AERDF - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Manager, Investment Operations
- Senior Manager of Investment Operations for EF Math
Alex Vazquez is the Senior Manager of Investment Operations for EF+Math. Before joining the team, she was an organizational development consultant, where she worked with organizations to create efficient and equity-focused processes and policies. Prior to her work as a consultant, she was the first Director of Finance and Operations at Hack the Hood, where she grew operational capacity to meet the demand for opportunities to support Black and Brown youth as they developed skills to enter the tech industry. Throughout her career, she has focused on the intersection of operations and equity, developing internal structures that create more equitable workplaces. Vazquez earned a dual bachelor's in Ethnic Studies and Political Science from UC Berkeley and her MBA in Design Strategy from the California College of the Arts.
Anum Malik works to support the development of external partnerships, bringing deep experience in building relationships with students and educators, influencing federal and state education policy, and K-12 curriculum design. Prior to her role at AERDF, Anum was a consultant for national civil rights groups where she successfully helped organizations launch campaigns focused on uplifting voices from marginalized communities. She previously managed programs serving Baltimore City Public School students, taught history to high school students in Harlem and the Bronx, and championed federal legislation guidance protecting students' civil rights. Anum holds a B.A. in Economics from Bryn Mawr College, and a M.A.T. in Secondary Education from Johns Hopkins University. Outside of work, she enjoys boxing, learning languages, and spending time in nature.
Job Titles:
- Ethics and Privacy Counsel
Asia Parks is the Ethics and Privacy counsel for AERDF. Asia has 8 years of legal experience. Asia has a diverse background but takes the most pride in her community efforts, as a lawyer in Georgia she's supported various organizations. She served as the Chair of the Georgia Chapter of the National Lawyer's Guild where she led the Legal Observer Program. She currently sits on the board of Sur Legal Collaborative a legal organization that supports immigrant workers in Georgia. In her free time, she loves on her pets, tends to her garden, loves to travel and takes various dance classes. She holds a B.S. in Biology with a concentration in Biodiversity from Hampton University and JD from John Marshall Law School of Atlanta.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director ( EF Math )
- Executive Director for EF Math
Aubrey Francisco is the Executive Director for EF+Math. Prior to stepping into the role of Executive Director, Aubrey served as EF+Math's Deputy Program Director, working closely with Founding Program Director Melina Uncapher to launch EF+Math, drive overall program strategy and implementation, and manage awarded R&D teams.
An engineer by training, Aubrey brings expertise in working collaboratively at the intersection of research, education practice, and technology development to design, implement, and scale approaches that can improve learning outcomes.
Previously, Aubrey was Chief Research Officer at Digital Promise, where she led the development of novel ways to communicate learning sciences research, supervised dozens of pilot studies of education technology products, developed continuous improvement methods for supporting schools in implementing instructional coaching, and was co-principal investigator on an effort to scale an effective early literacy professional support system.
Prior to joining Digital Promise, Francisco worked in biomedical R&D where she developed innovative biomaterials for intervertebral disc regeneration. She earned her undergraduate degree from Syracuse University and her PhD from Duke University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
Beki's AERDF's Chief Operating Officer, charged with building an effective, agile infrastructure, a high performing, equitable, inclusive and sustainable organization in service of AERDF's mission. She is responsible for strategic planning, finance, people, procurement & investment relations and governance and also serves as Treasurer for the AERDF Board.
Beki has 25+ years of global strategy, operations and board governance experience, and has scaled, expanded and transformed complex, global nonprofits and for-profit companies with operations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and Middle East/Africa. As a mission-focused leader she expands access, elevates the voice of underserved communities and closes equity gaps - unlocking organizational/leadership value and driving impact through programs with significant expertise in DEI.
Previously, Beki served as the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and Board Secretary of Graduate Management Admission Council, a $100M global association of leading graduate business schools in the U.S., Europe, India and China. She pivoted GMAC from a HQ centered organization to a global model and created a global philosophy/framework with culturally relevant local practices. Beki simplified operations through entity consolidation, changed tax posture and established shared services operations in India in six months. She also led the organization's COVID-19 response on finance, people and facilities - maintaining strong cash and liquidity focus through investment portfolio, vendor negotiations, cost cutting measures and necessary staff restructuring.
