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Staff

Senior Leadership Team

Denise Forte

President and CEO

Denise Forte (pronounced “fort”) is the president and CEO at The Education Trust.

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Amber Arellano, MPP

Executive Director at The Education Trust-Midwest

Amber Arellano is the founding executive director of The Education Trust-Midwest.

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Alexza Barajas Clark, Ph.D.

Interim Executive Director EdTrust-Tennessee

Alexza advises the state director and develops strategic goals and key initiatives to help advance Tennessee’s mission to advocate for equitable education for historically underserved students across the state.

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Arlen Benjamin-Gomez

Executive Director, EdTrust-New York

Arlen Benjamin-Gomez brings 20 years of experience as an education advocate and policymaker, deeply rooted in the fabric of New York.

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Wil Del Pilar, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President

Wil Del Pilar, Ph.D., serves as Ed Trust’s Senior Vice President.

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Nicolle Grayson

Vice President, Communications

As vice president of communications at EdTrust, Nicolle leads a high-impact team dedicated to advancing policies that dismantle the racial and economic barriers in the U.S. education system.

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Claudia Luján

Chief of Staff

As the chief of staff at The Education Trust, Claudia oversees operations and provides strategic support to the CEO on organizational priorities and initiatives.

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Augustus Mays

Vice President, Partnerships and Engagement

As vice president for Partnerships and Engagement, Augustus leads the organization’s efforts to engage policymakers and diverse coalitions of advocates to enact equity-advancing policy change at the national and state levels.

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Christopher J. Nellum

Executive Director at EdTrust-West

Dr. Christopher Nellum (he/him/his) is the Executive Director of EdTrust–West.

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Wendy Scott

Chief Financial Officer

As chief financial officer, Wendy oversees fiscal operations, including accounting, budgeting, financial planning and analysis, reporting, banking, investments, and compliance, ensuring the organization’s financial health and sustainability.

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Allison Rose Socol, Ph.D.

Vice President for P-12 Policy, Research, & Practice

Allison Rose Socol, Ph.D. serves as Ed Trust’s vice president of P-12 policy, practice, and research.

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Rachel D. Stalcup

Chief Development Officer

As chief development officer, Rachel works to strengthen the movement for education equity and bolstering EdTrust’s impact by creating and executing a diversified fundraising plan that increases revenue.

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Office of the President

Felecia Branch

Sr. Executive Assistant

Felecia is a seasoned professional dedicated to providing exceptional administrative support and ensuring the seamless operation of the CEO and President of EdTrust, Denise Forte.

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Kevin Chappell

Executive Writer

As the executive writer, Kevin leads the direction, development, and execution of written materials for the CEO as well as others on the senior leadership team.

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Communications

Redante Asuncion-Reed

Website Manager

Redante collaborates with Communications leadership and content teams to develop digital communications and website strategies.

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George Bowles

Editor/Writer

George Bowles (they/them) is an editor/writer at EdTrust.

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Ameshia Cross

Director, Communications

Ameshia leads media strategy, press outreach, strategic marketing and external affairs for the Education Trust.

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Karen Lomax

Director, Art

As the lead creative of the visual voice for EdTrust, Karen develops and designs for all marketing mediums, including print collateral and online designs, and implements and maintains brand image and standards to build brand recognition for the organization.

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Letisha Marrero

Editorial Director

Letisha Marrero brings more than 20 years of editorial experience across multimedia platforms — digital, mobile, broadcast, and print — to Ed Trust.

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Gabriela Montell

Senior Editor/Writer

In her current role, Gabriela writes and edits a variety of content — including, but not limited to, blogs, newsletters, op-eds, articles, reports, and speeches.

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Carolyn Phenicie

Assistant Communications Director, P-12

Carolyn leads media strategy, press outreach and engagement for the P-12 team.

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Jalyn Tolliver

Graphic Designer

Jalyn creates high-quality designs for print, digital, and social media.

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Development

Emily Herd

Senior Associate, Development

Emily helps draft grant reports, budget narratives, and concept papers. She also processes grant awards, coordinates stewardship updates, prepares donor correspondence, manages grant and individual donor records, and conducts development-related research.

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Eliza Jarvinen

Director of Development

Eliza Jarvinen is EdTrust’s associate director of development.

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Leila Sukee

Development Assistant

Leila Sukee is the Development Assistant at EdTrust.

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P-12 Policy, Research, and Practice

Hector Biaggi

Senior P-12 Analyst, Data & Analytics

Hector Biaggi is the senior analyst on the P-12 data and analytics team.

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Ebony Daughtry

Senior Executive Assistant

Ebony Daughtry is the senior executive assistant to Allison Socol, vice president for P-12 policy, research and practice at EdTrust.

