Attain Digital Welcomes Jason Belland to serve as Higher Education Executive in Residence
We are thrilled to have Jason Belland as our new Higher Education Executive in Residence. Jason joins nonprofit expert Sterrin Bird as part of the firm’s Executive in Residence program, which enhances Attain Partners’ extensive strategy, management, and technology expertise with real-world tested insights from industry leaders.
Known for his work leveraging cutting-edge technologies to foster student success at both public and private higher education institutions, he will be collaborating closely with Doug Barrow, Managing Director and Higher Education Lead at Attain Partners. Mr. Barrow and his team are part of the Attain Digital practice, led by Partner Reshma Patel-Jackson, which houses the firm’s strategy and technology offerings under one collaborative structure, creating a unique value proposition of holistic support for our clients.
“I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with Jason, and he is the perfect addition to our team of higher education all-stars. Jason’s infectious passion for education, equity, and student success, combined with his extensive industry experience, enables him to evaluate the business problems of institutions while also applying a lens of empathy and understanding that only an industry insider can bring.”
Doug Barrow
Managing Director and Higher Education Market Lead
Learn more about Jason in his interview with Attain Partners.
Attain Partners (AP): How did you become passionate about helping higher education institutions?
Jason Belland (JB): My original vision for my career was to work in broadcasting, and through someone I met at my first internship at a local TV station in Boston, I was introduced to the world of education technology.
I had never even thought of this as a career option before, but I was invited to start working on a satellite TV program to help K-12 educators in Massachusetts maintain their teaching certifications, and this sort of lit a fire in my mind about how I could take everything I had learned about technology and broadcasting and apply it toward education and making a real impact.
From that point on, I never looked back, and that’s because this path I chose has afforded me an opportunity to see first-hand, and through the stories of students around the world, how education can change the lives of individuals, families, and communities. It’s also really demonstrated for me how powerful an individual voice and or individual idea can be when given the right opportunity or the right vehicle to advance.
This industry has an incredible community and a spirit of sharing even amongst competitors for the greater good of serving students and helping make the world a little bit better every semester. I’m grateful to have found my voice and my calling in Higher Ed and to be included as part of this community as we advance our collective work together.
AP: What did you do before joining Attain Partners, and what brought you here?
JB: I’ve spent my entire career working in Higher Ed, focusing about 15 years on campus in roles at public and private universities, and the last 10 years working at technology companies, including Salesforce, where I led the team that built the first-ever commercially available Salesforce products for Higher Education.
I’m grateful that I’ve had the chance to work on both the academic and administrative side of institutions, and to work with colleges as a technology vendor. This experience has provided me with an opportunity to appreciate a wide range of perspectives, ideas, and goals as I’ve worked with university leaders around the world on digital transformation initiatives.
When I first started talking with the team at Attain Partners about joining the Executive in Residence program, I was struck by our shared vision, the depth and breadth of the team they’ve put together, and, most importantly, their unwavering commitment to doing what’s right for the client. In any business, there’s really nothing more important than the success of customers, and to hear Greg Baroni, Reshma Patel-Jackson, and Doug Barrow really articulate their firm commitment to investing in customer success is what got me excited about the trajectory of Attain Partners and the future we could create together.
I really believe having the right partners is key to any digital transformation initiative—and with the team here, I’m excited to Invent the Future of Higher Education alongside some incredible customers at leading colleges and universities.
AP: What are the biggest areas of opportunity in student experience and enrollment management right now?
JB: Hands down the biggest opportunity is data. Access to data, getting actionable insights from data, empowering staff, students, and faculty so they are data literate to make informed choices, and leveraging data to drive AI engagement as we create the next level of student services.
Institutions are collecting data every day but unlocking that and making sense of it in real time is a great opportunity for institutions that want to get ahead on recruiting and enrolling students as well as making sure those student don’t just graduate on time, but do so having had a delightful student experience that builds loyalty and invites them to come back as their learning and career needs evolve over the course of a lifetime.
AI is going to play a huge role in all of this, both in terms of external communications with students as well as internal processes between departments where an AI agent can be deployed to deal with administrative tasks to free up staff to do the impactful work of connecting with students and forming real relationships that may just transform an academic, career, and life journey.
