Greenwood Asher & Associates®, A Kelly Services, Inc. Company

About Us

At the heart of every thriving society is a quality education, and the leaders courageous enough to advance it. That conviction drove our founders when they established GA&A in 2004. Former university presidents and tenured faculty, they understood from lived experience the profound impact exceptional leadership has on institutional vitality and mission. We believe that leaders, at every level, shape what an institution can become and what it can offer the world. That belief remains the foundation of everything we do.

Over the last two decades, GA&A has evolved into something beyond a search firm. We are a leadership solutions practice, applying the science of leadership assessment to help institutions find, develop, and sustain the leaders they need to thrive. Our work is grounded in evidence: behavioral science, predictive modeling, and decades of placement data drawn from over 2,000 successful engagements across higher education and K-12 systems. We don’t simply recruit — we listen, evaluate, advise, and partner with institutions at every stage of the leadership lifecycle.

Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, and strengthened through our integration with Kelly Services, Inc., GA&A brings national reach and deep sector expertise to every engagement. Our twenty-plus consultants are strategically positioned across the country — former presidents, provosts, student affairs leaders, and senior administrators from across the education landscape. Together, they bring practitioner credibility alongside rigorous methodology. Whether conducting a comprehensive executive search, building a targeted recruitment pool, providing executive coaching, or placing experienced interim leaders during times of transition, our focus remains the same: helping institutions secure the leadership they need to advance their mission and strengthen the communities they serve.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Greenwood Asher & Associates®, A Kelly Services, Inc. Company

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The GA&A team is a nationally recognized group of education-focused leadership consultants who bring something most search firms cannot: we have led the institutions we serve. Former presidents, provosts, deans, student affairs leaders, and senior administrators from across the education sector, our consultants combine practitioner insight with rigorous, evidence-based methodology to identify leaders with the capability, values, and vision each institution needs to move forward.

Greenwood Asher & Associates®, A Kelly Services, Inc. Company

Solutions And Expertise

Executive Search:
At Greenwood Asher & Associates, we approach executive search a little differently than most. We believe in the power of partnerships and collaboration, combined with evidence-based best practices and experience, to design a customized search for the unique needs and characteristics of each institution we serve. By providing concierge-level service and support to our clients and candidates, we are able to identify and recruit high-quality, diverse, executive talent. Our comprehensive referencing allows the search committee to confidently assess candidates and select the best person to lead the institution in fulfilling its mission.

Key positions we support:

  • Presidents
  • Chancellors
  • Provosts
  • Deans
  • Vice Presidents
  • Directors
  • Diversity Officers
  • Department Chairpersons
  • Research Leaders

Coaching & Assessment:
Educational organizations know that learning never ends. For true leaders, there’s always room for self-discovery and growth. We customize our services to develop senior and emerging leaders for long-term success through coaching partnerships and use of objective, predictive, and analytical tools.

  • Improving leadership insight, professional performance, and personal satisfaction through executive coaching
  • Providing results-oriented workshops and retreats•
  • Mediating and resolving conflict and dysfunctional cultures

Identifying the right leader often begins with an accurate and reliable assessment of current leadership competencies. During the selection process, we use a highly effective assessment tool that measures behaviors and maps them to a relevant competency model. Considered in combination with other information, valid and reliable assessment data supports a more informed selection process.

Strategic Services:
High performing leaders constantly evaluate their organization’s performance and potential to ensure growth and sustainability. We support our clients by facilitating strategic planning, conducting academic program/organizational reviews, and benchmarking policies and practices. We partner with institutions to design a planning process that best matches the culture and needs of the institution. Our work includes the use of evidence-based approaches, assessment of current and desired status through multiple mechanisms, grassroots engagement, development of measurement dashboards, and leadership development for those involved with strategic planning implementation.

INTERIM SEARCH SERVICES:
Leadership transitions are defining moments for institutions. When a gap emerges, expected or not, how an institution navigates that period shapes its trajectory long after a permanent leader is in place. We match institutions with experienced leaders who bring not only the credentials to stabilize operations, but the judgment and adaptability to advance mission-critical priorities during transition. Backed by GA&A’s national network and evidence-based assessment methodology, we move with urgency without sacrificing quality.

Solutions
  • Assessment
  • Executive Search
  • Mgmt. Consulting
Functions
  • CEO/President

Greenwood Asher & Associates®, A Kelly Services, Inc. Company

News Briefings

Kelly Acquires Greenwood/Asher & Associates

Troy, Michigan-based Kelly, a publicly-held, global leader in workforce management solutions offering staffing services to top companies, has acquired Greenwood/Asher & Associates, an executive search firm specializing in finding leaders across the academic and higher education sector. The search firm, based in Miramar Beach, Florida, will continue to operate under its own brand. “Across the education landscape,

Greenwood /Asher & Associates Tapped by State Universities Retirement System of Illinois to Recruit Chief Diversity Officer

Greenwood /Asher & Associates, a Miramar Beach, FL-based executive recruitment firm, has been selected by the State Universities Retirement System of Illinois to find its first chief diversity officer. The assignment is being led by Marion Frenche, team leader and managing consultant, practice leader for diversity, equity and inclusion, and  Julie Holley, senior executive search consultant.

Greenwood /Asher & Associates Seeks Next President for Western Illinois University

Greenwood /Asher & Associates, a Miramar Beach, FL-based executive recruitment firm, has been selected to find the next president for Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL. Betty Asher, partner and vice president, and Alex Matthews, senior executive search consultant, are spearheading the assignment. Western Illinois University’s previous president, Jack Thomas, stepped down in June 2019.

Greenwood / Asher & Associates Recruits Eighth President for George Mason University

Greenwood /Asher & Associates, a Miramar Beach, FL-based executive recruitment firm, has placed Dr. Gregory Washington as the eighth president of George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. He will join the university on July 1, 2020. Jan Greenwood, partner and president, led the assignment along with Julie Holley, senior executive search consultant. “When the board set

Greenwood Asher & Associates®, A Kelly Services, Inc. Company

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Greenwood Asher & Associates®, A Kelly Services, Inc. Company

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