Higher Digital Adds Dr. Jess Evans, Higher Ed Technology Leader, as Vice President of Strategic Services

Dr. Evans, an award-winning expert in higher ed, extends the capabilities and energy of the entire management team to best serve institutional leaders.

[McLean, VA] Higher Digital announces today that Jess Evans, Ph.D., joins the organization as Vice President, Strategic Services. In this role, Dr. Evans leads the planning, execution and delivery of consulting engagements, while engaging with key clients to offer strategic advice and guidance. Over more than 25 years, she has transformed IT and technology leadership across sectors including higher education, banking, insurance, manufacturing, and consulting, leveraging innovative thinking and deep expertise.​

“Jess is a proven leader in higher ed and has built her expertise most recently in an environment that has welcomed and explored new technologies, mitigating associating risks while benefiting from advanced capabilities,” declared Wayne Bovier, chief executive officer and co-founder of Higher Digital. “We are pleased to bring Jess to the team to amplify the voice of our customers and help them improve outcomes through strategic initiatives.”  ​

Evans has extensive experience in digital transformation, business strategy, customer experience, strategic planning, technology operations, and nurturing organizational cultures for innovation.​ Previously, Evans spearheaded technology transformations as a CIO, CISO, and COO in higher education. As a transformation expert, Evans applied technical mastery and strategic vision to create unified change plans across campuses while revamping user experiences.

“At this phase of my career, I am driven to help multiple universities, not just one. Higher Digital offers both proven management consulting services, as well as a suite of products unmatched by any competitor. I have known Higher Digital as a customer for several years and have been a part of their initial product development for their (SEA)results® product,” explains Jess Evans. “Most importantly, Higher Digital was the only choice for me because of their reputation, deep sense of integrity, highly skilled and qualified staff, and their global reach. I am very excited to join the Higher Digital team, and I am looking forward to helping universities advance the needle on their strategic priorities.”

Evans’ expertise encompasses next-generation technology initiatives, such as software-defined networks, infrastructure-as-code, cloud-first/cloud-native strategies, generative AI, quantum computing, and agile development practices. The outcome of her efforts is a standardized and sustainable IT environment, leading to substantial operational and productivity gains. ​Her pioneering approach earned Evans global acclaim, including “Most Influential Women in Tech 2022,” Top 100 Women in Technology, and a “Design and Innovation Fellow” honor.

About Higher Digital

Higher Digital is a digital transformation company that provides consulting, software, and data benchmarking tools to significantly reduce the time and cost for higher education executives to assess, prioritize, and measure their digital strategies. Higher Digital is headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, and has offices in London, UK and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.