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Nancy Duchesneau

Senior P-12 Research Associate

Nancy is a senior P-12 research associate and leads the Social, Emotional, and Academic Development work at EdTrust.

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Eric Duncan, J.D.

Director of P-12 Policy – Educator Diversity

Eric Duncan is the director for P-12 policy, specializing in policies related to educator quality and increasing the racial diversity of the educator workforce.

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Carl Felton, III

P-12 Policy Analyst

As a policy analyst, Carl supports work related to social emotional learning and academic development (SEAD).

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Kristen Hengtgen, Ph.D.

Lead II, College and Career Readiness

Kristen Hengtgen is Lead II, College and Career Readiness on the P-12 policy team.

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Qubilah Huddleston

Policy Lead, Equitable School Funding

As policy lead on the P-12 policy team, Qubilah informs and manages Ed Trust’s policy positions on equitable school funding.

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Nathan Kriha

P-12 Policy Analyst

As a policy analyst on the P-12 policy team, Nathan focuses on topics related to educator quality and increasing the number of teachers of color in the educator workforce.

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Shayna Levitan

Policy Analyst, P-12

Shayna supports work related to the Alliance for Resource Equity coalition and conducts research, analysis and literature reviews related to topics such as assessments and accountability systems.

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Ivy Morgan

Director for P-12 Data & Analytics

Ivy Morgan designs and conducts data and policy analyses that contribute to EdTrust’s work to ensure that students living in poverty and students of color get their fair share of resources.

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Nicholas Munyan-Penney

Assistant Director, P-12 Policy

Nicholas oversees work on a range of topics, including resource equity, assessments and accountability, and COVID recovery.

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William Rodick, Ph.D.

P12 Practice Lead

William researches and writes about P-12 curriculum and instructional practice with a focus on representation and culturally responsive teaching.

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Anna Skubel, Ph.D.

Senior P-12 Research and Data Analyst

Anna manages qualitative and quantitative research/data analysis projects and develops research syntheses to help inform EdTrust’s P-12 work.

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Higher Education Policy, Research, and Practice

Jinann Bitar

Director of Higher Education Research and Data Analytics

Jinann manages and carries out EdTrust’s higher education research and analytical work, supports the policy work through data modeling and thought partnership and works with teams of researchers, analysts, collaborators, and consultants to create original research tools and products.

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Ivy Ellis

Senior Executive Assistant

Ivy joined EdTrust in 2000. She previously worked as an executive assistant/proposal coordinator for Facilities Management Company in Lanham, Md.

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William Freeman III

Manager of Higher Education Justice Initiative

William leads and manages the Justice Policy Fellowship, where he works with the policy team to provide an equity perspective on higher education in prison issues.

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Alexa Garza

Higher Education Justice Initiatives Analyst/Texas Policy Analyst

Alexa Garza assists with day-to-day tasks for the implementation of the Justice Fellows Policy Program. Additionally, she assists in advancing the agenda in Texas to improve access and workforce opportunities for the current and formerly incarcerated.

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Kyla Hurns

Policy Analyst

Kyla Hurns is a policy analyst on the higher education policy team. She works on policy and legislation related to affordability and student success.

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Victoria Jackson

Assistant Director of Higher Education Policy

Victoria Jackson is the assistant director of higher education policy at Ed Trust, where she leads work on college affordability and student debt.

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Phil Martin

Director, Higher Education Policy Implementation

As director of higher education policy implementation, Phil’s focus is helping federal and state policy officials clear barriers and strengthen supports on the path to education beyond high school in the U.S.

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Sayda Martinez-Alvarado

Senior Policy Analyst

Sayda works on tracking the increasing legislation across states looking to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in higher education and supporting EdTrust’s campus racial climate work.

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Sandra Perez

Senior Research Analyst

Sandra is a higher education research analyst who researches various topics, such as accessibility and cost of attendance.

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Sabreyna Reese

Research Analyst, Higher Education

Sabreyna is a higher education research analyst who is responsible for conducting quantitative research and data analysis projects, as well as synthesizing research to guide our initiatives.

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Operations

Sarah Brody

Director of Human Resources

Sarah leads the Human Resources function at The Education Trust. Her work focuses on building a diverse, thriving workforce to deliver on the organization’s mission.

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Doug Brownlee

Director for Information Technology

Doug is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the organization’s Information Technology (IT) department.

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Gwendolyn Chappell

Senior Human Resources Generalist

Gwendolyn is the primary benefits coordinator, serving as the point person for all benefits-related concerns to staff and vendors.

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Zuleida Corry

Finance Associate

As Finance Associate, Zuleida is responsible for receiving and processing accounts payable vouchers and resolving payments and coding issues.

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Ray Galloway

Operations and Events Manager

Ray is responsible for coordinating the day-to-day operations of the national office and is the primary contact for all logistical aspects of convenings and internal/external meetings.

