TCF - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of People, Systems, and Design
Abby is The Century Foundation's Director of People, Systems, and Design.
Aisha Mills has spent over twenty years advocating for underserved, under-represented, and under-resourced communities, and she has fought and won campaigns on the front lines of some of the most consequential movements of our time.
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Fellow at the Century Foundation
Alejandra Vázquez Baur is a fellow at The Century Foundation, where she manages the Bridges Collaborative and directs the National Newcomer Network.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Communications
- Vice President of Communications at the Century Foundation
Alex Edwards is Vice President of Communications at The Century Foundation, one of the nation's top progressive think tanks. He leads TCF's work to shape public opinion, strengthen advocacy networks, and elevate the organization's ideas and impact in the press and among policymakers. During Alex's tenure, TCF has grown significantly-across earned media, digital and web, on Capitol Hill, and in state legislatures-helping the 100-year-old organization to more than double in size in just five years.
Alex has spearheaded Century's expansion into the areas of public opinion research, message testing, data visualization, video and podcasts, media partnerships, and more. In recent years, he has helped develop and lead multiple policy campaigns with outsized impact, such as TCF's successful push to secure $800+ billion in extra unemployment aid at the start of COVID-19, keeping millions of families from falling into poverty. Most recently, he guided TCF's groundbreaking work to bring attention to the nationwide "child care cliff" and put it at the center of the political map.
Prior to TCF, Alex was a senior strategist at BerlinRosen (BR), a top political communications agency. He joined the then-nascent firm in 2012 to launch a fast-food worker campaign, which would become the Fight for $15 and ignite a nationwide movement to raise wages. At BR, Alex advised 60+ of the country's leading nonprofit, research, advocacy, and political clients on a wide range of issues, moving from D.C. to New York to build out the firm's philanthropy practice. A born and bred Michigander, Alex is most proud of his work leading communications strategy for a group of 12 foundations as they developed the "Grand Bargain" to settle Detroit's bankruptcy, a role that one foundation president referred to as the "silver bullet" to the city's solvency.
Earlier in his career, Alex worked as a research assistant at the National Poverty Center and on President Obama's re-election campaign in Colorado. He has a background in human rights and international affairs, having worked at both Amnesty International USA and Human Rights First. A prolific ghostwriter on everything from stump speeches to academic reports, his work has appeared in a variety of publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Atlantic. Alex studied at the London School of Economics and the University of Michigan, where he was awarded the William Jennings Bryan Prize, given to the school's top political science graduate, and the Harold D. Osterweil Memorial Prize from the economics department.
Alex Edwards is the Vice President of Communications at The Century Foundation, where he leads efforts to elevate the organization's ideas and impact in the media, among policymakers, and with key stakeholders.
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Fellow at the Century Foundation
Amber Villalobos is a fellow at The Century Foundation working on higher education policy, with a focus on for-profit education, online education, and institutional accountability.
Job Titles:
- Director of Economy and Jobs at the Century Foundation
Andrew Stettner is a Director of Economy and Jobs at The Century Foundation. Andrew is a catalyst for change, working inside and outside government, to win historic policy achievements for working families and to improve technology and delivery of benefits. Andrew leads TCF's team working on unemployment insurance, workforce development, labor rights, disability and the economy.
Andrew most recently served as a Biden Administration appointee and Director of Unemployment Insurance Modernization at the U.S. Department of Labor. There he led the implementation of the American Rescue Plan including $780 million in UI modernization grants to the states, improving customer experience, access to benefits and fraud prevention. As a Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation and Deputy Director of the National Employment Law Project, Andrew secured unprecedented expansions of unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID19 pandemic in 2020 and after the Great Recession in 2009. In addition, Andrew had leadership positions at Single Stop USA and Seedco, successfully building and deploying benefits screening technology that unlocked tens of millions of dollars in public benefits. Andrew has published numerous reports and publications and is a frequent source for the media. Andrew was named to the Fed100 most influential leaders in Federal technology by GovExec in 2024. He is a graduate of Georgetown and Columbia universities. Outside of TCF, he serves as President of the Board of the Autism Society of Maryland.
Andrew Stettner is a Director of Economy and Jobs at The Century Foundation. He leads TCF's team working on unemployment insurance, workforce development, labor rights, disability and the economy.
Job Titles:
- Chief of Policy Programs
- Chief of Policy Programs at the Century Foundation
- Joins the Century Foundation As Chief of Policy Programs
Angela Hanks is chief of policy programs at The Century Foundation, bringing extensive experience developing and advancing policies and narratives that promote an inclusive and expansive vision for the economy.
