Alex Usher is the President of Higher Education Strategy Associates, a role he has held for over a decade. He is an internationally recognized consultant and expert in post-secondary strategic planning and counselling. He is regularly engaged by Canadian and international clients for projects on student financial aid and access to post-secondary education; rankings, benchmarking and quality measurement in higher education, and development of strategic plans.

Prior to founding Higher Education Strategy Associates, Mr. Usher served as the Director of Educational Policy Institute Canada and as the Director of Research and Program Development at the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation. From 1996 to 1998, Mr. Usher served as a researcher and lobbyist for the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada and before that was the first national director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. He holds degrees from McGill University and Carleton University. Mr. Usher is regularly consulted by the media for his expertise, making appearances and providing editorials to a range of publications including The Globe and Mail¸ Macleans, CBC, Radio-Canada, Inside Higher Education and others. He has also authored several scholarly publications, including pieces with Harvard University Press, Oxford University Press, and McGill-Queen’s University Press. He is a frequently requested conference speaker, and has presented at conferences in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia, and elsewhere. His internationally read (and free) daily intelligence e-mail, One Thought to Start Your Day , has over 13,000 subscribers.