STAFF DIRECTORY | ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
CHRIS LOWERY
Indiana's Commissioner for Higher Education
"We simply cannot argue with the data – greater levels of education lead to better outcomes for individuals, for employers, for communities, and for our state. It is going to take a robust and intentional statewide effort to reverse the present trends facing education beyond high school, but I do not fear for the sake of our state. I am hopeful because the evidence tells me to be so."
Chris Lowery
Commissioner for Higher Education
317-232-1020
clowery@che.in.gov
DR. MICHELLE ASHCRAFT
Senior Associate Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer
Dr. Michelle Ashcraft leads the K-12 Outreach, Career and Technical Education (CTE), Adult Strategy, Public Policy and Strategic Partnerships, Postsecondary Transitions and Success, and State Financial Aid teams to increase Indiana’s college-going rate, college completion rate, and in-state retention rate of college graduates. The teams align policies, programs, and partnerships to assist Hoosier high school students in earning credentials before graduation, filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), taking advantage of direct admissions to Indiana's higher education institutions, and maximizing usage of state financial aid to complete college on time and enter the workforce in Indiana. Key initiatives include dual credit and dual enrollment (including CTE and the Indiana College Core), career coaching and navigation, work-based learning, Indiana Pre-Admissions: Your Path to College, and over $400M in state financial aid (including the 21st Century Scholars program and Frank O'Bannon Grant),
Prior to joining the Commission, Ashcraft served as the director of Purdue Promise at Purdue University and previously worked for the University of Kentucky in New Student & Parent Programs. Ashcraft earned her Ph.D. in higher education from Purdue University. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and a master’s degree from the University of South Carolina.
Michelle Ashcraft, Ph.D.
Senior Associate Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer
317-234-3321
mashcraft@che.in.gov
DR. MATT BUTLER
Senior Associate Commissioner and Chief Academic Officer
Dr. Butler leads the Commission’s postsecondary academic efforts including transfer of credit, dual credit, campus mission statements/policies, and revamping the process for both new degree program approvals and the review of more than 3,000 existing degree offerings among Indiana’s public institutions. Butler also serves as the liaison between the Commission and academic institutions from around the state and as the executive director of the Board for Proprietary Education.
Prior to joining the Commission, Butler served in the office of Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb as the senior policy advisor for education and workforce. Previous roles have included the Vice President of External Engagement at the state-created nonprofit INvestEd and with Indiana House Republican staff as a fiscal policy analyst for the Ways & Means Committee and, before, as a communications and policy advisor.
Butler graduated ‘With Distinction’ and Phi Beta Kappa from Purdue University, majoring in history and minoring in biological sciences. His graduate work was also in history, earning a master’s from William & Mary and a doctorate from the University of Cambridge. He is a lifelong Hoosier from Indianapolis.
Matt Butler, Ph.D.
Senior Associate Commissioner and Chief Academic Officer
317-233-8729
mbutler@che.in.gov
BROOKE KILE
Senior Associate Commissioner for Business Solutions
Brooke Kile oversees the Commission’s efforts to leverage data in the measurement and assessment of strategic initiatives related to Indiana’s college-going rate and enrollment, completion, and retention of college graduates in Indiana. She leads the Finance, Business Intelligence, and Information Technology teams. Brooke is responsible for the strategic use of related data and analyses across the Commission staff, university partners, inter-agency partners, and industry leaders.
Prior to joining the Commission, Kile held various positions in the offices of Institutional Research and Financial Aid at postsecondary institutions located in the Midwest.
Kile holds a B.A. in English from Butler University and a M.S. in Management from the University of St. Francis in Illinois.
Brooke Kile, M.S.
Senior Associate Commissioner for Business Solutions
317-233-4783
bkile@che.in.gov
ALLISON KUEHR
Associate Commissioner for Marketing and Communications
Allison Kuehr leads marketing and communications at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. In her role, she oversees internal and external strategic communications, public relations, media relations, and marketing strategies.
Most recently, Kuehr served as communications director for the Commission and previously worked for Work and Learn Indiana which is a program of the Institute for Workforce Excellence. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a concentration in public relations at Indiana University Indianapolis.
Allison Kuehr
Associate Commissioner for Marketing and Communications
317-232-1016
akuehr@che.in.gov
ANTHONY HARL
Associate Commissioner for K-12 Strategy
Anthony Harl is responsible for the Commission’s strategies related to engaging and supporting K-12 students in early postsecondary opportunities and talent pipelines with employers. This includes the Indiana College Core (ICC), Career and Technical Education (CTE), career coaching and navigation, and work-based learning.
Prior to serving in this role, Harl served in various roles with the Office of CTE at the Indiana Department of Education and Governor’s Workforce Cabinet including Director of CTE Programming and most recently as the State Director of CTE. While serving in these positions, Harl led the CTE redesign efforts focused on creating intentional alignment between secondary and postsecondary CTE programs and providing students with greater opportunities to earn college credit and postsecondary credentials and to participate in work-based learning.
Harl holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Indiana State University, a Business Education teaching license, and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Indiana University. Harl brings over twenty years of educational experience as a Business Education teacher and school administrator with him to the Commission.
Anthony Harl
Associate Commissioner for K-12 Strategy
317-509-1902
aharl@che.in.gov
RAJINDER HEIR
Associate Commissioner for Business Enterprise Solutions & Chief Technology Officer
Rajinder Heir focuses on mission-critical solutions and the Commission’s utilization of myriad IT services in alignment with strategic and operational initiatives. Her team delivers improvements to serve financial aid, data collection, budgetary, academic program inventory, and case management functions. She is an active and engaged member of the Governor’s Executive Council on Cybersecurity.
Heir’s varied IT experience includes high-tech start-ups, telecoms, insurance, nonprofit, consulting (cybersecurity), and in the public sector as COO of IT for the City of Indianapolis. Her board service includes Women & Hi Tech, Girls Inc., and the FBI Citizen’s Academy. She is a graduate of the Stanley K. Lacy Leadership program. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Technology (Purdue) with Honors.
Rajinder Heir
Associate Commissioner for Business Enterprise Solutions & Chief Technology Officer
317-464-4400
rheir@che.in.gov
MEDIA REQUESTS:
Emily Price
Communications Director
463-261-7397
eprice@che.in.gov
SCHEDULING REQUESTS FOR COMMISSIONER LOWERY:
Rachel Zajac
Executive Assistant to the Commissioner
219-775-2954
rzajac@che.in.gov