About Us

Jordan Nellums is a Senior Policy Analyst at Trellis Strategies. He holds a Master of Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Texas A&M University, College Station. Before joining Trellis, Jordan served as a Senior Policy Associate at The Century Foundation, where he researched and developed policy recommendations focused on college affordability, student financial aid, HBCUs, and higher education finance. He also worked in the Texas A&M System Government Relations office, authoring reports, commentaries, and policy analyses, briefing policymakers, and contributing research that informed federal and state higher education policy discussions. His research emphasis includes college affordability, student financial aid, student loan policy, HBCU funding, state higher education finance, and expanding postsecondary access for historically underserved students.

Jordan was drawn to Trellis because of its commitment to improving postsecondary outcomes through research, data, and practical policy solutions, and its focus on partnering with institutions and policymakers to put evidence-based strategies into action. As a former Pell grant recipient, he knows firsthand how transformative higher education can be, and he is passionate about ensuring other students have access to the same opportunities that changed the trajectory of his own life. His soapbox is college affordability: making sure students have the financial support they need not just to enroll, but to complete their education, and identifying ways to make financial aid systems more effective, equitable, and easier to navigate. Jordan defines student success broadly, as students achieving the goals that brought them to higher education in the first place, whether that is launching a career, transferring institutions, supporting a family, or continuing their education, without being burdened by unnecessary financial obstacles along the way. He finds the most fulfillment in connecting research to real-world decision making, translating complex policy issues into recommendations that can meaningfully improve students’ lives.

Outside of work, Jordan stays active through weightlifting and running, and he also enjoys DJing and trying out new recipes in the kitchen.