Job Titles:
- Contributor
- Senior Policy Analyst of the Immigration Research
Ashleigh-Ann Sutherland is a senior policy analyst of the Immigration Research initiative. They have previously held positions at the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center, Public Consulting Group and the New York State Division of the Budget. They are also an advocate for gender and racial justice. Ashleigh has a bachelor's degree from SUNY Buffalo State in political science and a master of public administration from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany.
Job Titles:
- Contributor
- Director of Manufacturing Policy for the Urban Manufacturing Alliance
Audra Ladd is the Director of Manufacturing Policy for the Urban Manufacturing Alliance. With a background in economics and urban planning, she has over 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors supporting equitable economic and community development.Before joining UMA she was the Director of Economic and Community Development for Nashville/Davidson County, TN where she led recruitment and retention strategy directed the Industrial Development Board and the Nashville's Foreign Trade Zone. She is the co-founder of NashvilleMade and a small batch manufacturer herself.
Gellman's first story regarding extensive NSA surveillance: according to top-secret documents obtained by the reporters, the National Security Agency and the FBI are tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S. Internet companies (including Google, Facebook, and Microsoft), extracting audio and video chats, photographs, e-mails, documents, and connection logs that enable analysts to track foreign targets.
U.S., British intelligence mining data from nine U.S. Internet companies in broad secret program
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow
- Journalist
- Journalist and Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation
Barton Gellman is an author, journalist and senior fellow at the Century Foundation. In 2013, Gellman led The Washington Post's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of U.S. government surveillance after receiving an archive of NSA documents from Edward Snowden. His professional distinctions include two previous Pulitzer Prizes (individual and team), two George Polk Awards and Harvard's Goldsmith Prize for investigative reporting. Gellman's bestselling book, Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency, won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and was a New York Times Best Book of 2008. His previous books include Contending with Kennan: Toward a Philosophy of American Power and a history of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
After twenty-one years at the Washington Post, where he served tours as legal, military, diplomatic, and foreign correspondent, Gellman joined Time magazine in 2010 as contributing editor at large. Since 2011, he has also been a lecturer and author in residence at Princeton and a fellow at New York University's Brennan Center for Justice. Gellman graduated summa cum laude from Princeton and earned a master's degree in politics at University College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar.
Barton Gellman is a critically honored author, journalist, and blogger. His professional distinctions include two Pulitzer Prizes (individual and team), the George Polk Award, and Harvard's Goldsmith Prize for investigative reporting.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Trustees
- Consultant
Bradley Abelow is a consultant, currently working primarily on advising clients around the politics of climate change. He has worked in government and business.
California wants more kids in bilingual classes - but won't spend enough to expand them
Carole Johnson joins The Century Foundation from her role as Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Job Titles:
- Director of Higher Education Policy and Senior Fellow
- Is Director
Carolyn Fast is director of higher education policy and a senior fellow at The Century Foundation where she works on higher education policy with a focus on institutional accountability and consumer protections. Before joining The Century Foundation, Carolyn was special counsel in the Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau of the New York Attorney General's Office. In that role, Carolyn investigated and brought enforcement actions against predatory for-profit colleges and student loan lenders and servicers, securing millions of dollars in restitution for students and student loan borrowers. Prior to joining the Attorney General's Office, Carolyn clerked for Judge Victor Marrero in the Southern District of New York. Carolyn received her undergraduate degree from Harvard and her law degree from Columbia Law School.
Job Titles:
- Contributor
- Senior Director of Early Childhood Policy at American Progress
Casey Peeks is the senior director of Early Childhood Policy at American Progress. She previously served as a professional staff member for the House Committee on Education and Labor under Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA). She also served as a federal policy analyst at Child Care Aware of America and as an education policy fellow on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions under Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA).
Before working in policy, Peeks taught kindergarten for four years. Peeks holds a master's degree in education policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she was awarded a Saul Zaentz Fellowship in early education. She received her bachelor's degree in communication and political science from the University of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor in Sociology at Dartmouth College
- Contributor
Casey Stockstill is an assistant professor in sociology at Dartmouth College whose work focuses on race, poverty, and early childhood. She is the author of False Starts:The Segregated Lives of Preschoolers (NYU Press, 2023).
Job Titles:
- Fellow and Next100 Senior Policy Entrepreneur
- Fellow at the Century Foundation
Chantal is a fellow at The Century Foundation, senior policy entrepreneur at Next100, and an advocate for students involved in the foster system.
