STUDENT SUPPORT ACCELERATOR - Key Persons
Ana Trindade Ribeiro is a Research Project Lead at the National Student Support Accelerator. 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.
Annie O'Donnell is passionate about ensuring all of America's children receive an equitable and empowering education and has dedicated her career to pursuing that aim. Annie spent over 12 years building and leading the national design team at Teach For America. She began her work as Director of Design, overhauling the organization's knowledge-base and training approach for elementary literacy teachers, and her last role in the organization was Senior Vice President of Instructional Leadership Support. Highlights of her team's work included piloting and scaling content-specific training and ongoing support for pre-K through high school teachers across all disciplines; transforming the organization's approach to summer institute in concert with a region and a college of education; and supporting organizational learning about and commitment to culturally relevant pedagogy.
Annie began her career in public education as an elementary teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools. She holds a MAT from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in Political Science and Sociology from Vanderbilt University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Researcher at Stanford University
Carly Robinson is a Senior Researcher at Stanford University and the Director of Research of the National Student Support Accelerator. Before joining Stanford, she was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University. Her research interests sit at the intersection of education, psychology, and policy. In particular, she draws on insights from social psychology and behavioral science to design and experimentally test interventions to improve relational, engagement, and learning outcomes for students. To date her work has focused on strengthening educator-student relationships, mobilizing effective family engagement, and deploying tutors effectively. As a complement to her applied research, her methodological work emphasizes open science practices, such as preregistering hypothesis-testing studies.
Prior to conducting educational research, Carly worked as a New York City teacher. She holds a PhD in Education from Harvard University, a Master's in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and BA in Psychology from Williams College.
Job Titles:
- Quality and Improvement Program Manager
Chayne Turano is the Quality and Improvement Program Manager at the National Student Support Accelerator. She is passionate about providing high-quality education to all students to help them accel and achieve a rich and fulfilling life. She served as a Teacher in New Jersey for 13 years, serving students and families of diverse backgrounds including English Language Learners, Special Education, and Gifted and Talented students. In this role, she developed science curricula and activities that captured the spirit of the Next Generation Science Standards, developed professional development for staff, served as a technology trainer.
Chayne has served on the Tutoring Educator Advisory Group for the National Student Support Accelerator since July 2020. She collaborated with the NSSA to evaluate resources, discuss implementation issues, and provide the teacher's perspective on high-impact tutoring tools. She transitioned to full-time work with the National Student Support Accelerator in 2023.
Chayne holds a Master's degree in Education from the Rutgers New Brunswick Graduate School of Education and an Undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from Rutgers University.
Connie Michael has been an educator for 29 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.
Cristina Barnard Gonzalez is a Graduate Research Assistant at the National Student Support Accelerator. She is passionate about social and emotional learning, behavioral dynamics, and educational equity. Cristina is pursuing an M.A. in International Education Policy Analysis at Stanford and holds a B.A. in Economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de Mexico (ITAM). Prior to joining the NSSA team, Cristina worked as a consultant for the World Bank.
Darrow is a 12th grade student from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He has a deep interest in education and its policies. With his classmate, he leads The EmpowerEd Program, a tutoring initiative that provides free academic support to students across the nation. Darrow is passionate about pursuing educational equity and hopes to continue his studies on the topic throughout college and his further future.
David Gormley is a rising third-year student studying data science and social policy at Northwestern University and a proud member of the NSSA team. He is passionate about bringing ethical AI methods to education research and hopes to be a teacher in the future. With the NSSA, David uses natural language processing methods to analyze transcriptions of online high-impact tutoring data. Outside of the lab, he loves learning languages, cooking, and swimming.
Job Titles:
- Research Associate at the National Student Support Accelerator and for the Educational Opportunity Project
Demetra Kalogrides is a research associate at the National Student Support Accelerator and for the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University. Kalogrides earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Santa Clara University and a Masters and PhD in sociology from the University of California at Davis.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Consultant
- NSSA Staff Member
- Researcher
Dr. April Baker-Bell is a transdisciplinary teacher-researcher-activist and Associate Professor of Language, Literacy, and English Education in the Department of English and the Department of African American and African Studies at Michigan State University. Her research interrogates the intersections of Black language and literacies, anti-Black racism, and antiracist pedagogies, and is concerned with antiracist writing, critical media literacies, Black feminist-womanist storytelling, and self-preservation for Black women in academia, with an emphasis on early career Black women.