Earlier at Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE), as SVP of Partnerships & Infrastructure, and inaugural COO, Beki led organizational strategy, setting enterprise goals through data and analytics and built high performing operational functions - including (not limited to) Strategy, Finance, HR, Fundraising, and Technology. She established and led LEE's complex finance and governance structure of 501c3, 501c4 and 20+ PACs with 20+ states - each with varying IRS, state, and election rules. Beki helped scale LEE from 10K to 40K+ members, $200K to $30M annual revenue and 3 to 160+ FTES, also leading senior executive hiring, compensation, and succession of several VPs. She co-led the DEI strategy, increasing racial diversity from 40 to 58% across all levels, closing gaps in hiring, compensation, and promotion.
Earlier Beki served as Vice President of Strategy at Teach For America, Director of Strategy at Sprint Nextel, Consultant at McKinsey & Co.
Beki grew up in Turkey and has lived in the US and Europe and is passionate about bringing a global, diverse stakeholder mindset into both the business and the boardroom.
Job Titles:
- Director of Research and Development
Bill Fitzgerald is the Director of Research and Development for AERDF. Prior to joining AERDF, Bill was a privacy researcher in the Digital Lab at Consumer Reports, where he worked on cross functional teams designing research frameworks and building tools to simplify and streamline privacy and security research and reporting.
Bill's first job was a K12 teacher and technology director, where he taught students English, History, and Technology. Bill planned and supported 1:1 laptop initiatives in the late nineties and early aughts. Because of this work, Bill was able to observe and develop innovative uses of technology in his own classes with students who were not shy about providing direct feedback about what worked and what didn't.
After teaching for 16 years, Bill founded an open source software development company that worked primarily with educational and non-profit organizations. His company supported organizations committed to building communities of learners, authoring and distributing openly licensed content, and respecting learner privacy.
When Bill is not online, he can often be found grilling delicious food, drinking good coffee, or riding his bicycle.
Job Titles:
- Director of K - 12 Education, Gates Foundation
Job Titles:
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- Founder of LearningForge LLC
Saxberg is the Founder of LearningForge LLC. Saxberg was responsible for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's thinking about how to expand and apply learning science results and good learning measurement practice at scale to real-world learning situations across the full span of learning - pre-K, K-16, and beyond.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor, K - 12 Education Program, Walton Family Foundation
Job Titles:
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- President, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder of Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity
Cassandra Herring, Ph.D., is the President, Chief Executive Officer, and founder of Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity (BranchED). BranchED is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to maximizing programming and driving innovation in preparing highly effective diverse educators for all learners. Dr. Herring's passion for equity-driven education reform is firmly rooted in the belief that diversity and excellence are inextricably linked. Dr. Herring has more than 20 years of experience in education, and her career spans all levels of education. She has worked in early childhood settings through higher education and has led several state education policy initiatives.
Prior to founding BranchED, Dr. Herring served as Dean of the School of Education and Human Development at Hampton University for nearly 10 years. Under her leadership, struggling education programs were transformed, earning state approval and highest commendations by accrediting bodies. She doubled her school's enrollment through strategic recruitment efforts and secured external resources for student support. In addition to her work within the school of education, Dr. Herring conceptualized and spearheaded Hampton U Online, the university's virtual campus for the delivery of online degree programs, and opened the Hampton University International Office, a central hub for supporting international students and faculty, promoting study abroad, and building global connections.
Dr. Herring has served on numerous national and international boards, including on the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) Equity and Diversity Committee, the Board of Directors of Data Quality Campaign, and advisory boards for the Cato College of Education at the University of North Carolina Charlotte and Teachers College at Western Governors University. Previously, Dr. Herring served on the Board of Directors of the international Online Learning Consortium, the External Advisory Committee for the North Carolina Educator Quality Data Dashboard, the advisory board for the Jandris Center for Innovative Higher Education, and as Chair of the NAFEO Academic of Deans of Education Council. She has been recognized as a Salzburg Global Institute Fellow at Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg, Austria. Currently, Dr. Herring is a distinguished Emerson Collective Dial Fellow.
Dr. Herring earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Policy from Georgia State University, and Master of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.
Job Titles:
- Chief Learning Officer
- Leader
Chris Liang-Vergara is the Chief Learning Officer for AERDF. Liang-Vergara is a nationally recognized leader in education equity and innovation, with nearly two decades of experience in systemic change, student-centered design, and educational technology focusing on historically deprioritized populations in education. Prior to AERDF, he served as the Chief of Learning Innovation at LEAP Innovations, the Dir of Instructional Technology at FirstLine Schools, and was a high school science and English teacher for eight years. Chris holds BAs in Biology and Secondary Education from Washington University in St. Louis and a M.A.Ed. in Curriculum, Technology, and Education Reform from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Liang-Vergara is a proud Pahara Fellow, member of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoc), and father of two boys.
