Conference Attendees

Tamara Acevedo is the Chief Academic Officer for Colorado Springs School District 11. She has over 26 years of experience in public education serving as an educator, Mathematics Content Specialist, Mathematics Curriculum Coordinator, Assistant Principal, Principal, Instructional Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent. She supports staff and students to reach rigorous learning goals, provide challenging learning experiences to students so they achieve at high levels and have career and college success. Tamara holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communication Disorders and Speech Science from the University of Colorado and a Master of Arts Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Denver University.

Tiffany Adamski is the Executive Director of TutorSmart, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students achieve grade-level proficiency through targeted, data-driven tutoring. Leveraging her expertise in educational program development, Adamski has steered TutorSmart's mission to increase access to high-impact tutoring for underserved students in the Toledo area, irrespective of their neighborhood or school. Under her leadership, TutorSmart has expanded to support 500 students annually, providing high-impact tutoring services on school campuses, library branches, and online. Previously, Adamski spearheaded the design and launch of specialized educational institutions, including the American Excellence Schools in Amman, Jordan, and iLEAD Spring Meadows in Ohio.

Ayush Agarwal is Co-founder & CEO of Pencil Spaces, an All-in-One Tutoring Platform for organizations of all scale.

Dr. Aguilera-Fort is currently the Associate Superintendent of Educational Services in SFUSD responsible for overseeing a number of programs designed to address the needs of students that historically have been underserved by our educational system. Previously he served as Superintendent of Schools in Oxnard School District and Superintendent in El Rancho Unified School District. He has served as Bilingual Special Education teacher, school principal and assistant superintendent in the San Francisco Unified School District. He possesses school site, district, regional national and international experience. He served as President of the California Association for Bilingual Education Board of Directors.

After graduating UC Berkeley, Hasan withdrew from medical school to advance global learning through Air Tutors. He attended K-12 schools in a highly socioeconomically impacted community and, while applying to graduate schools, tutored for families attending the elite private school and boarding schools of Los Angeles. Realizing the colossal disparity in educational resources, he and a team of educators created Air Tutors to catalyze student achievement for all students in every community everywhere. After demonstrating incredibly strong efficacy, they have guided universities, global philanthropies, districts, counties, and state providers nationwide on how best to accelerate learning outcomes.

Katie has taught in three public school districts across Colorado for 14 years. She has taught grades 3 through 8, specializing in math instruction. She currently teaches third grade math and science, and is an instructional coach for educators in her building. In addition to teaching she writes and evaluates microcredentials, coaches early career educators, and advocates for students, educators, and communities.

Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, I moved to Los Angeles twenty-three years ago to pursue my career as a bilingual educator. I have taught all grades K-12, served as a Math Coach, Title 3 Coach, K-8 Assistant Principal, and District EL Coordinator. LAUSD Division of Instruction now has a team of Coordinators for Tutoring Services. Among my responsibilities is vendor liaison where I build, maintain, and leverage relationships with over thirty vendors who provide virtual and in person high dose tutoring services to our students at school or home to accelerate literacy and numeracy skills.

Grace Bailey is the Director of Accelerating Scholars, Metro Nashville Public Schools' high-impact tutoring initiative. She has been with MNPS since January 2022 and has worked to scale Accelerating Scholars from around 900 students in Fall 2021 to over 9,000 students in Spring 2024. Grace is a former teacher and elementary school principal who enjoys using her instructional knowledge and school operations experience to support effective tutoring in MNPS. Grace lives in East Nashville with her husband Richard, a fellow educator, and their three children: Margaret (8), Richard (6), and Will (3).

Daylan Bakes is Director, Strategic and Special Programs at the School District of Philadelphia.

Cristina Barnard González is a Meeting the Moment Fellow at Stanford University.

Matt Barrow is the Director of Differentiated Learning for Baltimore City Schools, leading the district's MTSS, Gifted & Advanced Learning, and Tutoring teams. During his 14-year career in City Schools, Matt has served as the district's Tutoring Coordinator, MTSS Coordinator, and (most importantly) a Middle School Social Studies Teacher. Matt earned his M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia Tech in 2010 and his M.S. in Human Resource Management - Instructional Leadership & Professional Development from Towson University in 2015.

Katherine Bassett is the CEO of the New Jersey Tutoring Corps, Inc. The NJ State Teacher of the Year 200, she spent 26 years in the classroom as a middle school librarian and at ETS, led the development of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certificates for Library Media and Literacy. She led the development of performance-based assessments in four states and served as Director of Policy and Partnerships for the Center for Educator Effectiveness at Pearson. Bassett led the development of the Teacher Leader Model Standards and co-led development of the Model Code of Ethics for Educators.

Kate is an experienced nonprofit leader who has spent her career serving young people and their communities. She received her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, Religious Studies, and Astronomy from the University of Virginia before starting her career as a New York City Teaching Fellow in the South Bronx. She holds a Masters’ degree in Education, Management, and Innovation earned while teaching middle schoolers, and moved to full-time nonprofit work after seven years in the classroom. Today, she is the Executive Director of Future Forward, a highly effective, evidence-based high-impact tutoring and family engagement program.

Damarcus Bell is the Associate Director of the Solutions Accelerator at Results for America, helping to accelerate the adoption of evidence-based economic mobility solutions by optimizing pedagogy and impact. Over the past decade, Damarcus has married a diverse career in live production, education leadership, and evidence-based policymaking, always intent on celebrating the joy, brilliance, and thriving of the Black experience.

Kathy Bendheim is the National Student Support Accelerator Managing Director. Her passion has consistently been the improvement of the public education system. Her career includes experience at McKinsey & Co, YMCA, Clearpool, Inc., and the White House Council for Community Solutions. Most recently she was a consultant with Building Impact, advising foundations and philanthropies on investments in public education.

Kathy has a bachelor’s degree in business from Texas A&M University and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

Evan Bennett is a Research Data Analyst for the National Student Support Accelerator at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, and an incoming PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. His research interests include the development and assessment of educational tools and programs which ensure underserved students have the support they need to succeed in school.

Christy Borders is the Executive Director of the Illinois Tutoring Initiative. She has 30 years of education experience across teaching and administration in public, private, clinical, and university settings. Christy has previous experience as the Director of the Cecilia J. Lauby Teacher Education Center focused on clinical placements and accreditation of teacher education programs for Illinois State University. She has wide leadership experience at local, state, and national levels and includes involvement on multiple committees, task forces, and executive boards.
In her role as Executive Director of the ITI, Christy consistently collaborates with leadership across multiple state agencies and institutions of higher education to deliver high-impact tutoring through over 950 tutor assignments with over 2600 students a semester. The initiative is currently being implemented in 66 districts and 143 schools. She oversees a large staff and research team and engages in forward-thinking problem-solving and strategic direction for the initiative.

Audrey Borland (MS- Engineering Management), Executive Director at Ampact, ensures operational excellence, raises funds, and oversees the team in California. She has nearly 20 years of experience in various leadership roles within engineering and nonprofit organizations with an emphasis on continuous improvement.

Hannah Broido is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining Axiom Learning in 2016, Hannah amassed extensive literacy experience working for Reading Partners and assisted with research in the Gopnik Cognitive Development & Learning Lab. Her interest in education stems primarily from her international background and experiences. She was born in France, but raised and schooled in Japan and England, prior to moving to the US. She has taught in 4 countries on 3 continents, including India and Japan, and has amassed thousands of hours of teaching experience.

Julie Brosnan, a lover of all things education and communications, is the Communication & Engagement Manager for NSSA. In all her roles, she has supported outreach, engagement, and messaging strategies to ensure that new and important education research is being heard and understood by the right leaders across the country.

Ian Cameron is Board Chair of Reading Partners. Ian has more than thirty years of broadcast journalism experience, with 20 years in senior news management positions. Most recently, Ian was executive producer of ABC News’ This Week, the network’s leading in-depth political news and interview program. Prior to joining This Week, he was senior producer for broadcasts including ABC World News with Charles Gibson, ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, and CBC’s flagship nightly news and current affairs program, The National.

Nate, Chief Strategy Officer at Pearl, shapes technology strategy and melds research with education. Pearl is the leading US tutoring platform, supporting evidence-based High-Impact-Tutoring programs. Nate's strategic partnerships with universities facilitate state tutoring programs nationwide. He focuses on enhancing program effectiveness, handling grant activities and collaborative projects. Nate's commitment to educational excellence drives technology-driven solutions, AI utilization, and staffing strategies for impactful, sustainable tutoring services.

Jessica Cavallaro is a Math Instructional Coach/Interventionist, Co-coordinator of SRBI, and Dean of Students from North Branford Intermediate School in North Branford, Connecticut. Prior to becoming a coach, Jess taught high school math for several years in North Branford. She earned her Bachelors, Masters, and Educational Leadership degrees from Quinnipiac University. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her husband, two young daughters, dog, and cat.

My name is Marisol Cedeño and I am a Coordinator for the Office of Tutoring Services at Dallas ISD. We support campuses and vendors with High Impact Tutoring with planning, scheduling, data collection, transportation, documentation, payroll, etc. Before working with the Office of Tutoring Services I was a high school teacher and an Instructional Specialist.

Milagro Chavez-Cisneros is Director of Program & Planning at Accelerate - The National Collaborative for Accelerated Learning. She was previously an associate policy analyst at The Hunt Institute, where she supported state policymakers and conducted research and analysis on education policy issues across the continuum in North Carolina.

After 20 years in the corporate realm, I entered into the world of math education. I taught Algebra 1 for 21 years and for the last 3 years I have been a Teacher On Special Assignment (TOSA). I am the Mathematics Curriculum Leader / Specialist / Coach for our small but mighty K-12 district. This past year I was awarded and HDT grant from the CT State Dept. of Education and I am currently facilitating 9 full time tutors who are servicing 165 students, during the school day, 3-4 times per week.

Jennifer Cisneros is Director of Expanded Learning at Santa Ana Unified School District.

Liz Cohen is the policy director at FutureEd, a research center at Georgetown University. She has worked as an analyst and advisor for foundations, districts, and nonprofit organizations in the K-12 education space for nearly two decades, first at the District of Columbia Public Schools and then at the Office of the State Superintendent in the District of Columbia. She has also worked at the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, 50CAN, the Urban Institute, and Whiteboard Advisors and was a strategic data fellow at Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy Research.

Mike Cohen is the CEO and Founder of Cignition. Mike's career has straddled academic research and entrepreneurial activity, focused on helping human-centered technologies achieve positive real-world impact. His areas of expertise include education technology, speech and language technology, voice user interface design, and machine learning. In 2004, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his leadership role in the speech industry. He has focused on improving educational outcomes since 2012, founding Cignition in 2014.

Lauren Conn manages the ASU Community Educator Learning Hub, an award-winning online learning platform and home to training resources for high-impact tutors developed in partnership with Annenberg Learner and Step Up Tutoring. Her career in education has taken her to five continents, teaching in US public schools, developing international education projects at a multilateral development bank, building strategic partnerships at edtech companies, and managing an education nonprofit. She holds an Executive MBA from Georgetown University, and an MAEd and a BA in Hispanic Studies from the College of William and Mary.

