ED EQUITY LAB - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Chief Operating Officer / National Education Equity Lab
Alexandra began her career as a high school science teacher in her hometown, Atlanta, Georgia. Her students taught her that learning is social and emotional - we all need to feel safe and connected to learn, that students and community members should be at the design table, and that even though passion and talent are evenly distributed in our country, opportunity is not. As the Chief Operating Officer at the National Education Equity Lab, she is working to democratize access to higher education by delivering college credit-bearing courses to high school students attending Title 1 high schools. Alexandra supports every aspect of the National Education Equity Lab's College-in-High School program including school selection, supervising teacher development and ongoing support, course evaluation and continuous improvement, partnership strategy, and team management. She appreciates learning alongside the professors, principals, teachers and students participating in the program.
Alexandra held roles as a nonprofit leader and a management consultant prior to joining the National Education Equity Lab. As the Senior Director of Programs at the Student Success Network, a New York City network of over 60 nonprofits aimed at closing the opportunity gap for New York City students, she designed and managed programs to inspire intrapreneurship - empowering those that work closest with youth to identify challenges, design solutions, and enact change to better support student social, emotional, and academic needs. As a management consultant, Alexandra learned tools and strategies to lead change across diverse industries.
Alexandra is passionate about building bridges between individual initiatives, organizations, and industries so that we can successfully tackle some of our most entrenched challenges. She graduated from Harvard University and is currently participating in the University of Pennsylvania's Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Scholar Alumni Board
- Vice President of Community / National Education Equity Lab
- Vice President of Community, Alumni Society Board
My name is Allan Rivera Jaramillo. I am a student currently pursuing the IB Diploma at Lake Wales High School, Florida. I was born and raised in Colombia up until I was eight years old, at which point my family decided to move to the United States.
We moved here in search of a better life, and better education for myself. Since 2012, I have been taking steps to take advantage of all the opportunities at my disposal. From being that eight-year-old new student from Colombia and learning English in the span of a few months, to enrolling in the IB diploma program at my high school, and even participating in the Wesleyan course once it was offered at my school.
I was that kid that wasn't particularly social or motivated to put myself out there. Everything sort of changed when I participated in my first National Education Equity Lab Course-I was supported through the entire journey and was able to get firsthand experience with a real college professor and alumni. This experience reshaped my preconceived notions of what I expected college to be, and I was able to succeed in the class because of it. I was able to challenge myself in ways I never thought possible. Eventually, this sense of growth and inspiration bled into the other aspects of my life and I could sense it. Things and ideas started coming into perspective and I unlocked a new level of understanding of what it means to go to college. There are many things I've yet to figure out one hundred percent, but I know that I want to work in a team environment for a common cause, whatever it may be. Joining the Alumni Society was a no-brainer in terms of preparing myself for my future goals and aspirations. I'm excited to work closely with the team that single-handedly changed my life for the better.
Job Titles:
- National Course Manager
- National Course Manager / National Education Equity Lab
As a National Course Manager, Amy coordinates the delivery of college-in-high-school courses and serves as the liaison between the Lab's College and University partners and our High School partners to build robust course teams. She aims to strengthen social network ties between high school students and higher education to create a profound sense of purpose, belonging, and confidence which will act as a catalyst for future success, higher earning potential, and thus, upward economic and social mobility.
Amy is a proud first-generation college graduate and holds her Masters of Sociology from Arizona State University, a Graduate Certificate in Diversity from the University of North Georgia, and her Bachelors of Science in Sociology from the University of North Georgia. She serves on several boards in the capacity of Board Development through the framework of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and has an endowed scholarship at the University of North Georgia. Through her work at the Lab, Amy is able to pursue her passions of addressing education inequality in her everyday work and advancing opportunities for students attending Title I and Title I eligible high schools nationwide.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Advisory Board Member, Founder & CEO of Character Lab
Angela Duckworth is the Founder and CEO of Character Lab, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance the science and practice of character development. She is also the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, faculty co-director of the Penn-Wharton Behavior Change For Good Initiative, and faculty co-director of Wharton People Analytics. A 2013 MacArthur Fellow, Angela has advised the White House, the World Bank, NBA and NFL teams, and Fortune 500 CEOs. Prior to her career in research, Angela founded a summer school for low-income children that was profiled as a Harvard Kennedy School case study and, in 2018, celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. She has also been a McKinsey management consultant and a math and science teacher in the public schools of New York City, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.
Angela completed her undergraduate degree in Advanced Studies Neurobiology at Harvard, graduating magna cum laude. With the support of a Marshall Scholarship, she completed an MSc with Distinction in Neuroscience from Oxford University. She completed her PhD in Psychology as a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. Angela has received numerous awards for her contributions to K-12 education, including a Beyond Z Award from the KIPP Foundation. Angela's TED talk is among the most-viewed of all time. Her first book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, is a #1 New York Times best seller.
