WILLIAM T - Key Persons


Adam Gamoran - President

Job Titles:
  • President
Adam Gamoran is an author on 16 blog posts, 6 publications, and 2 news articles, and is mentioned in 6 webinars, 1 publication, 2 blog posts, and 1 news article. Bio Adam Gamoran provides leadership for the William T. Grant Foundation's strategic direction and shapes its agenda and tactics as President. He partners with the Board of Trustees to advance its mission and objectives. Since arriving at the Foundation, he launched a new initiative to support research on reducing inequality in youth outcomes, and has continued the Foundation's ongoing work to improve the use of research evidence in policy and practice decisions that affect young people. From 1984 to 2103, Gamoran served on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he held the John D. MacArthur Chair in Sociology and Educational Policy Studies. From 2001-2004, he chaired the Department of Sociology, and from 2004-2013 he directed the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. Gamoran's research focused on educational inequality and school reform. Recent publications include "Does racial isolation in school lead to long-term disadvantages? Labor-market consequences of high school racial composition" (American Journal of Sociology, 2016) and "Effects of school segregation and school resources in a changing policy context" (Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 2016). Earlier, he edited Standards-based reform and the poverty gap: Lessons for No Child Left Behind (Brookings Institution Press, 2007) and co-edited Stratification in higher education: A comparative study (Stanford University Press, 2007) and Methodological advances in cross-national surveys of educational achievement (National Academy Press, 2002). His research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, as well as by the Spencer and William T. Grant Foundations. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Education and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and was twice appointed by President Obama to serve on the National Board for Education Sciences. He also chairs the Board on Science Education of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. In 2013, he received the Spencer Foundation Award for contributions to research on education policy from the Association for Public Policy and Management, and in 2014 he was honored with the award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education from the American Educational Research Association. Adam earned his Ph.D. in education from the University of Chicago in 1984.

Adriana Umana-Taylor

Job Titles:
  • Author

Alicia Wilson-Ahlstrom

Alicia Wilson-Ahlstrom is a PI on 3 grants and a co-PI on 3 grants to The Forum for Youth Investment, and is an author on 3 publications.

Allison Metz

Allison Metz is a PI on 3 grants to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is an author on 1 publication.

Angela Bednarek

Job Titles:
  • Research Partnerships
  • Transforming Evidence Network
Angela Bednarek is a PI on 3 grants to The Pew Charitable Trusts; an author on 1 publication; and is mentioned in 1 blog post.

Angy Rivera

Angy Rivera is a PI on 1 grant to New York State Youth Leadership Council Inc.

Anna Steinkraus

Anna Steinkraus is a co-PI on 1 grant to Cornell University and is an author on 1 blog post.

Anupreet Sidhu

Job Titles:
  • Socio
  • Welcoming Our New Program Officer
Dr. Sidhu is a socio-behavioral scientist with an interest in using research evidence to influence policy and regulatory practices. She recently completed her postdoctoral studies at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, where she pursued research ...

Ben Allen

Ben Allen is a PI on 1 grant to University of Virginia and is mentioned in 1 news article.

Betty Hamburg

Betty Hamburg was the first woman, and the first and only African American to serve as president of the Foundation, among many "firsts" in her distinguished career.

Blair Gage

Job Titles:
  • National Public Radio

Bryan Samuels

Job Titles:
  • Author

Carola Suarez-Orozco

Job Titles:
  • Author

Clare Anderson

Clare Anderson is a PI on 1 grant to Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago and is an author on 1 publication.

Cynthia E. Coburn

Job Titles:
  • Professor at the School of Education
Cynthia Coburn is a PI on 1 grant to Northwestern University and a co-PI on 1 grant to University of California, Berkeley; an author on 4 publications and 2 blog posts; and is mentioned in 1 news article. Bio Cynthia E. Coburn is a professor at the School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University.

Daniel Crowley

Job Titles:
  • Impact of the Research - to - Policy Collaboration Model: Testing an Approach to Improve the Use of Evidence
  • Optimization of the RPC Model: Enhancing Effectiveness and Equity in Improving the Use of Research
  • Pennsylvania State University / 2022 - 2024 $110, 000
Daniel Crowley is a PI on 3 grants and a co-PI on 1 grant to Pennsylvania State University, and is mentioned in 1 webinar.

Deborah Steinglass

Job Titles:
  • Culturally Responsive and English As a New Language ( ENL ) Training for Opening Act 's Teaching Artists and Staff

Dwayne Linville

Job Titles:
  • Director, Grantmaking Operations

Emily Ozer

Job Titles:
  • Adolescents As Resources in School - Based Prevention: Effects on Program Outcomes and Youth Development
Emily Ozer is a PI on 2 grants to University of California, Berkeley; an author on 1 blog post; and is mentioned in 1 blog post and 1 news article.

