Nithya Govindasamy is the Senior Director of Policy at Advance CTE, where she leads key organization-wide, highly visible initiatives focused on increasing and promoting equitable access to high-quality Career Technical Education (CTE) for all learners and supports Advance CTE’s external equity strategy. Nithya oversees and facilitates workforce development, education and equity-focused initiatives, such as CTE Without Limits and Launch: Equitable & Accelerated Pathways for All, a national college and career pathways initiative that strives for every learner to have access to and succeed in high-quality and equitable pathways. She also leads policy and implementation and provides technical assistance and coaching to national, state, and local education leaders, including state CTE leadership.
Nithya served as the Director of Workplace Learning for P-TECH and Early College Programs at Dallas Independent School District, where she led the strategy and implementation of workplace learning programming and activities districtwide to prepare students for the future workforce. Nithya was the former Dean of the Work Program at Paul Quinn College (an HBCU located in southern Dallas), where she led the implementation of their Urban Work College model, which provided pre-professional, work experience and skill development for minority, first-generation college students through paid internships from local corporate and non-profit partners.
Prior to relocating to Texas, Nithya was the Assistant Deputy Chancellor of Higher Education and Workforce Initiatives at the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE). During her tenure at ODHE, she served on the Governor’s Workforce Transformation team and helped design and implement innovative workforce education programs to address employer critical skill needs in collaboration with the University System of Ohio. She also has corporate communications experience working with Nationwide Insurance, where she supported the launch of key talent acquisition strategies and enterprise-level initiatives. Early in her career, Nithya managed Department of Labor funds and workforce development programs that served at-risk populations both at the local and state level.
Nithya was born in India and grew up in Ohio and currently resides in Dallas, Texas. Nithya holds a B.A. in Political Science (Pre-law) from Capital University and a M.S. in Marketing and Communications from Franklin University.