Job Titles:
- Chief Academic and Impact Officer
- Chief Academic and Impact Officer / National Education Equity Lab
Ariel Murphy Bedford has dedicated her career to advancing policies and programs that promote educational equity and deeply believes that as educators, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to build partnerships across a diverse group of individuals to make more informed decisions about our education system that prioritize our youth.Most recently, Ariel served as chief of staff at the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE), where she managed daily operations for over 500 staff, coordinated executive team collaborations, and advised State Superintendent John White on key organizational decisions. Prior to that, Ariel served as Chief of Staff in the Office of Talent at the LDOE, where she led policy research and the development of a new education leader credentialing framework, and managed a grant opportunity for rural school systems to implement post-baccalaureate teacher preparation models.
Before joining the LDOE, Ariel worked for the U.S. Department of Education, where she served as the Confidential Assistant to the Assistant Secretary in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and as the Success Mentor Coordinator for the My Brother's Keeper National Success Mentors Initiative focused on addressing chronic absenteeism through a school-based mentoring model.
Through the Leadership for Educational Equity Policy and Advocacy Summer Fellowship, Ariel also served as an Education Policy Fellow with the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Democratic Staff, conducting research and managing preparation efforts for bill introductions, congressional hearings, and markups around diversity in the green job sector and juvenile justice.
Ariel began her career in education as an upper-elementary and middle school English teacher at Uncommon Schools through Teach For America. A California native, Ariel earned a bachelor's degree in Government with a Public Policy minor in education from Dartmouth College, a master's degree in Teaching from Relay Graduate School of Education, a master's degree in Politics and Education from Teachers College Columbia University, and was selected as a 2019-2021 Broad Resident in The Broad Residency in Urban Education.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board and Team
- Advisory Board Member, Former U.S. Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan was named U.S. Secretary of Education by President Barack Obama and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Jan. 20, 2009. Duncan served in this position until December 2015. Prior to his appointment, Duncan served as the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools from June 2001 through December 2008, becoming the longest-serving big-city education superintendent in the country.
Before joining the Chicago Public Schools, Duncan ran the Ariel Education Initiative (1992-1998), a nonprofit focused on advancing educational opportunities in economically disadvantaged areas. He has served on the boards of the Ariel Education Initiative, Chicago Cares, the Children's Center, the Golden Apple Foundation, the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, Jobs for America's Graduates, Junior Achievement, the Dean's Advisory Board of the Kellogg School of Management, the National Association of Basketball Coaches Foundation, Renaissance Schools Fund, Scholarship Chicago and the South Side YMCA. He has also served on the Board of Overseers for Harvard College, the Visiting Committees for Harvard University's Graduate School of Education and the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration.
From 1987 to 1991, Duncan played professional basketball in Australia, where he worked with children who were wards of the state. Duncan graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1987. He is married to Karen Duncan and has two children, Clare and Ryan.
Job Titles:
- Student Success Director / National Education Equity Lab
Job Titles:
- Distinguished Professor of Psychology
Job Titles:
- Senior Data & Operations Associate / National Education Equity Lab
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Advisory Board Member & Recipient of the National Education Equity Lab 2019 Outstanding Teaching Fellow Award
Job Titles:
- Director of Learning Design / National Education Equity Lab
- Director of Learning Design With the National Education Equity Lab
Dr. Brendan Lake serves as the Director of Learning Design with the National Education Equity Lab. This role involves collaboratively designing and improving learning experiences by leveraging pedagogical research and technology. As a first-generation college student and full Pell-grant recipient from Phoenix, Arizona, his passion and career have centered on providing opportunity and a deep sense of care and community through education.
Since 2011, Brendan has designed and analyzed hundreds of courses using a wide variety of technologies and learning management systems. His past work includes serving as the Director of Digital Learning Initiatives with Arizona State University's Najafi 100 Million Learners Global Initiative, providing no-cost online courses to learners around the globe in 40 languages, and Assistant Director of Learning Design with ASU's Universal Learner Courses, working to create more equitable college pathways. He holds four degrees from ASU, including a doctorate, master's, and bachelor's degree in music and a fully-online master's degree in educational technology and learning design. In addition to serving the Ed Equity Lab, Brendan has taught music and student success courses as a faculty member with ASU and the University of Minnesota.
When he's not designing and developing learning experiences, he loves biking, swimming, soccer, and making music with his family.
Dr. Britany J Gatewood is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Center for Educational Opportunity, Albany State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from Howard University. She identifies as a Black queer woman scholar activist. Her research interests include social inequality, criminology, social movements, and scholar activism. Her research and publications focus on social movements within carceral institutions as well as the political practices resistance of Black women and their children. Recently, she has been a guest speaker at several events, including the ICW Teach-Ins on Protest and Policing with the University of Minnesota and Sociologists for Social Justice with the District of Columbia Sociological Society. She gave her expertise and opinion on the Movement for Black Lives and how to move forward to create the lasting change we wish to see.
Job Titles:
- Advisory Board Member / Research
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- President
- Advisory Board Member, 17th President of Howard University, Surgeon, Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery
- President of Howard University
Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick was appointed the 17th president of Howard University in 2014 and was named the distinguished Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery by the Board of Trustees in 2020. He previously served in numerous capacities within the University, including provost and chief academic officer, director of the Cancer Center, associate dean in the College of Medicine, division chief in the Department of Surgery, and deputy provost for health sciences. Today, he continues to operate and also gives lectures to second-year medical students and surgical residents of Howard's medical school.
