaders across the Institute on complex initiatives involving strategy, student success, access, organizational effectiveness, and culture change. Much of my work focuses on bringing clarity to complicated challenges—aligning people, structures, and processes; strengthening organizational capacity; and helping teams move from ideas to implementation. I am particularly interested in the human side of change and in creating environments where people understand how their work matters and have what they need to contribute fully.

Before joining Strategic Consulting in 2023, I spent more than a decade leading student engagement at Georgia Tech, including serving as Associate Dean of Students and Director of the Center for Student Engagement. I provided leadership for Civic Engagement, Fraternity and Sorority Life, Student Media, and Student Organizations, while also contributing to broader efforts to support student well-being, belonging, and success.

My commitment to educational access is shaped by my own experience as a first-generation, Pell-eligible college student from rural eastern Kentucky. That experience continues to influence how I approach institutional strategy and the responsibility colleges and universities have to create meaningful opportunities for students from all backgrounds.

I hold a Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership and Organizational Development from the University of Louisville, where my research examined organizational culture and the alignment of culture-related goals with institutional strategy. I am also a certified Gallup CliftonStrengths coach and have worked with leaders and teams across higher education, nonprofit, and corporate settings.

At the center of my work is a simple belief: strategy is most successful when people understand where they are going, recognize how they contribute, and have the support to bring the work to life.