William Porter Partner
Bill has served as an education adviser to CEOs, governors, grantmakers and community leaders, helping them clarify strategic choices and identify high-impact policies and leverage points. He has a broad background in public affairs, politics and philanthropy, with expertise in education policy, strategy setting and issue advocacy. One of four partners at Education First, he has led projects with Achieve, AFT Innovation Fund, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Oregon's Chalkboard Project, PIE Network and several Race to the Top-winning states.
Between 2001 and 2008, Bill was executive director of Grantmakers for Education-a national network of 250 foundations, companies and donors representing $1.5 billion in annual grantmaking-where he worked to improve the effectiveness of the field of education philanthropy. He built new vitality and capacity in Grantmakers for Education during his tenure, identified and shared successful funder strategies and helped foundation trustees, CEOs and program officers improve their knowledge of education issues, trends and effective grantmaking strategies.
Previously, Bill was a senior consultant with KSA-Plus Communications, a DC-based firm that helps educators and education advocates better communicate their message to the public. He also served as executive director of Partnership for Learning, a nationally recognized coalition of companies in Washington state that advocates for higher standards and accountability, and he was policy director and education adviser to former Colorado Governor Roy Romer, for whom he helped craft and pass key state laws on standards, testing and charter schools in the 1990s. He also advanced the governor's agenda with national organizations such as the National Governors Association and National Education Goals Panel.
Bill lives in Portland, Oregon, and volunteers as co-chair of the All Hands Raised board of directors, which is working to create effective “cradle to career” education solutions modeled on Cincinnati’s Strive Partnership. He also serves on the board of directors of Social Venture Partners Portland, a local giving circle that seeks to help all Portland children enter kindergarten ready to learn. He is a graduate of The Colorado College and has two school-aged children.