Ellie Lasarow, MPP

P-12 Policy Fellow

Ellie is a P-12 policy fellow where she assesses new and existing policies, data, and research to inform and promote education justice in Tennessee. Prior to joining EdTrust, Ellie worked as a graduate fellow at the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) where she supported the organization’s work around strengthening Tennessee’s teacher labor market.

She also previously worked with EdTrust-West teams to create management systems that connect their district equity work to research and advocacy agendas. Additionally, as a graduate fellow with the Tennessee State Department of Education, she supported the research approval process and trained teams to prioritize needed areas for new research. Prior to moving to Nashville, Ellie worked for a computer science education nonprofit where she taught coding to Title I elementary school classes and coached teachers to integrate coding into their curricula.

Originally from Southern California, Ellie holds a master’s degree in K-12 education policy from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College and a bachelor’s in psychology from Lewis & Clark College.

Favorite thing to do outside of work

I love hiking, knitting, cooking!

Why are you passionate about working at EdTrust?

I began working in elementary classes when I was in the eighth grade and was hooked! Since then, I’ve had the privilege to work with some incredible students and teachers who come to school each day with so much passion, creativity, and commitment. As I’ve learned more about the stark racial and socioeconomic inequities that are central to the education system and about challenges and hardships in becoming a teacher, I’ve become more committed to EdTrust’s mission. As one incredible teacher I coached put it, “those who stay do it because they care so much. Everyone else has left.” I love that the EdTrust team is working towards a vision of educational equity that centers Tennessee’s most marginalized students, educators, and communities.