Monika Corcoran is a Math and Science Specialist in the Orange Elementary Public School System in Orange, Connecticut. She has enjoyed working with students and teachers for the past 19 years.

Dr. Kalena E. Cortes holds the Verlin and Howard Kruse ’52 Founders Professorship at Texas A&M University’s The Bush School of Government and Public Service. She earned a PhD in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. She is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in the Economics of Education and Children programs, and a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). Her research focuses on issues of equity and access, in particular, identifying educational policies that help disadvantaged students at the PK-12 and postsecondary levels.

Carrie Anna Courtad, Ph.D., is the Research Coordinator for the Illinois Tutoring Initiative and a Professor in the Department of Special Education at Illinois State University. Before pursuing a career in academia, she was a classroom teacher for six years, working with middle school and elementary students with disabilities. Dr. Courtad completed her doctoral studies at Michigan State University, where she was a Special Education Technology Scholar (SETS) funded by the United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Her research interests include assistive technology, literacy, preservice teacher learning, policy, and self-efficacy.  

Vivian Crumlish is the Assistant Director of Research and Evaluation at TutorND, housed at the University of Notre Dame. Vivian earned a BA in Economics with a minor in Education, Schooling, and Society in 2019 from the University of Notre Dame. She earned a M.Ed. through Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education program. As a part of this program, she taught middle school math, art, and religion at a small Catholic school in Tulsa, OK. She loves getting to work with data and with kids again as a part of TutorND.

Site Supervisor and Research Programmer for the PLUS project focused out of Carnegie Mellon University.

Toni has been in education for over 25 years. She has held many positions within her career in education from teacher and building administrator to curriculum & instruction developer and continuous improvement planner to most recently the manager of Equity based Multi Tiered System of Support. Her passion for improving district and school level systems and structures for the implementation of MTSS is second only to her love of ensuring schools are equipped and prepared to provide all students with access to the support, curriculum, and instruction they need to be successful.

Selin Demren is the Chief Revenue Officer at HeyTutor, recognized for her data-driven approach to scaling operations and enhancing customer experience. She excels in developing and executing strategic programs that harmonize sales and marketing efforts, consistently delivering measurable results. A strong advocate for continuous improvement, Selin's leadership fosters innovation and operational excellence across her teams.

An Assistant Professor in Education Data Science at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and in Computer Science (by courtesy). I build and deploy natural language processing methods to support equitable and student-centered education. My research combines machine learning, natural language processing, linguistics and input from practitioners, in order to develop interpretable and scalable education measures. By deploying these measures, I aim to improve educational interventions, teachers' PD and the equity of curricular materials. I received my PhD in Linguistics at Stanford University and my BA in Linguistics with a minor in Computer Science summa cum laude at Princeton University.

With 16 years of service within GCPS, I have evolved from a teacher to a math instructional coach and presently as the Coordinator of Instructional Development and Support. My work concentrates on collaborating with school leaders to fortify their MTSS work, emphasizing data-driven decision-making to cultivate a robust multi-level system of supports. Additionally, I lead the district's tutoring initiative, a pivotal component of efforts to ensure every student receives the necessary assistance to excel academically. I strive to establish a culture of data utilization and strategic intervention, fostering an environment where educational equity and student success are at the forefront.

I have been in education for twelve years, all of which have been with Learn4Life Public Charter High Schools. I began my career as a tutor before moving into a teaching position as a Social Science teacher in both Visalia and Fresno. During my tenure with L4L, I have developed a true passion and desire to work with disadvantaged and at-risk students. After serving in positions of instructional coaching and as an administrative designee, I have recently moved into a position that is tasked with developing a cohesive and comprehensive tutoring program for all of the schools we serve in the Central Valley. I'm blessed to have a loving wife of going on six years and we have two beautiful girls going on two and four who are everything to me.

Michael Thomas Duffy is the President of the GO Foundation, which has a mission to provide students with access to a quality education through high dosage tutoring. Previously he worked at the NYC Department of Education under Chancellor Joel Klein, working for three years in the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg to help expand the number of high-quality charter schools. Michael’s efforts in education grew out of his work in the civil rights movement, having served as the chairman and commissioner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ civil rights enforcement commission, a position he held for six years. He has also held leadership positions in the non-profit sector: he served on the Board of Directors of the Human Rights Campaign, for several years as its co-chair; two terms on the Vestry of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Manhattan; and is currently chair of the board of the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Michael has a master’s degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he wrote his thesis on business support for child day care and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Trinity College in Connecticut with a degree in Economics.

Danielle Edwards is an Assistant Professor of Educational Foundations and Leadership at Old Dominion University. Her research evaluates education policies that increase access to effective teachers and other high-impact resources using a variety of quantitative methods. Danielle's research has been published in top-tier research journals such as Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and Education Finance and Policy and has received national attention in media outlets such as National Public Radio and EdWeek. She received her Ph.D. in Education Policy with a specialization in Economics of Education from Michigan State University.

Hi! My name is Spencer and I am a Program Manager at the Colorado Department of Education. Please connect if you want to discuss sustaining the work or anything Colorado related.

TeAndria Ellis, or "T.", is a dedicated advocate and community leader in Birmingham, Alabama. A senior at Samford University studying Youth Studies, she directs EmpowerED Birmingham, ensuring all Birmingham City Schools students have exceptional academic experiences. T. Ellis also founded The Surge Project, aiding justice system-impacted young adults through free programs like conflict resolution, academic intervention, and workforce development. Her leadership locally and globally, including as a youth minister in Africa, showcases her belief in education's transformative power. With grassroots work, academic pursuit, and social impact commitment, TeAndria Ellis inspires change in youth and families in Birmingham and beyond.

Nick is passionate about helping students achieve their full potential. He currently serves as the Director of Learning Acceleration at Uplift Education, the number one fully IB charter network in Texas.

As a former teacher, instructional coach, assistant principal, and personalized learning coordinator, Nick brings over a decade of experience to his work with students and school systems. Over the past school year, Uplift’s Learning Acceleration team has collaborated with schools and external partners to provide thousands of hours of HIT to thousands of Uplift scholars. Talk with me about: outcomes based contracting, coherent MTSS, and HIT in turnaround schools.

Kristin is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the Graduate Program of Education at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. She teaches courses for pre-service teachers related to reading and literacy development for undergraduate and graduate students. In 2022, Kristin developed a tutoring program that partners with local elementary schools where undergraduate students enrolled in core education classes provide reading and math tutoring to K-5 students. The program provides high-dosage tutoring during designated intervention periods of the school day.

John Fensterwald, staff writer, joined EdSource in 2012. Before that, he was editor and co-writer for The Educated Guess website, a leading source of California education policy reporting and opinion, which he founded in 2009. For 11 years before then, John wrote editorials for the Mercury News in San Jose, with a focus on education. He worked as a reporter, news editor and opinion editor for three newspapers in New Hampshire before receiving a Knight Fellowship at Stanford University in 1997.

Mackenzie Flynn leads tutoring initiatives at the Center for Education Market Dynamics. She also serves as a Senior Consultant at EdSolutions, where she supports foundations and other mission-based organizations. She specializes in producing actionable, market-based insights and recommendations for those looking to scale their impact in K-12 education, including through tutoring. Her career has been centered around impact strategy, including roles as the Chief of Staff for the Maine Charter School Commission and the Associate Director of Growth for KIPP Northern California. Throughout her career, Mackenzie has served as a consultant to a number of organizations in the education sector, including foundations, venture philanthropies, government agencies, and other non-profit organizations. Prior to shifting her focus to impact strategy, Mackenzie taught elementary school in Brooklyn, NY and Denver, CO.

Meredith Fortner is the Executive Director of EduTutorVA, a fast-growing virtual tutoring nonprofit in Virginia. EduTutorVA pairs third-eighth grade students in Title 1 schools with college tutors from 14 Virginia colleges and universities for year-long math or reading tutoring during the instructional day or in after-school programs.

Meredith is a National Board Certified Teacher who has served as a teacher, an instructional coach, a professional learning facilitator, and an education advocate for over twenty years. Meredith is committed to nurturing the teacher pipeline with diverse and passionate future educators and tutors to support Virginia's students with quality high-impact tutoring.

Dr. Heather Francis is an education leader focused on improving outcomes for students who are furthest from justice. Her research interests include teacher learning, education policy implementation, and inclusive education. Dr. Francis currently serves as the Director of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support in the Cambridge Public Schools. She has previously worked as a researcher, consultant, and special educator. Dr. Francis holds a B.A. in History & Literature from Lesley University, an Ed.M. in Mind, Brain, Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education; and a Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction from Boston College.

Anne Dodd Freeman, BA and MA in history from the University of Memphis (U of M) and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Tennessee. My teaching experience included several years at a girls’ college prep school, Hutchison, in Memphis before becoming an instructor in history at U of M. I previously directed a Peer Power program for 3 years in Memphis. In the first 6 months, the percentage of students passing the Tennessee Gateway test went from failing to 84%. In the 2nd year, it went to 89% and stayed there the 3rd year.

Faith Freeman is currently Co-Director of the Institute for Partners in Education. She was formally Director of STEM and led the Tutoring Program in Guilford County Schools. She has worked as an Academic Coach, Professional Development Director, and high school Science Teacher. Faith holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and a minor in Biology, a Master’s Degree in Science Education and Ph.D. in STEM Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Freeman is passionate about equity in STEM education and ensure that all that all students have access to instructional resources.

Joanna French is Director of Statewide Strategy at Innovate Public Schools.

Kristine currently serves as the Administrative Director of the SCALE Initiative, which encompasses the National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA) at Stanford University's Graduate School of Education. Before rejoining Stanford, she held the position of Chief of Staff and was an assistant to Dr. Susanna Loeb at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University. Throughout her career, Kristine has dedicated herself to the field of Early Childhood Education, including a seven-year tenure at the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.

Alicia Garcia currently serves as the Texas Tutoring and Content Specialist at the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Prior to her arrival at the agency in 2022, Alicia dedicated 22 years to public education in Texas. Her roles included serving as a secondary English teacher, English instructional coach, and district curriculum coordinator for secondary RLA. Alicia and Jorge, her husband of 28 years, are proud parents of two daughters, Laurynn and Lindsey.

With a M.Ed. in Urban Education, Carla Gayden serves as a university lecturer, consultant, & doctoral student in the Department of Leadership Studies at the University of San Francisco. As the Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CCEIS) Coordinator in Berkeley Unified School District, Carla specializes in interrupting Disproportionality in Special Education with Program Management, Racial Equity, and Academic Excellence.
Carla has a proven track record in fostering institutional success with strategic planning, Cultural Competence, & regulatory compliance. Carla excels in relationship management, social justice, and identifying the needs of racially- minoritized populations to enhance knowledge and advocacy.

As the Associate Manager of Tutoring and Grants at the San Francisco Education Fund, Sara Geliebter coordinates tutoring programs. She collaborates with partner tutor programs to ensure service delivery goals for the program are met. She also supports program implementation and family engagement. To date, the Ed Fund has provided tutoring to over 6,000 students across 30 schools.