As president, Dr. Frederick has advanced Howard University's commitment to student opportunity, academic innovation, public service and fiscal stability. He has also pursued initiatives to streamline and strengthen University operations. In addition, he has overseen a series of reform efforts, including the expansion of academic offerings, establishing innovative programs to support student success and the modernization of University facilities.
Dr. Frederick matriculated to Howard in 1988 to pursue a B.S./M.D. dual degree program. He completed the requirements for both degrees in six years, allowing him to earn his Bachelor of Science degree and his medical degree by the age of 22. He also earned a Master of Business Administration from Howard University's School of Business in 2011.
Following his post-doctoral research and surgical oncology fellowships at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dr. Frederick began his academic career as associate director of the Cancer Center at the University of Connecticut.
Dr. Frederick is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, abstracts and editorials and is a widely recognized expert on disparities in health care and medical education. His medical research focuses on narrowing racial, ethnic and gender disparities in cancer care outcomes, especially in relation to gastrointestinal cancers.
Dr. Frederick also devotes his time to writing and speaking on salient topics in higher education including the impact of historically Black colleges and universities, campus intellectual diversity, the underrepresentation of African-American men in medical school, and gender equity on college campuses.
Dr. Frederick has received various awards honoring his scholarship, service and community impact. He was chosen as the first-ever recipient of the Educator Award by the Lowell F. Hawthorne Foundation, Inc. He was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for his contributions to the medical field. He was presented with the Diaspora Public Diplomacy Leadership Award by the Embassy of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for his contributions to strengthening Trinidad and Tobago-United States bilateral relations through excellence in global educational leadership. In 2015, Dr. Frederick was also recognized by the then president of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for his appointment as president of Howard University.
Dr. Frederick also serves on numerous boards and committees. He was appointed to the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Cancer Society as well as Humana Inc and Insulet Corporation. Dr. Frederick is a member of surgical and medical associations, including the American Surgical Association and the American College of Surgeons. In January 2017, the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors elected Dr. Frederick to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
Dr. Frederick has also been featured as one of "America's Best Physicians" by Black Enterprise magazine. He was named one of EBONY magazine's "Power 100," and recognized as a "Super Doctor" in The Washington Post Magazine. In 2017, he was named "Washingtonian of the Year" by Washingtonian magazine and was inducted into the St. Mary's College, Port of Spain, Trinidad Hall of Fame. In 2020, he was named Nonprofit Leader of the Year by Washington Business Journal. And in 2021, he was honored as a "Great Immigrant, Great American" by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
In March 2022, Dr. Frederick received Trinidad and Tobago's highest honor, The Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ORTT).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Scholar Alumni Board
- Vice President of Communications / National Education Equity Lab
- Vice President of Communications, Alumni Society Board
Hi! My name is Fathema and I am a high school junior residing in New York City. I am originally from the beautiful, tropical country of Bangladesh. I took the Poetry in America, Principles of Criminal Justice, and Barnard Microeconomic courses from the National Education Equity Lab, and I enjoyed every single one of them! This incredible lab has allowed me to grow out of my comfort zone and has been supporting me for over 2 years. The individuals that are a part of this community have ensured that I believe in myself and strive for all my passions, regardless of how unthinkable they seem. I intend to continue college abroad, and after that,, I aspire to attend law school and work in foreign affairs. My biggest dreams consist of traveling the world and learning more about my ethnicity and culture. A fun fact about me is that I share the same birthday as Harry Potter, which is my favorite book series.
The National Education Equity Lab's alumni society is an incredible opportunity for me to work with like-minded individuals and learn more about not only myself, but the world around me. I receive constant love and support from everyone on the team, and the kindness of the community is what led to me become a part of the team myself. I know that this opportunity is a perfect chance for me to contribute to this incredible lab who has helped me so much!
Job Titles:
- Advisory Board Member / Chairman Emeritus, Greylock Trustee
- Advisory Board Member, Chairman Emeritus, Greylock Trustee, McCance Foundation
- Co - Chairman of Cure Alzheimer 's Fund
Henry came to Greylock in 1969 after serving for two years in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He was responsible for Greylock's early involvement in the software industry with his backing of market-leading firms including American Management Systems, Pansophic (acquired by Computer Associates), Cullinane (acquired by Computer Associates), McCormack and Dodge (acquired by D&B Software) and VM Software (acquired by Sterling Software, and now part of Computer Associates).
Over the ensuing 40 years of his tenure, Greylock has raised a series of twelve partnerships, with current committed capital in excess of $2 billion, and helped build approximately 300 developing companies. In recognition, Henry received the National Venture Capital Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in May 2004. And, along with Greylock's founding partners, the Harvard Business School Award for Alumni Achievement in 2003. In 2000, Henry was voted one of the country's 10 best VCs by Forbes. Henry also served on the board of and led Greylock's investment in companies such as Tellabs, Shiva Corporation (acquired by Intel), Manugistics, Trilogy, ABT Corporation (acquired by Niku), Narrative Communications (acquired by @Home), Gradient Technologies (merged with Entegrity Solutions), Information Resources, Epsilon (acquired by Relizon) and Gateway Design (acquired by Cadence). In addition he served on the Board of Directors of Continental Cablevision for 25 years.
