Conference Attendees

Shan Hong

Member of NSSA's Family and Caregiver Tutoring Advisory Group

Hannah Hong

Mrs. Hannah Hong, a Chicago native, brings over 16 years of experience teaching Pre-K through adult learners. She is dedicated to fostering affirming, courageous classrooms where students feel empowered to express themselves, think boldly, and imagine new possibilities. She believes that when students are truly seen and heard, they grow into the innovators and leaders of the future. Mrs. Hong holds a B.S. in Elementary Education with a Gifted, Middle School, and Special Education endorsement and a minor in 2-D Studio Art/Printmaking, as well as an M.A. in Mathematics Education.

Tom Hooper

Third Space partners with K12 schools and districts to provide spoken, high-dosage AI math tutoring programs, helping to close the math achievement gap.

Hsiaolin Hsieh

Hsiaolin Hsieh is a Senior Research Associate and the Research Project Lead at The SCALE Initiative. Her research focuses on ensuring equitable opportunity and access to learning for multilingual learners. She uses natural language processing and machine learning to analyze complex student dialogic participation in the classroom.

Bibb Hubbard

Bibb founded Learning Heroes to help build the capacity of families and educators to team up on behalf of student achievement and school success. She is a mother of two sons and champion of public education as a key driver of opportunity and economic mobility for all students. With more than two decades of experience in communications, policy, and advocacy, she has held leadership positions at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Widmeyer Communications, and Scholastic. Her public-sector experience includes positions at the White House, the U.S. Labor Department and the U.S. Senate.

Karla Hudson

Karla Hudson
Program Administrator, K-5 Core Academics: Learning Acceleration
Portland Public Schools, Portland, OR

Karla leads the High Impact Tutoring and Summer Acceleration Academy initiatives at Portland Public Schools, designed to accelerate student learning and disrupt disparities in educational outcomes.
Karla is dedicated to creating meaningful learning experiences and providing essential resources for students. She designed and launched a comprehensive High Impact Tutoring program and curriculum in 2024, now an open resource for schools in Oregon and nationwide. Her work with Summer Acceleration Academy earned the 2024 Excellence in Summer Learning Award.

Lucy Hunter

Lucy Hunter is the Executive Director of the Bentzen Silverman Foundation, where she leads legacy planning to ensure program integrity and impact that reflect the foundation’s values over the long term. Lucy earned a doctorate in the History of Art from Yale University and became the inaugural Executive Director of the Institute for Studies on Latin American Art (ISLAA) in New York in 2021. There she led ISLAA’s transition from a private research foundation to a public institution, building partnerships across academic and cultural sectors. Prior to nonprofit leadership, Lucy worked in Investor Relations at The Children’s Investment Fund.

Robin Jacob

Robin Tepper Jacob is a Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research’s Survey Research Center and the School of Education at the University of Michigan. She has a decade and a half of experience conducting rigorous evaluations of educational interventions, with a special interest in how policies and programs can affect the life trajectories of low-income youth. She has expertise in survey design and implementation, the design and implementation of randomized trials and quasi-experimental methods for program evaluation.

Sadie Jefferson

Executive Director.

Erik Jespersen

Erik Jespersen is a K–12 Curriculum & Instruction Director focused on improving academic outcomes for all students. He leads districtwide work in literacy and math initiatives and supports professional learning that strengthens teaching and learning. Erik partners with teams to pilot, adopt, and implement high-quality curriculum while also supporting leadership development and collaborative practices such as professional learning communities, instructional rounds, and sprint cycles. His work centers on ensuring every student is known, challenged, supported, and engaged. He is committed to building coherent systems that help educators grow and prepare students for success in college, career, and life.

Yashna Jhaveri

Yashna Jhaveri, Portfolio Associate, sources and supports organizations primarily for the Innovative Schools portfolio. This involves collecting and analyzing data from grantees and researchers to determine high-impact investment areas that support the portfolio’s goal of expanding access to tech-enabled, student-centered K-9 learning environments, intentionally designed for any student to thrive.