Chiquita Brooks-LaSure is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, having previously served as the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the Biden administration from 2021 to 2025.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow
- Columnist
- Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation
Conor P. Williams is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, and an expert on urban education reform, English learner students, children of immigrants, early education programs, and school choice systems. He is also a founding partner with the Children's Equity Project.
Williams was previously a senior researcher in New America's Education Policy Program, a senior researcher in its Early Education Initiative, and the founding director of its Dual Language Learners National Work Group. He has taught postsecondary courses at Georgetown University, George Washington University, and American University.
Williams is a regular columnist at the 74 Million. His work has also been published by the New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, Washington Post, TIME, The New Republic, Slate, Dissent, The Daily Beast, Vox, Talking Points Memo, and elsewhere.
Williams holds a PhD and MA in government from Georgetown University, an MS in teaching from Pace University, and a BA in government and Spanish from Bowdoin College. Before beginning his doctoral research, he taught first grade in Brooklyn, New York. Williams attended public schools for his K-12 education, and has three children enrolled in public Title I schools in Washington, D.C.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Director of Policy and Special Counsel for the AFL
Damon A. Silvers is the Director of Policy and Special Counsel for the AFL-CIO. He joined the AFL-CIO as Associate General Counsel in 1997.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow and Director of the Government Affairs Program
- Senior Fellow and Director of the Government Affairs Program at the Century Foundation
Daniel (Danny) Weiss is a senior fellow and director of the government affairs program at The Century Foundation focused on improving public understanding of the U.S. Congress and advancing public policy in the areas of education, health care, and the economy.
Danielle Uter is a policy research intern at the Urban Manufacturing Alliance and student at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in sociology and Africana studies, and minoring in urban studies.
Donald K. Murphy, CPA, FCPA, CFE, CGFM, CGMA, is CEO and managing associate of the Wesley Peachtree Group, a certified public accounting firm specializing in higher education services with a particular emphasis on serving HBCUs. Mr. Murphy is a recognized industry expert, having served as an auditor, consultant, controller, and CFO for a number of colleges and universities over the years.
Job Titles:
- Contributor
- President and CEO of Ensemble Learning
Dr. Daniel Velasco (he/him/él) is president and CEO of Ensemble Learning, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving school quality and removing barriers for multilingual learners. Dr. Velasco serves as the project director for the Texas Dual-Language Project. He has an EdD in leadership and entrepreneurship in education from Johns Hopkins University, and an EdM in education policy and management from Harvard University. Previously, Dr. Velasco served as the president of Latinos for Education. He specializes in executive leadership in education, change management, and educator development. Dr. Velasco is a Pahara Institute Fellow, an Education Leaders of Color Member, and a Leadership Jacksonville Fellow. He received a commendation for national service from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2016.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director
- Deputy Director of Higher Education Policy and Senior Fellow
Dr. Denise A. Smith is the deputy director of higher education policy and a senior fellow at The Century Foundation. Her groundbreaking research delves into educational equity, promoting diversity in a post-affirmative action society, the financing of HBCUs, and the pivotal role of government funding in empowering these institutions and their students' success. Through her unwavering commitment to research and policy advocacy, she has shed light on the glaring funding disparities facing HBCUs and the formidable challenges Black women encounter in accessing higher education. Dr. Smith's influential work has garnered attention from numerous members of Congress and state legislatures, spurring concrete steps to address these critical issues.
Prior to her role at TCF, Dr. Smith served as the director of college programs and student engagement at Truth Initiative, known for its truth campaign, where she led the first-ever truth® College Programs creating student leaders on college campuses and spearheaded impactful campaigns on issues such as vaping and the ban on menthol. Her extensive experience includes stakeholder engagement and grantmaking to over 200 minority-serving institutions, HBCUs, women's colleges, and community colleges, providing invaluable strategic guidance on institutional-level policy change to campus administration task forces, fostering collaboration between faculty, students, and community partners as well equipping students with the leadership skills necessary to drive policy change.