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Jouene Jones-Walker

Senior Human Resources Manager

Jouene ‘s primary focus in the Human Resources department is on total rewards for the organization, including compensation and benefits.

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Kwame Kankam-Boadu

Senior Systems Administrator

As a senior systems administrator, Kwame is responsible for handling day to day cybersecurity, compliance, and configurations of the information technology (IT) department.

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Tia Lassiter

Senior Accounting Manager

Tia is the Senior Accounting Manager, reporting to the CFO. In this crucial role, she leads a dedicated team of two accounting associates responsible for managing accounts payable, accounts receivable, accounting systems, and the general ledger.

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Davon Mason

Associate IT Analyst

Davon is responsible for handling the day-to-day tasks for the organization’s Information Technology (IT) department. This includes installing, maintaining, and monitoring all software and hardware systems.

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Chantel McCloud

Director for Grants Management and Finance

As the director of grants management and finance at EdTrust, Chantel leads the grants management, reporting and budgeting functions.

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Suniyah Peters

IT Associate II

Suniyah is responsible for handling the day-to-day tasks for the organization’s Information Technology (IT) department. This includes installing, maintaining, and monitoring all software and hardware systems.

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Loretta Singleton

Receptionist

Before joining Ed Trust, Loretta was the administrative assistant to Floretta Dukes McKenzie, a former superintendent of schools in the District of Columbia.

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Sabria Stanford

Grants Associate

As a grants associate, Sabria is responsible for handling grants management tasks for EdTrust’s finance department.

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Maria Elena Tapia

Associate II, Accounting

Maria Tapia is an Accounting Associate II in the finance department. Previously, she worked for 25 years at a multinational corporation, where she wrote manuals and risk procedures based on Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

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Partnerships and Engagement

Genesis Carela

Senior Policy Analyst for Massachusetts

Genesis conducts policy and data analyses to aid in the development and advancement of policy recommendations on issues related to educational opportunity and outcomes in Massachusetts.

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Jessica Ch’ng

Senior Associate, Strategic Initiatives and National Partnerships

Jessica is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships and engagement with national partners to advance EdTrust’s policy and advocacy priorities.

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Judith Cruz

Texas Assistant Director, Houston Region

Judith manages and executes policy goals and advocacy activities within the Houston region in collaboration with the Texas State Director.

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Zaria Ealy

Associate, Advocacy and Engagement

Zaria supports the Partnerships and Engagement team in activating EdTrust’s priority issues with state and national advocates and coalitions.

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Jonathan Feinstein

State Director for Texas

Jonathan serves as the State Director of Texas, where he works with and supports partners statewide to advance educational equity for students of color and from low-income backgrounds.

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Ciara Hart

External Relations Manager for Louisiana

Ciara Hart serves as the external relations manager for Ed Trust in Louisiana, where she focuses on consistent community engagement to highlight education inequities in the state.

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Tramelle Howard, J.D.

Louisiana State Director

Tramelle Howard is an educator, community advocate and a deep believer in the urgent need to advance equity in all of its forms across every context.

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Lynn C. Jennings, Ph.D

Senior Director of National and State Partnerships

As the senior director of national and state partnerships for EdTrust, Lynn leads strategy and advocacy initiatives to ensure school systems are equipped to provide an excellent education for the nation’s most underserved students.

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Chanthy Lopes Toro

Assistant Director for Engagement and Communications for Massachusetts

In her role, Chanthy works alongside students, families, and community advocates to build urgency and collective will through meaningful engagement and strategic communications to draw attention to the educational inequities that affect underserved students in Massachusetts.

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Reid Setzer

Director of Government Affairs

Reid serves as the organization’s director of government affairs, working to leverage policy analysis as well as legislative tactics and strategies to advance EdTrust’s equity agenda, message, and policy proposals at both the federal and state levels.

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Andrea Thurston

Senior Higher Education Policy Analyst for Texas

Andrea manages and evaluates research projects to identify structures and policies that support Texas students’ postsecondary persistence and completion and develop policy agendas that advance educational equity.

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Jennie Williamson

State Director for Massachusetts

Jennie Williamson is the State Director for The Education Trust-Massachusetts, where she leads the development and implementation of the Massachusetts team’s strategic vision, long term and short-term goals, and priorities.

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Blair Wriston

Senior Government Affairs Manager

Blair serves as senior government affairs manager, working alongside the director of government affairs and other members of the partnerships and engagement team to develop and execute The Education Trust’s equity agenda at both the federal and state level.

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Emily Young

Associate, Advocacy and Engagement

As associate for advocacy and engagement, Emily acts as a bridge between the organization’s work at the state and national levels; helping uplift the work of EdTrust’s state offices to its national audience and crafting actionable plans to advance policy priorities in collaboration with its partners.

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