Director of Education
Director of Education
Cassie Sanchez serves as Warrior-Scholar Project’s director of education.
Cassie oversees all of the organization’s curricular efforts, including developing, implementing, and evaluating the curricula, plus training academic staff. Cassie helps to ensure that WSP’s academic programming provides participants with the skills and support necessary to successfully transition to college and the workforce.
Cassie first became involved with WSP as a writing instructor in 2017 while working as a senior associate at Amherst College’s writing center, a position she held for 10 years. In 2020, Cassie was invited to join WSP’s Academic Advisory and welcomed the opportunity to rethink and revise the humanities and writing curricula. She is deeply committed to WSP’s mission to support the transition to college and beyond for enlisted veterans and transitioning service members.
Cassie holds a Ph.D. in education policy, research, and administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research focuses on higher education access and academic support for students from underrepresented groups and nontraditional backgrounds. In addition to teaching for WSP, Cassie’s work in this area includes teaching for Upward Bound and the Noonan Scholars program, as well as for Amherst College’s summer bridge program. Cassie also has decades of experience developing courses and academic support structures for students in transition, including community college transfer students and first-generation and low-income students. Throughout her graduate studies and professional career, Cassie has remained committed to learning about and supporting students from groups who have historically had barriers to accessing and succeeding in higher education. Cassie considers it a privilege to put her experience, interests, and skills in higher education, teaching and learning, and academic support to work for WSP.