Job Titles:
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- Executive Director of Great Public Schools Now
- Executive Director, Great Public Schools
Dr. Ana F. Ponce is the Executive Director of Great Public Schools Now. Most recently, Ana was the CEO of Camino Nuevo Charter Academy, a network of six charter schools and an early education center serving more than 3,600 students in central Los Angeles. Her accomplishments prompted Forbes Magazine in 2011 to name her one of the top seven most powerful educators in the world.
Ponce is the youngest daughter of Mexican immigrants and the first in her family to graduate college. She holds multiple degrees from Middlebury College, Columbia University, UCLA, and Loyola Marymount University. She spent a decade as a classroom teacher and founding team member of the first startup charter school in South L.A. before joining Camino Nuevo in 2001. She is also a national board member of UnidosUS, a national Latino advocacy organization, and a founding member and advisory committee member of EdLoC, an organization dedicated to elevating the leadership, voices, and influence of people of color in education and to improving public education through more inclusive efforts. She also serves on the LA. County Commission on Local Government Services.
Job Titles:
- Chief of Research and Development
- Chief of Research and Development ( AERDF ), Founder and Scientific Director ( EF Math )
Dr. Melina Uncapher is the Chief of Research and Development for AERDF and the Founder and Scientific Director of the first AERDF program, EF+Math. She is an educational neuroscientist with over two decades of experience in academia (with labs at Stanford, UC San Francisco, UC Irvine), the nonprofit sector, and technology development. Uncapher's career focus is on championing inclusive research and development in education, and advocating asset-based approaches to student learning. She brings together educators, researchers, and developers to co-create transformative solutions to problems of practice using rigorous science-of-learning insights and the wisdom of educators. She led a multi-university network funded by the National Science Foundation to study how executive function skills develop in real-world classrooms and co-founded a science-for-good nonprofit that equips educators and students with practical tools based on learning science. She was also funded by the National Institutes for Health to study how technology use is associated with developmental changes in student cognition. She earned her PhD in Neurobiology from the University of California, Irvine and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Stanford University.
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications
Dr. Yasmene Mumby is the Director of Communications for AERDF and guides our narrative approach to dignity-centered storytelling rooted in power, agency, and purposeful action across all branding, communications, and marketing initiatives.
Job Titles:
- Director of Strategic Development
Garron Hillaire is AERDF's Director of Strategic Development, and he draws on a technical background and an equity perspective in K-12 education. He has over a decade of work in technology start-ups, and he has contributed to research on Universal Design for Learning for another decade. Most recently he led a project in Equitable Teaching Practices while a Post-doc at MIT in the Teaching Systems Lab - where he explored Digital Decolonization through supporting communities to lead research around issues of equity. He holds an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Technology Innovation and Education as well as Ph.D. in Educational Technology from the Open University as a part of the award winning Open World Learning program. In his work at AERDF, Garron has helped to establish a strategy for identification of new ideas and leaders for new programs referred to as the Community Garden of Inclusive Research & Development.
Jade Heberer is the Learning Coordinator for AERDF. She connects individuals and program teams to the resources they need, manages organizational knowledge and structures, and builds workplace culture within AERDF's remote office setting. After graduating with a BFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Jade spent several years substitute teaching in her hometown. Prior to her role at AERDF, she worked as an Administrative Assistant at LEAP Innovations, a nonprofit committed to implementing personalized, learner-led curriculum in Chicago Public Schools. Throughout her professional career, Jade has discovered her passion for creating an equitable system that ensures a quality education for all learners, especially those in our priority communities. Jade lives in Chicago with her little cat, Famous Amos.
Job Titles:
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- Chief Investment and Impact Officer
- Chief Investment and Impact Partner, Blue Meridian Partners
James "Jim" Shelton is Chief Investment and Impact Officer at Blue Meridian Partners.
In this role, Jim leads Blue Meridian's efforts to continuously increase the impact, reach, and influence of our investees and investments. This includes driving the evolution, expansion, and ongoing implementation of Blue Meridian's regional investment strategy - integrating the work of expanding effective solutions nationwide with developing regional and local strategies that capture the compounding benefits of continuums of services - to produce the strongest possible outcomes for children and families and achieve community-wide impact.
Jim also oversees Blue Meridian's efforts to investigate new areas where significant focused capital can help solve problems at scale. Areas Jim will explore include new approaches to economic and social mobility and racial equity; supporting comprehensive place-based and regional strategies; the roles of for-profits, policy and advocacy; and the potential to leverage targeted universalism to have broad impacts.