Alejandro Gibes de Gac, a Harvard graduate and founder of Springboard Collaborative, aims to close the literacy gap. He co-founded Paloma, an AI-driven edtech startup empowering parents as educators. Paloma's web app fosters daily 15-minute tutoring sessions at home, boosting students' learning. With a decade of experience, Alejandro advocates for parent-teacher collaboration to bridge educational disparities.

Dr. Christina Grant — an education leader who successfully implemented evidence-based research in some of the country’s largest school systems — is the incoming executive director for the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) at Harvard University. Grant joins CEPR from Washington, D.C., where she has served as State Superintendent of Education since 2021.

Coordinator with the Office of Tutoring Services in Dallas ISD in Dallas, TX.

Shivang Gupta is the Head of Product at Carnegie Mellon University in charge of daily operations for the PLUS program. Shivang has worked in education technology for a decade, leading product development teams in Hong Kong, India, Estonia, and the US. His work focuses on learning science implementation and bringing research outcomes to practice.

Shivang’s research has been published in various learning science and analytics conferences including AIED, LAK, and more. He is a graduate of the Masters in Education Technology program at CMU and holds a Bachelor of Computer Science Engineering degree from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Jonathan Guryan is the Lawyer Taylor Professor of Education and Social Policy in the School of Education and Social Policy and Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University. He is also co-founder and co-director of the Education Lab in the Urban Labs at the University of Chicago, an elected member of the National Academy of Education, and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research mainly falls into two main categories, understanding the sources and consequences of racial inequality and the economics of education.

Jaleesa is the Founder of Raising A Village (RAV), a non-profit organization that provides high-quality intervention programs and community resources to underserved children and families. RAV began as a college initiative, entitled Driven Student Organization, on the campus of Clark Atlanta University in 2010. As a campus-chartered organization that is still active on multiple college campuses, Driven is committed to providing college students with scholastic achievement, community engagement, and leadership opportunities. Serving an audience of over ten thousand college students, Driven has made tremendous strides in the community. Due to Jaleesa's success with Driven, in 2017, she expanded the student organization and its initiatives by founding the Raising A Village Foundation in Washington, D.C. serving over 500 children and families a year through education programs in schools and family engagement workshops in shelters.

Jamie Halper is Chairman of StepUpTutoring and advisory chairman of the Owl Rock Opportunities Fund. He is a former partner at Leonard Green and Partners. Jamie is a member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees, chairman of its Finance Committee, and a board member of Stanford Management Company, and a board member of the Stanford Alumni Association. He is also a trustee of Coaching Corps and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Jamie earned a BA from Stanford in Economics and an MBA from Harvard.

Kara Hamilton is the Tutorial Programming Director of Guilford County Schools in North Carolina. She brings more than 15 years of experience in education and operations to her role leading efforts around high-impact tutoring in Guilford.

Chia-Hao La is a Board Member of Bay Area Tutoring Association. Bay Area Tutoring Association is a non-profit network of education professionals, tutors, parents, volunteers, community members, grass roots organizations, business leaders and corporate retirees. Each contributor has a shared willingness to donate time, talent, and treasure to the future academic success of Bay Area underserved school district communities, homeless, foster, at-risk, and justice engaged youth.

Lara is a skilled nonprofit leader with over a decade of experience spearheading impactful programs and driving systemic change in socially responsible organizations. Lara brings to Elevate a background in youth development, mentorship, empowerment, and evidence-based community health programming. In addition to her nonprofit management, strategic partnership development, and fundraising expertise, Lara has four years of experience as an educator and instructional technology consultant, plus seven years in corporate business development. She is the co-founder of HERicanes, a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to promoting female leadership and empowerment through a cascading sisterhood of mentorship and social-emotional skill development, and previously served as the Community Health Director for the YMCA of Silicon Valley, overseeing Santa Clara County’s largest CDC-recognized Diabetes Prevention Program, as well as multiple other health intervention and education programs. Lara earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rice University, with a double major in Psychology and Sociology. As the daughter of two first-generation college graduates, she is grateful for the significant trajectory change created and the opportunities afforded to her by her parents’ pursuit of and commitment to higher education. She has a passion for equity, social justice, and the power of the personal journey, plus a dedication to uplifting the next generation of bold leaders.

Lee Hart is the Extended Learning Manager for Evanston/Skokie IL SD 65 where she leads tutoring, summer learning and community partnerships. Previously Lee has served in executive, program and development leadership roles for various nonprofits and foundations. Lee is devoted to expanding educational opportunity and connecting school, family, community and financial resources to support students and families. She has served in a variety of leadership and teaching roles roles at high schools, community colleges, universities and nonprofits in Illinois, North Carolina, Virginia and Massachusetts.

Shirin is a Ph.D. candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In her research, she leverages econometric methods to study the impacts of policies and programs on education and economic outcomes. Her areas of focus include education technology, teacher labor markets, and instructional quality. Prior to her graduate studies, she led research and analytical initiatives at Zearn and managed educator evaluation systems at the New York City Department of Education. She holds a BS in Economics from MIT and an MA in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences from Columbia University.

Isabelle Hau is the executive director of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, a Stanford-wide initiative to connect scholars and students across disciplines, and bridge research, practice, and policy, to bring quality, scalable and equitable learning experiences for all learners and throughout the lifespan.
Prior, she was a founding partner at Imaginable Futures, a venture of the Omidyar Group, the philanthropic investment firm of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam. She led the U.S. education initiative, portfolio and team. Her work has directly impacted millions of learners and families.

While earning her PhD, Dr. Marygrace Hemme began tutoring and mentoring high school students as a Success Coach through Peer Power. She has served as their Director of Learning and is currently working to build research, internship, and work study programs for the Peer Power Institute at the University of Memphis.

Toni Hicks hails from a small town in North Carolina. She developed a love for teaching early on. Alongside her dedication to education, Toni cultivated a deep appreciation for music and travel. Toni found joy in shaping young minds, in both middle and elementary school. Toni transitioned into a leadership role as a multi-classroom leader. She provides support to second-grade teachers and students, leveraging data analysis, facilitating professional learning communities and crafting lesson plans tailored to meet the diverse needs of learners.

Phyllis Hillwig is the founder and CEO of Eurekii, an organization whose goal is to bring joy back into mathematics teaching and learning. Eurekii helps schools and districts build out their tutoring programs and strengthen their overall math capacity through recruiting, training, mentoring and managing paraeducators and community members to become effective math tutors. Eurekii also provides high-dosage tutoring and enrichment tutoring for students nationwide. Dr. Hillwig has been in education for over 30 years, starting as a high school and college math teacher. She has led organizations in educational publishing and ed tech startups building award-winning products and platforms.

Alethia Hinds is a lifelong advocate for children and is passionate about advancing educational opportunities for students. As the High-Impact Tutoring (HIT) Initiative Program Analyst at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), she has been at the forefront of administering a $33-million investment in scaling HIT across Washington, DC. Alethia started her education career as a peer tutor in high school and through Teach for America, taught high school biology in Miami before moving to DC. Alethia engages in her community by serving on the DC Education Pioneers alumni board and volunteering at a yoga studio.

Steven Hodas joined GV NextEd Co-Lab in 2021 as its first Executive Director, prototyping new paths to and through higher education. In prior public service roles, he has served as Executive Director of the NYCDOE Office of Innovation under Mayor Bloomberg and led NASA’s K-12 Internet Initiative to support experiential STEM education. In the private sector, he created the first commercial online learning products for high school and college students and the first large-scale formative assessment platform for school districts.

Jim Hollis, founder and Executive Director of The Calculus Roundtable, has impacted math and science outcomes for California's students of color. Earlier in Jim’s career while directing the Innovation Incubator at Pivot Learning Partners Mr. Hollis was a co-author of the influential Getting Down to Facts Report, which sparked many educational reforms. In 11 years, Calculus Roundtable has served over 30,000 students in 45 districts. Jim is a founding board member of The Community School for Creative Education, recipient of the Jefferson Award for public service, and recognized by Congress for his work promoting STEM in communities of color.

Eileen Honan serves as a Director at TNTP, having spent over 15 years with the organization leading a range of work across talent, academics, community partnerships, and operations. She’s led partnerships with districts and CMOs around the country, with a particular focus on supporting district leaders to strengthen organizational systems and processes that ultimately deliver the high-quality education experiences that all students deserve. Eileen has supported initiatives related to the design and implementation of instructional strategy, district coherence, and cross-functional collaboration. She currently lives outside New Haven, CT, with her husband and two young children.

I am a doctoral candidate at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and an incoming Postdoctoral Fellow at NSSA. My research focuses on ensuring equitable opportunity and access to learning for multilingual learners. Specifically, I am using natural language processing and machine learning to analyze complex student dialogic participation in the classroom. I have developed LogoSearch, an online repository for collecting, archiving, and evaluating student conversations to support research and teacher professional development opportunities.

Karla Hudson
Academic Program Administrator, Learning Acceleration
Portland Public Schools, Portland, OR

Karla is a Program Administrator for the Learning Acceleration team at Portland Public Schools. Karla leads the High Dosage Tutoring and Summer Acceleration Academy initiatives, which address unfinished learning and support educational equity. Karla is committed to creating impactful learning experiences and providing necessary resources for PPS students and schools across Oregon.

Elizabeth Huffaker is a doctoral candidate in the Economics of Education and Education Policy at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. She is a recipient of an Institute of Education Sciences Predoctoral Training Fellowship and a Stanford Graduate Fellowship in Science and Engineering. Her research focuses on high school math policies, the implementation of curricular reform, and patterns of academic stratification in secondary education.

I am the project associate for Annenberg Learner. I support program director, Nati Rodriguez, in various work streams including working with Step Up Tutoring and ASU's Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College to promote high-impact tutor training resources that are available on ASU's Community Educator Learning Hub.

Wesley Jacques is the CEO/Founder of Community Roots Curriculum Services and consultant to the Oakland REACH. Previously, he served as Executive Director, Academics and Instruction for Oakland Unified School District.

Dr. Sadie Stockdale Jefferson is the Executive Director for the Education Lab. Sadie spent the last 10 years working in Chicago both in the Government and Nonprofit sectors. Most recently, Sadie ran the foundation for Chicago Public Schools and prior to that, served as Deputy Chief of Staff for then CEO, Dr. Janice Jackson. Prior to that work, she was the Director of Education for Mayor Emanuel.

Sadie recently graduated with her Ph.D. in Educational Policy from Loyola University where she studied the role of neighborhood factors in school choice.

Annie Johansen is the current Head of Operations at Tutored by Teachers. Annie has previous experience working in business operations at Freckle by Renaissance and customer operations at Freckle Education (formerly Front Row). Annie has also worked as an educator at Endeavor College Preparatory and as a corps member with Teach For America.

Dr. Melina Johnson is a native of the Bay Area and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Bay Area Tutoring Association. She is a former middle-school English Language Arts and AVID teacher, and currently a Lecturer in the School of Education and Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara University, where she has taught in the Teacher Education Program since 2011.

Tim Johnson is Executive Director, Tutor Operations at Amplify. Tim launched his career as an Urban Education Fellow at Match Charter High School in Boston.

In 2010 Tim moved to Houston to scale high impact tutoring as part of the Apollo 20 turnaround effort and then built on that work to launch the Denver Fellows program in 2012. During the pandemic Tim stood up virtual tutoring for Reconstruction by recruiting former colleagues from Denver to form Reconstruction’s Tutor Team.

