About
Shana Riddick is an Associate Learning and Impact Officer. In this role, she supports internal learning practices and manages research efforts focused on improving Ascendium’s philanthropic policies, practice, and procedures. She joined the organization in 2025.
Previously, she was a Unit Director at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, where she led mixed-method research and evaluation projects examining postsecondary education experiences and housing inequities. She has also held research or teaching positions at the University of Illinois, Bard Prison Initiative, and Indiana University.
Shana earned a Ph.D. in education policy studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a master’s degree in African American and African diaspora studies from Indiana University Bloomington, and a bachelor’s degree in U.S. history from Clark University.