Annie Johansen

Annie Johansen serves as the Director of Program and Learning Innovation at Step Up Tutoring, where she leads the design and continuous improvement of high-impact tutoring programs for 2nd–6th grade students from underserved communities. Step Up mobilizes a national network of tutors — including Federal Work-Study students — to provide no-cost, one-on-one online tutoring and mentorship. A former classroom teacher, Annie has spent the last decade in education building programs that expand access to high-quality learning.

Priti Johari

I am an instructional leader with 20+ years of classroom, site, and district level experience. I am committed to constructing systems that foster liberatory, deeper learning experiences for students in order to open windows, mirrors, and doors to the world around them. My work is deeply rooted in personal and professional reflection so that I/we continually grow to better align my/our intentions and actions.

I live in the Bay Area with my daughter and husband. I hold degrees from Harvard University, University of Southern California, and University of Chicago.

Shereen Johnson

Shereen Johnson is the Director of Teacher Residency at GO, where she leads the design and implementation of the residency program across NYC, NJ, CT, and Washington, D.C. A former instructional school leader and Director of Curriculum and Instruction in NYC, Shereen brings extensive experience in curriculum design, instructional development, and educator coaching. Her work focuses on designing rigorous, culturally responsive, and engaging learning experiences, while developing teachers, tutors, and school leaders to drive meaningful student outcomes.

Dorothy Jones

Dorothy Jones is the Director of Corporate, State, and Local Partnerships for the Partnership for Student Success, based at the Johns Hopkins University Everyone Graduates Center. Working in collaboration with a coalition of nearly 250 organizations, PSS supports a nationwide effort in local and state communities across the country to bring evidence-based and people-powered support to all students.

Dorothy previously served as the Director of Public Affairs for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, leading policy efforts and advocating on behalf of Colorado’s business community at the state capitol and on the ballot.

Jennifer Joyce

Vice President of National Programs at Reading Partners.

Jilli Jung

Jilli Jung is a postdoctoral fellow at the SCALE initiative at Stanford University. Her research focuses on examining the causal effects of K-12 education policies on adolescents’ educational and health outcomes using experimental and quasi-experimental methods. She is also interested in uncovering informative patterns and trends using descriptive methods and demographic techniques.

Andrew Karas

Andrew is the Chief of Growth and Strategy at Chapter One, a non-profit organization that provides 1:1, in-person high impact tutoring focused on early literacy skills. In his role, Andrew establishes partnerships with LEAs, SEAs, and funders to bring their ESSA Level 1 program to life. Andrew began his career as a 6th grade teacher in New York City and has worked in K12 education ever since.

Habiba Khokhar

Habiba Khokhar is an education professional in the New York City metropolitan area with experience across higher education, K-16 initiatives, and educator workforce programs at the local, national, and international levels. As Associate Director of CUNY Tutor Corps, she supports outreach, communications, and program development and coordination to expand high-quality tutoring and teaching opportunities across New York. With a background in neuroscience, cognition, pedagogy, and learning, and instructional experience spanning K-12 classrooms through college-level teaching, Habiba is deeply committed to equity, access, and strengthening pathways for students and educators alike.

Sarah Kirker

Director of Math Programs.

Jen Krajewski

Jennifer Krajewski serves as the Director of Outreach and Engagement for ProvenTutoring, a nonprofit initiative housed in The Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE) at Johns Hopkins University. Alongside her team, Jen advances the use of evidence in high-dosage tutoring initiatives. CRRE maintains ProvenTutoring.org, a clearinghouse for tutoring models with evidence of effectiveness and EvidenceforESSA a clearinghouse for all K-12 education programs. Jen and her team have the pleasure of working with states, districts, and tutoring providers on using evidence to guide the adoption, implementation, and evaluation of high-dosage tutoring models.