We’ve all talked about a connected campus for years, and I think at this point that idea is foundational table stakes for institutional survival. Going forward our opportunity is to build upon the foundation of a connected campus toward a more integrated, anticipatory experience for students along with empowered staff and faculty who are unbound from cumbersome administrative work to focus on delivering real experiences that bring to life the spirit of the campus in ways big and small every day.
JB: Invent the Future is the one that immediately resonated with me. Nothing great happens without thinking big, writing down a breakthrough vision of a future state and getting everyone excited about the journey.
Invent the Future also puts the power in our hands. We are not simply following the rules and implementing the future someone else told us about—we have the power to INVENT it! This is a very powerful and freeing idea that can unlock innovation from unlikely places across any college campus.
This moment right now in Higher Ed is our moment to think bigger than ever before. The current and future students of the world are counting on us, and we have the ability to harness the best of our ideas to reimagine and reinvigorate our industry as an even more vital part of the fabric of a more equitable world.
“This moment right now in Higher Ed is our moment to think bigger than ever before. The current and future students of the world are counting on us, and we have the ability to harness the best of our ideas to reimagine and reinvigorate our industry as an even more vital part of the fabric of a more equitable world.“
AP: What do you like most about the work you do?
JB: I started my career working on campus for about 15 years, and I’ve never lost my love of just being on a campus, taking in all of the sights and sounds, and feeling the energy of the students, faculty, and staff. Every institution has incredible history, energy, and stories to tell—it’s hard to not feel hopeful about the future when you’re on campus working on something meaningful for the school.
I’m in this industry because I truly believe that equality begins with education, and every time I’m on a campus, I meet people that remind me I am not alone in that belief—in fact, there are thousands of people just like me working together in ways big and small to change the lives of individuals, families, and communities around the world.
AP: What are the biggest ways you’ve seen digital transformation initiatives impact higher education institutions?
JB: I’ve seen so many amazing outcomes during my time at Salesforce.
Schools implementing new admissions marketing strategies that helped connect a first-gen student who never thought she would go to college with a great admissions counselor
Students graduating in a major they had never even considered thanks to technology helping them find a new student group
Colleges literally rebuilding their campus after a disaster thanks to generous alumni they were able to reach through new methods and tools
All of these stories are from different institutions and different contexts, but what they all have in common is a change in culture on campus. A change from siloed data and thinking to stewardship and care for the whole student. A change from “business as usual” to thinking “How might we…?”. And a change from an exclusively top-down vision to a more inclusive democratization of ideas where every staff member of campus has a voice and the tools at their disposal to make a real impact on the institution.
We often talk about how we can give students a sense of belonging. In addition to that important work, these stories and outcomes make sure that every staff member feels that they belong and are not just included but integral to create a future vision for the campus.
AP: What do you enjoy outside of work?
JB: I love going to live music shows, and I enjoy everything from classical to opera to rock music. I love getting dressed up for a night at Lincoln Center seeing La Traviata just as much as I enjoy the vibe of a Patti Smith show in downtown Manhattan at Bowery Ballroom.
I also love to travel. I make sure to get to Tokyo every year and have really enjoyed some recent trips to Bangkok and Hong Kong, as well as a great trip I took a few months ago to Siem Reap in Cambodia to see Angkor Wat—everyone should put this on their bucket list!—it’s absolutely breathtaking at sunrise.
And when I’m not enjoying live music or traveling, I can often be found at Citi Field in Queens supporting the New York Mets. Let’s go Mets!
Learn more – Jason Belland
Jason Belland serves as Higher Education Executive in Residence at Attain Partners, committed to serving the industry with a focus on envisioning outcome-driven solutions that care for the student journey over a lifetime of learning. Jason has spent over two decades working at public and private higher education institutions in roles ranging from online learning and instructional design to marketing and Customer Relationship Management (CRM), bringing together innovative ideas with new technologies to support student success.
In addition to his roles in higher education, Jason served an eight-year tenure at Salesforce, ascending to Vice President of Go-To-Market for Education Cloud, leading teams to create solutions that would empower colleges and universities to engage, retain, and support every learner over the course of a lifetime of learning. The products and solutions created under Jason’s tenure at Salesforce have been implemented by thousands of colleges and universities globally and set the foundation for today’s Salesforce Education Cloud. Jason received his bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature/Letters from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and holds an Executive Education Certificate in Business Excellence from Columbia Business School.
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