Declining Enrollments: A Cliff or a Shift?

Dan Brennan

Associate, Tyton Partners

Dan joined Tyton Partners in June 2021 as an analyst in the strategy consulting practice and promoted to associate in 2022. Prior to joining Tyton Partners, Dan helped lead the College Crisis Initiative (C2i), a student-run research lab offering COVID-19 case counts, college reopening plans, and other education-focused data to researchers, major news outlets, governmental organizations, think tanks, and professional services firms. At C2i, he was accountable for strategic operations, data collection, data synthesis, brief-writing, and led a team of over 40 undergraduates in conducting educational research. Dan previously worked as an intern economist at the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and a policy and research intern at the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE). 

Gates Bryant

Partner, Tyton Partners

Gates Bryant joined Tyton Partners in 2011 in the strategy consulting practice and has led several important innovation initiatives in higher education in digital learning and student success, including Tyton’s Center for Higher Education Transformation. In addition to advising institutions, foundations, and companies in education, he is a frequent author and speaker on topics involving partnerships, teaching & learning innovation, and student success in higher education. 

Prior to joining Tyton Partners, Gates was an executive with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, working in strategy, product management, and finance during a period of dramatic change in the educational publishing and technology industry. He previously held consulting roles with Parthenon Group and Cambridge Associates, and he served on the start-up team of Edify, a US-based nonprofit that provides microloans, curriculum, and training to Christian schools in Africa and Latin America.  

Colleen Falkenstern

Senior Research Analyst, WICHE

Colleen Falkenstern serves as a senior research analyst in WICHE’s Policy Analysis and Research unit. In her role, she supports the development of WICHE’s annual data resources—Regional Fact Book for Higher Education in the West, Benchmarks (of access and success), and Tuition and Fees in Public Higher Education in the West. She also provides analytical support for WICHE’s quadrennial projections of high school graduates, Knocking at the College Door.  

Patricia O'Sullivan

Manager, Content Development and Special Projects, Every Learner Everywhere

posullivan@wiche.edu

Patricia O’Sullivan joined the Every Learner Everywhere team in September 2020. She has worked in higher education since 2000 as an instructor, student advisor, faculty development specialist, instructional designer, and grant manager. In her role as manager, content development and special projects she works with Network partners to develop, update, and curate Every Learner resources and leads the Every Learner Student Internship Program. She taught World Religions at the University of Mississippi (UM) for 14 years, and currently teaches Health Ethics in the UM School of Pharmacy. She holds a B.A. in Communications from UMass Amherst, an M.A. in Theology from Assumption College, and an M.A. in history from the University of Mississippi.