Dr. Smith holds a doctorate of philosophy in higher education leadership and policy studies from Howard University and a master of public health policy degree from Morehouse School of Medicine. Her bachelor's degree is from South Carolina State University, and she was recently honored as a member of their inaugural 40 under 40 class. She also serves on the Advisory Council for Howard University's Center for HBCU Leadership, Research, and Policy and is a distinguished member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Job Titles:
- Contributor
- Vice President of Research and Operations for Ensemble Learning
Dr. Leigh Mingle (she/her) is the vice president of research and operations for Ensemble Learning, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving school quality and removing barriers for multilingual learners. She is the primary author of Ensemble Learning's two federal grants, Learning While Leading and the Texas Dual Language Project-both of which are SEED and NPD grants funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Mingle specializes in program evaluation, motivation, socio-emotional learning, and mathematics education. She currently serves on the Renaissance Learning advisory boards for mathematics and biliteracy. Dr. Mingle holds a PhD in educational psychology, with an emphasis on development and cognition from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Fellow at the Century Foundation
Dr. Margaret S. Marcus is a fellow at The Century Foundation, working on improving prospects for English learners. She is also the executive director of the Sullivan Family Charitable Foundation, a private family foundation dedicated to improving educational outcomes for English learners, as well as responsive grant-making both domestically and abroad.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow
- Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation
Dr. Ruth Friedman is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, having previously served as director of the Office of Child Care at the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Biden administration.
Job Titles:
- Director of Maternal and Reproductive Health and Senior Fellow
Elizabeth Dawes, MPH (she/her), is director of maternal and reproductive health and a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, where she leads the organization's efforts to advance maternal health equity and reproductive justice, with a focus on eradicating the structural barriers facing communities of color. Elizabeth brings extensive experience as a strategist, advocate, and convener working for Black women and people of color.
Elizabeth is a co-founder of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance. She ideated and co-organized the very first convening of what was to become the Alliance that took place in June 2015 and went on to serve as steering committee chair and then as co-director. Among several other accomplishments, Elizabeth helped establish the globally renowned Black Maternal Health Week and the Black Maternal Health Conference and Training Institute, both the first of their kind solely dedicated to Black maternal health, rights, and justice.
She was previously a senior policy analyst at Population Reference Bureau (PRB), where she worked to bridge the research-to-policy gap by building the capacity of researchers, journalists, and advocates to communicate evidence to policymakers and by creating evidence-based advocacy products. Prior to PRB, Elizabeth was a senior associate at the Reproductive Health Technologies Project, where she worked to expand access to contraception through policy advocacy.
A recognized thought leader on reproductive justice and maternal health, Elizbaeth has been published in The Nation, The Root, EBONY.com, and Huffington Post, among others. She has been featured on MSNBC and other news outlets and is quoted in the Los Angeles Times, The Nation, Vice, Bustle, and Quartz, among others.
Elizabeth holds a master of public health in health policy from The George Washington University and a bachelor of arts in urban studies from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a global citizen based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
Elizabeth Dawes is the Director of Maternal and Reproductive Health and a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, where she leads the organization's efforts to advance maternal health equity and reproductive justice.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow and Director of Workforce Policy
- Senior Fellow and Director of Workforce Policy at the Century Foundation
Emily McGrath is a senior fellow and director of workforce policy at The Century Foundation. Emily is a workforce strategist with deep experience in coalition-building, innovative educational initiatives, and program scaling. She leads TCF's effort to advance workforce policy focused on achieving equitable labor market outcomes for all communities.
Emily has a diverse background that includes experience across government, industry, and education. Prior to working at TCF, Emily was the director of workforce development at NextFlex, a Manufacturing USA Institute focused on emerging technologies. At NextFlex, Emily led workforce strategy and operations, scaling a range of initiatives to key manufacturing markets across the nation in partnership with manufacturing companies, institutes of higher education, nonprofit community-based organizations, and government agencies. Emily has also worked as a GIS analyst for the U.S. Department of Energy; coordinated policy campaigns for the Environmental Defense Fund; co-founded an ecotourism-based start up with a small community of civil war veterans in El Salvador; and taught English in Brazil.
Emily sits on the Workforce Investment Board in San Jose, California, where she helps inform strategic investment and policy around workforce development for the Silicon Valley region. She attended Colgate University and Portland State University, where she holds degrees in Geography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Job Titles:
- Health Care Advisor at the Century Foundation
Emma Ford is a Health Care Advisor at the Century Foundation, working with the Health Care Reform team. Prior to joining The Century Foundation, Emma worked at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on coverage transition needs of individuals navigating from Medicaid to the Marketplace. Before that, Emma spent 5 years in Virginia working to improve access to care for underinsured and uninsured Virginians, as well as the state's Medicaid population. Emma received a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown's McCourt School and a B.A. in both Public Policy and Economics from the College of William and Mary.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- Office Manager
- Office Manager / Executive Assistant at the Century Foundation
Gaby Garcon is the office manager/executive assistant at The Century Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow
- Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation
Gayle Goldin is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, previously having served as deputy director of the Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, during the Biden-Harris administration, where she provided executive leadership to the only federal agency mandated by Congress to focus on the needs of working women. She represented the Women's Bureau domestically and internationally while managing a portfolio of policy issues, including paid leave, sick time, child care, gender-based violence and harassment, and gender equity.
