Heidi coleman

higher education administrator

Dr. Heidi Coleman serves as the Higher Education Administrator at Operation Restoration. In this role, she manages the College-In-Prison Program and other higher education initiatives supporting women and girls impacted by incarceration. In this role, she oversees college programming inside the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW), supporting students from enrollment through reentry. She also coordinates planning with Tulane University’s School of Professional Advancement and community partners and assists in the organization’s fundraising, accreditation and policy advocacy efforts. Her work is dedicated to expanding access to education as a pathway to economic mobility, personal growth and lasting change.

Dr. Coleman earned her Ph.D. in education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her dissertation focused on centering the voices of those with lived experiences in program evaluations of higher education prison programs across the southeastern region. In her educational career, she has taught high school science for both in-prison students obtaining their high school equivalency diploma and for students in an alternative school. She has also supported low-performing schools in North Carolina, served as a mentor to pre-service and in-service teachers, and served as a grants and program evaluation coordinator for Durham Public Schools in North Carolina.

Heidi wholeheartedly believes education is the gateway to all future opportunities, as it is the one thing that can never be taken away from anyone. Currently serving on the board of OurJourney – a North Carolina non-profit that helps those returning home from incarceration access resources and support for success – she is passionate about ensuring everyone has access to higher education and empowering those whose voices are often unheard. In her spare time, Heidi enjoys DIY projects and functional art, including quilting and knitting.