April's research has been widely published, and she is the author of the award-winning book, Linguistic Justice: Black Language, Literacy, Identity, and Pedagogy. Her numerous awards and fellowships include the 2020 NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language, the 2020 Michigan State University's Distinguished Partnership Award for Community-Engaged Creative Activity, the 2019 Michigan State University Alumni Award for Innovation & Leadership in Teaching and Learning, and the 2018 AERA Language and Social Processes Early Career Scholar Award. April holds a BS in Secondary English Education and an MA in Written Communication from Eastern Michigan University, and a PhD in Rhetoric & Writing from Michigan State University.
Dylan is a 12th grader from San Francisco, California. He enjoys cooking, calisthenics, and spending time with his loved ones! He loves learning about mathematics, and is interested in pursuing a career in data analytics.
Job Titles:
- Research Fellow at the National
Elizabeth holds a PhD in Education Policy and Economics of Education as well as an MA in Economics from Stanford University, an MA in Education Policy from Teachers College at Columbia University and a BA in Mathematical Economic Analysis and Philosophy from Rice University. She is a recipient of an Institute of Education Sciences Predoctoral Training Fellowship as well as a Stanford Graduate Fellowship in Science and Engineering. Prior to graduate school, Elizabeth taught high school math in Houston, TX.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and CEO of Instruction Partners
Emily Freitag is the co-founder and CEO of Instruction Partners, a nonprofit organization that works shoulder to shoulder with schools and districts to support great teaching and accelerate student learning. Prior to this role, she was the Assistant Commissioner of Curriculum and Instruction for the Tennessee Department of Education. In this capacity, she oversaw K-12 core academics, including standards, assessment design, instructional materials, and educator training and support. She led a collaborative effort to train more than 65,000 teachers and leaders during this time in a peer-led, content-based approach, and Tennessee saw increases in student achievement on both NAEP and state tests. At the Department, she also managed implementation of educator evaluation and served as Chief of Staff, supporting the development of the strategic plan. For five years before coming to Tennessee, Emily managed Teach For America's D.C. and Connecticut Regions. In this capacity, she oversaw the support of 1,000 teachers as well as the district partnerships, alumni coordination, and fundraising efforts. She fell in love with education teaching 7th grade math in Opelousas, Louisiana, at Opelousas Junior High School (Geaux Tigers!). She graduated from Yale University and studied history with a focus on the jurisprudential history of the civil rights movement.
Emily is the Administrative Associate for the SCALE Initiative at the Graduate School of Education at 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.
Emma is a high school junior from Huntsville, Alabama. She is going to pursue a degree in special education and elementary education. She loves figure skating and competes at a national level, she also loves running.
Job Titles:
- National Student Support Accelerator 's Managing Director
Erin McMahon joins as the National Student Support Accelerator's Managing Director. Prior to this role she served as a Superintendent and Senior Advisor to the Commissioner in Massachusetts and held key roles at the KIPP Foundation, Denver Public Schools, and the NYC Department of Education.
While leading academics and innovation at Denver Public Schools, Erin supported the growth and development of the Denver Math and Literacy Fellows; and as Superintendent, launched a "grow your own" tutoring program to address COVID learning loss in elementary mathematics. Through these experiences, she the saw the difference that personalized, relationship-based instruction could make in students' lives.
Her career began with Teach For America in Washington, D.C., followed by roles in management consulting and nonprofit management. Erin earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from Yale University, a Master of Science in Education Leadership from Pace University, an MBA from Cornell University, and an EdD in Educational Leadership from Boston College.
Estefania Rios is an inclusive educator and instructional coach who strives to create an equitable and accessible learning environment for all students. Her driving force is making an impact on education.
She started her career as an English teacher at Rahway High School. After almost a decade of teaching, she received her Master's and became a certified reading specialist. At the start of the pandemic, she enrolled in the NJEA Teacher Leader Academy. In the program, she learned about transformational coaching, which led to her impact project centered around instructional coaching. She piloted instructional coaching at Rahway High School, and after a successful piloting, she obtained her first coaching position at the high school.
In addition to being an educator and instructional coach, Estefania is a part-time consultant for the NJEA Teacher Leader Academy and the National Student Support Accelerator. She is also participating in a fellowship for the NEA's Labor Management Collaborative for the 2024-2025 school year. She is passionate about teacher leadership and ensuring that teacher voices and students' best interests are central to decision-making.
Hannah is a rising senior from Huntsville, Alabama. She aspires to be a teacher and is adamant on helping others. She loves spending time with her family and traveling around the world!
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. As a High Road Fellow at Cornell, she worked with Say Yes to Education Buffalo, a nonprofit based in Buffalo, NY, to publish a guide on the Buffalo Commons for reopening schools through trauma-informed and racial equity lenses. 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. At Innovate, she led research efforts in the San Francisco and Peninsula regions. She researched issue areas such as the disparate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and schools to bolster campaigns for change both locally and statewide.
