The Clinton School of Public Service has named Alejandra Castillo, Kelly Eichler, and Sanford Johnson as the newest members of the Dean’s Advisory Board.
The Dean’s Advisory Board brings together distinguished leaders across the public, private, and non-profit sectors to provide strategic guidance, support institutional advancement, and expand real-world opportunities for graduate students pursuing careers in public service.
“We are thrilled to welcome Alejandra, Kelly, and Sanford to the Dean’s Advisory Board,” Dean Victoria DeFrancesco Soto said. “Each of these remarkable leaders reflects the versatility and heart of public service. From federal economic strategy and high-level state governance to grassroots education leadership, their collective experience will be invaluable as we continue preparing our students to be the public service leaders of tomorrow.”
Alejandra Y. Castillo
Alejandra Y. Castillo is an accomplished public policy practitioner and executive with extensive experience directing federal investment initiatives, launching regional innovation hubs, and leading national organizations at the intersection of emerging technology, workforce development, and capital markets.
Castillo currently serves as the Chancellor’s Senior Fellow for Economic Development at Purdue University Northwest, focusing on the launch of the Roberts Impact Lab on quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. She recently served as the Senate-confirmed U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, leading the Economic Development Administration through a historic cycle overseeing more than $8.6 billion in federal investments across infrastructure, innovation, and regional economic resilience.
Throughout her career across three presidential administrations, Castillo has bridged public policy, philanthropic leadership, and corporate governance. As Chief Executive Officer of YWCA USA, she oversaw a 60 percent growth in the organization’s operating budget, raised more than $300 million in philanthropic capital, and co-created the first-ever non-profit Exchange Traded Fund on the New York Stock Exchange. Castillo’s academic work focuses on technology policy, workforce systems, and regional innovation. She held a Fellowship-in-Residence at Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics.
She holds a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law, a Master of Public Policy from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from SUNY Stony Brook.
Kelly Eichler
Kelly Eichler is a veteran attorney and public servant with decades of high-level legal, administrative, and policy experience across Arkansas state government and higher education governance.
A former Chair of the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas, Eichler has served in executive leadership roles for three Arkansas gubernatorial administrations. She previously served as criminal justice advisor to Gov. Mike Huckabee, Policy Director to Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and Deputy Chief of Staff to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
A lifelong Arkansan, Eichler earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas and her Juris Doctor from the UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. Her legal career includes clerking for the Honorable James R. Cooper on the Arkansas Court of Appeals, serving as a deputy prosecutor for Pulaski County, and working in private legal practice. Eicher and her husband Brad Eichler, COO of Stephen’s, Inc., have two sons, Alex and Max.
Sanford Johnson
Sanford Johnson (’09) is a dedicated education policy leader, advocate, and Clinton School alumnus who serves as the Executive Director of Teach Plus Arkansas-Mississippi.
Johnson, who has directed the Mississippi Policy Fellowship since 2020, launched Teach Plus Arkansas in 2021 before the two state programs were combined under his leadership this year. Today, he drives the region’s work across three core focus areas: reducing chronic absenteeism, increasing the utilization of student success plans, and building integrated data systems to measure college and career readiness.
Prior to Teach Plus, Johnson spent 10 years as the Co-founder and Deputy Director of Mississippi First and taught middle and high school social studies in the Mississippi and Arkansas Delta. Active in civic leadership, he serves on the boards of Teen Health Mississippi and the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi, and is a former chair of the Clarksdale Municipal Elections Commission.
A member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Johnson earned a Master of Public Service from the Clinton School in 2009 and holds a BA from Auburn University. He lives in Clarksdale with his wife, Amanda, and their daughters, Lorelei and Ava.