Whitney Coake

About Whitney Coake

With over 20 years in education—from the classroom to statewide leadership—I’m a state policy strategist who translates priorities into execution across complex, regulated systems.Differentiator: I combine governance cadence, rule-making intelligence, and ROI narrative to move initiatives from agreement to sustained implementation—keeping adoption on track through change.How I work: governance + policy intel → decision-ready ROI → adoption plan → sustained delivery.Proof points-Supported statewide work reaching ~600 Indiana schools-Helped sustain multi-year, multi-million-dollar statewide agreements-Designed and managed subcontractor SOWs to support deliveryMost recently, I served as Senior Director on the Midwest State & District Partnerships team at College Board, leading Indiana strategy for College Board partnerships across assessment, advanced coursework, and workforce-aligned pathways.Over the past 18 months, my work has increasingly operated at the intersection of K–12, higher education, and workforce—helping align goals, build adoption plans, and sustain implementation.Known for: navigating political and regulatory environments, building trusted-advisor relationships, and driving execution—especially across RFP/contract renewals, cross-agency governance, vendor/subcontractor delivery, and district adoption.Go-to artifacts: executive ROI briefs, stakeholder maps, and implementation readiness plans.

Experience

1. Director of Public Affairs

   Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

   Dec 2025 — Present · Indianapolis, IN, US

Education

• Indiana University Bloomington

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Psychology

• Indiana University Bloomington

  Gifted and Talented Licensure, Education

• Indiana University Bloomington

  Master of Science - MS, Curriculum and Instruction

• Indiana University Bloomington

  Cognition and Action, Neuroscience

  2013 — 2014

• DePaul University

  Psychology