Dr. Jon Derek Croteau ’98 is the vice president of strategy, innovation, and institutional initiatives. He is a key member of the President’s Council, providing expertise in strategic planning, leadership development, innovation, board engagement, and workplace culture to College-wide initiatives and special projects on behalf of the Office of the President.
Since his return to Emerson in 2024, Croteau has been coordinating the development and execution of the College’s Strategic Plan and launching several strategic initiatives to bolster community engagement, student experience and career readiness, and collaborative partnerships to further develop its global impact.
Croteau has been a leader in the nonprofit sector for nearly 25 years, serving hundreds of higher education, healthcare, and nonprofit clients across the globe as a partner, consultant, and strategist. Most recently, he served as chief of staff and secretary to the Board of Directors at Tony Hawk’s foundation, The Skatepark Project, as well as senior associate vice president for administration and chief of staff at Washington State University Foundation. He has been an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Rochester, is a fellow at the Institute for Inclusive Leadership at Simmons University, and was on the Dean’s Advisory Board at BU’s Wheelock College.
Croteau is the author of several books and many articles, poems, and essays in publications such as The Huffington Post, Insight into Diversity, and Inside Higher Ed. He has deep ties to Emerson, where he earned a BA summa cum laude in Writing, Literature and Publishing; attended Kasteel Well; and served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors. He also holds a master’s in counseling psychology from Northwestern University and a doctorate in leadership and administration from Boston University.
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