Robin Lake

Robin Lake is the director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) and a professor of practice at ASU's Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation. Her research focuses on AI in education, charter schools, public school choice, portfolio management, and oversight practices. Lake has authored numerous studies, provided congressional testimony, and advised on charter school implementation in the U.S., South Africa, and United Kingdom. She serves on advisory boards for the Journal of School Choice, Education Next, and the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. She holds a BA and MPA from the University of Washington.

Finn Laubscher

Digital Community Associate

Jimmy Leak

Dr. Jimmy Leak is the Interim Director Accountability, Research, and Evaluation at Guilford County Schools. He has over 15 years of experience in the education sector and 7 years in international development and non-profits across multiple sectors. Jimmy leads the district's research partnerships and grant evaluation. He has worked closely with the GCS tutoring department over the last 4 years to develop data collection, visualization, and reporting systems for the tutoring department. He holds a Ph.D. in Education Policy from the University of California at Irvine.

Viola Lee

Viola Lee is a K–12 math instructional coach in a suburban school district in Colorado Springs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s in curriculum and instruction with a focus in math. Viola previously taught elementary school and worked as a math interventionist, developing a passion for supporting diverse learners. She focuses on high-impact instructional practices that build conceptual understanding and connect concrete models to abstract thinking. Viola partners with teachers to expand equitable access to rigorous math and believes all students can succeed with the right support.

Amanda Lee

Amanda Lee is a senior research manager at J-PAL North America where she leads North America’s Research Management Support (RMS), co-leads North America's work with the Learning Engineering Virtual Institute (LEVI), and works on the Homelessness and Housing Stability team. Using her experience from managing multiple research projects, she ensures research projects are high-quality and in compliance with J-PAL requirements, and she promotes best practices in research. She previously worked as a research analyst at Mathematica Policy Research across education, early childhood education, child welfare, and nutrition projects. Amanda holds an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Monica Lee

Monica Lee is the NSSA's Director of Research Operations. A quantitative researcher by training, Monica oversees the strategic alignment of research-related operations & processes at NSSA, conducts research, and leads the undergraduate summer research fellowship program. Her research to date has focused on examining student absenteeism and social emotional skills, engaging parents and families, and applying behavioral science theories in light-touch interventions across various educational contexts.

Imogen Lee

Undergraduate Intern
Imogen Lee is a junior at Stanford University majoring in Symbolic Systems with a concentration in learning. She is currently interning with SCALE’s Generative AI for Education Hub.

At Stanford, Imogen also serves as a research assistant at the Social Learning Lab, where she is designing AI-augmented tools for educational game creation. Beyond research, Imogen leads a summer fellowship program at the Haas Center for Public Service that places computer science students in public interest technology internships. She is most interested in AI and education, behavioral and cognitive sciences, and the intersection of law and technology.

Kenton Lee

Strategic Partnership Manager

Benjamin Leiva

Benjamin Leiva is a Senior Research Data Analyst on the Generative AI for Education Hub team. He is interested in leveraging AI and ML techniques for data-driven research on relevant public sector markets. Benjamin previously worked at University of Chicago’s MiiE Lab building GenAI data pipelines for analyzing the content of textbooks taught in public, private, and religious schools.

Jodi Lemoine

Jodi Lemoine has served in education as a teacher, instructional coach, principal, and district leader.  The elementary school she served as principal increased the percentage of students earning proficiency on all four tested subject areas, and she had a teacher retention rate above 85% each year.  Most recently, she has led her district's efforts to implement high-impact tutoring in grades K-10th grade. Her work focuses closely on curriculum, instruction, and assessment and believes in a data-driven approach to improving student outcomes in all areas of education. 

Renata Lemos

Renata Lemos is a Senior Economist in the Education Global Practice at the World Bank, with operational experience in the Latin America and the Caribbean and Europe and Central Asia regions. Before joining the Bank, she was a Lecturer in Economics at Stanford University and a Research Associate at the London School of Economics and Harvard Business School. She holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and is affiliated with CEP-LSE, the International Growth Centre, and CEPR. Her research spans managerial and organizational economics and development economics (with a focus on emergencies).

