Carmen Shurtleff is a lifelong resident of Texas. She graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School in 1996 and went on to attend East Texas A&M University, where she earned her Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work. She returned to her alma mater to further her studies in Sociology, completing an additional graduate hour in the field.

Carmen currently serves as a full-time faculty member at Northeast Texas Community College, where she teaches courses in Sociology and Social Work. She also serves as Faculty Advisor for the Social Work Club. In 2019, she secured the Innovation Solutions for Hunger Relief and Student Success grant, supporting students experiencing food insecurity. This work resulted in the development and institutionalization of the CARE Center at Northeast Texas Community College.

Her professional experience includes roles with Texas A and M University–Texarkana as an Academic Advisor, as well as multiple positions at Northeast Texas Community College, including CIS Coordinator, Director of Student Activities, and Grant Coordinator. In her work as a Grant Coordinator, she has secured over 2.1 million dollars in funding to support institutional initiatives. She also serves as an Adjunct Instructor for East Texas A&M University at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Carmen brings over 21 years of experience in higher education.

Carmen’s professional focus centers on supporting first generation college students and addressing basic needs insecurities, particularly food insecurity, in higher education. She has presented her work at national conferences, including “A Holistic Approach to Addressing Food Insecurity in Higher Education” at the League for Innovation Conference in 2022; “Barriers to Equity: Where is the Social Justice in Food Insecurity for Community College Students?” at The Council for the Study of Community Colleges Annual Conference in 2022 in Tempe, Arizona; and “Mentoring First Generation Students to Success” at the 10th Anniversary First Gen Summit at MIT in Boston, Massachusetts in 2022. She also delivered a presentation titled “Addressing Basic Needs, Fostering Belonging: The Northeast Texas CARE Center” at the Universities Fighting World Hunger Summit in 2024.

Carmen is the author of From Food Pantry to CARE Center in a Rural College: Our Journey, published in New Directions for Community Colleges (2024). Her work highlights the growing need to address basic needs among community college students, particularly in rural settings, and explores the development of holistic support systems that improve student outcomes.

Carmen is committed to service, professionalism, and continuous growth. She values hard work, integrity, and lifelong learning. In her personal time, she enjoys traveling, studying language, and maintaining a balanced lifestyle.