Gayle is a policy analyst, strategist, and former Rhode Island state senator. Prior to joining the Women's Bureau, Gayle served as campaign advisor to Family Values @ Work, where she helped grassroots coalitions around the country pass paid leave legislation while also advocating for a national paid family and medical leave program. Gayle has also served as the strategic initiatives officer at Women's Fund of Rhode Island, where she developed a gender equity policy platform, ran the Women's Policy Institute, and oversaw the grant making process.
In her first year as a state senator, Gayle successfully championed the passage of Temporary Caregiver Insurance, making Rhode Island the third state with paid leave and the first state to ensure everyone who used it has a right to return to work afterwards. During her legislative career, she also led efforts to increase access to affordable child care, improve health care, protect reproductive rights, raise the tipped minimum wage, address the gender and racial wage gap and strengthen our democracy.
Gayle holds an undergraduate degree from McGill University and earned her master's degree from Tufts University.
Job Titles:
- Creative Manager
- Creative Manager at the Century Foundation
Hailey Walsh is the creative manager at The Century Foundation, where she oversees the design and production of all creative projects.
Job Titles:
- Director of PK - 12
- Director of PK - 12 Education Policy and Senior Fellow
Halley Potter is the director of PK-12 education policy and a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, where she works to advance public policy solutions for addressing educational inequality. She is an expert on school integration, preschool equity, charter schools, and college access. Her work at TCF includes producing original research as well as helping to lead the Bridges Collaborative, a national network of school systems and housing organizations committed to advancing integration.
Halley is coauthor, with Richard D. Kahlenberg, of A Smarter Charter: Finding What Works for Charter Schools and Public Education (Teachers College Press, 2014), which examines two themes behind the original vision for charter schools as set out by teacher union leader Albert Shanker: empowering teachers as leaders and innovators and bringing together students from different racial, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Her writing has also been published in numerous news outlets, including The New York Times, Washington Post, US News, and Educational Leadership, and she has appeared on MSNBC and public radio. She has testified before lawmakers as well as provided technical assistance and presented research to school superintendents, principals, school board members, and teachers across the country.
In 2014, Halley co-founded the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition, a grassroots advocacy and membership group supporting high-quality racially and economically integrated public charter schools. Prior to joining The Century Foundation, Halley taught at Two Rivers Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., a K-8 school that uses the Expeditionary Learning model to guide students in semester-long, in-depth investigations of science and social studies topics. She graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with a bachelor's degree in religious studies and is an alumnus of the Coro Leadership New York program.
Halley Potter is the director of PK-12 education policy and a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, where she researches public policy solutions for addressing educational inequality.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Director, State Health and Value Strategies
- Professor
Heather Howard is professor of the practice and director, State Health and Value Strategies, at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and co-director of the Center for Health and Wellbeing's Global Health Program and director of State Health and Value Strategies, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded program focused on assisting states with transforming their health care systems to be affordable, equitable, and innovative.
Ijeoma Egekeze, M.P.H., is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, where she works on issues related to maternal health and reproductive rights.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Development
- Vice President of Development at the Century Foundation
Ishi Sahni is a Vice President of Development at The Century Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Trustees
- Trustee
Jacob S. Hacker is the Stanley Resor Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies at Yale University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Editorial
- Vice President of Editorial at the Century Foundation
Jason Renker is vice president of editorial at The Century Foundation, where he manages the editing of the foundation's online content and other publications.
Jayla Hart is a Pre-K-12 education policy intern at The Century Foundation, with an interest in advancing educational equity and neighborhood integration for marginalized students and their families. Prior to joining TCF, Jayla served as an education policy associate at the Center for the Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) where she focused on improving representation in early childhood education materials and bolstering childhood mental health equity. She also worked as a research assistant at the Social Cognitive and Behavior Lab (SCABL) studying differential perceptions of racial history and motivated meaning-making. Jayla is a graduate of the University of Virginia with a bachelor's of arts in political psychology and a minor in global studies in education. She is currently an accelerated masters of public policy candidate at UVA's Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. When not engaging with policy work, Jayla is a poet and spoken word artist.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Health Care Reform and Senior Fellow
Jeanne Lambrew is the director of health care reform and a senior fellow at The Century Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Senior Communications Advisor
- Senior Communications Advisor at the Century Foundation
Jeremy Edwards is a senior communications advisor at The Century Foundation (TCF), bringing to TCF a diverse and extensive background in public affairs, media relations, and crisis communications. Most recently, he served as a White House spokesperson and assistant press secretary to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Job Titles:
- Director of Technology
- Director of Technology at the Century Foundation
John Baronian is the Director of Technology at The Century Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Trustees
- Trustee
- Reporter, Columnist and Television Analyst
Jonathan Alter is an award-winning author, reporter, columnist and television analyst. He is the author of three New York Times bestsellers, a columnist for The Daily Beast and an analyst for NBC News and MSNBC.
