Shakima M. Clency serves as the National Director of Campus Partnerships and Impact for the Kessler Scholars Collaboartive, where she provides strategic leadership and guidance to campus partners across 16 partner institutions. In this role, she works alongside program staff who lead Kessler Scholars Programs to develop a generative community of practice, identify initiatives, and leverage resources to advance student success and expand opportunities for first-generation, limited-income college students.

With more than 18 years of experience in higher education, Shakima has held leadership roles spanning academic and student affairs and has developed deep expertise in student success, institutional transformation, and equity-centered practice. She values opportunities to build authentic relationships and collaborative work to translate ideas into sustainable practices that advance more equitable outcomes for students, particularly those who have been historically marginalized or underserved.

A proud first-generation college graduate, Shakima's commitment to this work is deeply personal. Her research interests focus on the experiences of first-generation professionals in higher education and how they contribute to institutional transformation. Shakima also contributes to the national conversation about first-generation student success through conference presentations and her service on the leadership advisory committees for the Black First-gen Collective and the First Gen Summit.

In her spare time, she enjoys trying new recipes, traveling to create new memories with her family and friends, and serving her community through her involvement with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She is also an adjunct professor and enjoys supporting doctoral students through her work with The Life of a Scholar, LLC.