Responding to an increasingly complicated environment for higher education, ACE has created an Office on National Engagement to influence public debates on the role and value of postsecondary education.
Heidi Tseu
The Office on National Engagement is headed by Heidi Tseu, a higher education and government relations professional with experience executing public policy strategies and community engagement initiatives, and will operate as part of the ACE Government Relations team led by Senior Vice President
Jon Fansmith. In her role as assistant vice president, National Engagement, Tseu will undertake campaigns, identify and track key issues, develop resources that can be used by ACE member institutions, and oversee comprehensive efforts to engage policymakers, other organizations, and the public.
Among the priorities of the Office on National Engagement will be to confront new or increased national threats to higher education, including state legislative actions impacting
academic freedom and institutional autonomy. This will include developing resources for ACE members and supporting grassroots advocacy activities.
Tseu, whose first day at ACE was Sept. 6, will work closely with Fansmith and the Government Relations team to effect changes in public opinion and public policy and will supervise a team focused on these efforts.
Tseu comes to ACE from Georgetown University, where she was associate vice president for Local Government and Community Engagement. Prior to joining Georgetown in 2016, Tseu served in a variety of leadership positions with the Council of the District of Columbia.