Jonathan Metzl is an acclaimed physician and sociologist who speaks, teaches, and writes on a range of topics, including mental illness and gun violence, race and whiteness in America, and health and health care.
Jonathan Zabala was a senior policy associate at The Century Foundation, where he worked on issues related to educational equity, English language learners, and dual language immersion programs. Born and raised in the city of Reading, Pennsylvania, he has a deep passion for urban education reform and anti-poverty policies. Prior to joining TCF, Jonathan was a teacher at McLain High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma through the Teach For America program. Most recently, he was a fellow at the Office of the D.C. Deputy Mayor for Education. Jonathan holds a BA in Political Science from Penn State University.
Jordan Nellums is a senior policy associate on the Higher Education team at The Century Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Director, Women 's Economic Justice and Senior Fellow
- Senior Fellow and Director for Women 's Economic Justice at the Century Foundation
Julie Kashen is a senior fellow and director for women's economic justice at The Century Foundation, with expertise in work and family, caregiving, economic mobility, and labor.
Kashen has more than two decades of experience forwarding these issues in federal and state government and through the nonprofit sector, including helping to draft three major pieces of national legislation. As a labor policy advisor to the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), she helped draft and build momentum for the first paid sick days bill in Congress, the Healthy Families Act. As policy director of the three-year Make It Work campaign, she drafted a visionary child care proposal, whose principles were incorporated into the Child Care for Working Families Act. And as a senior advisor to the National Domestic Workers Alliance, she led the work to create and introduce the first ever national Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. In addition, as deputy director of policy for Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ), she helped New Jersey become the second state in the nation to adopt paid family and medical leave. She is an active member of many child care, paid leave, and equal pay coalitions and tables. Kashen has been affiliated with The Century Foundation since 2015.
Kashen holds a master's in public policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor's with highest honors in political science from the University of Michigan. She was an adjunct lecturer on work and family issues and poverty in the United States at Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey.
Julie Kashen is a senior fellow and Director for Women's Economic Justice at The Century Foundation with expertise in working families, economic mobility, labor, and poverty.
Job Titles:
- President
- Named President of the Century Foundation
- President of the Century Foundation
Julie Margetta Morgan is president of The Century Foundation. A policy expert and seasoned leader in both the government and nonprofit sectors, she most recently held senior roles in the Biden administration at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the U.S. Department of Education.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow
- Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation
Julie Su is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, where she works on a range of issues focused on protecting labor rights, growing worker power, and advancing equity in the economy.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director
- Deputy Director of Development
Katherine (Katy) Nelson is deputy director of development at The Century Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Associate at Caring across Generations
- Contributor
Kathy Mendes is a policy associate at Caring Across Generations and a researcher and advocate based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the team at Caring Across Generations, she worked as a policy analyst at The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis in Richmond, Virginia, providing policy support for a variety of issues, and in particular, K-12 education.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow
- Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation
Kayla Patrick is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, most recently having served as a senior policy advisor in the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Education, where she was the primary policy and political lead for all K-12 grant programs.
An education policy expert and advocate for equity in K-12 education, Kayla oversaw strategy and execution for a $40 billion discretionary grant portfolio, ensuring alignment with Biden-Harris administration priorities. Her work spanned key issues such as school-based mental health, full-service community schools, and school discipline and climate.
During her tenure with the Biden-Harris administration, Kayla led several landmark initiatives, including launching the first-ever Fostering Diverse Schools Program to promote equitable and inclusive education. She also directed the implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, overseeing $2 billion in investments to enhance student well-being, safety, and support.
Previously, Kayla was a senior data and policy analyst at The Education Trust, where she led national policy and advocacy efforts on college and career readiness, school climate, and discipline reform. She is the lead author of several influential reports, including Inequities in Advanced Coursework; And They Cared: How to Create Better, Safer Learning Environments for Girls of Color; Strategies to Solve Unfinished Learning; and Dress Coded: Black Girls, Bodies, and Bias in D.C. Schools.
