EP164: Leading Through Uncertainty: Dr. Emelyn dela Peña on Mission-Driven Higher Education

Feb 19, 2026

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In this episode we sit down with Dr. Emelyn dela Peña, President and CEO of NADOHE, for a timely conversation on leadership, mission clarity, and sustaining equity work in a rapidly shifting higher education landscape.

Drawing from her personal journey growing up in a diverse Los Angeles community, navigating loss and economic transition, and building a decades-long career across institutions like Stanford, Harvard, and Loyola, dela Peña reflects on the formative experiences that shaped her commitment to access, belonging, and student success. She shares how moments of protest, community support, and witnessing institutional responses to crisis helped define her purpose as an educator and leader.

The conversation, with In the Margins, host Ralph Newell, explores the current national climate surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion work, including legal challenges, institutional overcorrections, and the growing role of fear in decision-making. And dela Peña emphasizes the importance of lawful, mission-driven leadership, deep listening, and centering those historically pushed to the margins.

She also outlines her priorities as NADOHE's new president and CEO, including professional development, coalition building, and sustaining a community of practice for equity practitioners navigating uncertainty.

At its core, this episode is a call to remain grounded in values, to support the people doing this work, and to remember that changing language should never mean changing commitments to fairness, representation, and opportunity.

KEY POINTS:

dela Peña's diverse upbringing shaped her commitment to inclusion
Early advocacy experiences led her to a lifelong career in higher education
The pandemic revealed hidden inequities and leadership blind spots
Institutions must address structural barriers, not just surface-level access
Fear and misinformation are driving institutional overcorrections
Lawful, mission-driven leadership remains essential for equity work
Compliance often means adapting programs, not eliminating them
Eliminating DEI offices can result in loss of community and support systems
Coalition building and cross-sector partnerships are key to sustaining the work
Students and committed educators remain the greatest source of hope

QUOTABLES:

"It was such a wonderful experience to have grown up with all of that diversity… and to be welcomed by so many different kinds of families." — Dr. Emelyn dela Peña

"There's always something under the surface that we need to think about when we are leaders of organizations." — Dr. Emelyn dela Peña

"Our position has always been that we are committed to lawful mission-driven work." — Dr. Emelyn dela Peña

"Our students give me hope… they demand that we live up to the things we say are important to us." — Dr. Emelyn dela Peña

"If we shift language, we don't have to shift values." — Dr. Emelyn dela Peña

RESOURCES:

Emelyn A. dela Peña Named NADOHE President and CEO

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Closed captioning and a live show transcription are available in the video for this episode.

In The Margins is produced by The EDU Ledger and edited by EPYC Media Network (visit at https://www.epyc.co/).