Henry is a graduate of Yale University and the Harvard Business School.
In 2010, Henry became a partner of Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox, the Liverpool Football Club, 80% of NESN, and 50% of Roush Fenway Racing, a NASCAR team.
Henry is a co-Chairman of Cure Alzheimer's Fund, which he co-founded in 2004, a new non-profit which uses the venture capital model to fund breakthrough research on Alzheimer's Disease. Henry served as a member of the Yale Investment Committee from 2003 to 2011. He continues to serve as Chairman of the Greylock Israel Advisory, Chairman of Greylock Israel Advisory Committee, a Director of New Profit, and a Trustee of The McCance Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Data and Operations Director
- Data and Operations Director / National Education Equity Lab
As the Data and Operations Director, Jamison leads the data collection, analysis, and continuous improvement efforts that enable the National Education Equity Lab's courses to be the best they can be for students and schools. Prior to joining the Lab, Jamison worked for the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) developing, testing, and scaling innovative solutions to improve organizational effectiveness and student-level outcomes. Concurrently with his time at the NYCDOE, he was also the coordinator for the Brookings Institution's Task Force on Next Generation Community Schools. The task force was aimed at identifying what it would take at the federal, state, and local levels to scale the community school model nationwide in order to close the equity gap and lay a foundation for 21st-century teaching and learning. Jamison's passion for continuous improvement and his human-centered approach to problem-solving were garnered while at Pratt Institute, where he received a bachelor's degree in product and industrial design.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Member of the Advisory Board
- President
- Advisory Board Member, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Common Application
Jenny Rickard became the President & Chief Executive Officer of The Common Application in August 2016. Prior to joining The Common Application, Jenny served as Vice President for Enrollment at the University of Puget Sound, as well as chief enrollment officer at Bryn Mawr College. She has also held admission rolls at Swarthmore College and New York University School of Law. Her extensive service within the national higher education community includes a wide range of roles with the College Board, Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools (ACCIS), US Department of Education, and The Common Application. Jenny received a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania; a Master of Business Administration degree from New York University, Stern School of Business; and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Swarthmore College.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, School and District Partnerships
- Managing Director, School and District Partnerships / National Education Equity Lab
John is a fierce advocate for educational equity and access and deeply believes in the potential of people. Most recently, John supported the talent recruitment efforts for a portfolio of schools across several states in the Northeastern region of the country. Prior to this work, John served as the Director of Recruitment and Selection for a charter network based in East Harlem, NYC where he was responsible for leading the recruitment and selection of full-time and part-time staff across several schools and programs. In addition to talent recruitment, John has worked as a Dean of School Culture with Achievement First and a Manager of Teacher Leadership Development with Teach For America in New Orleans.
John began his career in education as a middle school English teacher through Teach For America. A Mississippi native, John earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Xavier University of Louisiana, a master's degree in Education Policy and Leadership from American University, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy degree in K-12 Educational Leadership and Administration at The University of Mississippi.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Senior Associate, Strategy & Policy
- Senior Associate, Strategy and Policy / National Education Equity Lab
Kate Berkley is the Senior Associate for Strategy & Policy, working to advance the mission of the National Education Equity Lab through developing and supporting initiatives with our higher education partners. Prior to joining the Lab, Kate taught English language in Austria through the Fulbright program and later taught sixth grade in the Boston-area.
A Kansas City-native, Kate earned her bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College and her master's degree in policy from the Stanford Graduate School of Education. At Stanford, her research focused on postsecondary access, postsecondary student success, and workforce development. She also worked to develop an innovative program model to support first generation, low-income students through the provisioning of essential personal technology. Through her work at the Lab, Kate channels her passion to broaden postsecondary pathways and opportunities for scholars.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Scholar Alumni Board
- Volunteer Alumni Society Advisor / National Education Equity Lab
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Strategy and Policy at the National Education Equity Lab
- Managing Director, Strategy and Policy
- Managing Director, Strategy and Policy / National Education Equity Lab
Laura Moore is the Managing Director of Strategy and Policy at the National Education Equity Lab where she leads initiatives to accelerate the organization's mission of advancing economic and social mobility opportunities for low-income students and students of color at scale. She joined the organization from the Obama Foundation where she served as Chief of Staff to the CEO and Deputy Director of Education.
Moore has more than a decade of experience working in policy at the national, state, and local levels. Before joining the Foundation, Moore served as the Deputy Policy Director at Opportunity Insights where she worked with stakeholders across the country to develop scalable policies that empower families to rise out of poverty and achieve better life outcomes. Before joining Opportunity Insights, she worked in Tennessee, where she served as the Senior Advisor for Education for Nashville's mayors Megan Barry and David Briley; Vice President of Policy for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce; and Director of Innovation at the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE). Moore began her career as the project and policy manager at Civic Enterprises, a public policy firm based in Washington, D.C. A Memphis native, Moore earned her bachelor's degree from Harvard University and her Masters of Public Policy from Vanderbilt's Peabody College.
