Dr. Erick Montenegro is the founder of Insightful Conexión. He brings extensive experience leading original research to uncover and share best practices in higher education access, retention, and equitable career pathways for underserved populations. As a proud Latino who is also a first-generation high school and college graduate, Dr. Montenegro understands firsthand the inequities impacting the school and workforce pipelines. As such, he has an unrelenting commitment and passion for improving the opportunities and outcomes of diverse learners and the programs/organizations that support them.

Dr. Montenegro brings over a decade of expertise in mixed-methods research, equitable assessment, and culturally responsive evaluation to Insightful Conexión. He has led numerous assessment and evaluation initiatives and provided technical assistance to faculty, practitioners, student affairs departments, and community organizations. He is driven by the opportunity to turn data into actionable insights that raise awareness, promote best practices, and, most importantly, advocate for programs and stakeholders. His six-year tenure at the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) from 2014 to 2020 was marked by his pivotal role in initiating the national conversation on equity-minded assessment. This effort resulted in a series of case studies with the Council for the Advancement of Standards, establishing best practices and a working model for equitable assessment in higher education. This groundbreaking work culminated in the 2022 book, "Reframing Assessment to Center Equity: Theories, Models, and Practices," which became a best-seller for Stylus Publishing (now part of Routledge). With such a rich history in assessment, Dr. Montenegro effectively connects with faculty, staff, administrators, and community leaders, meeting them where they are and engaging in meaningful ways. His impressive portfolio includes over 40 conference presentations and numerous invited speaking engagements, including keynotes and workshops.

From 2022 to 2024, Dr. Montenegro was the Associate Director of the Pell Institute and the Director of Evaluation and Impact for the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE). In these roles, he developed the Pell Institute’s Toolkit for Equitable Evaluation—a comprehensive 160-page guide designed to help student success programs become more data-driven, research-based, and equity-minded to enhance program outcomes and advocacy. He provided evaluation assistance to federal TRIO programs nationwide. He evaluated two major grants focused on improving STEM education for first-generation, low-income, and BIPOC students and assessing the effectiveness of a career development program for marginalized students.

As Associate Director of the research institute, Dr. Montenegro was crucial in securing nearly $2 million in grant funding. He designed, led, and managed multiple original research projects employing quantitative (e.g., surveys, secondary data analysis) and qualitative (e.g., interviews, focus groups) methodologies. Additionally, he helped launch two iterations of the Indicators of Higher Education Equity in the United States—a longitudinal analysis examining the country's performance across various college metrics, including access, retention, borrowing, and graduation, across diverse student demographics.

Dr. Montenegro has also held several influential positions across the field of higher education. He served on the Board of Directors of the Quality Assurance Commons for Higher and Postsecondary Education, where he also Co-Chaired the Student Quality Assurance Advisory Delegation. His leadership roles include Co-Chair of the Grand Challenges for Assessment in Higher Education’s Equitable Assessment Work Group, Committee Member for the Learning Improvement Community, and Editorial Board Member for the Opportunity Matters Journal. He has also been a Visiting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (GSE) Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy (AHEAD), a NILOA Fellow for the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment, and a Dissertation Reader for New England College.

Currently, Dr. Montenegro was recommended to the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Community College Board to consult on the “Thriving Illinois: Higher Education Paths to Equity, Sustainability, and Growth” initiative. In this role, Dr. Montenegro reviews and provides feedback to Illinois colleges and universities on their equity plans which are beacons of hope for the state’s economic growth and educational equity imperatives. The project, led by the College Admissions Futures Co-Laborative at the University of Maryland at College Park, promises a brighter future for higher education in Illinois.

Finally, Dr. Montenegro is an evaluation consultant on the Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint Project led by the City of Champaign (IL) Equity and Engagement Department and the SU Institute of Health and Education - Evaluation, Assessment, and Research (HEEAR). In this project, Erick helps to provide an equitable framework for assessment and evaluation, informs the evaluation design, participates in research and data-gathering activities, conducts policy analyses, and helps author reports.