Tim lives in Philadelphia with his wife Erika, 5 year old son Timothy and 13 year old dog Kingston.

Jilli Jung is an incoming postdoctoral researcher at NSSA. Jilli Jung is a PhD candidate in Education Policy Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests and experiences center around the rigorous examination of policy impacts on broadly defined education and health outcomes for adolescents, especially marginalized adolescents. She holds BA and MA in Ethics Education from Seoul National University, South Korea. Outside of research, she enjoys climbing and playing tennis.

Demetra Kalogrides is a research associate for the National Student Support Accelerator where she supports research with data management and statistical analysis.

Marina is the Scaling & Policy Program Manager at Stanford Impact Labs, a university-wide initiative that trains and invests in teams of researchers working with leaders in government, business, and communities to put social science to work for society. She is responsible for helping SIL grantees and partners scale up evidence-based solutions by developing, testing, and implementing scaling strategies. Marina previously worked at Spring Impact, a nonprofit consultancy, where she advised dozens of nonprofits on their journey to scale up their social impact.

Andrew is the Chief of Growth and Strategy at Chapter One, a national nonprofit organization. Andrew works to bring Chapter One's 1:1, short-burst literacy tutoring for K-2 students to districts and SEAs across the country. Prior to this work, Andrew was a 6th grade teacher in the Bronx, a district admin at NYC Public Schools, and a foundation program officer.

Cody Keffer is a Director at TNTP, a national non-profit that supports school districts to solve challenges and meet their goals for students. In her work, Cody partners with school districts across the West to align their professional learning and materials to research-based best practices in early literacy, as well as supporting district leaders, school leaders and teachers to implement best practices in their context. Prior to TNTP, Cody taught adult literacy in New York City and elementary school in Oakland, CA.

Sara Kerr is a passionate education policy leader with extensive experience implementing data-driven, evidence-based reforms. As Vice President of Education Policy Implementation at Results for America, she oversees a portfolio of work including RFA’s State Education Fellowship program and EdResearch for Action. With extensive experience, including teaching in Montgomery County, MD and serving as Chief Performance Officer at the Delaware Department of Education, Sara advises government leaders on program design, evaluation, and continuous improvement. Her goal: ensuring every young person experiences joy and rigor in school and has what they need to thrive.

Autumn serves as a Partnership Manager at UPchieve, an ed-tech nonprofit offering free 24/7 tutoring for low-income students. Her journey into education began during her time with Teach For America in New Orleans, where she taught K-1-2 students. She furthered her commitment to education by joining Peace Corps Philippines, where she taught at a local university and collaborated with the Department of Social Welfare and Development creating programming for out of school youth. Prior to her role at UPchieve, Autumn spent two years as a Customer Success Manager in the ed-tech sector, collaborating with educators to implement diverse educational technologies.

Ritu Khanna has served in the San Francisco Unified School District for twenty-nine years. She is currently the Head of the Department of Research, Planning and Assessment. The department is responsible for implementing a comprehensive accountability system in the San Francisco District and County. The primary objective is to provide data, interpret data, and support data-driven decision making by school administrators and teachers for the improvement of teaching and learning throughout the district.

Habiba Khokhar, Associate Director at CUNY Tutor Corps, where she serves as a vital support for classroom and tutors in diverse NYC neighborhoods. With teaching and leadership experience from K-12 to post-secondary education, she specializes in advocating for English Language Learners, refugees, and immigrants. Her expertise in STEM education and commitment to educational equity drive her to develop tailored curricula for student success. Habiba leads initiatives nationally and internationally to enhance educational opportunities, promoting inclusivity and access to quality education for all communities.

Michael W. Kirst is Professor Emeritus of Education and Business Administration at Stanford University. In 2011, Kirst became the President of the California State Board Of Education for the second time. Professor Kirst was a member of the California State Board of Education (1975/1982) and its president from 1977 to 1981.

Jen is the Director of Outreach and Engagement at ProvenTutoring, which is housed at the Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE) at Johns Hopkins University. She works closely with the CRRE team and ProvenTutoring coalition to advance the use of evidence in the field of tutoring. ProvenTutoring provides resources and technical assistance to schools that support the adoption, implementation, and evaluation of research-proven tutoring models. ProvenTutoring also supports tutoring providers in developing effective models and generating evidence of effectiveness.

Robin Lake is director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) a non-partisan research and policy analysis organization at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. CRPE’s mission is developing transformative, evidence-based solutions for K–12 public education. Her research focuses on U.S. public school system reforms, including public school choice and charter schools; innovation and scale; portfolio management; and effective state and local public oversight practices.

Dadrius Lanus is an educational advocate fighting to bring liberation to all black and brown communities across East Baton Rouge Parish. Dadrius has made it his mission to disrupt underperforming systems by empowering students, teachers, and community stakeholders to identify and defeat socio-economic barriers that plague impoverished communities.

Dadrius is a product of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System where he attended Forest Heights Elementary, Glen Oaks Middle, and Glen Oaks High School. While in college, Dadrius attended Southern University where he received his Bachelors, Masters, and Juris Doctorate Degree graduating with honors at each respective level. In December 2019, with over 60% of the vote, Dadrius became one the youngest members ever elected to the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board for the District 2 Community. Currently, he serves as the President of the East Baton Rouge School System, where he is the youngest person ever selected to lead in the role. Dadrius is a 2023 PELP Fellow with Harvard University, holds certification in educational policies from both Yale University and Georgetown University, and was a 2021 selection by the Baton Rouge Business Report “Forty Under 40” class.

In his present role, Dadrius serves as the Executive Director of 100 Black Men of Metro Baton Rouge, where last year his organization was named “2023 Large Chapter of the Year” for its programmatic impact and community based supports.

Pete Lavorini leads the Innovative Schools portfolio at Overdeck Family Foundation, which aims to expand access to tech-enabled, student-centered K-9 learning environments.

Alex Laywell serves as Technical Advisor for Education & Youth programs at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), supporting 21 US offices who provide a wide array of programs to forcibly displaced youth. Prior to his current role, Alex held various positions at the IRC in Dallas, including AmeriCorps member, Volunteer Coordinator, Youth Coordinator, and Education and Learning Manager. Alex spearheaded multiple education initiatives in his ten years in Dallas, establishing digital literacy, ESL classes, early childhood programs, job readiness trainings, and mentoring programs for middle and high school students.

Dr. Jimmy Leak is a Research Analyst for Guilford County Schools in Greensboro, NC. He leads the evaluation and research partnerships for Guilford County Schools' tutoring program and other grant-funded projects. Jimmy is also an adjunct professor at High Point University 's Stout School of Education. Previous to his work at Guilford County Schools, Jimmy worked internationally managing, evaluating, and advising early grades reading programs in Kenya and Ethiopia. Jimmy has a Ph.D in Education Policy and Social Context from the University of California, Irvine as well as a B.A. in Public Policy and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Michele is a program officer for the Education Program at the Walton Family Foundation. The Foundation's Education Program supports all children in finding their unique path to a life of opportunity and purpose. Before joining the foundation, Michele was the assistant director of the Institute for Education and Social Policy at New York University, where she conducted research on the contextual factors and ecosystem enablers that support educational success. She began her career as an elementary school teacher.

Monica Lee is the NSSA's Director of Research Operations. A quantitative researcher by training, Monica oversees the strategic alignment of research-related operations & processes at NSSA. Her research interests include behavioral science interventions in education, non-cognitive factors such as absenteeism and social-emotional learning skills, and experimental/quasi-experimental methods.
Monica holds a PhD in Educational Policy and a MA in Economics from Stanford University, an EdM in Education Policy and Management from Harvard University, and a BS in Human and Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University. Her background as a first-generation college student and English Learner informs her work and scholarly interests.

Samantha Lee is a Quality and Improvement (Tools) Project Coordinator at the National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA). She was a Content Project Lead at the Global School Program, an initiative at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). Prior to joining the NSSA, she served as a program leader at ECUC 21st Century – University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Education during her undergraduate years. Currently, she is completing her Master's at Northwestern University. For recreation, she likes to develop engaging and coherent math puzzles and games.

Ava Lehner currently serves as the Program Director of Policy & Sustainability with the ExpandED Schools High-Impact Tutoring (HIT) Initiative. ExpandED Schools has partnered with New York City Public Schools to launch and scale a HIT pilot initiative across New York City. In her role, Ava works with advocacy organizations and local government officials to develop and implement ExpandED Schools’ policy for high-impact tutoring, including efforts to increase public funds for tutoring in schools across New York State.

Ed tech customer success at Amira by way of nonprofit management. I've spent my entire career in education and am blown away by what technology can now do help students and teachers. Currently living in Sacramento with my wife and 6 month old daughter.

Maryellen Leneghan has been in the education field for 10+ years. She was an Algebra 1 teacher for 6 years before joining Saga Education. She worked under Saga’s Direct Services department for 5 years as a Site Director, then as Director of Program in Chicago, and later as Senior Director of Programs where she launched Saga in Washington, DC, and Broward County, FL. This work led to the establishment of Saga’s District Partnerships department in 2021. Maryellen has since been overseeing all state & district contracts for technical assistance & quality assurance where Saga is currently supporting over 300 schools across the country.

Courtney Lewis is Vice President of Tutoring Services for Carnegie Learning, Inc. She has over 30 years of experience in education. Courtney holds a Bachelor’s of Art in Mathematics from Spelman College and a Master’s degree in Secondary Education with Administration and Supervision Endorsement from Towson University. Her education career began in Maryland as a mathematics teacher before becoming a district level instructional support teacher. She was also an education consultant, senior associate, math specialist, and program manager for a national tutoring company, before joining Carnegie Learning in 2010 as a Manager of School Partnerships.

As the Director of Data and Research, Jonah leads the GO Foundation's data strategy, collection, organization, visualization and analysis. He works across departments to develop surveys, design studies, conduct analysis, and develop visualizations to support continuous improvement. He manages the Foundation's research grants and external evaluations. Overall, Jonah focuses on understanding when, why, and how the Fellowship program works to improve student learning and well-being.

Jing Liu is an Assistant Professor in Education Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. His recent research focuses on two areas: i) leveraging natural language processing to measure and enhance teaching effectiveness across educational contexts; and ii) identifying and assessing policies to best prepare students for an AI-driven future. Dr. Liu’s research has appeared in leading peer-reviewed outlets across disciplines and been generously supported by the National Science Foundation and the Gates Foundation, among others.

Susanna Loeb is professor of education and director of the National Student Support Accelerator and the SCALE Initiative at Stanford University. Her research focuses on education policy and its role in improving educational opportunities for students. Susanna has been director of Brown University’s Annenberg Institute and Barnett Family Professor of Education at Stanford, where she founded the Center for Education Policy and co-directed Policy Analysis for California Education. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Education, SIEPR, JPAL and NBER. She received her PhD in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Jean Lombardi is the Chief Operating Officer of the GO Foundation where she oversees operations, research, development, communications, and major strategic initiatives. Jean has 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Prior to joining GO, she served as the Director of Strategy and Operations at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, a nonprofit research and policy organization. In previous roles, she managed start-up operations and development marketing efforts for schools. Jean earned her B.A. from Kenyon College and her M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management.