Job Titles:
- Advisory Board Member / Vice President, National Program & Program Director, Education
- Advisory Board Member, Vice President of Carnegie Corporation of New York
LaVerne Evans Srinivasan is the vice president of Carnegie Corporation of New York's National program and the program director for Education. She oversees grantmaking and other activities aimed at engaging parents and communities, improving teaching and leadership for learning, advancing innovative learning environment designs, providing K-12 pathways to college and career success, and fostering integrated approaches to innovation and learning in the field of education. Ms. Srinivasan has extensive experience with senior-level leadership roles in the areas of urban district change, non-profit education reform, and educational technology. As deputy chancellor of the New York City Department of Education from 2003 to 2006, she directed and managed the long-term strategic planning of the Human Resources division and the Student Enrollment Planning and Operations division and launched the Parent and Community Engagement division. She designed and implemented Project Home Run, a strategically redesigned and streamlined system for recruiting, hiring, and placing teachers and school principals that greatly increased the teacher talent available to high-needs schools and has been replicated nationwide. In 2006, Ms. Srinivasan became President of New Leaders for New Schools, where she led and managed day-to-day strategy and operations. In addition, she oversaw the organization's growth and expansion into six new urban school systems, its launch and development of the Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) awards program, and the doubling of its network of community and staff.
As President of Time to Know, an educational technology company, Ms. Srinivasan worked to provide teachers with a suite of integrated tools for curriculum planning, classroom management, and student assessment designed to foster deeper learning by students through writing, project work, problem-solving, and creative activities. She later co-founded FieroNow, a technology company created to equip education organizations with meaningful and actionable feedback from their stakeholders, and with the data needed to respond. Ms. Srinivasan began her career at the law firm Shearman and Sterling LLP. In 1993, she joined BMG Entertainment as Senior Director, Legal and Business Affairs, rising to Senior Vice President, Legal and Business Affairs, and General Counsel Worldwide. She is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. She serves on the board of Young Audiences New York, and on the advisory boards of College Promise Campaign, Education Equity Lab, Jefferson Education Exchange and Reach Higher. She is also a Pahara Fellow.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Founder
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Trustee
- Founder & CEO of National Education Equity Lab
Ms. Cornfeld has devoted her career to advancing equity and opportunity for our nation's underserved communities - through their schools, justice systems and unconventional partners. A former federal civil rights prosecutor, senior Obama administration official, advising two U.S. Secretaries of Education and the White House for the President's My Brother's Keeper initiative, and a two-term advisor for former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, she currently leads the National Education Equity Lab, a nonprofit that she founded to drive opportunity at scale through innovation, collaboration and action. She taught at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and started her career as an aide to former U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan in Washington DC.
Ms. Cornfeld has a strong track record of designing and leading cross-sector efforts to tackle pressing social and community challenges. A Washington Post editorial praised the effort she led in NYC schools to address truancy and chronic absenteeism as "an example of what's possible," and the U.S. Conference of Mayors called it a "model for other cities."
As a federal civil rights prosecutor, Ms. Cornfeld led complex public corruption, police abuse, and human trafficking cases and twice received the U.S. Attorney General's Director's Award for outstanding performance. Prior to that, she was appointed deputy chief counsel of the NYC Commission to Investigate Alleged Police Corruption (the "Mollen Commission") where she helped develop and lead investigations of alleged police corruption, brutality, and system failures - resulting in NYC's creation of a permanent police oversight commission. She was a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; and clerked for the Honorable Pierre N. Leval, SDNY (now U.S. 2nd Circuit).
Ms. Cornfeld serves as trustee for numerous non-profit boards, including the Children's Defense Fund for over a decade (former trustee), the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Alliance for Excellent Education, the Center for Law, Brain and Behavior, the Hospital for Special Surgery, and serves on the Brookings Institute's Task Force on Next Gen Community Schools. She founded a public speaking and advocacy program for East Harlem girls and has served for the past decade as an active coach and mentor to a large group of extraordinary young women who recently began college.
Her articles and op-ed pieces have appeared in many publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, the NY Law Journal, and Huffington Post; she is a frequent speaker on education equity, civic engagement, and policing, and has been featured on numerous national news and media programs on these topics.
A proud graduate of Broward County public schools, Ms. Cornfeld graduated from Harvard College, Phi Beta Kappa, and Harvard Law School. She attributes her career path to her high school English teacher who remains the most inspiring teacher she ever had. She has two children and lives in New York City.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Member of the Advisory Board and Team
- President
- Advisory Board Member / Founder and President Emerita
- Advisory Board Member, Founder & President of Children 's Defense Fund
Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president emerita of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), has been an advocate for disadvantaged Americans for her entire professional life. Under her leadership, CDF has become the nation's strongest voice for children and families. The Children's Defense Fund's Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. Mrs. Edelman, a graduate of Spelman College and Yale Law School, began her career in the mid-60s when, as the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar, she directed the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund office in Jackson, Mississippi. In l968, she moved to Washington, D.C., as counsel for the Poor People's Campaign that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. began organizing before his death. She founded the Washington Research Project, a public interest law firm and the parent body of the Children's Defense Fund. For two years she served as the Director of the Center for Law and Education at Harvard University and in l973 began CDF. Mrs. Edelman served on the Board of Trustees of Spelman College which she chaired from 1976 to 1987 and was the first woman elected by alumni as a member of the Yale University Corporation on which she served from 1971 to 1977. She has received over a hundred honorary degrees and many awards including the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Prize, the Heinz Award, and a MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship.
