Dr. Paola "Lola" Esmieu serves as Vice President, Work College at Paul Quinn College (PQC), a Historically Black College in Dallas, Texas recognized as one of the most innovative colleges in America. Most recently, she served as Chief of Staff at Paul Quinn College, where she led a variety of high-visibility initiatives spanning Enrollment Management and Communications. Prior to joining PQC, she served as Director for Programs and Strategy at the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions (later the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions and the Samuel D. Proctor Institute for Leadership, Justice, and Equity) , where she led national and international programs and served as co-Principal Investigator for a $5.1 million Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-funded research initiative. Dr. Esmieu holds a Master of Science in Higher Education, a Master of Law, and a Doctor of Education, all from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a native of Los Angeles, California and currently calls Dallas home.