Henry is a high school sophomore from Chelsea, Michigan. He is on the soccer and track teams and enjoys photography. Henry is interested in math and science and would like to pursue a career incorporating both. He is interested in supporting the academic development of K-12 students with a focus on early literacy and mathematical foundations.
Hiep Ho is the Web and Multimedia Technology Manager. He's responsible for the implementation, development and maintenance of Annenberg websites. He creates, produces and disseminates NSSA content to all media platforms. He also provides information technology support to SCALE Initiative faculty, students and staff.
Job Titles:
- Researcher at the National
Hsiaolin Hsieh is a post-doctoral researcher at the National Student Support Accelerator. Her research focuses on ensuring equitable opportunity and access to learning for multilingual learners. She uses natural language processing and machine learning to analyze complex student dialogic participation in the classroom.
Formally trained in educational measurement and assessment, Hsiaolin has extensive experience in the design, implementation, and evaluation of tests in the K-12 context. As a mixed-methods researcher, she uses qualitative and quantitative approaches to conduct research across (quasi-)experimental and research-practice-partnership settings. Her background in educational technology enables her to examine and leverage alternative tools to assist student learning. Hsiaolin holds a PhD in Education from Stanford University and a Master's in Learning, Design, and Technology, also from Stanford University.
Jennifer Moore leads Initiate Equity, a private education consulting organization that supports school teams and educational non-profits in analyzing the distinguishable, yet often hidden ways racism, privilege and power impact an organization's success. Jennifer leads cross-functional teams to leverage high-impact strategies that directly address racism and its manifestations at the individual, interpersonal and institutional level. Through this approach Jennifer helps organizations go beyond the limited frame of "bad actors" who commit racist acts, to one that encompasses a systems-level analysis to determine which specific policies and practices are contributing to inequity.
Prior to consulting, Jennifer worked for Teach For America-New Jersey where she led a major overhaul of their teacher development program to prioritize culturally relevant pedagogy as a framework for new teacher development. She began her journey in education as a New York City public school teacher where she brought her passion for social justice to her work in the South Bronx.
Job Titles:
- Researcher at the National
Jilli Jung is a postdoctoral researcher at the National Student Support Accelerator at Stanford University. Her research focuses on examining the causal effects of K-12 education policies on adolescents' educational and health outcomes using experimental and quasi-experimental methods. She is also interested in uncovering informative patterns and trends using descriptive methods and demographic techniques.
She received her PhD in Education Policy with a dual-title in Comparative and International Education and a minor in Demography from Pennsylvania State University. She earned a BA and MA in Ethics Education from Seoul National University in South Korea.
John Retzer has been a public school educator for 27 years and also currently serves as the Vice President of the Wayne Westland Education Association. He holds a Masters Degree in Education from the University of Michigan, and Bachelors and Masters Degrees from West Virginia University.
Julie Brosnan, a lover of all things education and communications, is the Communication & Engagement Manager for NSSA. Prior to joining NSSA in 2023, Julie worked in communications for both Whiteboard Advisors, a DC-based education consultancy, and the think tank New America with their Education Policy Program. 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.
Also in Julie's suite of past experience, she worked for both a tutoring company and a social-emotional learning program in New Zealand, aiding their communications portfolios while working with hundreds of students in schools across New Zealand. She also worked for a communications firm in the Washington, DC area, focusing on education and health initiatives, including with Sesame Street Workshop.
Julie earned a BA in political communication from The George Washington University, during which time she worked with Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD), the Chronicle of Higher Education, and the American Association of University Women Lobby Corps. She loves all things New Zealand, Maryland, and bird-related.
Justin Gibson is a sophomore from Rahway, New Jersey. He enjoys learning about world history and business. During his spare time, he likes to do fun things with his friends and participate in track activities. His goal is to pursue a career in law or technology.
Job Titles:
- Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research
Kalena Cortes is the Verlin and Howard Kruse '52 Founders Associate Professor in the Department of Public Service and Administration at Texas A&M's Bush School. Her research interest is in the area of the economics of education, and her work focuses on issues of equity and access, in particular, identifying educational policies that help disadvantaged students at the PK-12 and postsecondary levels. She has worked on three key areas: improving academic performance of urban students, increasing access to postsecondary education, and raising educational attainment of immigrant students.
Kalena is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in the Economics of Education program, a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), and a Scholar in the Mindset Scholars Network. Most recently, she was named Texas A&M's 2020 Presidential Impact Fellow. Kalena has also been a visiting scholar at both Stanford and Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, the National Bureau of Economic Research, and Princeton University. She earned a PhD in economics from the University of California at Berkeley and a BA in Economics from the University of California at San Diego.
