Mary Sauceda, Ed.D.
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX
Dra. Mary Sauceda (she/her/ella) serves as Executive Director of Student Financial Services and Director of Financial Aid at a private research university in Texas. Mary’s focus on college access, affordability and supporting students with an asset-based lens is rooted in love, and flourished early on in her career with almost 20 years of professional higher education experience, mostly in Enrollment Management. At the beginning of her career, she served students in the TRiO Educational Talent Search Program. She views her entry into the Enrollment Management profession through TRiO as a privilege because the equity lens one advances while working in such a program continues to influence Dra. Sauceda’s leadership. She has held multiple leadership roles in Financial Aid and Enrollment Management in California, Colorado, and most recently in Texas. Mary has also experienced the nuanced challenges of navigating multiple college campuses and competing commitments as a student, having entered her undergraduate career as a first-generation, nontraditional student at a community college and transferring to a four-year public university. She earned an Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts from Fresno City College and two degrees from California State University, Fresno—a Bachelor’s degree in Business Computer Information Systems and her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration with distinction.
While Dra. Sauceda resided in Colorado, she served in Financial Aid and Enrollment Services at the University of Denver where she also completed a Doctoral degree in Higher Education. Dra. Sauceda also led enrollment functions at Metropolitan State University of Denver as the Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management. Mary initially became a member of the CoCEAL Executive Board as Treasurer in 2018. After nearly five years of service on the CoCEAL Executive Board, she looks forward to her final year serving on the board as Past-President to continue to support the amazing gente in beautiful Colorado.