Daniel Jean
Daniel Jean is a proud Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) alumnus who serves as the Assistant Provost of Special Programs at Montclair State University. He is a first-gen Haitian immigrant is the founder of PhinisheD/FinishEdD #WhoGotNext, Wordstravel LLC, and has presented over 600 seminars including for The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), The National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE), The Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange (CRSDE), American College Personnel Association (ACPA), PSE&G, and the McDonald's Corporation. He is a member of The National Speakers Association and has also shared his expertise at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), The University of Maryland Baltimore County, The University of Louisiana-Lafayette, Baruch College, The Fashion Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, The University of Central Florida, Western Kentucky University, Rutgers University, Meharry Medical College, Clemson University and The Southern Regional Educational Board Institute for Teaching and Mentoring.
Daniel also serves as a higher ed funding advocate, grant writer, performance consultant, administrator, lecturer, author, adjunct professor, trainer, doctoral coach, and motivational speaker. His retention initiatives have resulted in a 91.9% first-year retention rate and a 61% increase in the four-year graduation rate of a so-called “special admit” population. He has published three books and has taught undergrad and grad courses in consulting, student development, transformative leadership and hip-hop culture. He is the founder of three statewide college access/awareness conferences and the Richard Wilson/Jason James Mentorship Program.
Daniel has received several accolades for his work including citations from the NJ and NY legislature, Educator of the Year Awards from Zeta Phi Beta Incorporated and Uprising Stars LLC, The American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Educational Excellence Erica Holloman Award, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award from the African-American and NJ Chamber of Commerce.
He has been featured in the LA Times, Hechinger Report, Black Enterprise, The Ebony Tower, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, The Right Stuff Movement, and Diversity in Action Magazine. His most recent play Til Death Do Us Part? ran Off-Off-Broadway in NYC to sold-out shows. He has a goal to deliver 1,000 Seminars and assist 100,000 scholars to earn their degrees before he retires.