In 2000, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award for her writings which include: Families in Peril: An Agenda for Social Change; The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours; Guide My Feet: Meditations and Prayers on Loving and Working for Children; Stand for Children; Lanterns: A Memoir of Mentors; Hold My Hand: Prayers for Building a Movement to Leave No Child Behind; I'm Your Child, God: Prayers for Our Children; I Can Make a Difference: A Treasury to Inspire Our Children; and The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small: Charting a Course for the Next Generation. She is a board member of the Robin Hood Foundation and the Association to Benefit Children, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Marian Wright Edelman is married to Peter Edelman, a Professor at Georgetown Law School. They have three sons, Joshua, Jonah, and Ezra, two granddaughters, Ellika and Zoe, and two grandsons, Elijah and Levi.
Job Titles:
- Admissions and Engagement Manager
- Admissions and Engagement Manager / National Education Equity Lab
Mayra Baeza is a proud first-generation Mexican-Guatemalan-American. She was born in Chicago and raised in a western suburb of Chicago. Senior year of high school she chose to research segregation, specifically in schools, which was assigned by her AP English teacher. This research paper ignited her passion to dismantle education inequities. She attended the University of Dayton to study sociology, human rights, and political science. She graduated earning magna cum laude and the Outstanding Student Award in both of her majors: Sociology and Human Rights Studies.
In Dayton, she sought opportunities to learn more about the education system, which led her to be a youth leader in an after-school program for third to twelfth graders in East Dayton. During her time at East End Community Services she created various interdisciplinary programs as well as coordinated an opportunity for experiential learning in Washington, D.C. Her experience at the community center reaffirmed her desire to pursue a career in educational justice.
The summer before her senior year she undertook two major projects. She engaged in a year-long project researching, conducting field work in El Paso, Texas and creating multimedia products for The Moral Courage Project: America the Borderland. As part of the project an exhibit, website, and a podcast were produced. Later that summer she interned in the U.S. Department of Education, focusing on teacher retention.
After her internship, she started her career as an elementary school teacher in Houston, Texas with Teach for America. While teaching, Mayra was involved with Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE) as well an education organizing group called ONE Houston. In her Policy and Advocacy Fellowship with LEE she learned that although she enjoyed teaching kindergarten and second grade students, she wanted to leverage the education system as an agent of change outside of the classroom. Through LEE she learned about The Lab. She quickly connected with the Lab's mission and has joined the team in aiming to change the opportunity gap.
Outside of learning how to create systems change for more equitable opportunities - Mayra enjoys reading, going on jogs, and spending time with her family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Chief People Officer
- Advisory Board Member, Former Chief People Officer / HR Consultant / Executive Coach
Melinda Wolfe has served as Chief People Officer and led talent initiatives with a passionate focus on diversity, equity and inclusion at companies including 2U, GLG, Pearson, Bloomberg, American Express and Goldman Sachs. Across industry, she has joined leadership teams to optimize organizational design, culture and human resource priorities, while driving outcomes for employee engagement, productivity and profitability. Ms. Wolfe began her career in public finance at Merrill Lynch where she managed billions of dollars of project finance and public power transactions for public and private sector clients.
Ms. Wolfe has held the chief HR role at private, private equity-backed and public companies, all with global reach and each at critical inflection points in their size and evolution. She has partnered with CEOs and leadership teams, as a thought leader, coach and operator to achieve organic growth strategies, integrate powerful acquisitions and downsize through divestitures and contraction of challenged businesses. She has worked with company boards and board committees on succession planning, executive talent acquisition, and alignment of competitive compensation programs, focusing on compliance and regular reporting of people practices. As a company leader, she has transformed HR processes and systems and encouraged a sense of belonging and community to deepen culture and increase retention of employees in regions across the globe, particularly Millennials and Gen Z. Additionally, Ms. Wolfe has overseen Social Impact and Corporate Social Responsibility efforts that have been a centerpiece of employee engagement efforts.
In addition to her work in the private sector, Ms. Wolfe holds several leadership positions in the non-profit sector. Currently, she chairs the board of the ZanaAfrica Foundation and serves as a board member of Echoing Green, Coqual (formerly, The Center for Talent Innovation), W.O.M.E.N. In America and Generation W . She previously served on the NYC Mayor's Commission on Women and on advisory boards for several academic institutions including the Dalton School, Barnard's Athena Center, Duke University, Washington University and the School of Public and International Affairs at Columbia, where she also taught as an Adjunct Faculty Member.
