Christine Cruzvergara
Chief Education Strategy Officer, Handshake
Teaches:
Leading Change and Creating Buy-In
Christine Cruzvergara is the Chief Education Strategy Officer at Handshake, where she leads efforts to expand equitable access to career education and opportunity for students nationwide. With a distinguished career in higher education, she has served in key leadership roles including Associate Provost and Executive Director of Career Education at Wellesley College, Assistant Dean & Executive Director at George Mason University, and Chair of the Commission for Career Development at ACPA. She has also served on the Directorate Board for ACPA’s Commission for Career Development.
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Christine is a nationally recognized leader in the field of career development, known for her advocacy in helping students transition into meaningful careers. Her work is driven by a deep commitment to equity, access, and innovation in education-to-career pathways. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Family Studies from James Madison University and a Master of Arts in College Student Personnel from the University of Maryland. Christine is also an alumna of the NACE Management Leadership Institute.
masterclass DESCRIPTION
Good ideas don't matter if you can't convince those around you to follow. As you accumulate inspiration from the speakers before, don't forget to devise a strategy for how you'll implement these new ideas. Your success and your students' success relies on your ability to effectively lead change. Come learn 5 principles for creating the necessary buy-in across your campus or organization. Using behavioral psychology as a foundation, Christine will leave you with memorable stories and concrete techniques to use with your team, your colleagues, and even your children!
MASTERCLASS TRAILER
Program
Education Transformation
Education Transformation is a future-focused program designed to equip educators and administrators with the frameworks, strategies, and tools to reimagine learning for the modern world. This masterclass suite explores how to move beyond traditional models by integrating continuous improvement practices, aligning learning environments with real-world relevance, and fostering cultures of innovation. Participants will examine the power of industry credentials, the impact of messaging to families and prospective students, and the importance of bold design in learning spaces. By spotlighting forward-thinking approaches like Big Picture Learning and Opportunity On-Ramps, this program empowers institutions to lead systemic change and prepare students for a rapidly evolving workforce.
Getting to Know Christine
1
What sparked your interest in work-based learning?
I‘ve always been interested
in working with students at transition points in their lives—first in the transition to college then in the transition from college to career. These transition points are pivotal to our learning, to our experience, and to how we view the world. I wanted to be a part of that process and to help anyone and everyone I could find some deeper purpose or enjoyment in what they chose to do.
2
Who do you look up to or follow in your field of work?
I have the great fortune of having many colleagues that I look up to for a variety of reasons—from their leadership to their ideas to their
execution—these people have continued to push forward and to support me in my own path. To name just a couple, I‘ll call out Andy Chan and Farouk Dey.
3
What missteps would you caution others to avoid as they work to promote or develop work-based learning opportunities?
Don‘t overcomplicate things and don‘t underestimate the amount of change management you‘ll need to do to get people on- board. The more simple you can make your program or process, the more likely you‘ll be able to „make it sticky“ and get others bought into your vision. And good ideas don‘t matter if you can‘t get people excited and moving in the same direction. Spend the time to involve others and bring them along. It‘ll be the difference between sustained success and failure.
“Fight for the things that you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join you.“
Ruth Bader Ginsburg