Paula Longoria, Portfolio Associate, sources and supports organizations primarily for the Innovative Schools portfolio. This involves collecting and analyzing data from grantees and researchers to determine high-impact investment areas that support the portfolio’s goal of expanding access to tech-enabled, student-centered K-9 learning environments, intentionally designed for any student to thrive.

Sofia has spent 15 years dedicated to restore civic life and civic society through participatory design, and leadership development. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and Philosophy from Notre Dame de Namur University and a M.A. in Ethics and Social Theory from the Graduate Theological Union and Santa Clara University. She currently is the Director of Organizing, Bay Area
 
As an organizer has designed and led public input processes, community dialogues, community mediations. Her work has resulted in the City of San Jose approving $2 million dollars for high quality tutoring programs in 2022.

Amanda Lu is a postdoctoral scholar at the National Student Support Accelerator, where she leads the qualitative research agenda. She received a PhD in Education Policy from Stanford in 2023 and is a former high school teacher. Her research agenda broadly focuses on education governance, school choice, and market-based reforms.

Paul Lucke is the Assistant Principal at Seymour High School in Seymour Connecticut where he has worked for the past 20 years, 18 of which as the Assistant Principal. Paul is the 2024 Connecticut Assistant Principal of the year. During his time as an Assistant Principal, he has been responsible for creating innovative programs including Engineering, Manufacturing, Robotics, Fabrication and Welding, Electrathon, Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and modern Music and Recording. He has written and received over 2 million dollars in grant monies to create and support these programs. Paul connects his students, local business, and his local workforce investment board together to provide advanced training and employment in the manufacturing and medical fields. Most recently he brought in High Impact Tutoring to Seymour Middle School and over $650,000 of grant monies to support the program.

Alvin Makori is a second year Ph.D. student in Urban Education Policy at the University of Southern California. His primary research interests surround how K-12 students navigate through major learning disruptions, and how effective policy implementation can help to improve student recovery. Alvin earned his B.A. in Law, History, and Culture from the University of Southern California. He is a former research assistant at the Center on Reinventing Public Education.

Megan Martin serves as Senior Programs Coordinator with the Institute for Partnerships in Education (IPiE) at University of North Carolina at Greensboro. IPiE creates a collaborative space for anyone passionate about public education to combine strengths and, together, reimagine better systems of education. Within IPiE, Megan oversees the Tutoring Collaborative where graduate students serve as in-person tutors in local school systems. Additionally, IPiE is expanding tutoring to rural spaces while also including undergraduate students in the coming years.

Sarah brings a diverse set of experiences from across the public, private and nonprofit sectors to her work in public education. She began her career in social sector consulting and nonprofit management. In 2016, Sarah joined the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), Washington D.C.’s state education agency. She has served in several roles over the last seven years, spearheading the agency’s strategic planning and performance management efforts, and leading major strategic initiatives. She now oversees the agency’s use of federal stimulus funds and efforts to support COVID recovery, as OSSE’s Senior Advisor for Recovery.

Aaron McCloud is a product of Los Angeles Unified School District where he struggled as a low performing student. He enlisted in the US Navy and discovered his aptitude/ interest in engineering. Post military, he started his educational journey in community college, where he was supported by tutors who helped close gaps from K-12. He completed a BS Engineering at University of Southern California and MS Eng/ MBA at University of Michigan. After years managing offshore projects in the Energy Industry, he decided in 2016 to start Intervene K-12 to support struggling students just like him through in-school high-impact tutoring.

Bernard McCune, Denver Public Schools' Executive Director of Athletics, Activities & Extended Academic Learning, previously served as Senior Executive Director of Career and College Success. He co-founded RootED, focusing on quality public education, and held roles at Oakland Unified School District and DPS, enhancing post-secondary readiness. With a background in Chicago Public Schools, Bernard collaborated with Arne Duncan and Senator Barack Obama to increase college access and success for low-income students, creating a national model. He brings extensive experience in education leadership, fostering strategies for increased graduation rates, Advanced Placement, concurrent enrollment, and career and technical education growth.

Melanie McGue is the Project Manager for Tutor Ohio Kids. In her role, she leads a state-wide tutoring program with a focus on ensuring that all schools in Ohio have access to tutors by recruiting, onboarding and deploying tutors. Melanie leads a collision of nine Education Service Centers in providing professional development to schools and tutors focused on research of tutoring practices. Melanie is currently employed by the Education Service Center (ESC) of Central Ohio where she works as a School Transformation Coordinator. Previous to her work at the ESC of Central Ohio, Melanie worked in Central Ohio schools for twenty-nine years as a building principal and teacher.

Dr. Erin McMahon is a former Superintendent and Senior Advisor to the Commissioner in Massachusetts; Chief Academic Officer for the KIPP Foundation; and, head of academics and innovation for Denver Public Schools (DPS). Erin's leadership at DPS including growing the Denver Math and Literacy Fellows and leading an early literacy strategy that resulted in the highest growth in DPS in a single year. Erin started her career in Teach For America in DC. Dr. McMahon holds a BA in history from Yale, a MSEd from Pace, an MBA from Cornell, and receives her EdD this month from Boston College.

Cynthia has dedicated her career to addressing issues of equity and inclusion. She spent more than a decade working on global financial inclusion for underserved populations through leadership roles at Kiva and Nova Credit, and brings the same equity-first lens to her work at TeachFX, where she oversees research initiatives on high impact tutoring, curriculum integration, new teacher training and pre-k teacher feedback. She has an MS and MBA from Stanford with a certificate in public management.

Katie is an Academic Program Administrator with Portland Public Schools, currently supporting the district's High-Dosage Tutoring program, Summer Acceleration Academy, and a Targeted Core team of Instructional Specialists who accelerate the learning of Black and Native American students across the district.

Connie Michael has been an educator for 32 years. She is Nationally Board Certified and has been recognized for her work in Bilingual Education, STEM, and Social Emotional Learning. Connie has worked with the National Education Association to create curriculum for Diversity, Equity, and Equality as well as to Bridge learning gaps in Science.

Katharine Pace Miles, Ph.D. is an associate professor at Brooklyn College, City University of New York (CUNY). Dr. Miles’s research interests include orthographic mapping, high frequency word learning, reading interventions, and literacy instruction that is both developmentally appropriate and grounded in the science of reading. Dr. Miles is the academic advisor for Reading Go!, an evidence-based intervention for first and second grade students. She is the author of Reading Ready, an explicit and systematic word reading curriculum for kindergarten and first grade students. Dr. Miles is also the co-founder and principal investigator of CUNY Reading Corps, which improves preservice teacher training and provides free high-dosage tutoring to over 2,000 historically underserved NYC students per year. Dr. Miles’s latest projects involve opening new advanced graduate coursework in reading science and finding more ways to bring free tutoring to emergent readers in need of support through her nonprofit, The Reading Institute.

Dr. Brittany Miller
Director, Outcomes Based Contracting

Brittany Miller serves as the director for Southern Education Foundation’s strategic initiative on Outcomes Based Contracting. In this role, she oversees the learning and coaching with school district leaders to develop an RFP and subsequent contract where a minimum of 40% of the payment to the vendor is contingent on agreed-upon student outcomes.

Most recently, Brittany led as senior director of Expanded Academic Learning for Denver Public Schools (DPS) during the pilot for Outcomes Based Contracting. She has also taught in Denver and Arizona. She is deeply committed to promoting equity and considering community and school context in strategy development.

She is an avid SCUBA diver and snowboarder, though typically not at the same time.

Brittany holds a doctorate in curriculum studies and teaching from the University of Denver.

Elizabeth Moore is Director of Instructional Development and Support at Gwinnett County Public Schools. The Office of Instructional Development and Support manages and facilitates cross-department and division communication, training, and support for instructional programs and new initiatives that span program areas to improve student achievement and learning outcomes.

Emily Morton is a Researcher at the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at the American Institutes of Research (AIR). Her research focuses on estimating effects of K-12 education policies and programs on student achievement. She uses applied econometrics and causal inference methodologies to investigate these topics. She conducts much of her research in partnership with schools and districts, with the intention of producing actionable findings that will directly inform policy and practice and serve to reduce inequality. Most notably, her recent work focuses on examining impacts of academic COVID recovery interventions on student outcomes.

Mr. Gregory D. Mott is an accomplished educator with more than 20 years of educational leadership. He has coached leaders and teachers in designing effective instructional and student support practices. This is evidenced by his latest endeavor in the Poughkeepsie School District. His philosophical approach to student success has centered on whole group, personalized and individualized instruction. This approach to teaching and learning has provided consistent student support that has led to accelerated academic success. Additionally, he has been selected Outstanding Citizen of the Year for leadership in education for his work in the Buffalo City School District.

Anne is a Literacy Coach for Joyful Readers in multiple elementary schools in Philadelphia. Before Joyful Readers, she started her education career as an AmeriCorps-funded literacy tutor with The Literacy Lab in Washington, DC. She then worked as a teacher and Reading Specialist at a Joyful Readers partner school in the School District of Philadelphia and was inspired to continue the work as a coach. At Joyful Readers, she manages and trains a team of AmeriCorps literacy intervention tutors in structured literacy, Wilson's Fundations curriculum, and culturally responsive practices as they serve in a full-time tutoring position in Philadelphia schools.

Amanda Neitzel (Inns) is Assistant Professor and Deputy Director of Evidence Research, Center for Research and Reform in Education. She has expertise on school-based health interventions, literacy, meta-analysis, data management, and quantitative research design. While at the CRRE, she has worked on evaluations of school-based vision programs with an emphasis on issues of implementation. She has also conducted multiple systematic reviews, including reviews of elementary literacy as well as educational programs for struggling readers. Prior to pursuing her PhD, Amanda was an elementary school teacher in a traditional public school and also served in the Peace Corps.

Dana is the Oregon Director for the Center for Early Literacy Success with Stand For Children. In this role, she is designing and providing coaching for the Oregon Demonstration Network to facilitate the successful implementation of the new Oregon Early Literacy Success Act in elementary schools across the state. Prior to joining Stand For Children, Dana was the Senior Director of Academic Programs in the Office of Teaching and Learning with Portland (OR) Public Schools, leading K-12 services for Learning Acceleration, Multilingual Learners, and Health and Physical Education. Prior to serving as a district leader, Dana was a K-5 Principal in Portland Public Schools and DC Public Schools. Dana started her careers as an elementary classroom teacher.

Joe Nicholson serves as the Senior Manager of Special Initiatives at the Lastinger Center for Learning. In this role, Joe is leading the Center’s efforts in research and development of new initiatives. Coordinating the collaboration from many different stakeholder groups, including Communications, Products, and Academic Subject Matter Experts across the 3 milestones the Lastinger Center seeks to improve (Early Learning, Literacy, Math). Previously, Joe served as the Director of Creative Works, which was an Educational Business Auxiliary for the University of Florida and in the College of Pharmacy, as Director of Video Production Services.