Job Titles:
- National Student Support Accelerator 's Director of Strategic Advising
Kathy Bendheim is the National Student Support Accelerator's Director of Strategic Advising. Her early career was spent in public accounting followed by business school and management consulting with McKinsey & Co. However, her passion has consistently been the improvement of the public education system. Since leaving the for-profit world, she has worked in Bridgeport, CT for the YMCA where she started a summer and after-school program that won the Chairman's Award for best new program, and in New York City for Clearpool, Inc., a K-8 extended day, year-round public school partner, in program operations and development. She was also the Executive Director of the White House Council for Community Solutions that focused on identifying best practices in community collaboratives with a focus on how to create more opportunity for disconnected youth. Most recently she was a consultant with Building Impact, advising foundations and philanthropies on investments in public education, and Managing Director with the National Student Support Accelerator.
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.
Katie Allen currently teaches 3rd grade math and science in Denver Public Schools. In addition, she coaches educators within her school to improve teaching practices. She has previously taught 4th through 8th grades specializing in math and has served as an educator since 2010. She loves her kids, Malcolm and Joey, her husband Gary, music, volleyball, and puzzles.
Kaya Henderson is the CEO of Reconstruction, a technology company delivering a K-12 supplemental curriculum that situates Black people, culture, and contributions in an authentic, identity-affirming way, so that students of all backgrounds benefit from a more complete understanding of our shared history and society. She is also the co-host of Pod Save the People, and leads Kaya Henderson Consulting.
She is perhaps best known for serving as Chancellor of DC Public Schools from 2010-2016. Her tenure was marked by consecutive years of enrollment growth, an increase in graduation rates, improvements in student satisfaction and teacher retention, increases in AP participation and pass rates, and the greatest growth of any urban district on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) over multiple years.
Kaya's career began as a middle school Spanish teacher in the South Bronx, through Teach For America. She went on to work as a recruiter, national admissions director, and DC Executive Director for Teach for America. Henderson then served as the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at The New Teacher Project (TNTP) until she began her tenure at DCPS as Deputy Chancellor in 2007. She most recently led the Global Learning Lab for Community Impact at Teach For All, supporting educators in more than 50 countries.
A native of Mt. Vernon, NY, Kaya graduated from Mt. Vernon Public Schools. She received her Bachelor's degree in International Relations and her Master of Arts in Leadership from Georgetown University, as well as honorary doctoral degrees from Georgetown and Trinity University. Her board memberships include The Aspen Institute, Curriculum Associates, Robin Hood NYC, and Teach For America, and she is the co-founder of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC).
Job Titles:
- Founding CEO of Accelerate
Kevin Huffman is the founding CEO of Accelerate, a national nonprofit that seeks to embed high-impact tutoring and personalized learning in public schools. Prior to helping launch Accelerate, Huffman was a partner with City Fund. Huffman is the former Tennessee commissioner of education, where he managed the state depart-ment of education in its effort to advance the academic progress of nearly one million students. During Huffman's tenure, Tennessee had the largest state gains on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Huffman began his education career as a first- and second-grade bilingual teacher in the Houston Independent School District, teaching students in English and Spanish. After attending law school, Huffman represented school districts, state departments of education and universities, working on policy and litigation matters at the Washington D.C. law firm of Hogan & Hartson. Huffman then joined the senior management of Teach For America in 2000, serving as the general counsel, the senior vice president of growth strategy and development, and the executive vice president of public affairs. Huffman graduated from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in English Literature, and from the New York University School of Law where he was on the Law Review. He serves on the national Board of Directors of Teach For America, and previously has served on the Board of Trustees of the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee Board of Regents, and the Boards of Directors of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and Chiefs for Change. Huffman was honored with Teach For America's highest honor for alumni, the Peter Jennings Award for Civic Leadership, in 2014.
Kholoud is a 11th grader from Kissimmee, Florida. She is interested in chemical engineering, which she aspire to pursue as a career. She also enjoy studying biomedical sciences for fun, as it's a prominent interest of hers. She loves diving into STEM projects and exploring the intricacies of how things work at a molecular level. Beyond academics, Kholoud enjoy the creativity of baking and the discipline of practicing karate. Kholoud is also dedicated to giving back through tutoring and leading club activities, where she shares her passion for learning with others.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Director of the SCALE Initiative
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.
Larry co-founded Amplify in 2000. He has led the invention of mobile software to help early reading teachers and spurred the development of next-generation curriculum for elementary and middle schools. Larry was a Rhodes scholar and a White House fellow working on educational technology at NASA, and a Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow. He serves on the boards of Touch Press, the Academy of American Poets, Lapham's Quarterly, the Institute for Sustained Attention, and the Southern Education Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Southern Education Foundation