Ms. Wolfe is a frequent speaker at conferences on a range of subjects including talent management, and diversity, equity and inclusion. She regularly facilitates executive teams across sectors on strategy and execution of HR initiatives and coaches emerging leaders on career considerations. She received her undergraduate degree from Washington University and her graduate degree at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Scholar Alumni Board
- President / National Education Equity Lab
- President, Alumni Society Board
My name is Michaell Santos from the Bronx, New York, originally from the Dominican Republic. I attend the Bronx School for Law, Government, and Justice and will be attending Yale University as a Questbridge Scholar this fall where I plan on majoring in political science and pursuing a certificate in Human rights. Through the Equity Lab I have taken 5 courses which are Principles of Criminal Justice and Environmental Justice with Howard University, The Modern and Postmodern with Wesleyan University, Raise Your Voice: Learn to Write Successfully for College and Beyond with Stanford University, and Future-L: Introduction to American Law and the U.S Legal System with Harvard Law School. I want to see myself working in law or politics, to give back and help my community with issues that I think are important to solve. Due to that passion, I've pursued opportunities to expand my passion and have had the honor of interning for City Council Member Vanessa Gibson and Judge George B. Daniels of the U.S District Court for the Southern District of New York. I was drawn to the alumni society because I wanted to keep my connection with the lab and find a way to give back. Since my junior year, the lab has given me countless opportunities and has allowed me to grow as a student and person. Gaining leadership in the alumni society was a step for me to collaborate with other students and strengthen the alumni network. The National Education Equity Lab made me realize that I could be successful outside of the environment in which I was already confident. The equity lab has also made me grow a passion for education equity and bringing educational resources to communities like mine.
When I'm not doing something related to school, I love exploring different new places and restaurants with friends.
Job Titles:
- Chief of Staff to the CEO
- Chief of Staff to the CEO / National Education Equity Lab
As the Chief of Staff to the CEO Miranda supports the CEO and team cross functionally in outgoing communications, development and outreach efforts. Miranda grew up in Washington DC and spent time there interning for the nonprofit Everybody Wins DC that provides free reading based programs to elementary school students in underserved communities. She also enjoyed her time tutoring middle schoolers in writing. She has seen the impact opportunities can make on a students confidence and is motivated to support efforts that give those opportunities.
Miranda graduated from Emerson College with a Bachelors of Arts in Visual Media Arts. She is excited to support the collaborative community of scholars and education leaders in the Ed Equity Lab Consortium that empowers talented students across the country.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Scholar Alumni Board
- Vice President of Community / National Education Equity Lab
- Vice President of Community, Alumni Society Board
Hola! My name is Paulina Anaya and I am a rising junior attending Lake Wales High school. I was born in New York and raised in Florida. At this point in my journey with the National Education Equity Lab, I have had the opportunity to take "The Modern and Postmodern", a class offered through Wesleyan University and taught by the University's president, Michael Roth. With this course, I've developed confidence in my work ethic, my capabilities as a student, and my potential in a higher education environment. Gaining exposure to subjects and global ideologies I would've never come across in a traditional high school classroom set the stage for me to understand what it means to truly define myself. This class and the numerous other opportunities I've participated in through NEEL have led me to grow interests in sociology, advocacy, and learning. I joined the Alumni Society as a member of my community, and in joining, I aspire to develop the program that has enabled me to greater heights and to set a precedent that will help students like me gain access to the tools they need to thrive. Ultimately, I joined because I know what it means to be capable in a world limited in opportunity. I work as hard as I do because I've been given the opportunity to; I recognize the generations who precede me, and I recognize what I can do for the generations who'll proceed after me. The National Education Equity Lab provides students like me with the immutable endowment of education, and in pushing forward through the path they've helped me pave, I hope to pave the way for others.
Job Titles:
- Advisory Board Member / Superintendent of Broward
- Advisory Board Member, Superintendent of Broward County Public Schools
As the leader of the nation's sixth-largest school district, with nearly 270,000 students from over 200 countries and speaking more than 190 different languages - ensuring equity, mental health and wellness, safe and supportive learning environments, closing achievement gaps and celebrating diversity are priorities for Superintendent Robert W. Runcie.
Superintendent Runcie joined Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) in 2011 and quickly worked to develop a strategic plan focusing on three strategic goals: high-quality instruction, safe and supportive environments, and effective communication.
Job Titles:
- Director, Course Development & Impact / National Education Equity Lab
Job Titles:
- Member of the Scholar Alumni Board
- Vice President of Community / National Education Equity Lab
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager, Student Success & College Pathways
Job Titles:
- Director, Course Development & Impact
- Director, Course Development & Impact / National Education Equity Lab
Shaquille is a first-generation Jamaican American and a native New Yorker who graduated from SUNY Binghamton with a bachelor's degree in Psychology. He joined Teach For America as a 2015 Greater New Orleans corps member, teaching Mathematics at a Title I high school for four years. As a teacher, he developed a desire to understand the structures that shape the disparities his students faced, leading him to study Education Policy & Leadership at American University's School of Education. Shaquille has worked as a consultant for the Opportunity Institute in Washington, D.C., and was selected as an Urban Leaders Fellow in 2019. In addition, he completed the Leadership for Education Equity Public Policy Fellowship in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2020, focusing on issues related to the digital divide for K-12 students, trauma-informed care, and forming community networks. Currently, Shaquille is a Director of Course Development & Impact at the National Education Equity Lab, where he delivers College-in-High School courses to high school students nationwide. Shaquille's long-term goal is to use his education, public policy, and relationship-building background to create a pathway to success for underserved youth and communities across the nation.
