Ariel Keller

LEE Public Policy Fellow

Ariel is the LEE Public Policy Fellow at The Education Trust – Tennessee, where she supports various projects and responsibilities related to statewide policy, advocacy, and external affairs portfolio in preparation for and during the Tennessee General Assembly’s 2024 legislative session.

Prior to joining Ed Trust, Ariel was a 2019 Teach for America corps member in Minneapolis, where she taught middle school literacy at KIPP Legacy Academy.  While teaching, Ariel served as a Minnesota Education Policy Fellow with the Center for Policy Design, where she focused on state and federal policy development and the leadership that is necessary to influence policy development. The fellowship expanded and updated her working knowledge of state and federal policy design, enactment and implementation. Ariel began her career teaching English as a second language in Spain.

Raised in Minnesota, Ariel holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Grinnell College and master’s degree in teaching from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

What are people most surprised to learn about you?

I grew up in rural Minnesota, on a hobby farm where we raise sheep. 

Proudest Moment

I founded a student organization, Student-Athletes Leading Social Change, during my time at Grinnell College to give student-athletes a platform to discuss and advocate for social issues on campus and in the community. The organization is still active and growing.

Why are you passionate about working at Ed Trust?

During undergrad, a series of courses and my own lived experiences illuminated for me the role education has in the trajectory of one’s life. From that moment forward, I knew I wanted to dismantle the foundations of education that excluded our most marginalized populations. I was never sure how I would get here, but I am humbled that I am. The Education Trust is the exact organization I dreamed of working for nearly a decade ago. It is a privilege to be able to advocate on behalf of every child in Tennessee to ensure school is a place they run to everyday.