Monika Mala, PhD

Monika serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Foster Success. In this role she leads the Foster Success team in growing scalable, measurable solutions that support the successful transition of youth and young adults from foster care into adulthood. She leads and supports program directors and office support staff, working in areas of K-12 & post-secondary education, workforce development, health and well-being, financial capability, housing, and youth engagement.

Monika most recently served as the Director of Strategy, Alliance for national non-profit, Complete College America. In this role, she worked closely with states to guide change, drive momentum, and support completion efforts specifically through advocacy, policy, and coordination of implementation support.

Prior to her move to Indiana, Monika served as the Assistant Director of Outreach and Retention at the University of Nevada, Reno. In this role, she oversaw two federal outreach programs and one state-funded retention program. Overall, these programs served nearly 6,000 young adults in the state of Nevada.

Monika has her Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Equity and Diversity. Her dissertation work is focused on the knowledge and skills of Mexican-American students from low-income backgrounds, in hopes to better inform higher education policies and practices.