Job Titles:
- Advisory Board Member / Managing Member, Kindred Capital
- Managing Member of Kindred Capital
Steve Galbraith is a Managing Member of Kindred Capital. Previously he was a Partner at Maverick Capital where he chaired the firm's Management Committee; and was the Chief Investment Officer at Morgan Stanley. Prior to Morgan Stanley, he was a Partner at Sanford Bernstein, where he was a highly ranked analyst in the consumer goods industry and later the financial services sector.
From 1998 to 2008, Steve was an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University Business School, where he taught securities analysis.
Steve serves on the Board of Trustees of Tufts University and the Board of Directors of Narragansett Brewing Company, Pzena Investment Management, Saïd Holdings Limited and the Success Academy Charter Network.
Previously, Steve Galbraith served as on the Board of the National Constitution Center and was appointed by the U.S. Treasury to be an Advisor to the Office of Financial Research. He also served as Chair of Success Academy Network's Board of Trustees.
He received his B.A. (summa cum laude) from Tufts University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Research and Analytics
- Managing Director of Research and Analytics / National Education Equity Lab
As Managing Director of Research and Analytics at the National Education Equity Lab, Steve stewards research partnerships and oversees the strategic utilization of all data related systems. Previously, Steve spent the past decade in leadership roles at innovative education technology companies (EverFi; BetterLesson; and EarlyBird Education) that provided digital curricula, professional learning services, and assessments respectively. His experience working directly with educators around the country, supporting third party research, and executing strategic cross-functional projects helps him effectively partner with a diverse set of stakeholders. Steve began his career as a high school teacher and has degrees from Colby College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Development
- Managing Director, Development / National Education Equity Lab
Fueled by her experiences as an elementary school educator in Hyattsville, Maryland, Suneet has dedicated her career to eliminating educational inequity at a systemic level. In the past decade, she has cultivated a unique perspective having worked at the intersection of policy, data analysis, and philanthropy.
After her time in the classroom, Suneet joined The Education Trust-Midwest, advocating for state accountability and equitable policies to better serve Michigan's students. Having seen the impact philanthropy can have firsthand in Detroit, Suneet was motivated to enter the development world. In 2018, Suneet joined the Teach For America Massachusetts team as their lead fundraiser for all corporate and foundation partnerships. Prior to joining the Lab, Suneet also served as Brightbeam's first head of development strategy. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University and holds a master's degree in education from George Mason University.
Sydni Turner earned a Masters of Arts in Sociology from Howard University in May 2021. Her Master's Thesis "The Rebirth of Black is King: Exploring the Parent-Child Experience Among Incarcerated Black Fathers Narrated by Their Children discusses the successful parenting practices Black fathers used during incarceration. Additional research explores mass incarceration, the Black family, and reentry into society. Sydni is a full time OPM retained Background Field Investigator III responsible for protecting national security as she investigates individuals seeking government security clearances. As a Prince George's county native, she currently serves as a reentry mentor at Welcome Home Reentry Program. Her role assists young adults, who reside in the Prince George's County Community Release Center, with successfully reintegrating into society post incarceration. In addition, she is a board member and secretary at It Takes A Village Collaborative (ITAVCollab) non-profit organization whose mission is to provide individuals, families, and communities, with resources, services, and networks to empower them to reach their fullest potential. ITAVCollab received a grant in Spring 2021 to conduct the "To Be Me" program providing women returning citizens with a safe environment to learn about their history, connect with their community, and develop their network. ITAVCollab To Be Me infuses a holistic approach to wellness in partnership with the National Reentry Network program to help build support, awareness, resilience, opportunity, enrichment, communication skills, self-empowerment and self-confidence in its participants and staff. Long term, she aims to own a reentry non-profit organization that provides services such as employment, housing, and life skills to the formerly incarceration population.
Job Titles:
- Operations and Special Projects Associate
- Operations and Special Projects Associate / National Education Equity Lab
Ginny was born and raised in New Jersey and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2020 with a Bachelors of Arts in Public Policy and German. Immediately following graduation, Ginny was accepted to Teach For America as a Dallas-Fort Worth Corps Member where she taught sixth grade science at E.B. Comstock Middle School and earned her master's degree in Education from Southern Methodist University. Following her time as a teacher, Ginny worked as a college advisor at Skyline High School.
Job Titles:
- Advisory Board Member / University of Virginia, Professor of Practice / Former Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company
Job Titles:
- Director of Strategic Partnerships
- Director of Strategic Partnerships / National Education Equity Lab
Vivian's professional background started on Wall Street in finance. She was a corporate bond trader at Lehman Brothers before she left to start a family.
Vivian has over 20 years of philanthropic experience. Her interest in education led her to become a long term Board member at George Jackson Academy, a middle school for underserved boys in downtown Manhattan. She also served on the Board of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice, and has recently been a lead supporter of its new Social Justice Scholar's Program. Additionally, Vivian is on the Board of the UJA Federation of New York (United Jewish Appeal), and serves on its Community Initiative for Holocaust Survivors Committee.
Vivian's passion for art extends to being an active member of the Chairman's Council at the Metropolitan Museum and the Education Committee at the Whitney Museum. She graduated with a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.