Katie Cristol Policy Analyst
Katie pairs a passion for education reform with a background in advocacy and analysis in policies affecting children and families. Since joining Education First, Katie has worked closely on Race to the Top implementation efforts, helping coordinate the firm’s early efforts with the Reform Support Network, a U.S. Department of Education-led team designed to assist grantee states in implementing their reform plans. Other recent work has focused on district-level education finance, including resource allocation projects for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Baltimore City Public Schools, and has included school turnaround projects with the Salem Public Schools and the non-profit organization Citizen Schools.
Before joining Education First, Katie earned her master's degree in public affairs from the Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Her work at Princeton included program evaluation and strategic recommendations on child and family issues for clients including foundations, federal agencies, state bureaucracies and neighborhood nonprofits.
Katie has also worked on several issue-related and political campaigns in Virginia and nationally. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia, where her research and writing was recognized by the Virginia Press Association and the Virginia Social Sciences Association. She lives with her husband in Arlington, Virginia, where she is a volunteer at Randolph Elementary School.