Shelley Clark Nickel is a strategic policy adviser who guides state higher education systems and institutions in planning and implementing complex initiatives, including consolidations and enterprise-wide solutions. She earned an M.P.A. from Penn State (1982) and spent much of her career in Georgia, serving in state government and as an executive in the University System of Georgia. Nickel’s work has focused on expanding pathways that help students complete their higher education goals. She credits her professional success to the education and mentorship she received at Penn State. Nickel received the University’s Alumni Fellow Award in 2007.