Jillian Sitjar holds a Bachelor’s degree in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies from Butler University and a Master’s of Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of South Carolina. Early in her career, she supported students from marginalized communities as a graduate assistant in Multicultural Student Affairs at UofSC, and later served as a Community Director at Georgetown University overseeing a residential complex of approximately 450 students.
Since joining SchoolHouse Connection in 2018, Jillian has developed a comprehensive suite of higher education and FAFSA resources — including tip sheets, toolkits, templates, forms, and guides — to equip students, high school staff, college access programs, housing providers, and higher education professionals with the tools they need to support students experiencing homelessness. She has delivered hundreds of in-person and virtual presentations to audiences across the country on FAFSA completion, postsecondary transition, and institutional best practices, and played a key role in helping SchoolHouse Connection lead the field on implementing the homeless and foster youth provisions under the FAFSA Simplification Act.
Among her most significant contributions is founding the Homeless Higher Education Liaison Learning Network — a first-of-its-kind community providing professional development and best practices for Homeless Liaison roles in higher education, operating both nationally and within the SUNY system. With over a decade of experience, Jillian is committed to the power of education to end homelessness.