Brinton Ramsey Policy Analyst
Brinton S. (Brinnie) Ramsey is an anthropologist and educator who has worked in school reform at the school and district level as a project manager and researcher for most of her career. Since joining Education First as a policy analyst she has been deeply engaged in projects for the Bill and Melinda Gates and Lumina Foundations, and has supported ongoing work with Achieve in the areas of Common Core State Standards implementation and state level educator engagement. Brinnie supports the College and Career Readiness practice area at Education First and has written research briefs on topics including mayoral control of school districts for KidsOhio, sustainable organizational change for the Reform Support Network, and state performance on NAEP tests for Achieve. She is particularly interested in systemic alignment issues and organizational change.
Earlier in her career Brinnie was a research associate at The BERC Group, an educational evaluation and consulting firm, where she directed evaluation projects dealing with leadership development and teacher effectiveness, extended learning time, student transitions, and classroom practices. Brinnie also served for three years as Director of Documentation at the Coalition for Essential Schools Northwest in Seattle, WA. Prior to that she spent 11 years as a project manager and consultant working with education non-profits on whole school reform, diversity in higher education and museum education in Washington, D.C., Dallas, TX, and New York City, NY. From 1986-1988 Brinnie served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand where she taught English and agriculture in a junior high school.
Brinnie has written multiple research papers and case studies on small school redesign and school district reform. She holds an MA in International Education from American University, an MA in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Arlington, and has completed 65 hours towards earning her PhD in Applied Anthropology, with a focus on education, at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Brinnie has served on the Board of Trustees for the Oberlin Shansi Memorial Association, and currently resides in Lake Stevens, WA.