Sarah Novicoff is a PhD student in Educational Policy at Stanford's Graduate School of Education. In her doctoral education, she is interested in how state policy has affected vulnerable subgroups of K-12 students (e.g., low-income students, English Language Learners, students with disabilities, students in foster care) with a special focus on early literacy policy. Previously, Sarah was a 6th grade Social Studies teacher in South Los Angeles where she also served as Chair of the School Site Advisory Council, managing a team of teachers, school staff, and parents who reviewed and approved the school budget. Prior to teaching, Sarah worked as a Research Assistant for the Brown University Department of Education in Providence, R.I., and as a Research Intern at the Brookings Institute Center on Education Policy in Washington, D.C. Sarah holds a B.A. in History with Honors from Brown University where she graduated magna cum laude.

Under CEO Caroline O’Neal’s leadership, Reading Assist has grown to include 250+ tutors serving thousands of struggling readers across Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC, and secured national grants from AmeriCorps and Accelerate. Before joining Reading Assist, Caroline helped Uncommon Schools open its first middle school in Camden, NJ, and spent 15 years in international education – first as a Fulbright scholar in Austria, then working with EC English Language Centers. Caroline has served as a board member with PA International Dyslexia Association, EnglishUSA, and Achieve Now, and is part of Delaware’s Vision Coalition, which advises state leaders on education strategy.

Melanie Gardner-Ojefua is the VP of High-Impact Tutoring (HIT) at ExpandED Schools. Melanie oversees the implementation of HIT across 80 schools within NYCPS, tutoring policy and sustainability activities and the development of a tutor-to-teacher pipeline. Before working at ExpandED, Melanie worked at Achievement First as the Director of 5-8 Math Innovation, where she spent three years developing, implementing, and scaling a culturally-responsive middle school math program across a network of schools. Prior to Achievement First, Melanie spent ten years at NYCPS, where she worked as a special education teacher, central office leader and an assistant principal.

Christina Oliver is Executive Director of the Benedict Silverman Foundation. The Benedict Silverman Foundation promotes excellence and equity in American K-12 public schools by supporting research-based literacy instruction.

Sam is CEO of Step Up Tutoring, which recruits and trains college students and community volunteers to provide virtual high-impact tutoring for elementary students in under-resourced communities. Previously, Sam held senior leadership roles at Guild Education and Entangled Solutions, and she served as Chief Strategy Officer for GreatSchools, a national nonprofit that reaches over half of all parents of school-age children in America. Sam started her career as a special education teacher and has worked on school improvement initiatives at the district, state, and national levels. She received her BA from Pomona College and MPP from UCLA.

Philip Oreopoulos is Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Toronto.

Michael has been teaching and leading the field of Mathematics for over 20 years. He has previously lead a district in Mathematics and is currently supporting the HDT grant as an instructional coach in Branford, Ct

David has a background in educational psychology which he now applies to nationally-scaled AmeriCorps programs that are supported by ServeMinnesota. He has a passion for ensuring students develop essential academic skills that are used throughout life, and he has published research on variety of topics related to his specific interests in literacy and numeracy. In his role at ServeMinnesota, he ensures AmeriCorps members have the skills and tools to improve student lives through the joy of learning.

Matt is co-founder and CEO of the Once Early-Reading Program. Prior to starting Once, Matt co-founded the tech non-profit VotingWorks, was the first employee at Clever, where he led sales and customer relationships for 6 years, and was on the founding design team for School of One / New Classrooms. He taught middle school English in West Harlem as a Teach for America corps member from 2004-2007.

Madeleine manages an Accelerate Call to Effective Action grant to develop innovative state-level systems to support sustainable high-impact tutoring. She leads the implementation and assessment of high-impact tutoring pilot programs, which utilize community educators and high-quality instructional materials to increase algebra I readiness. A graduate of Brown University, Rhode Island College and Ohio University, she has master's degrees in education and urban education policy. She was formerly an MLL English teacher in Providence Public Schools.

Cat Peretti has tutored students for more than 20 years, and her experiences personalizing learning to improve outcomes have fueled her career in education policy. After earning her law degree, Cat was an analyst at the US Department of Education focused on grants management during the Obama administration. She then served as the Director of Policy and Accountability at E.L. Haynes Public Charter School. She later became the Executive Director of My School DC, leading an award-winning team implementing the common lottery for the District’s public school options.

Cat brings keen strategic judgment, strong operational skills, a commitment to educational equity and access, and a deep set of relationships with DC’s educational leaders to the role leading CityTutor DC. She oversees strategy development and overall execution of the program to expand high-impact tutoring to thousands of students.

Alanna Phelan serves as Senior Vice President of Amplify Tutoring, which provides high-impact tutoring solutions, including research-aligned tutoring materials, services for K-6 students, training, and consulting on program design. Amplify Tutoring has improved outcomes for students and partnered with schools, districts, and state education agencies nationwide. A former classroom teacher and school network leader, Alanna most recently led Amplify's Professional Services team prior to launching Amplify Tutoring. Alanna has a Master's in Education and MBA from Stanford University.

Emily is the Administrative Associate for the SCALE Initiative at the Graduate School of Education, Stanford University. Previous positions have ranged from customer service representative at the Stanford Bookstore and United Airlines to office manager for a local academic publisher. Her interests have always stayed close to education, and she has volunteered at various local elementary schools. Emily holds a B.A. in elementary education from CSU Chico.

Phil Poekert, Ph.D. is a clinical professor and director of the University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning. Since being appointed in 2018, Phil has led the Center through exponential growth in products, projects and staff while streamlining the Center’s focus on three educational milestones: kindergarten readiness, third grade reading, and algebra. Phil has presented and published in numerous national and international outlets and serves on the Editorial Board of Professional Development in Education.

Jordan Porfilio, from Charlotte, North Carolina, earned a Bachelor of Arts from Wake Forest University and a Master of Arts in Elementary Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. With 10 years of experience as an elementary teacher and math facilitator in Charlotte Mecklenburg schools, Jordan is committed to providing young students successful experiences in math. Presently, as the Director of Out of School Time Tutoring at Heart Math Tutoring, Jordan leads an initiative focused on delivering high-impact tutoring, ensuring every student builds a solid math foundation and fosters a passion for learning.

Jamie is a former high school math and English teacher, coach, and athletic director with an MA in Education and MBA from Stanford. He also spent seven years working as an experimental theater artist with The Wooster Group and as the director of his own company.

Vincent Quan is co-executive director of J-PAL North America. Vincent leads the office’s efforts to reduce poverty by ensuring policy is informed by rigorous evidence in the North America region. He is also the co-author of a tutoring meta-analysis that examined nearly 100 RCTs of different K-12 tutoring programs.

Matthew joined Stanford in April 2021, founding and overseeing the Digital Education team. From 2017-21 he was the Associate Vice Provost for Digital Education and Innovation at Duke University, where he led the Duke Learning Innovation team. He was previously Vice President and founder of the Office of Learning Technology & Innovation for the University of North Carolina system, where he worked from 2014-17.

Coordinator- Academic Tutoring
Safonya is a dedicated educator who is committed to ensuring every student receives the unique support that they need when they need it.
Safonya plays a pivotal role in shaping the academic tutoring landscape of Baltimore City schools.
Safonya brings 25 years of experience to her role. Her journey in education began as a 1:1 Paraeducator for scholars with autism, where she developed a deep appreciation for the unique needs and strengths of each student. This experience fuels her drive to create equitable learning opportunities for all.

Dr. Ana Trindade Ribeiro is a Research Project Lead at the NSSA Her research interests sit at the intersection of education policy and behavioral sciences, using a mix of machine learning, causal inference, and field and laboratory experiments to investigate causes and solutions to inequality in students’ outcomes. Her recent work has focused on the design of student evaluations and policies to reduce unequal behavior and outcomes in education. Ana holds a PhD in Economics of Education from Stanford University, a Master’s in Economics from the University of Sao Paulo, and a BA in Economics from PUC-Rio in Brazil.

Cortney Richardson, a multifaceted leader, is dedicated to transforming lives and communities through education, mentorship, and discipleship. As a founding tutor at Peer Power, he has played a key role in building the infrastructure for the expansion and implementation of Peer Power’s educational programs, including their in-school tutoring and mentoring model for traditional public high schools, ACT Prep University, and the new Workforce Development model. Since 2004, Peer Power has hired over 2200 inner-city youth to be role models for their peers, administered more than 1.5 million tutoring and mentoring hours, and invested over 20 million dollars into its workforce.

Amy Riker has almost two decades of leadership experience within the assessment industry, specializing in strategy, education policy, product development, and business development. Amy currently serves as the Chief External Relations Officer for the New Jersey Tutoring Corps, Inc., where she oversees development, communications, and research and data as part of the Executive Leadership Team.

Estefania Rios Gomez is an inclusive educator and instructional coach who strives to create a learning environment that is equitable and accessible for all students.

Elise is the Program Coordinator of the Institute of Partners in Education. She was formally the Tutoring Coordinator at Guilford County Schools. Elise holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree Curriculum and Instruction. Elise is deeply committed to ensuring fairness in education, striving to provide instructional resources to all students, as well as provididng support to educators and families as well.

Carly Robinson is the Director of Research for the SCALE Initiative and the National Student Support Accelerator.

Roberto J. Rodríguez currently serves as Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Education, where he leads the development and review of the Department’s budget and advises the Secretary on all matters related to policy development, implementation, and review. Roberto’s distinguished career in public service includes senior government roles in the White House, as Deputy Assistant for Education to President Barack Obama, and in the U.S. Senate, as Chief Counsel to the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

Dr. Arsenio Romero, a New Mexico native and educator's son, has served as a school and district leader for 25 years. Prior to his appointment as Secretary of the New Mexico Public Education Department, he worked as a superintendent for Los Lunas and Deming Public Schools. Dr. Romero also oversaw curriculum at Roswell ISD and taught at New Mexico State University. He began his career in education teaching in Las Cruces, where he also worked as a school principal. His proudest achievement is his family. He and his wife Amber, who is also an educator, have four children.

Jennifer serves as the Deputy Chief of Schools for DC Public Schools (DCPS). She began her career as a teacher DCPS and has supported teachers, leaders, and schools across DC, MD, and NYC. Jennifer served as the Director of Instruction and Performance for the Office of Early Childhood Education in the NYC Department of Education, a founding school leader at KIPP DC, and network leader within KIPP DC. Currently, Jennifer drives DCPS's strategy for accelerating student learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including high impact tutoring and ESSER funding, and organizes coaching from central services to schools.

Soren is the founder of PeerTeach, a platform that empowers students to grow their leadership, confidence, and love of math through AI-powered peer tutoring. A Stanford GSE instructor since 2018, he teaches courses on designing impactful tools for learning. Prior to his PhD in Stanford’s Learning Sciences & Technology Design program, Soren taught middle school in Oakland, developed teacher training programs, and evaluated the efficacy of popular ed tech products at SRI International.

My name is Angela Rossi, and I am the Director of the Match Corps program at Match High School in Boston, MA. Throughout my work in education, I have served as a special educator, life skills/ social skills teacher, instructional coach, and more. I am passionate about tutor/ new teacher development, as well as empowering and supporting educators to effectively foster soft skill development in their classrooms. I look forward to learning alongside you all!

Isabel Sacks is the Communications Specialist for the Stanford Accelerator for Learning. Housed at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, the Stanford Accelerator for Learning is a university-wide initiative connecting scholars across disciplines and with external partners to bridge research, innovation, practice, and policy, and bring quality, scalable, and equitable learning experiences to all learners, throughout the lifespan. Isabel holds an MA in International Comparative Education from Stanford Graduate School of Education and a BA from Swarthmore College, where she led a college student tutoring program for local elementary students.

Alan Safran, CEO and Co-Founder of Saga, has a 30-year career in public education, including serving at the Massachusetts Department of Education and leading Match Charter Public School. He co-designed the country's first high-dosage tutoring program and founded Saga in 2014. Safran holds a law degree from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from Princeton. He splits his time between Boston, MA, and Washington, DC, with his wife and has three grown children in DC, NY, and LA. They share their home with a mid-size, middle-aged black labrador named Colbie.

Astrid Sandsor is is an Associate Professor at CREATE - Centre for Research on Equality in Education and the Department of Special Needs Education and, University of Oslo. Her research focuses on economics of education, early childhood interventions, public economics, and educational inequality. She has studied the effect of using additional teachers to provide tutoring/small-group instruction in mathematics in a large scale field experiment in Norway.

Gregory Savitz has over twenty-eight years of administrative and classroom experience within the areas of early childhood, elementary education, and literacy instruction for New York City Public Schools. In his current role of Educational Administrator for the NYCPS Strategic Partnership Team, he works with his team to oversee the implementation and development of High Impact Tutoring (HIT) in Kindergarten through 9th grade. Throughout his tenure, Greg has supported over 200 Bronx and Manhattan schools as a literacy coach and an early childhood specialist. He has led teams of literacy coaches and was instrumental in their continued development of instructional mastery in content and pedagogy for grades K-5. Most importantly, Greg enjoys all aspects of working with schools so they can provide instruction and support that meets the individual needs of each student.

Beth Schueler is an Assistant Professor of Education and Public Policy. She studies education policy, politics, and inequality with a focus on efforts to improve low-performing K-12 schools and districts. She uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to learn which policies are most effective at improving educational organizations and what makes these policies more or less politically viable. She also has a strand of research examining the role of educational organizations in developing students’ civic competencies and argumentation skills. Her work in these areas has been published in journals such as Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Education Finance and Policy, and Public Opinion Quarterly, and has been covered by media outlets such as the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Education Week. Prior to joining the faculty at UVA, she was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

John Scianimanico is currently Director of Special Projects at the Connecticut State Department of Education, where he leads the Connecticut High-Dosage Tutoring Program, the Connecticut FAFSA Challenge, and other programs to support students recover from the pandemic. He is also an adjunct professor of economics and public policy at New York University. Previously, he worked for Arnold Ventures in Houston and as a Teach For America teacher in Alabama. John graduated from American University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and from the Harvard Kennedy School with a Master in Public Policy.

Director of Early Education Program Partnerships
Lecturer, Stanford Graduate School of Education
Researcher

Yannai is the Director of Partnerships at VIPTeacher and oversees the company's efforts in high-dosage tutoring. He has spearheaded VIPTeacher's partnership with ST Math to power their tutoring offering and oversees the company's efforts with its ELL HDT program. Yannai is a former teacher and has worked in edtech for over 15 years with leading roles at Photomath and Learn with Homer.

Dr. Colby Self joined the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in June 2021 as the Director of Texas Tutoring Supports. Prior to joining the TEA, Dr. Self dedicated 20 years to Pflugerville ISD. His tenure culminated in his position as principal of Fannie Mae Caldwell Elementary School, which he attained in May 2012. Prior to his nine years in the principalship, Dr. Self served in roles ranging from elementary assistant principal to secondary level classroom teacher and athletic trainer.

Justin Serrano is the founder and CEO of Littera Education. Justin has spent his entire career working in education businesses, managing large-scale tutoring service operations, running a professional learning company that provided job-embedded professional learning for Title I school teachers and leaders, and, most recently, holding ed-tech leadership roles in large-scale assessment, data analytics, and learning management companies. These experiences lead Justin to start Littera in 2020 with the mission of enabling school districts and other tutoring service organizations to reach every student with high quality tutoring.

Theo is a visionary leader driving innovative solutions to address historical inequities. As Chief Operations Officer at Hunger Free Colorado (HFC), he champions anti-racism, spearheading efforts to dismantle systemic inequality. His roles at Jeffco Public Schools and Denver Public Schools showcased his commitment to equity, creating culturally responsive education frameworks. Theo's collaborative ethos ensures thriving communities and students. His track record includes transformative partnerships and a commitment to equitable education. With a B.S. in History and Secondary Education, an M.Ed., and pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Theo continues to lead impactful change for all students.

Rajen is CEO and Founder of Kyron Learning, a public benefit company committed to using AI to help bring about equitable access to great 1:1 teaching for all students. Previously, Rajen was Vice President of Google Cloud AI and Industry Solutions, as part of his 17-year career at Google.

Prior to founding Hoot Reading, Carly Shuler was recognized for her work as a researcher, developer, and author in the edTech industry. As the inaugural fellow at The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, Carly researched and authored a number of notable reports, including D is for Digital and Pockets of Potential. She holds a master’s degree in Technology, Innovation, and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she studied how media and technology can be used to educate children effectively.

Jenny is the Director of Programs at the San Francisco Education Fund (Ed Fund), a nonprofit that advances equitable education through learning acceleration programs, mental wellness initiatives, enhancing community engagement, and providing transformative financial resources to SFUSD students, educators and schools. Jenny's team at the Ed Fund coordinates and implements high impact tutoring programs for selected SFUSD schools. To date, the Ed Fund has provided tutoring to over 6,000 students across 30 schools.

Katrinet "Kay" Sims is a graduate of Lincoln Memorial University and Alabama A&M University. She is entering her 19th year in the classroom as a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher. For the past 7 years, Ms. Sims built and coordinated a strong and thriving CTE Teaching Academy in the Huntsville City School's district for high schoolers interested in teacher education. It brings her great joy to educate students that are aspiring to become future educators.

Mindy started OnYourMark with a passion for early literacy and deep experience building systems to cultivate and develop educators. Prior to that, Mindy served as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Charter School Growth Fund where she started her early literacy journey at the nexus of a growing demand for high dosage tutoring to address pandemic recovery and increased need to support schools with foundational skills reading instruction. Mindy also served as Founding Dean of Relay Chicago, where she oversaw all aspects of campus growth/strategy, financial health, partnership development, advocacy, and teacher preparation programming.

Driven by the knowledge that every child can learn to read and that there is a proven way to teach them, Jessica co-founded Ignite Reading to deliver that instruction at scale. Early in her career, she served as assistant principal of Success Academy Charter Schools and a literacy specialist at The Urban Assembly. Jessica co-founded and was chief academic officer and chief product officer of LightSail Education, an adaptive literacy software company, and was CEO of Open Up Resources, a national nonprofit focused on increasing equity in education.

John-Paul Smith is Executive Director at North Carolina Education Corps. NCEC was created to bring high-impact tutoring into schools that helps students thrive.

Jess Sobin is the High-Impact Tutoring Program Manager at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), which is the DC state education agency. In this role, she leads OSSE's three-year initiative to expand access to HIT for at least 10% of DC students, with a focus on those who are furthest from opportunity. Before joining DC government, Jess worked for global education organizations, and began her career as a middle school teacher in New York City.

As the Director of Learning Acceleration for Portland Public Schools, Darcy Soto leads the Learning Acceleration team as they move key district initiatives forward to ensure all students have access to opportunities to address unfinished learning, engage fully in meaningful grade level content, and receive the support they need to achieve excellent outcomes.

Matt Spengler is Founder & Executive Director of Blueprint Schools Network. Blueprint Schools Network is a nonprofit organization that has operated the Blueprint Math Fellows Program since 2010. The Math Fellows Program is an intensive, daily, in-school tutoring program that provides additional academic support for students in our partner schools across the country.

Patrick Steck (he/him) serves as the Vice President of External Affairs at Deans for Impact. Patrick is driven by a deep passion to serve others and a belief that policy is a powerful tool for advancing equity and joy, particularly for the LGBTQIA+ community. Patrick thrives in settings that allow him to explore these passions, including serving as Vice President for the Austin Dawgs, a chapter of University of Georgia's Alumni Association and as member of his church's Welcome Team. Patrick currently resides in Austin, Texas, with his wife (Katie) and son (Grant).

Dave Stevenson is CEO of Reading Futures. He has worked in K-12 education for more than 20 years, primarily on K-3 reading, including universal literacy screeners and high quality instructional materials.

He worked at Wireless Generation, then Amplify, in roles including product development, research partnerships, state policy, and sales management. As Executive Vice President, he helped put Amplify on the path to its current scale, supporting millions of children.

His early career included time as a Technology Director in schools in New York City and Paris, France, and a stint doing product and project management at Scholastic in the early 2000s. He holds an A.B. in Philosophy from Brown University, where he was co-captain of the Ultimate Frisbee team. He is an instrument-rated private pilot.

Emma is a second-year master's student working with the National Student Support Accelerator and studying Education Data Science at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. She will be continuing in the GSE for her PhD in Developmental and Psychological Sciences, and is interested in using quantitative methods to study early childhood education.

Dana Talley currently serves as the Chief Academic Officer for the Lincoln Parish School District. Prior to returning to Lincoln Parish she worked for the Louisiana Department of Education for 15 years serving as a Network Leader, Deputy Network Leader, Network Coach, and Distinguished Educator. Her primary role as Network Leader was supporting 34 parish superintendents, district leaders and principals in the implementation of high quality curriculum and aligned professional learning. Talley began her professional career as a high school math teacher and debate coach. She received a Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction and Bachelor of Science in Education from Louisiana Tech University.

Maurice Telesford is a 10-Year Union President, Physics teacher, and Computer Science Teacher. His personal and professional passions include exposing students to perspectives and pathways that they did not know exist and simultaneously supporting their progression towards their ever-changing dreams.

Katie Tennessen Hooten is the Founder of the Ignite Fellowship at Teach For America. Committed to realizing educational equity, Katie has led at TFA for over two decades. She began her career teaching Kindergarten in Phoenix, where she has remained since TFA brought her there over 20 years ago. Katie has led locally in Arizona as a new teacher coach, head of program and Executive Director of TFA AZ. She also led TFA’s national Teacher Support and Development team. When Katie’s not working, she’s growing her roots in Phoenix, AZ with her husband, Matt and their sons, Noah and Owen.

Candace Thille is Associate Professor (Teaching), Graduate School of Education, Stanford University. Her mission is to build learning environments and data systems that not only facilitate the transfer of knowledge from learning research into teaching practice, but also engage researchers, practitioners and learners in making progress on our fundamental understanding of human learning.

Thomas Toch is the founding director of FutureEd, an independent policy center at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy. He is a former senior partner at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and a founder and former co-director of the think tank Education Sector. Toch was a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution and has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He helped launch Education Week and served as the publication's co-managing editor. He was a writer and editor at U.S. News and World Report and has contributed to The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Post Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, Newsweek, The Washington Monthly, and other national publications. He is the author of two books on American education, In the Name of Excellence and High Schools on a Human Scale.

Chayne Turano is the Quality and Improvement Program Manager at the NSSA. She holds a Master’s degree in Education from the Rutgers Graduate School of Education and a Biological Sciences Undergraduate from Rutgers University. She served as a Science Teacher in N.J. for 13 years, serving diverse backgrounds including English Language Learners, Special Education, and accelerated students. In this role, she developed science curricula, led professional development, and advised the Yearbook. Chayne has participated in the NSSA Tutoring Advisory Group since July of 2020. She transitioned to full-time work with the National Student Support Accelerator in 2023.

Sandy Vang serves as the Professional Learning Coordinator for the Northern Region of the Learn4Life Charter School networks in California. Her 15 years in Education include a diverse background that spans roles such as Tutor, Teacher, Instructional Specialist, and now, Professional Learning Coordinator. Sandy's journey exemplifies her commitment to the transformative power of education. As a first-generation college graduate, Sandy draws inspiration from her immigrant parents who instilled in her the importance of overcoming barriers, not being limited by life’s circumstances, and advancing education as the gateway to limitless opportunities. She passionately believes in the profound impact education can have on reshaping each student's life trajectory. Sandy views her role not just as a profession but as a privilege and moral obligation to empower students. She is driven by the firm belief that as educators, we hold the key to unlocking the full potential of every student, guiding them towards a path of success and helping them achieve their aspirations.

Zeisa Vieira is Communications Associate for the NSSA. Prior to this role, she served as a middle school math teacher for six years in New York City. In this role she developed math curricula, led, and managed a team of teachers through professional development, and delivered projects that brought student success. Additionally, Zeisa is also a Content Strategist with a passion for digital content curation. She holds a master’s degree in Middle-School Education from Relay Graduate School of Education, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a concentration in Education Policy from College of the Holy Cross.

Michelle Vilchez, CEO of Innovate Public Schools since 2021, previously led the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center for over a decade. She fosters community collaboration with schools, faith-based groups, and local government. Vilchez promotes restorative justice, aiding youth in the justice system, and co-founded the Fatherhood Collaborative in San Mateo County. Recognized as the 2016 Woman of the Year by the California State Assembly. Vilchez is a W.K. Kellogg Foundation fellow, focusing on equitable societal change. Raised in Southern California in a service-oriented family, she's lived in the Bay Area for 20 years, holding a B.A. in Psychology and Cross-Cultural Education.

Robert Waggoner is Superintendent of Martinsville Community Unit School District 3C in Illinois.

Jasmine Walker serves as the senior manager of OBC engagement. In her role, she is responsible for overseeing and executing the deepening engagement strategy by managing relationships with districts that have already launched OBC projects and are interested in exploring new areas.

Prior to this role, Jasmine served as the Director of K-12 Mathematics for Duval County Public Schools, where she played a key role in the district’s mission of providing educational excellence for every student, every day. Over the past 16 years, she has served in roles as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, content specialist, region, and district-based administrator. Additionally, Jasmine led the work of piloting Outcomes Based Contracting for high impact tutoring in Grade 8 mathematics for Duval County Public Schools.

Jasmine holds a bachelor’s degree in exceptional student education from the University of North Florida and a master’s degree in educational leadership and policy from Florida State University.

Shawn Walker currently serves as the Student Success Coordinator at Lenoir City Schools located in Tennessee. In this capacity, he is responsible for overseeing and coordinating district and school accountability, as well as managing district-wide interventions and high-dosage, low-ratio tutoring programs. Shawn has previously held multiple positions in the education sector, including serving as a science teacher and a dean in a high school setting.

As the Director of Learning at Kelly Education, Dr. Stephanie Wall creates academic solutions for students, schools, and districts while also leading the professional development of 60,000+ Kelly Education substitute teachers, tutors, and paraprofessionals. As a result of her 13-year experience in public education as a classroom teacher, building administrator, and district leader, Stephanie possesses a passion for driving learning outcomes for students and schools by supporting districts, community organizations, and curriculum providers in bringing meaningful programs and classroom solutions to life.

Rose E. Wang is a Computer Science PhD student at Stanford University, advised by Prof. Dorottya Demszky and Diyi Yang. She received her B.Sc. in Computer Science at MIT working with Prof. Joshua Tenenbaum and Google Brain. She focuses on large-scale modeling of education interactions, such as 1-1 tutoring settings. She develops machine learning methods to infer robust signals from interaction data for interventions. Her recent projects include modeling remediation practices of mathematics teachers with large language models. Her work is recognized by the NSF GRFP and best paper awards from CogSci, NeurIPS Cooperative AI, and Building Education Applications.

Nancy Waymack is the Director of Partnerships and Policy for the National Student Support Accelerator at Stanford University. Most recently she has served as a senior program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and an education policy consultant. Before joining the Gates Foundation, Nancy was the Managing Director of District Policy at the National Council on Teacher Quality. Nancy spent a decade at the San Francisco Unified School District, where she served as the Executive Director for Policy and Operations. Before moving to San Francisco, Nancy was the Assistant Budget Director at the District of Columbia Public Schools and an elementary school teacher in Houston.

Executive Director of East Palo Alto Tennis & Tutoring (EPATT) with 25+ years of experience implementing programs that achieve EPATT’s mission of equipping youth to thrive in college and career pathways. Ms. Weekes is the Co-Instructor of the Stanford School of Education Course “Boosting Youth College Readiness Through Effective Math Tutoring,” served as a member of Thrive Alliance committee on Children and Education, and been a guest speaker on several Bay Area and nationwide panels on education and effective tutoring methods. She graduated from Stanford (‘97) with honors and a degree in Public Policy with an emphasis on Children, Youth, and Families.

Laura is the Director of the Research Practice Partnership (RPP) program at California Education Partners. Laura helps school districts and universities across California work together in partnerships that produce and use research to improve policies, practices and student outcomes, with a focus on supporting students historically underserved by the public school system. Since 2009, she has directed the partnership between Stanford University Graduate School of Education and San Francisco Unified School District. Laura earned a Masters in curriculum and instruction from the University of Colorado, a Masters in the social sciences of education and PhD in Administration and Policy Analysis from Stanford University.

Nadia Westlund, M. Ed., is an experienced literacy advocate with almost 10 years of experience partnering with districts to champion and execute on their goals. Prior to that, she was a middle/high school teacher turned Activities Director and then Assistant Principal and is a proud alum of UCLA.

Darryl Willie, a dynamic education ambassador, boasts extensive experience spanning K-12 through higher education over two decades. From the frontline as a Teach For America educator in the Mississippi Delta to an education administrator at UC Berkeley in California, his journey reflects dedication. Serving as the Chair of the Duval County School Board in Jacksonville, Florida, Darryl's influence extends further. He thrives as a non-profit leader and education consultant with Saga Education, fostering partnerships, managing strategic projects, and facilitating learning spaces. His commitment to impacting communities of color underscores a mission for sustainable outcomes in education and workforce development.

Sarah Wilson is the Tutoring Policy Administrator at the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) where she leads Ohio's statewide tutoring initiatives, including higher education partnerships, district and school tutoring supports, ESSER-funded programs, and provider partnerships related to Ohio's High-Quality Tutoring Vendor Directory. Prior to supporting Ohio's tutoring efforts, Sarah has vast experience in initiatives focused on college and career readiness, strategic planning, program development, and fundraising with higher education institutions, and/or nonprofit organizations.

Executive Director of Hope Network’s Michigan Education Corps (MEC) Reading Corps, MEC Math Corps, and Early Learning Corps. With 22 years in education, Holly has been a School Psychologist, Asst. Special Education Director and Special Education Director, a statewide trainer for PBIS, and the Chief Education Officer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has also been an adjunct faculty at Michigan State University. She is the lead author of How RtI Works in Secondary Schools: Building a Framework for Success (Solution Tree). Holly has Chaired the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Education and Workforce Committee and serves on multiple boards.

John Wolf is the Associate Director of the University of Chicago Education Lab. For over a decade, John has helped to design and implement research projects focused on efforts to increase school engagement and interventions aimed to personalize academic instruction. As a former educator, John has a unique understanding of the challenges schools and nonprofit groups face when developing programs with youth. John was a middle school math teacher with TFA in an academically underserved community in Indianapolis. John holds a BS in business administration from Washington University in Saint Louis and an MAT from Marian University in Indianapolis.
John

Susan Fong Wong has been a parent leader with Innovate Public Schools in San Francisco since 2016 and advocates for parent engagement to close the achievement gap. She believes that education involves equal parts: removing obstacles as well as building foundations for sustained learning. Susan has volunteered at numerous SF public schools in the last 20 years. She is currently a reading tutor with the SF Public Library's Free Orton Gillingham program. Susan is a graduate of Rice University and the University of Chicago.

Lakisha Young is Founder & CEO of The Oakland REACH. Her formula has guided REACH’s work since day one: Ask families questions. Listen to their aspirations. Build the solutions. Liberate our communities.

This formula led to groundbreaking solutions like the Virtual Family Hub, a one-stop shop supporting families and students during the pandemic. Lakisha then built The Liberator Model, which trains parents and caregivers to become tutors in low-performing Oakland schools.
Lakisha is featured regularly in national media, and provides consultation to cities interested in replicating REACH’s transformative model. She was recognized as the Bay Area’s Remarkable Woman of 2023.

With over a decade of experience in education, Shanitah “Shani” currently serves as a director for North Carolina Education Corps, where she leads programmatic evaluation, shapes strategy for organizational learning, and oversees the professional learning and development of over 500 tutors across 30+ school districts. Shani holds a master's degree in neuroscience from Teachers College, Columbia University, and is passionate about understanding how early life experiences and adversity influence children's brain and cognitive development. Today, Shani leverages her neuroscience expertise and research skills to inform and support educational practices and policies that promote healthy development for all children.

Amirpasha Zandieh is a Research Associate at the National Student Support Accelerator. His research interests include small-group instruction, high-impact tutoring, and the scalability of evidence-based education policy initiatives.

Ashley is a second-year master's student studying Education Data Science at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. She is interested in using quantitative methods to study effective practice in PreK-5 instructions and social-emotional learning. Her recent project with NSSA studies the tutor discourse in a 2:1 setting to understand how tutors share or split their attention among students.

Founder and CEO of Air Reading. We are helping underserved students learn how to read from 1st to 6th grade in high-need schools.

Prior to starting Air Reading, Xing led the teacher growth at VIPKid (100K online teachers) and developed products at IXL (15M students).

Helen Zhou is a Research Associate on the National Student Support Accelerator team at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. She is passionate about educational equity and the role that research and data play in informing policy decisions and transforming systems. She holds a B.S. in Policy Analysis and Management from Cornell University. Before joining the NSSA team, she was a Research and Policy Associate at Innovate Public Schools, a nonprofit dedicated to building parent power across California.

Lauren Ziegler is the Director of Tools and Engagement at the National Student Support Accelerator. She brings a strong commitment to advancing equitable social change through roles she has held in the education, research, and policy spheres.

In previous roles, she has researched family and community engagement and education systems change at the Brookings Institution, led strategic initiatives as a Broad Resident at Mastery Charter Schools, and furthered global development policy at the U.S. Department of State.

Lauren holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University.