Before becoming Chief Investment and Impact Officer, he was Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the organization, bringing to Blue Meridian deep multi-sector experience and expertise on the intersection of innovation, entrepreneurship, and systems change. Jim is currently a Senior Social Impact Advisor to KKR and Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute. Prior to joining Blue Meridian, he founded Amandla Enterprises, an impact investment and advisory firm, and was President of Education for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, President and Chief Impact Officer at 2U, and Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Education.
Job Titles:
- Director of People Experience & Culture
Jeff Davis is a Chicago-born, Boston-area resident who has committed to living a life as an advocate of truth, justice, and equity for all. He is a loving partner of 11 years of marriage and the parent of two beautiful young boys. He is a blerd who believes in Black heroes, sharing more BIPOC stories, running for the joy and pain of it and finds balance via yoga, therapy, and quality time. He runs every Saturday with his brothers at Black Men Run Boston (BMR) Boston, a healthy community he started that seeks to enrich the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of all Black Men in Boston.
Professionally, Jeff is a people & culture professional focused on maximizing the human experience in working environments. He believes in the exponential potential of all persons to achieve incredible outcomes, if allowed to be their most authentic selves. He brings 18 years of working experience into his role as the Director of the AERDF People Experience & Culture Team.
Job Titles:
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- CEO, EdSolutions
After a long career at McGraw-Hill Education that included roles in sales, marketing, education policy and general management, Livingston formed EdSolutions, LLC in 2015 as a vehicle for focusing education innovation, investment and philanthropy on underserved students, scaling proven innovations to reach the students who will benefit most from them. Today, the dozen professionals of EdSolutions help organizations to find impact through the markets for education goods and services primarily vi: Ecosystem Maps, Target Product Profiles, Go-to Market Strategies and other customized consulting services.
Livingston holds a baccalaureate degree in Government from Harvard University. He has served as a director of the Association of Educational Publishers, the Association of American Publishers- Education Division, the Software and Information Industry Association, The Harlem Educational Activities Fund, UnBoundEd Learning, New Meridian, LaborX, Yenko and Allhere. Jeff currently lives in New York City with his wife, Sahily Artiles, a naturalized American citizen and certified Spanish/English court interpreter.
Job Titles:
- Educator Engagement Strategist
Kidus Mezgebu is the Educator Engagement Strategist at AERDF. He is currently in his final year of the Ed.L.D program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and has chosen to complete his residency at AERDF. In his role at AERDF, Kidus is leading the creation of an education engagement strategy. Previously, Kidus was a Senior Program Manager and District Partnership Manager at Everyday Labs where he worked to reduce chronic absenteeism using behavioral science-based interventions. Before that, he co-managed the Urban Superintendent Program at HGSE-a program that produced the most urban superintendents in the country-and he served on the Advisory Board for the Posse Foundation. Kidus also has experience doing research on the impact of the stereotype threat in testing performance and the role of framing on charitable giving. Kidus has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Denison University and a master's in Education Policy from HGSE.
Job Titles:
- Manager, Knowledge and IT
Job Titles:
- People Experience Manager
Maria Mercado is AERDF's People Experience Manager. She is a New Jersey native who has spent ten years as a Human Resources leader in the non-profit sector. Most recently, Maria was the Senior Human Resources Manager at Mindlance. Previously, she was the Human Resources Director at Alpine Country Club and a Human Resources Business Partner at Valley National Bank. Maria spent eight+ years at Everas Community Services as the Director of Human Resources, using her talent management expertise to build the Human Resources team and help the organization triple in size. Maria earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Princeton University, where she was a coxswain for the Men's Rowing Team. Maria also holds certifications as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and as a Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). Maria volunteers as an Alumni Interviewer supporting the Princeton University Admissions Office in the selection process of prospective students. In her spare time, Maria enjoys spending time with family and friends, hiking, going to the beach, reading, cooking, and going on road trips. She resides in Morristown, New Jersey.
Job Titles:
- Chief
- Public Affairs Officer
Marvin Smith is the Chief Public Affairs Officer for AERDF. In his current role, Smith leads external alliance building strategy and external communications to drive support for inclusive R&D as a powerful means of collaboratively addressing challenges within PreK-12 education, especially those that impact Black and Latino learners. He previously led resource development, stakeholder engagement and communications as Chief External Officer for Teaching Trust, a nonprofit that provided practice-based training and coaching for school leaders and their teams. Prior to that, Smith managed federal advocacy for KIPP Foundation, helping to amplify the influence of educators and students on policy issues important to them. He has devoted his career to working with leaders at various levels to expand access to great schools through roles in fundraising, advocacy and philanthropy. Smith is a proud member of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC). He lives in Dallas, TX with his wife and daughter.