Maryellen Leneghan

Maryellen has been in the education field for 10+ years. She was an Algebra 1 teacher in Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Chicago. She joined Saga as a school-based Site Director and then transitioned to be the Director of Programs in Chicago. She then launched the Saga's direct services program in Washington, DC, and Broward County, FL as the Senior Director of Programs overseeing both regions. She is now the VP for District Partnerships in which she supports her team in running Saga's technical assistance and quality assurance services.

Guilherme Lichand

Assistant Professor of Education at Stanford, co-Director at the Stanford Lemann Center for Entrepreneurship and Educational Innovation in Brazil, and faculty affiliate at the Stanford King Center for Global Development, the Stanford Center on Early Childhood, the Stanford Institute for Advancing Just Societies, and the UC Berkeley Center for Effective Global Action. He holds a PhD in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University. Guilherme was recognized by the Schwab Foundation and Folha de São Paulo as Brazil's top-10 social entrepreneur (post-pandemic legacy), in 2020, and by MIT Technology Review as Brazil's top social innovator among under-35 entrepreneurs, in 2014.

Dr. Susanna Loeb

Susanna Loeb is a Professor and Faculty Director of the SCALE Initiative at the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of the National Student Support Accelerator, which aims to expand access to high-impact tutoring to address inequities in educational opportunities.

Josh Lotstein

Josh Lotstein, Senior Director, Grantmaking, oversees all grantmaking efforts across the Foundation’s core portfolio areas. He previously served as the head of strategy and planning for Transcend Education, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping schools reimagine their learning environments, and as Chief Operating Officer of Summit Public Schools, a network of innovative, high-performing charter schools in California and Washington. Prior to Summit, he led growth strategy and development initiatives at Teach for America and worked as a strategy consultant at The Monitor Group. He began his career as a classroom teacher in New York City public schools.

Kimberly Louie

Kimberly Louie is in her 27th year in education. For the past eleven years, she has been working out of the classroom at the district office level. She is currently a Program Specialist in the Office of Special Projects/GATE, supporting students, teachers, schools, and administrators in areas of Title I, Compliance, Intervention, GATE, and English Learners in the Rowland Unified School District in Southern California. She began her career in RUSD, teaching elementary school before transferring to the high school. She has a passion for supporting ALL students in any way she can.

Dr. David M. Toston, Sr.

Dr. David M. Toston, Sr. was appointed County Superintendent of Schools by the Santa Clara County Board of Education. He brings 25 years of experience in education and a deep commitment to addressing inequities and transforming systems to meet the needs of all students. Before his appointment, Toston served as Senior Advisor at the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, where he led statewide initiatives focused on community engagement, equity and school improvement. His county-level leadership includes roles as Associate Superintendent at the El Dorado County Office of Education and Assistant Superintendent at the Sutter County Superintendent of Schools.

Michelle Maghes

Michelle Maghes has worked in public education for over 20 years as an educator, Department Chair, Literacy Coach, and central office administrator. Michelle’s interests and work spans across the following areas: research & assessments, educational equity, early literacy screening/interventions, and using data analysis to improve learning outcomes of all learners in SFUSD. Michelle Maghes is currently serving SFUSD staff, families, and students from PK-12 as a Supervisor in the Research, Planning, and Assessment Division.

Alvin Makori

Alvin Makori is a Ph.D. Student/Provost Fellow in Urban Education Policy at the University of Southern California. His research interests surround COVID-19 pandemic recovery at the K-12 level. Prior to his graduate studies, Alvin was a research assistant at the Center on Reinventing Public Education.

