Elena Quiroz-Livanis is the Interim Secretary of the Maryland Higher Education Commission, where she leads statewide higher education policy and fosters collaboration across state agencies, colleges, and national partners to build a stronger, more equitable postsecondary ecosystem. She is responsible for establishing statewide policies for Maryland’s 14 public four-year institutions, 16 community colleges, 32 private institutions, and more than 140 private career schools. In this role, she guides the commission in approving academic programs, overseeing an $860.1 million state operating budget , awarding $221.8 million in state-sponsored scholarships and grants to Maryland residents annually, and developing and implementing the State Plan for Higher Education. 

Previously, Quiroz-Livanis served as chief of staff and assis​tant commissioner of academic policy and student success at the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. She was one of the principal architects of Massachusetts’s 10-year Strategic Plan for Racial Equity in higher education and also led efforts on transfer and developmental education reform while overseeing the department’s Equity Agenda. Beyond state government, she served on the executive board of the Massachusetts ACE Women’s Network and on PEAS — In Pursuit of Equity, Accountability, and Success, Latinx Students in Massachusetts Schools, advancing leadership and equity for historically underserved student populations. 

Secretary Quiroz-Livanis’ higher education approach aligns with The Moore-Miller administration’s commitment to education equity. Similarly, her career has been guided by her passion to get the government to work more effectively to expand access to higher education while also supplementing the essential and basic needs and wrap-around support services that individuals and families need for sustainable socio-economic mobility. 

Nationally, Quiroz-Livanis contributes her expertise as a member of the Beyond Transfer Policy Advisory Board and the Community College Research Center Advisory Board. She is a doctoral candidate in the Higher Education Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston. 

While Secretary Quiroz-Livanis was born in Honduras and grew up in Miami, Florida, she now lives in Baltimore and is proud to call herself a Marylander. As a product of public education and public policy, she brings a deep commitment to building systems that expand opportunity and drive economic mobility, with a focus on aligning higher education with workforce and economic priorities to strengthen communities.

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