Job Titles:
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- President, Spencer Foundation
Job Titles:
- Manager of Finance for AERDF Shared Services
Nerica Bowie is the Manager of Finance for AERDF Shared Services. In her current role, Bowie supports all financial-related functions for AERDF.
She brings more than 12 years of accounting, tax, and financial management experience in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors. With 5 years of experience directing financial activities, she specializes in using business acumen to help organizations streamline financial policies and processes. She also has both high school and college teaching experience. Nerica holds a Bachelor of Business from Austin Peay State University, an MBA from Middle Tennessee State University and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education degree in Organizational Leadership.
She enjoys shopping and traveling. Her core values encompass DEI, servant leadership, and authenticity.
Orlenda Herrera is the Executive Assistant for AERDF. She supports the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Integration Officer. Prior to this role, Orlenda was the Executive Assistant at NewSchools, supporting the Chief Executive Officer, President and the Innovative Schools team. Before joining NewSchools, Orlenda worked as a contractor at Kaiser Permanente, as well as shorter contracts at organizations like Cushman Wakefield, San Francisco Education Fund, and KQED. Before contracting, she worked as an administrative assistant at the Guatemalan Consulate. She holds a BA in International Relations from San Francisco State University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- Professor of Economics at MIT
- Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Parag A. Pathak is the Class of 1922 Professor of Economics at MIT. He is also the director of MIT's Blueprint Labs, a research laboratory which uses tools from market design and research design to produce rigorous evidence that can help decision-makers design and implement better policy. Pathak is also a co-founder of Avela Education and director of the NBER's Working Group on Market Design. His scholarly work focuses on education. He has played a role in designing student assignment systems across the country, including in New York City, Boston, and New Orleans. Pathak has received numerous awards for his research, including the John Bates Clark medal, given to the economist under 40 whose work is judged to have made the most significant contribution to the field.
Poursha Jackson is the Director of Finance at AERDF. Poursha is responsible for budgeting, financial reporting, financial systems and policy implementation and management, and overseeing finance team operations.
Poursha and her husband, Richard, have two fur babies - Honey and Copper. Poursha allows love, light, and laughter to guide her.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director ( Reading Reimagined )
- Executive Director of Reading Reimagined
Rebecca Kockler is the Executive Director of Reading Reimagined, an inclusive R&D project focused on unlocking the great reader in every child. Rebecca formed this belief-and found the inspiration to do something about it-after decades supporting students, families, and teachers at the school, district, and state level. As the former Assistant Superintendent of Academics at the Louisiana Department of Education, Rebecca created a comprehensive, nationally recognized academic support model that provided teachers, principals, and districts unique resources and direct support to integrate assessments, curriculum, and teacher evaluation. This included redesigning the statewide assessment system, building a complete and nationally validated English language arts curriculum and aligned statewide interim assessment system, implementing a nationally recognized curricular and assessment review process, founding an advanced principal fellowship program, and training a cohort of over 5,000 teacher leaders each quarter. As a result, students in Louisiana achieved record-high college enrollment rates, graduation rates, TOPS-eligibility (state-funded scholarship) rates, postsecondary credentialing rates, and ACT scores. During this time, Louisiana was the fastest improving state in the country on Advanced Placement. Over the past decade, Louisiana ranked in the top ten for growth among states in all four core subjects of NAEP. Rebecca began her career as a middle school teacher in Newark, New Jersey. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her husband and family.
Job Titles:
- Head of Education, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Job Titles:
- Executive Director ( Assessment for Good )
- Executive Director for Assessment for Good
Temple S. Lovelace is the Executive Director for Assessment for Good. Assessment for Good grew out of a commitment to transforming the role of assessment in the lives of Black and Latinx learners, so that it is identity-affirming, responsive, and honors the continuum of their development. Before joining AERDF, Temple was an Associate Professor of Special Education at Duquesne University and in 2018 launched eXiLab, a cooperative incubator for emancipatory research and development that focuses on advancing equitable learning opportunities that are accessible to learners across a variety of contexts. Her research is centered on the intersection of disability, race, and gender with particular interest in creating innovative, culturally-affirming supports for Black neurodiverse girls. Her recent research has examined the use of ecobehavioral assessment and technology as a means to identify and ameliorate environmental risk factors that lead to the overrepresentation of Black learners in exclusionary school spaces. She received her Ph.D. in Special Education from The Ohio State University.