Latonia Ashley Garrett (ey1566)

 Student Success Initiatives

Latonia Garrett is a visionary leader with a knack for galvanizing her teams towards ambitious goals while maximizing their skillsets. She is not only skilled with establishing a vision for her teams and departments, but she sees it through: she uproots outdated systems, creates strategies to reimagine them, and she plans, executes, and takes ownership of their success and continuity. She has done this in every position for which she has worked. Currently, she serves as the Director of Student Success Initiatives and Academic Partnerships, a role she was appointed to based upon her history of transforming departments and providing servant leadership to students.

She started her career at Oakland University as an Academic Advisor in the School of Health of Sciences and returned to her hometown in Detroit to serve as a Resident Director at Wayne State and steadily increased her roles and responsibilities: when students complained about not having an adequate fitness and study center, she wrote the proposal that led to securing these facilities; when she learned of an opportunity to contribute to diversity and inclusion on campus, she was appointed to Assistant Director for the Office of Multicultural Student Engagement (OMSE), offering workshops and delivering presentations that significantly increased both areas; she also coordinated a social media campaign to provide visibility to this same office just as she employed her technological skills to create a web platform in her current position. She was quickly promoted to the role of Community Director just as she was promoted to Assistant Director of OMSE. She takes on all these roles while also assuming managerial and operational duties, including administering an over $600,000 state grant. She is a trusted leader who truly cares about the predominately marginalized students and diverse staff she serves.

Her passion for ensuring the successful trajectory of at-risk communities through higher education begins with her own story. She is a third-generation college student but the first in her family to attain a master’s degree and the first to pursue a PhD. Also, being educated in the Detroit Public School system, she quickly learned the meaning of education inequity. Her background fueled her determination to close these gaps and be an example for future generations. This determination was sparked in high school and continued into undergrad at Oakland University. While there, she was a shining example of a student leader. She won the Keeper of the Dream Award, a coveted honor presented by keynote speaker Harry Belafonte; she was a member of the Honors College and Honors College Student Association President; she was a peer mentor; and she was a Resident Advisor and the first Senior Resident Advisor at OU. At Wayne State, she cemented her commitment to education equity by serving as Director of Warrior 360, a student support program focused on first generation college students, students from Detroit and economically disadvantaged students.

In all, Garrett is devoted to servant leadership and finding innovative and creative ways to support students, especially those who are historically disadvantaged. She is also exceptionally friendly and skilled at leveraging relationships with maturity and professionalism.

When she is not working to enact positive change, she can be found DJing or spending quality time with her family.

313-577-6360

Latonia Garrett serves as the Director of Student Success Initiatives and Academic Partnerships at Michigan’s Wayne State University. In this role Latonia is able to activate a longtime commitment to education, social mobility and care for people who decide to pursue a college degree.

Her passion for ensuring the successful trajectory of at-risk communities through higher education begins with her own story. She is a third-generation college student but the first in her family to attain a master’s degree and the first to pursue a PhD. Also, being educated in the Detroit Public School system, she quickly learned the meaning of education inequity. Her background fueled her determination to close these gaps and be an example for future generations.

This determination was sparked in high school and continued into undergrad at Oakland University. While there, she was a shining example of a student leader. She won the Keeper of the Dream Award, a coveted honor presented by keynote speaker Harry Belafonte; she was a member of the Honors College and Honors College Student Association President; she was a peer mentor; and she was a Resident Advisor and the first Senior Resident Advisor at OU. At Wayne State, she cemented her commitment to education equity by serving as Director of Warrior 360, a student support program focused on supporting students from application to graduation.

She started her career at Oakland University as an Academic Advisor in the School of Health of Sciences and returned to her hometown in Detroit to serve as a Resident Director at Wayne State and steadily increased her roles and responsibilities. She continued her leadership in Housing & Residential Life as Community Director. After 5 great years working directly with residential students Latonia was selected to serve as Assistant Director of the Office of Multicultural Student Engagement at WSU. In this role she was able to directly impact diversity, inclusion and justice on campus offering workshops and delivering presentations. After nearly 3 years in this role, she was able to secure an opportunity to serve as the Director of the Student Service Center.

All of these experiences have uniquely prepared Latonia to warmly support the needs of our Warrior 360 students.

When she is not working to enact positive change, she can be found DJing or spending quality time with her family.

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't – you're right,” Henry Ford