Lande Ajose

Lande Ajose is an accomplished public policy leader who has worked relentlessly to improve lives in her home state of California. She is now taking that purpose global in her leadership role at Waverley Street Foundation as its Managing Director and Chief of Staff.

Lande previously served as vice president, Walter and Esther Hewlett Chair in Understanding California’s Future, and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, shaping the Institute’s work on the most pressing issues facing the state. A nationally recognized higher education expert, she formerly served as a senior policy advisor for California Governor Gavin Newsom where she helped to advance several special projects during the pandemic. Before joining the Newsom administration, Lande was executive director of California Competes, chaired the California Student Aid Commission, and served on the governance bodies of the Institute for Higher Education Policy, the Institute for College Access and Success, and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College University Commission. Lande currently sits on the Board of Trustees at Occidental College and KQED, and on the PPIC Higher Education Center Advisory Council. She is also the co-host of the podcast Sparking Equity. She holds a PhD in urban and regional studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).