Dr. Lara Couturier

Founder and principal of Couturier Consulting LLC

Founder and principal of Couturier Consulting LLC and a principal at Sova, conducts research and works at the intersections of policy and institutional practice to ensure equitable recognition of learning and career outcomes, particularly for Black, Latinx, Indigenous and Asian Pacific Islander Desi American students and learners from low-income backgrounds. 

Lara has worked with community colleges and open access four-year institutions for over two decades. Lara brings a keen understanding of the power of policy and advocacy for transformation, as well as the hard work needed on the ground to advance institutional change. Over the course of her career, Lara has been deeply engaged in both policy and implementation work for some of the most promising areas of reform, including guided pathways, developmental education redesign, and transfer.

Lara’s focus is on working to achieve equity, particularly for historically and persistently racially minoritized and marginalized populations. Lara continuously seeks to build her equity skills through a variety of strategies including pursuing training and professional development; intentionally working on projects with mentors who can challenge and stretch skills; serving on councils and committees focused on race, power and privilege; and maintaining a robust schedule of reading, attending learning sessions, and engaging in self-reflection.

The majority of Lara’s portfolio seeks to enhance transfer, credit mobility and recognition of learning as a key lever for equity. Key roles include facilitating or leading:

• The Beyond Transfer (formerly “Tackling Transfer”) Policy Advisory Board;
• A legislatively-mandated statewide committee on transfer and intersegmental collaboration in California (the AB928 Committee);
• The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office efforts to implement its Transfer Pathways priorities, including statewide common course numbering;
• The Texas Transfer Alliance in collaboration with Educate Texas; and 
• The University of Texas System to create a systemwide transfer strategy.

Her previous work experience has included serving as a principal at HCM Strategists; a director at Jobs for the Future; and the interim principal investigator for the Futures Project at Brown University. In those roles, Couturier has fundraised for and managed multi-million dollar portfolios, supervised teams of staff and served on organizational leadership teams.  Lara holds a certificate in equity coaching from the National Equity Project; a certificate in Mindful Outdoor Leadership from Kripalu; a Ph.D. in history from Brown University; a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond.