Who We Are

We’re a diverse network of 700 education and social justice field leaders from 300+ organizations and 20 foundations.


Staff

Cyrus Driver headshot

Cyrus Driver, Director

Evelyn Aissa, Deputy Director

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Jasmine Bolton Headshot

Taylor Moore, Associate Director of Network Effectiveness

Jasmine Bolton, Policy Director

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Get To Know Our Growing Network

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Expand to Read About Our History Our History

Our Network’s Evolution

The Partnership began as a funder working group six years ago with 7 funders and about 12 field partners. In 2012, at a meeting of the Education Funders Strategy Group at the National Public Education Support Fund (NPESF) an inquiry was made: Were other funders thinking about how a different set of guiding values might lead to a different set of educational policies that would help grow and support “New Models” of learning? How can funders show up in different education spaces, wanting to honoring different contexts and communities. How can we be real about the ways the system needs to update and change?

Conversation led to clarity: The dominant narrative about education was flawed and we needed a better way to articulate a powerful vision for the future of learning. We needed more power in the field to overcome the siloed nature of 1,000 different efforts. We needed an affirmative vision to bring people together.

Movement Strategy Center supported development of a long-term strategy to build field alignment among organizations and like-minded efforts with shared values and a common agenda. The core proposition was that field and funders need to pivot and partner shoulder-to-shoulder, informed by the RE-AMP network model to fundamentally change how people relate to and strategize with each other through the practice of partnership. How we move together is as critical to who we are as what we’re moving towards.

Our network has since expanded to become a large and diverse network that represents community voices and collective action with over 700 individual partners from 300 organizations and 20 foundations. Supporting the work of our partners, especially those advancing racial justice, meaningful learning and the protection of public education, remains central in the thinking and planning of the Partnership.

Through an intentional transition plan underway since 2021, the Partnership transitioned towards greater independence and departed the NPESF. The NPESF Board of Directors and the Steering Committee of the Partnership support this transition as it reflects the extraordinary growth the Partnership has achieved building on the strong support, leadership, and nurturance from NPESF.  — including expert help in developing the transition plan based on sound analysis and careful planning.

The Partnership continues to pursue its mission with energy and focus to increase its strategic impact at our new fiscal home — Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) as of July 1, 2022. RPA is a nonprofit organization that helps donors create thoughtful and effective philanthropy. Founded in 2002, RPA is one of the world’s largest philanthropic service organizations and has facilitated more than $3 billion in grantmaking to more than 70 countries. RPA also serves as a fiscal sponsor for more than 100 projects, providing governance, management and operational infrastructure to support their charitable purposes.

Education Ambassadors

The following partners are spokespeople, scholars, influencers, and storytellers who you can request for public-facing opportunities such as media inquiries, interviews, speeches, panels, and written pieces.

Cassandra Baptiste portrait

Cassandra Baptiste

Instructional Coach NYC Department of Education BIO

Gregg Behr

Founder and Co-chair, Remake Learning Executive Director, The Grable Foundation BIO

April Callen

Director of Racial Equity Programs Purpose Built Communities BIO
Brad Capener

Brad Capener

Superintendent Jefferson School District in Oregon’s Willamette Valley BIO

Keith Catone

Executive Director Center for Youth & Community Leadership in Education BIO

Donald Cohen

Founder and Executive Director In the Public Interest BIO

Ann E. Dealy

Principal Brookside School, Ossining Union Free School District BIO

Karen DeMoss

Executive Director Prepared To Teach, Bank Street College of Education BIO
Marshé Doss

Marshé Eunique Doss

Recent graduate from Dorsey High School, Los Angeles Organizer, Students Deserve BIO

Cyrus Driver

Network Director Partnership for the Future of Learning BIO
Katherine Dunn headshot

Katherine Dunn

Program Director, Opportunity to Learn Advancement Project BIO

Mary González, PhD

Texas State Representative HD-75- El Paso County Izel Consulting BIO
Richard Gray

Richard Gray

Deputy Director of Community Organizing and Engagement and School Transformation Programs NYU Metro Center BIO

Maya Green

Student Voice Organizing Director BIO
Preston Green

Preston Green III

Professor of Educational Leadership and Law University of Connecticut BIO

Dr. Reuben Jacobson

Director, Education Policy and Leadership American University BIO
Sanaa Kahloon

Sanaa Kahloon

Student & Journalism Fellow Alumnus Student Voice BIO

Cierra Kaler-Jones

Communities for Just Schools Fund Director of Storytelling BIO

Stephanie Malia Krauss

Founder and Principal Consultant First Quarter Strategies BIO
Anna Maier

Anna Maier

Research Analyst and Policy Advisor Learning Policy Institute BIO
Jillian McRae

Jillian McRae

English Teacher (specializing in Sociology, race, class, & gender) / Instructional Coach Ossining High School BIO
Sam North

Sam North

History Teacher/School Board Trustee (specializing in issues of race, class, and gender; educational equity; and criminal justice reform) Ossining High School BIO

Raymond C. Pierce

President and CEO Southern Education Foundation BIO

Keturah Proctor

Educator Elmsford Union Free School District BIO

Kwesi Rollins

Vice President for Leadership and Engagement Institute for Educational Leadership BIO
Chris Saldaña

Chris Saldaña

Doctoral Student Researcher University of Colorado - Boulder School of Education & National Education Policy Center BIO

Miles Sandler

Director of Engagement-Education in Public Affairs Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation BIO

Laura Schifter, Ed.D.

Senior Fellow, K12 Climate Action initiative Aspen Institute BIO
Kyle Serrette

Kyle Serrette

Senior Policy Analyst National Education Association BIO

Sara Slaughter

Executive Director W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation BIO
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Ayana Smith

Storytelling Programs Coordinator Student Voice BIO

Sydney Ward

Student Brigham Young University BIO

Elliot Weinbaum

Program Director William Penn Foundation BIO
Kevin Welner

Kevin Welner

Professor of Education, University of Colorado - Boulder School of Education Director, National Education Policy Center BIO

Kathryn E. Wiley

Researcher and Consultant BIO

Hirokazu Yoshikawa

Courtney Sale Ross Professor of Globalization and Education at NYU Steinhardt On appointment to Biden / Sanders Unity Task Force on education policy BIO
Natalie Zwerger

Natalie M. Zwerger

Executive Director RE-Center Race & Equity in Education BIO

Media Inquiries

Please tell us more about your request, including which ambassador/s that best fit the inquiry.

  • * required
  • Instruction: please include topic of interest and specific name/s

2020 Steering Committee Members

  • Shaun Adamec, Adamec Communications
  • Evelyn Aissa, Reaching Higher New Hampshire
  • Saa’un Bell, Californians for Justice
  • Daaiyah Bilal-Threats, NEA
  • Renee Blahuta, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
  • Keron Blair, Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools
  • Vivian Chang, Sandler Foundation
  • Linda Darling-Hammond, Learning Policy Institute
  • Nick Donohue, Nellie Mae Education Foundation
  • Cyrus Driver, National Public Education Support Fund
  • Roberta Furger, Learning Policy Institute
  • Frank Gettridge, National Public Education Support Fund
  • Jaime Koppel, Communities for Just Schools Fund
  • David Rattray, UNITE-LA
  • Kwesi Rollins, Institute for Educational Leadership
  • Kyle Serrette, National Education Association
  • Warren Simmons, National Education Policy Center
  • Gloria Totten, Public Leadership Institute
  • Khalif Williams, Bay and Paul Foundations

A Snapshot of the Partnership

Below are partners who opted in to being listed on our website. We’re growing and gathering even as you read this.

  • Albert Sykes and Dana Bennis, IDEA: Institute for Democratic Education in America
  • Deborah J. Menkart and Rosalie Reyes, Teaching for Change
  • Shruti Sehra, New Profit
  • Nicholas C. Donohue, Nellie Mae Education Foundation
  • Charlie Toulmin, Nellie Mae Education Foundation
  • Monica Snellings and Kelly Young, Education Reimagined
  • Pam Moran, Virginia School Consortium for Learning
  • Sunanna Chand, Remake Learning
  • Renee Blahuta, Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
  • Gloria Totten, Public Leadership Institute
  • Evelyn Aissa, Reaching Higher NH
  • Janet Kishbaugh and Carolyn Wood, Georgia Coalition for Public Education; Public Education Matters Georgia
  • Roberta Furger, Amber Hu, Barbara McKenna, and Sara Robertson, Learning Policy Institute
  • David Rattray, LA Chamber / UNITE-LA
  • Gene Wilhoit, Center for Innovation in Education
  • Deborah S. Delisle, Alliance for Excellent Education
  • Keith Catone, Center for Youth & Community Leadership in Education (CYCLE)
  • Dr. Paul Rogers, Ashoka
  • Eric Braxton, Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing
  • Scott Hartl, EL Education
  • Karen DeMoss, Prepared To Teach, Bank Street College
  • Jonas Barriere , UnifiEd
  • Zakiya Sankara-Jabar, Brightbeam
  • Marla Ucelli-Kashyap, AFT
  • Susan Zeig, Producer, Community Concern Films//Chair, Dept of Communications and Film, LIU Post
  • Shelly Masur, CDE Foundation
  • John Affeldt, Angelica Jongco, Isabel Alegria, and Duc Luu, Public Advocates
  • Jitu Brown, Journey for Justice Alliance
  • Warren Simmons, Kevin Welner, Michelle Renée Valladares, Matthew Garcia, National Education Policy Center, University of Colorado, Boulder
  • Jeff Bryant, Freelance Writer and Advocacy Journalist
  • Jo Anderson, Jr., Co-Executive Director, Consortium for Educational Change (CEC)
  • RE Katz, Consultant
  • Jon Snyder, Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education
  • Ellen Hume-Howard, New Hampshire Learning Initiative
  • Keron Blair, Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools
  • Chris Jackson, Big Picture Learning
  • S. Kwesi Rollins, Institute for Educational Leadership
  • José Muñoz, Coalition for Community Schools, Institute for Educational Leadership
  • Kyle Serrette and Daaiyah Bilal-Threats, National Education Association
  • Southern Education Foundation
  • Richard Gray and Paloma Garcia, NYU Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools
  • Dr. Robin D. Cooper, Just S’UNO, LLC
  • Saa’un Bell, Californians for Justice
  • Nick Johnson, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities
  • Danny Carlson, National Association of Elementary School Principals
  • Roberto Rodriguez, Teach Plus

Support Team & Consulting Partners

  • Cyrus Driver, Director
  • Evelyn Aissa, Deputy Director
  • Taylor Moore, Associate Director for Network Effectiveness
  • Lauren Jacobs, Senior Consultant
  • Jenni Kotting, Communications Consultant, Torres-Montoya + Kotting
  • Jessica Rodriguez Boudreau, Consultant
  • Katja Kreiger, Consultant
  • Caitlin Moorman, Consultant
  • MediaSutra
  • Learning Policy Institute
  • Root + All
  • And more!