Staff

Heather Barondess
Data Systems Advocate and Campaign Manager, The Education Trust—West
Heather has a master's in public policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Previously, she was with EdSource for the last two years focusing on data systems, assessment, and charter schools. She has completed projects for Mass Insight, Children Now, and the Bay Area Partnership. Prior to graduate school, Heather worked for the Early Education for All Campaign in Massachusetts. Heather has a bachelor's in child development from Tufts University and was a Fulbright Scholar, teaching English and conducting research in France.

Sheena Bell
Communications Intern, The Education Trust–West
Sheena graduated from Xavier University with a Bachelors degree in Communications and a minor in Speech. While in school, she interned  at WDSU, the NBC affiliate station in New Orleans. After graduating, Sheena interned at “The View from the Bay,” a local television talk show on KGO. Just prior to joining The Education Trust—West, Sheena was a Journalism intern at Action Alliance for Children, a non-profit organization working to inform, educate, connect, and inspire people who work on behalf of children in California. 

Sonya Coles
Administrative Assistant, The Education Trust—West
Sonya came to the EdTrust—West after earning her bachelor’s degree from Westmont College in Liberal Studies. She wants to eventually further her education and become an elementary school teacher in the San Francisco Area.

Dinah Consuegra
Senior Practice Associate, The Education Trust—West
Dinah has worked as an advocate and educational reform leader for historically disenfranchised students for 12 years. She has served in various capacities as a teacher, dean, and principal for comprehensive and charter high schools in Los Angeles serving Latino and African-American students. She is a graduate of Occidental College and holds master’s degrees from Claremont Graduate University and the UCLA Principal Leadership Institute.

Gabriel Craft
Practice Associate, The Education Trust–West
Gabriel is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz (B.A., Mathematics Education), and UCLA (M.Ed., Mathematics Education). Before joining Ed Trust–West, Gabriel worked as a mathematics teacher at the middle and high school levels for five years in the Los Angeles, Pajaro Valley, and Santa Cruz school districts. In 2005 he successfully helped launch an academic and cultural partnership between the Second Saturday Network and the University of California Office of the President Educational Partnership Center. This work aided African-American and Latino students in the Monterrey Bay area to succeed in high school, enroll in college, and tap into the necessary resources for post-secondary success.

Melanie Forter 
Executive Assistant, The Education Trust-West
Melanie came to Ed Trust—West after serving as an administrative assistant to the partners of Sofinnova Ventures, a Venture capital firm specializing in building life science and information technology companies.  Melanie studied Applied Communications at Gonzaga University.

Carrie Hahnel
Director of Research and Policy, The Education Trust-West
Carrie has nearly 10 years of experience in a variety of settings in the education world with a focus on research, evaluation and policy analysis.  Most recently she was the Director of Research and Evaluation at the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) Foundation.  Over the course of her five years at KIPP she was instrumental in ensuring that the KIPP schools incorporated data in all relevant decision-making across the KIPP network.  She shares a passion for leveraging the intersection of policy, research and practice and to see how data can be used to shape policy discussions and decisions, with the goal of making all schools better for all children.  Carrie holds a B.A. from Carleton College and a Masters in Education from Harvard. 

Phyllis Hart
Senior Practice Associate, The Education Trust–West
Prior to joining Ed Trust–West, Phyllis was the Director of Special Initiatives at UCLA, with a primary focus on reversing the downward trend of African-American students who were admitted to UCLA. The majority of Phyllis’s previous experience was at The Achievement Council, a non-profit organization whose mission was to close the achievement gap, and she was the executive director for 11 of the 16 years that she was on staff. Phyllis began her career in education first as an English teacher and then as a college counselor at Banning High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District, where she co-led a program that dramatically increased the college-going rates of African-American, Latino, and low-income students.

Diana Kampa
Practice Associate, The Education Trust–West
Diana is a graduate of the University of Southern California (B.A., Psychology), and Loma Linda University (M.S., Counseling/PPS Credential). Before joining Ed Trust–West, Diana worked as a part-time substitute teacher in Redlands, California while earning her master’s degree. She also worked in a juvenile detention facility for Why Try?, a motivational program designed to help at-risk youth complete high school and enroll in college. As a school counseling intern, she worked with low-income students and students of color at both the middle school and high school levels.

