Veronica Minaya is a senior research associate and program lead at CCRC. Her research focuses on the economics of postsecondary education and workforce development, with particular attention to community college reforms, transitions from high school to college and from college to employment, financial aid, and labor market outcomes after college. She has led multiple large-scale research projects in partnership with state higher education systems and has collaborated closely with community colleges to examine the design and implementation of programs that support student retention, degree attainment, and successful transition into the labor market. Minaya applies experimental and quasi-experimental methods to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of higher education policies and interventions. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Education Finance and Policy, Economics of Education Review, European Economic Review, Fiscal Studies, and Research in Higher Education.
Prior to joining CCRC, she worked as a consultant for the World Bank and United Nations agencies on education and rural development initiatives. Her experience includes contributing to impact evaluations, supporting the development of monitoring and evaluation systems, and conducting fieldwork in multiple international contexts, including conflict-affected regions.
Minaya is also an adjunct professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and a research affiliate of the Postsecondary Economics and Policy Research Project—a collaborative initiative involving researchers from George Washington University, Columbia University, and legal scholars focused on accountability in higher education. Minaya holds a PhD in economics and education from Teachers College, Columbia University; a master’s degree in public administration and international development from Harvard University; and a BA in economics from Universidad del Pacífico in Peru.