Sandner Malte

Malte Sandner received his PhD from Leibniz University Hannover and subsequently held a postdoctoral position at University College London (UCL). He is currently a Research Professor of Data Science and Empirical Economics at the TH Nuremberg. He is also affiliated with the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), where he works in the Department of Education Research. He serves as an Associate Editor for Empirical Economics and the Journal of Labour Market Research. His research lies in applied microeconomics, with a particular focus on education, health, and family. His work has been published in numerous international and interdisciplinary academic journals.

Bess Markel

Bess Markel is a first-year doctoral student in the SHIPS Education Policy program. She comes from the University of Chicago, where she worked at the Education Lab on the Personalized Learning Initiative. Bess holds an MSc in Education Research and Methodology from the University of Oxford and a B.A. in Economics and Education from Swarthmore College.

JP Martinez Claeys

JP Martinez is a Senior Research Data Analyst on the AI Hub for Education team. He is interested in leveraging technology for data-driven decision making in public policy spaces, with a particular interest in education, energy and competition policy. JP previously worked as a Research Associate for the Institute for Policy Integrity at the NYU School of Law building optimization models for expansion of generation and transmission resources in the U.S. electric market. JP holds a M.S. in computational and Public Policy from the UChicago, an M.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Business and Economics from PUC Chile.

Evan Marwell

Founder & CEO

Meghan McCormick

Meghan McCormick is the Senior Research & Impact Officer at Overdeck Family Foundation where she leads the Foundation’s investments and support for research and evidence-building. She was previously a Senior Research Associate at MDRC, a social and education policy research organization. In this role, she served as Principal Investigator on numerous studies that aimed to estimate the impacts of Pre-K, home visiting, social-emotional learning, and family support programs on outcomes for children and families. McCormick holds a Ph.D. in Applied Psychology and Quantitative Methods from NYU and a B.A. in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University.

Caitlin Mehra

Caitlin Mehra is Chief Learning Officer at Hoot Reading, where she oversees curriculum, product, technology, and operations to drive scalable, evidence-based literacy outcomes. A bilingual literacy expert with over a decade of experience, she began her career as a dual-language educator and later served as an instructional coach. She has trained educators across North and South America , contributed to published literacy curricula, and led initiatives that translate research-based structured literacy into measurable gains for diverse K–8 learners.

Carolina Melo

Carolina Melo is an Associate Professor at Universidad de los Andes (Chile), and a consultant to the World Bank. She co-led the development of TEACH, a classroom observation tool used in more than 13 countries, and has extensive experience designing and evaluating teacher development and children's literacy skills. She currently leads Aprende+, an initiative providing personalized tutoring, teacher support, and family engagement in rural communities. Her work focuses on literacy, instructional quality, and the use of data to improve teaching and learning at scale. She is co-founder of Por un Chile que Lee, a national literacy network.

Marisa Mission

Marisa Mission is a senior analyst at Bellwether, where she translates complex research and policy topics into actionable insights for educators, leaders, and policymakers. Much of her work focuses on AI in education, including investigating AI's effect on productive struggle and co-authoring a monthly newsletter tracking AI developments for the education sector. Prior to joining Bellwether, Marisa worked for both the federal legislative and executive branches. She began her career at the U.S. Department of Education before researching education policy for U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen's legislative team. Marisa graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor's in international relations.

Marcel Monnar

Marcel Monnar, Ed.S., Founder and President of One on One Learning, is a seasoned education leader driving personalized learning initiatives that address the diverse needs of students nationwide. For 25 years, One on One Learning has pioneered scalable intervention programs, resulting in demonstrated improved academic outcomes for hundreds of thousands of students. Recognizing the critical need to close achievement gaps and foster equitable learning environments, Marcel collaborates with schools, districts, states, and national agencies to design and implement data-driven solutions. His expertise encompasses targeted one-on-one and small group tutoring, impactful professional development for educators, and strategic family engagement opportunities.

Nico Mora

Manager, Data and Reporting for the UF Lastinger Center for Learning Florida Tutoring Advantage.