Kayla also worked at the National Women's Law Center, conducting research and data analysis on issues impacting women and girls. She holds a BA in political science from Wellesley College and an MA in education policy from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Kim is the senior designer at The Century Foundation, specializing in creating user-centric digital experiences.
Job Titles:
- Associate at the Century Foundation
- Contributor
Kimberly Quick is a senior policy associate at The Century Foundation working on education policy in the foundation's Washington, D.C. office. Kimberly graduated summa cum laude from Wake Forest University in 2014 with a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Affairs and minors in English and American Ethnic Studies. Prior to joining TCF, Quick completed a fellowship at the Office of the Provost at Wake Forest, where she has helped to develop the university's communications, programming, and policy related to diversity and inclusion and student experiences. Through internships and volunteer experiences, she has also worked with the American Bar Foundation, the Federal Trade Commission, and Amnesty International.
Job Titles:
- Associate for the Disability Economic Justice Team at the Century Foundation
Kings Floyd is a research and policy associate for the Disability Economic Justice team at The Century Foundation. She is a disability rights activist, access coordinator and writer based in Washington, D.C. and Portland, Maine.
Lara Adekeye was a senior policy associate at The Century Foundation, focusing on issues of educational equity and school integration. Lara has a passion for advancing racial justice and educational equity. Prior to joining TCF, Lara worked on research focused on education, criminal justice, and housing policy. She also served as a fellow at the Boston City Hall Mayor's Office of Resilience and Racial Equity and as a congressional intern in the Office of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. Lara received a BA in political science with a minor in African American studies from Boston University.
Job Titles:
- Contributor
- Professor of Law at Georgetown Law
Laura K. Donohue is a Professor of Law at Georgetown Law, Director of Georgetown's Center on National Security and the Law, and Director of the Center on Privacy and Technology. Her most recent book, The Future of Foreign Intelligence: Privacy and Surveillance in a Digital Age (Oxford University Press, 2016), was awarded the 2016 IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law/Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize. In November 2015, the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court appointed her as one of five amici curiae under the 2015 USA FREEDOM Act.
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Fellow at the Century Foundation
Laura Valle Gutierrez is a fellow at The Century Foundation, where she uses her policy and research expertise to advance gender, racial and economic equity. Laura has written and testified about the urgent need for child care solutions, the retirement insecurity of mothers, and the importance of unemployment insurance. The throughline of her work is a commitment to promoting economic security solutions for women and communities of color.
Prior to joining TCF, Laura was the senior policy analyst at the Bell Policy Center, a state-based research and advocacy organization in Colorado. At the Bell she did research and advocacy for equity-centered policies around postsecondary education, workforce development, and fiscal reform. She received an MPA at Brown University with a focus in data-driven policy and a BA from Brown University in comparative French and English literature. Laura is originally from Puerto Rico and grew up in Longmont, Colorado.
Job Titles:
- National Director
- Contributor
Lauren Hipp is the national director of early learning and Washington State for MomsRising.org. She brings over a decade of experience in the early learning field doing policy, advocacy and organizing, philanthropy, and policy and program implementation in both Washington State and nationally. Hipp has led successful state and national campaigns rooted in the experience of moms and families, working to craft and policy solutions that meet the needs of children and families. Most recently, Hipp co-led a project to bring over thirty-five moms from across the country to Washington, D.C. to successfully lobby the White House to publicly advance funding for affordable child care. As an expert in the field, Hipp has been interviewed by major national and local media outlets including Marketplace, Scripps, and the Seattle Times. She holds a masters of public administration from the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington.
Job Titles:
- Contributor
- Strategic Advisor and Writer at the National Association
Lauren Hogan is currently serving as a strategic advisor and writer at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), where she has held a number of leadership positions over the past decade, with responsibility for a portfolio including federal and state policy and advocacy, higher education accreditation, professional recognition, position statements, and applied research. Lauren brings to her work an unwavering focus on centering the voices of educators, shared leadership, innovation, diversity, and equity. Lauren previously served as the vice president of programs and policy at the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI). She began her career working with an after-school program in Louisville, Kentucky and later served as the director of an early literacy and family support program in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She also served as a Rappaport Public Policy Fellow in the Department of Social Services in Boston, Massachusetts. Lauren earned a bachelor's degree from Yale University and a Master's degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow
- Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation
Lauren McFerran is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, having previously served as chairman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) during the Biden administration, from 2021 to 2024.