Tameka McGlawn
Senior Practice Associate, Linked Learning, The Education Trust–West
Tameka came to ETW from San Diego Unified.  Most recently, she was Dean of Students at Kearny High Construction Tech Academy (a Multiple Pathways demonstration site) and prior to that spent a few years as a counselor at Kearny HS School of International Business. Additionally, Tameka has spent time as a counselor at Gompers Middle School and Harriet Tubman Village Charter School and has also done work as a facilitator  in the areas of results-based PD, pupil support services, building alliances through community outreach, and PLC’s.  Dr. McGlawn is a recent graduate from the University of Southern California with an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. 

Linda Murray
Superintendent-in-Residence, The Education Trust—West
Prior to joining ETW, Murray served as the Superintendent of San Jose Unified School District for 11 years.  She is also a former Assistant Superintendent from Broward County, Florida. Under her leadership, SJUSD became one of 10 districts nationwide piloting a broad public engagement initiative designed to involve school communities in the priorities and issues facing public education. Dr. Murray’s commitment to strong student achievement drove successful efforts at San Jose Unified to provide a more rigorous academic program and improve student performance by increasing graduation requirements. Dr. Murray actively participates on a number of leadership boards that have broad impact on public education in the Silicon Valley. She also serves on the statewide P-16 Council, recently formed by State Superintendent of Schools, Jack O’Connell.  

Tami Pearson
Director of Practice, The Education Trust—West
Tami taught social studies and was a school administrator at Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights, California. She implemented changes at the high school, including open access to Advanced Placement and Honors courses, full inclusion of special needs students into regular education classes, and college-prep coursework as the default curriculum for all students. Tami holds a doctorate from the University of Southern California.

Sheilagh Polk
Outreach Manager, The Education Trust—West
Prior to joining The Education Trust—West, Sheilagh was the Media Relations Manager for Community Coalition, a nonprofit organization in South Los Angeles. In addition, she founded and was the president of Butterfly Communications – a full service production company that also provided communication services for nonprofits, elected officials, and theatrical organizations. Sheilagh has developed and implemented media and organizing strategies for a wide range of issues, including educational equity and A-G access for all, removing barriers to reentry for ex-offenders, foster care and land use.

Arun Ramanathan
Executive Director, The Education Trust–West  
Most recently Arun was chief student services officer for the San Diego Unified School District, with responsibility for eight departments and a budget of $350 million. During his tenure, he reorganized and streamlined both student services and special education services while producing significant gains in student achievement and closing the achievement gap between disabled and non-disabled students.  Prior to this position, Arun served as special assistant to the superintendent for three superintendents. He also served for two years as the executive director for government relations and advocated on behalf of San Diego Unified in Sacramento, San Diego, and Washington D.C. Before coming to San Diego, Arun was the research director for the Office of the Independent Monitor in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He has worked as a general and special education teacher and paraprofessional in New England and California and as a Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA) in rural Appalachia.  Arun received his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, his M.Ed. from Boston College, and his Ed.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Allison Scott
Data and Policy Analyst, The Education Trust—West
Allison graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in May 2009 with a Ph.D. in education and a specialization in school psychology. During her graduate career, she worked on independent and grant-funded research projects related to racial and socioeconomic inequity in schools, while working at Berkeley Technology Academy, a continuation school in Berkeley, California. She also teaches courses to pre-service teachers with the Bay Area Teacher’s Center in San Francisco. In addition, she holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Hampton University.

Tracy Solomon
Director of Operations and Strategic Resources, The Education Trust—West
Tracy has been an independent education consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area for such clients as the Oakland Unified School District and the Marin Education Fund. For nine years, Tracy was general manager and vice president of special projects for a graphic arts publisher. She previously worked in operations, marketing, and strategic planning for a fast-growing specialty retailer. Tracy holds an MBA from the University of California–Berkeley and a bachelor’s from Wesleyan University.