Eleanor Eckerson Peters is the assistant director of policy research at the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), where she is a member of the policy research team. Her research interests include college access and affordability; student outcomes; and federal higher education policy.
Prior to joining IHEP, Peters was a research fellow at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR). Her work on IWPR’s Student Parent Success Initiative focused on supporting students with dependent children who are pursuing postsecondary credentials, such as by improving access to quality on-campus child care. Before shifting to higher education policy, Peters worked to elevate teachers’ voices in state and national K-12 policy conversations and to improve access to educational opportunities that lead to college success for underserved students in Boston.
Peters earned an M.A. in public policy with a concentration in women’s studies from The George Washington University. She holds a B.A. in women’s studies from Hobart and William Smith Colleges.