Job Titles:
- Associate in the Women 's Economic Justice Department at the Century Foundation
- Senior Policy Associate
Lea Woods is a senior policy associate in the women's economic justice department at The Century Foundation where her work focuses on a range of issues, including paid family leave and child care.
Lisa A. Sahulka is the Chief Operating Officer at The Century Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Intern at the Century Foundation
Liz Nigro is an intern at The Century Foundation on the PreK-12 team and the incoming research director at Voices for Virginia's Children. A former general and special education teacher, Liz is about to graduate with her PhD in research, statistics, and evaluation from the University of Virginia.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow
- Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation
Loredana Valtierra is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, having previously served as senior policy advisor in the Biden-Harris administration in the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Education, where she led multiple K-12 budget and policy priorities for Secretary Miguel Cardona. Prior to her appointment, she co-led the K-12 and juvenile justice agenda for the House Committee on Education and Labor under Chairman Bobby Scott as education policy counsel. Before federal service, Loredana promoted equitable school policy for girls of color and represented pregnant and parenting students at the National Women's Law Center. She has also represented immigrant children and families and is a former seventh grade English teacher. She holds a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a JD from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Lucy Muirhead is the Chief Strategy Officer for The Century Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance
- Is Director of Finance at the Century Foundation
Manny Mercado is Director of Finance at The Century Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Partner at EducationCounsel
Mario Cardona is a partner at EducationCounsel, a mission-based practice within the Nelson Mullins law firm. Previously, Mario served as a senior education advisor at the White House Domestic Policy Council for President Obama and President Biden. He also served as the policy director for the Children's Equity Project at Arizona State University and the chief of policy, practice, and research for Child Care Aware of America. Mario was a senior aide in the United States Senate, where he worked to pass the most recent reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act.
Mark Zuckerman was the president of The Century Foundation from 2015 to 2025. He served in the Obama White House as the deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council, leading teams on key initiatives, including reducing student debt, increasing accountability at for-profit educational institutions, reducing workplace discrimination, increasing wages for home health care workers, and expanding access to job training. Prior to that, as staff director of the House Education and Labor Committee, he helped win passage of landmark legislation such as the Affordable Care Act; the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act; the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act; and the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.
Melissa Harris-Perry is a college professor and an award-winning writer, speaker, and
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Fellow at the Century Foundation
Michelle Burris is a fellow at The Century Foundation, where she focuses on advancing economic equity and workforce inclusion through research and advocacy.
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Fellow at the Century Foundation
Peter Granville is a fellow at The Century Foundation, studying federal and state policy efforts to improve college access and affordability.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow
- Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation
Rachel West is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, most recently having served as special assistant to the president for labor and workers at the White House Domestic Policy Council, where she led efforts to strengthen workers' pay and overtime protections, advance health and safety protections, and strengthen workplace rights.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Development
- Senior Director of Development at the Century Foundation
Rebekkah Boxt is the senior director of development at The Century Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Digital Communications Manager at the Century Foundation
Robert Byrne serves as Digital Communications Manager at The Century Foundation, bringing over a decade of experience in digital strategy across political campaigns, nonprofit organizations, and public sector institutions.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow
- Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation
Robert Shireman is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation working on higher education policy with a focus on affordability, quality assurance, and consumer protections.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Next100 and Senior Fellow
Stefan Redding Lallinger is the executive director of Next100, a think tank that is redefining how policy development is done by putting those closest to and most impacted by policy in the driver's seat of change.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow
- Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation
Steven Greenhouse is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, where he writes about wages and working conditions, labor organizing, and other workplace issues.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Organizational Strategist
Teresa Younger is a renowned advocate, organizational strategist, and philanthropic leader who currently serves as president and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women.
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Fellow at the Century Foundation
Tiara Moultrie is a fellow at The Century Foundation, focusing on higher education accountability.
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Fellow at the Century Foundation
Vina Smith-Ramakrishnan is a fellow at The Century Foundation, where she works on issues related to maternal health and reproductive rights and justice.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow
- Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation
Viviann Anguiano is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, having formerly served as director of education at the White House Domestic Policy Council during the Biden administration, where she led the higher education portfolio.
William M. Rodgers, III is a fellow at The Century Foundation and professor of public policy and chief economist at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.
Yasmin Naji is a PK-12 education policy intern at The Century Foundation, with an interest in the intersection between education and immigration.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director of Communications
Zack DiGregorio is deputy communications director for The Century Foundation and a political communicator with experience in the U.S. Senate, House, and in issue advocacy.