Federick Ngo

Job Titles:
  • Author

Greg Duncan

Greg Duncan is a co-PI on 1 grant to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is an author on 1 publication.

Guang Guo

Guang Guo is a PI on 1 grant to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Hirokazu Yoshikawa

We're pleased to announce that Hirokazu Yoshikawa has joined the Foundation's Board of Trustees, effective October 2021. Yoshikawa is the Courtney Sale Ross Professor of Globalization and Education at NYU Steinhardt and a University Professor at NYU, ...

J. Taylor Scott

Job Titles:
  • Testing Research Communication Strategies and Impact Among Policymakers to Reduce Inequalities Precipitated by COVID - 19
J. Taylor Scott is a PI on 1 grant and a co-PI on 2 grants to Pennsylvania State University.

Jenny Irons

Job Titles:
  • Program Officer
  • Senior Program Officer
  • Author
  • William T. Grant Foundation Senior Program Officer
Jenny Irons is an author on 4 blog posts and 1 publication, and is mentioned in 1 news article and 4 webinars.

Joanna Williams

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor at the University of Virginia 's Curry School of Education
Joanna Williams is an associate professor at the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education.

John Easton

Job Titles:
  • Author

John H. Laub

Job Titles:
  • Distinguished Professor Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland
John H. Laub is Distinguished Professor Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland, College Park. From 2010 to 2013, Dr. Laub served as the Director of the National Institute of Justice in the Office of Justice Programs in ...

Karolyn Tyson

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of Sociology at Georgetown University

Kim DuMont

Job Titles:
  • Author
Kim DuMont is an author on 6 publications and 5 blog posts, and is mentioned in 2 news articles and 1 webinar.

Laura Tach

Job Titles:
  • Adolescent Well - Being in an Era of Family Complexity / How Do Unstable and Complex Family Structures Affect Adolescents' Well - Being
Laura Tach is a PI on 2 grants to Cornell University and is mentioned in 1 webinar.

Lauren Supplee

Lauren Supplee is a co-PI on 1 grant to Pennsylvania State University; an author on 1 publication and 5 blog posts; and is mentioned in 1 webinar and 2 news articles.

Melissa Wooten

Job Titles:
  • Program Officer

Michele McLaughlin

Job Titles:
  • President of the Knowledge Alliance
Michele McLaughlin, President of the Knowledge Alliance, talks about her experience interacting with decision makers in Washington, reflects on the often unseen ways that research shapes and influences ideas, and outlines implications for researchers looking to inform policy and practice.

Norma Ming

Norma Ming is a co-PI on 1 grant to University of California, Berkeley and is an author on 1 publication.

Rachel Farr

Job Titles:
  • University of Kentucky Research Foundation
Rachel Farr is a PI on 2 grants to University of Kentucky Research Foundation; an author on 1 blog post; and is mentioned in 1 webinar.

Rebecca Ryan

Rebecca Ryan is a PI on 1 grant to Georgetown University.

Richard Murnane

Richard Murnane is a PI on 1 grant to Harvard University and is an author on 3 publications.

Richard Reddick

Richard Reddick is a PI on 1 grant to University of Texas at Austin.

Rosanna Aybar Promoted

Job Titles:
  • Senior Vice President, Finance and Administration
We are pleased to announce that Rosanna Aybar has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Finance and Administration. In this role, Rosanna will continue to lead finance, human resources, and IT, and will also provide expanded support and strategic planning ...

Scott Evans

Job Titles:
  • New Chair of Our Board of Trustees
We are pleased to announce the election of Scott Evans as the new Chair of our Board of Trustees. Mr. Evans joined the Foundation's Board in 2013 and has served as the chair of the Finance and Investment Committee ...

Sharon Brewster

Job Titles:
  • Coordinator

Theresa Anderson

Theresa Anderson is a PI on 1 grant to The Urban Institute.

Vivian Tseng - SVP

Job Titles:
  • Senior Vice President
Vivian Tseng is an author on 1 news article, 10 blog posts, and 7 publications, and is mentioned in 2 news articles, 1 publication, and 3 webinars. Bio Vivian Tseng is a former Senior Vice President at the William T. Grant Foundation, where she led the Foundation's grantmaking programs and initiatives to connect research, policy, and practice to improve child and youth outcomes. In 2009, she launched the Foundation's focus on the use of research evidence in policy and practice. She also designed the Foundation's support for research-practice partnerships and helped developed an array of field-defining resources and a learning community of research-practice partnerships across the country. With Angela Bednarek and Annete Boaz, Vivian also helped create the Transforming Evidence Network, which aims to create opportunities for researchers, funders, practitioners, and decision-makers to collaborate toward improving the use of research evidence across fields and sectors. Vivian Tseng joins the Scholars Strategy Network No Jargon podcast to talk about how research has traditionally been used to shape education policy in the U.S. and how more recent approaches may pave the way toward "making research ...